Lunar Knights for Nintendo DS Reviews by Gamers

Lunar Knights delivers challenge and fun. You can change between two characters, both depends on how you play whether you like to melee with Lucian or shoot from afar with Django. The game offers a few puzzles which are easy to figure out, sneaking missions which are a joke, and a semi-hard spacecraft shooting game.

The game also includes some nice animated cutscenes with some addition of not-so-great voice acting. Weather and time changes throughout the game and you have the top screen to see it. Weather changes affect certain areas which you will need to progress but you'll learn more when you play. All the action is at the bottom touch screen. The game does make some use of the touch screen only when you use a "super" and you'll be instructed on what to do to decimate your enemies.

The bad thing about this game is the way the levels are staged. The game is staged diagonally. This was a problem for me because the DS's D-pad is not great for diagonal directions. You will have to be very careful when crossing narrow paths and getting on flying platforms. The game is also short and somewhat easy. The characters gain experience from killing enemies and level up then you distribute their stat points to 3 different categories. Sometimes you'll find yourself too low for the next dungeon so you will have to go back to the last dungeon and grind until you are at the minimum level or you've just killed too many people and the game gets too easy.

Above all, this game rocks!

This was my first purchase for my DS Lite and I could not be happier now that I've finished it. I am a fairly new gamer so I managed to put about thirty hours of play time into it before defeating the final boss. There were several different aspects of the game that I was pleased to see. There were stylus-controlled space fighter shooting scenarios, puzzles involving monsters and some without. Also, having two different characters to alternate between (freely, for the most part) added another interesting component to this game.

I enjoyed the need to change the climate in order to get to some treasures and complete missions. I did not, however, enjoy having to leave each dungeon in order to do that. That was quite tedious, especially during my crusade through Castle Auguste. The cell phone helps get you out when you're mired deep in a dungeon but it won't help you get back in. That's the annoying part. You have to fight your way back. Oh well, consider it an opportunity to gain experience in order to "level up".

The only downsides that I can think of are the lack of quests independent from the storyline and the fairly linear way the game progressed. There was a list for quests but mine was blank. Perhaps that was an aspect of the game that I missed or misunderstood. As far as game play, I felt that I found most necessary items (keys, treasures, weapons) a bit too easily. I really expected to have to search for a while.

For what its worth, I had a lot of fun playing this game and would recommend it highly.

P.S. Another reviewer noted the diagonal layout of the game screens. I found that the game allows you to change the direction of your d-pad by about 45°, making it easier to move in a straight line. Instead of moving straight up by pressing up, you can go "up and left" by pressing up on the d-pad. This really came in handy during one of the puzzles.

Hideo Kojima is about as odd as they come when it comes to video game designers and developers but one thing is for certain, the man hardly ever makes a bad game. Interestingly enough, Boktai was one of the most creative game ideas during the GBA years. The game had a built in solar sensor that played a very important role in the game.

Since the game centers around hunting vampires and monsters, night and day plays a very important role. In the original Boktai games you sometimes were required to play in the day out in the sun and other times you were required to play at night inside. This proved difficult for players to play due to the fact that the TFT reflective display of the GBA typically turned extremely dark in sunlight.

Gone is the solar sensor of the GBA years and the Boktai name with it. The replacement is the top screen, since it emulates the sun, moon, clouds, and the weather. Using the top screen helps keep the original idea intact without making the game difficult to play to to issues outside of the player's hands. Lunar Nights takes all of the original Boktai's excellent formula of meshing Castlevania, Zelda and Metal Gear into one cohesive and excellent title. With two swappable characters, and an easy to use stat and fight system, the game shines in gameplay. The game even features amazing CGI anime cutscenes that are entirely dubbed with great dialogue by somewhat talented voice actors.

It's an excellent game and is one of the first great games in the junior year of the DS. If this is a sign of how much 2007 is going to rock than I'm pretty excited for this year.

I made it half way through the game ,and couldn't stand its repetitive hack and slash game play any more! Its story is interesting but the gameplay falls flat on its face. If you must play it just rent it, i'm sure you'll know what I mean.

The game's pretty simple. You march around an area, killing guys with your sword, you level up, you get items, you fight bosses. The game is made interesting through a series of side-mechanics that sometimes work, sometimes don't.

The main quirk is the day/night mechanic. You play two characters, one uses lunar energy and one use solar energy. So at any given time, energy is readily available for one guy. Closely tied into that are the spirits. When you beat a boss you get a new elemental spirit. Enemies have affinities, so attacking them with the right element causes more damage (and all enemies come color-coded for your convenience). Some hidden areas are accessible only by using the right element.

Then there's the weather. Some puzzles are solvable by changing the climate, while some climates block the sun/moon and deprive you of a major energy source. You get new climates by, that's right, killing bosses.

There's also "weapon enhancement." Basically you collect scrap materials, and when you get enough you can bump your weapon's attack. You get a few different weapons in the game (guns for the sun guy, melee for the dark dude), but nothing really beats the sword. I could've done without the gun guy for a lot of the game.

The space battles are a way of making the touch screen not totally useless. You tap to shoot and drag to dodge. that's about it.

Throw in some items, a passable storyline, some cut-scenes and some decent voice work and you've got Lunar Knights. It's not the next Castlevania, but it's amusing enough.

Bottom line: it's an isometric hack-and-slash with some quirks. Worth the rent, might be worth the buy if it grabs you.

This game is one of the reasons I started playing rpgs. The system in it is just perfect. It's a little tough when you're low on energy and it's night/day. but I've gotten around that easily.

This game does live upto the boktai games before it. A must rent/have.