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Knights in the NightmareBy Marlon Esmeralda - 06-25-09 Print  EmailThe Nintendo DS has become home to many RPGs since it launched into the market. Housing many remakes like Final Fantasy 3 & 4, Chrono Trigger, Legacy of Ys, and even Disgaea. As well as original titles like the Mario & Luigi games, and The World Ends With You, both of which make great use of the DS's features(dual screens, touch screen). Well you can add one more game to that list of great RPGs for the DS. That game is Knights in the Nightmare, a game by developer Sting(Riviera, Yggdra Union). A game that is also so unique that I'm confident you haven't experienced anything like it EVER. It is easily one of the deepest RPGs ever made and quite possibly one of the best games for the Nintendo DS. The thing that makes Knights in the Nightmare so unique is its complex battle system. Its like a mixture of a real-time strategy game and top/down arcade shooters. Due to it being so different, many players may find the whole system to be a bit complicated. So it is highly recommend that new players go check out the tutorials before beginning the game. It may take 30-60 minutes to just get through the basic tutorials, but just knowing that will be enough for you to understand the game. There are also more tutorials and tips to check out, to further your knowledge of the game. After playing a couple of battles, I started to fully understand how the game works. The story of Knights in the Nightmare has you taking control of the wisp. You start the game off being released from a container by a mysterious female in armor. You are then left alone as you embark on a journey to solve a string of many questions that elude you. Like who you are, who is that heroine, what the heck is going on, and many others. As the wisp, you have this ability to revive lost souls to their former selves, who tend to be knights who lost their lives in battle. It is through these knights that you will do battle against the many monsters you encounter on this long journey. Through the game's storytelling of current and past events, the pieces will slowly start to come together. Many twists and turns fill up this very interesting story, and that alone should motivate players to play on till the end.  The game is divided into scenes, and each scene will bring about a battle. Before each battle begins you are given the chance to equip items. You are only given room for four items, so before the battle begins, you're already thinking. Once that's done, the actual battle will begin. The field is simple, you have your units, the enemies, and objects(grass, candles, chests). Your goal, like any RPG, is to kill off the enemies. That's where things get different because your units can't actually move and are only able to attack from where they are standing. Adding onto that is the fact that each unit has a specific attack range. So there may be cases where you're actually unable to attack the enemy. To trigger an attack you simple highlight the unit with the wisp, hold and drag the stylus onto where you want to attack, and then lift the stylus off the screen. Since each unit's attack range differs, and with the enemies constantly moving, you will need to time your attack just right so that it will land. Aside from the normal attacking, skill attacks can also be performed. You simply drag and drop a weapon you equipped to the 4-panel sidebar onto your unit and perform the attack as before. Skill attacks do much more damage and if done properly, will kill enemies off much faster. These enemies won't go down easily, as they will bombard you with projectiles. The projectiles don't harm your units but they will harm the wisp. So similar to an arcade shooter, you will need to dodge around them. This constant dodging and attacking is what makes Knight in the Nightmare so unique, and so hectic.  So how do you actually win a battle? Well there is this little thing called the enemy matrix. It consists of the life bar for all of your enemies. When a enemy dies, their spot in the matrix will be marked "KILL." After a round of battling has passed, you will be presented with an encounter reel before the next round begins. It works similar to a slot machine, and it determines the enemies you will encounter on the battlefield, with each one holding a spot in the matrix. After the enemies have been chosen, the battle begins as it normally would. Your goal for each battle is to defeat enough enemies to fill up a line of "KILL" markers in the matrix, either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. After each battle, the souls of the units you used in battle will disappear. You can recruit these units if you have their “key” item in your inventory, and present it to them while in battle. Finding these “key” items is no easy task though as they lay hidden within the obstacles of each battlefield. In order to obtain these items, you will need to damage the obstacles holding them. I guess you can refer to this little tidbit at the “questing” aspect of the game. As you can see, there is quite a lot of depth to this battle system. It's a pretty complicated system and may take time to fully understand. I, myself, am still learning new things as I play the game along. There's just so much to consider when engaging in each battle. Things like which weapons to equip and which units to select. Once you get a feel for the whole process though, it will easily grow on you. Knights in the Nightmare is a game that you must invest time into in order to get the most out of it, and it is indeed worth it. For so much content inside this game, you may not encounter everything that the game has to offer in your first playthrough. Many hidden items are present in each scene, and it is easy to miss one. Even in a second playthrough, the hidden items you encounter will differ. Multiple endings, many characters to recruit, and various items to gather, really make each run a whole new experience. Each battle will also vary in length since so many things will need to be considered. So just going through the game one time will be pretty lengthy.  Surrounding all this depth in strategy is an audio and visual offering of epic proportions. If you've played Riviera or Yggdra Union, you should already have an idea of what to expect in terms of visuals for Knights in the Nightmare. Fantastic sprites and hand-drawn visuals represent this wonderful art style. The battles are also showcased with many effects shooting across the screen accompanying the vivid animations of the enemies and units. I just can't tell you how much I just adore the look of this game. This is really some of the best visuals done on the Nintendo DS. I can't forget to mention the well-orchestrated tracks either, in which Atlus was nice enough to pack in a soundtrack CD with each copy of the game. I literally started up the game on my DS, and once I heard the music from the title screen, I immediately fell in love with it. Slight voice-overs are also present in the battles, and really help you get a feel for the action. All of these things really incorporate well with each other, emphasizing the dark and haunting atmosphere of the game. The Nintendo DS is a system that was made to revolutionize the way we play handhelds, and Knights in the Nightmare has revolutionized the way we play strategy RPGs. This is a game meant for the core DS owners, and the system may still be a bit complicated to some. My only tip is to take the time to go through the game's tutorials and understand how the game is played. You will be happy that you did since this is one game that gets better as you invest more time into it. The audio and visuals are just fantastic and that alone is a reward in itself for playing the game. The deep battle system, and the various elements to consider, will push players on the edge, making you feel very satisfied after every hard fought battle. If you own a DS and are ready for an RPG experience like no other, then you need to get Knights in the Nightmare. Ratings |
 Select Choice Award |
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