OneMetal.com game ARTICLE:
Preview: Knights in the Nightmare

Knights in the Nightmare, the tactical RPG that advertises “Bullet-hell heaven in the palm of your hand,” crashes onto the PSP this October. Atlus is adapting the Nintendo DS original that broke fingers and throbbed heads with its complicated and super real-time insanity into a much more user-friendly format. After sitting in on the latest demonstration, we at OneMetal have your inside scoop on both the story and fast-paced gameplay action.

During the demo, the good folks at Atlus stressed two main aspects of the Sting Entertainment-developed game: story and battles. A good chunk of our time was spent examining the actual battles and the renovated tutorial features, so let’s first breeze over the story highlights that will interest both new and old players.

The Story

Knights in the Nightmare features over 100+ characters, but of its robust dossier, three now count as protagonists as opposed to the DS’s two. DS familiars will note Princess Yggdra’s entrance into the core ranks.

The described Tarantino-esque narrative (basically meaning the plotline jumps around) explores the fallen kingdom Aventheim, uncovering the tragic events that spurred the knights’ deaths. The reawakened soul of the slain king, called the Wisp, guides your party through this haunting tale.

The game boasts a considerable replay value due to not only the experience from three unique perspectives, but also the unique gameplay strategy. Let’s take a look.

Battles

Battle scenes consist of turns, which number in the few to the many (twenty-six, for example), and each turn occurs on an isometric grid. Players are given four slots for items, most of which will be allotted for weapons.

Scanning the field before a fight can prove invaluable. The select button views the terrain topography, as height affects a character’s charging ability. Players can glimpse enemy profiles and break certain objects like bridges to gain key items. The timer indicates overall health and counts down to a turn’s finish. Positioned on the left-hand side, the attack chart displays icons that monitor opponent charge levels.

Characters will often join as contextual party members for different missions, and players can eventually recruit them using assigned story items. Successfully recruiting all 100+ knights should entice invested gamers, but each one only sticks around for a certain scene.

Action Phases and the Victory Grid

On the battle field, players can easily switch between the Law and Chaos action phases with a tap of the right shoulder button (much simpler than the DS version’s gestures). Law overlays the screen with a calm blue hue, while Chaos tints the screen reddish. The phases determine attack patterns and which weapon type can be mapped to characters, and they even factor into special class abilities. Gamers will want to master a balance between the two modes.

Between turns, the Victory Grid challenges players to connect kill markers either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally in an attempt to influence which enemy types (each tied to a particular region) land on the field. Defeating a row on the grid fulfills a scene’s requirements.

The Wisp

During battle, players move the Wisp using the PSP nub, which should feel more intuitive and tight compared to the DS’s stylus and touch screen approach. The shooter aspect derives from speeding up to avoid enemy attack waves while speeding down gives the player a better handle on the Wisp. Pulling off a near-miss dodge will earn extra EXP, and the Wisp can collect the orbs, mediums, and MP that flies off hit enemies. Suffer an enemy attack, and the encounter could apply a condition that, for instance, confuses the direction of the Wisp.

Tips and tricks lend to the game’s depth. The Wisp can run over number markers that appear beside enemies to jam their attacks, characters can inflict a damage-boosting Punish Attack on enemies of a higher level than theirs, and each weapon and monster bears its own element that, when clashed, can increase damage up to 200%.

Stats and Menus

Stats are visible and easy to read, grouped in turn-by-turn and scene summaries that detail progress. Players can revisit past maps in order to gain additional EXP, as well.

Menu screen options include expelling characters for items, applying EXP, and transferring souls to keep characters alive—once their vitality hits zero, they’re gone for good. Since items can break, fusing them builds durability. Players can also chance a set failure rate in order to enhance items, a risks-versus-rewards move. As a note, combined weapons always take the lower durability.

DS Versus PSP

Atlus emphasized patience for the learning curve, but also assured us that although Knights in the Nightmare requires a bit of dedication, players should find the game’s easy mode and smart button-mapping agreeable. With the harder difficulties come trickier challenges, including fewer turns granted to complete a scene.

The company has made visual and audio improvements, fine-tuning much of the musical score, fitting the game to the PSP’s wide screen, and even adding a new intro designed by Yukio Takats (Persona games). The real meat of the game’s PSP debut, though, rests with the tutorial expansions. Atlus showed us a lengthy list of organized and single topic tutorials while mentioning an all-new tutorial mission, which offers on-the-job EXP by integrating tutorial convenience into gameplay. In other words, players can avoid hours of studying an overwhelming manual and dive straight into the goods.

Loading times are restricted to between scenes and story sequences and last about two to four seconds, sparing gamers from actual battle interruptions.

Our Impressions

From the start, Atlus assured us that even though Knights in the Nightmare drags along a nefarious reputation, PSP owners can breathe a sigh of relief. The new tutorial system and authentic button-mapping should facilitate gameplay considerably, and tactical RPG lovers and bullet hell fanatics both will grin at the game’s inventive challenge and heavy replay allure.

Knights in the Nightmare impresses visually, too, filled with color and non-stop action. It seems like the game is in good hands with Atlus, and any changes from the Nintendo DS versions are much-needed ones. Keep an eye out this October 19th for its North American release.