11th March 2010, 9:42 PM
So I got Knights in the Nightmare back in early February, and have been playing it steadily ever since, playing a level or two almost every day since then. Often I just abandon games after a few hours despite liking them because of how many different games I have and that I keep getting more stuff, but this one really has me hooked, just like I was hoping...
I'd absolutely loved Riviera, it was one of my favorite GBA games. Yggdra, though, really disappointed me on the GBA. It had some interesting features, but just had so many problems that crippled it... the characters, the plot, the invincible enemies, etc, etc. I was hoping that KitN would be great again, but was hesitant because of my experience with Yggdra so I didn't get it right away. I'm glad I finally did, though, because yeah, the game is fantastic.
So far, I'm at about chapter 20 of the game (first playthrough).
About the only major criticism I can think of is that the plot is really confusing. I mean, I think I understand some of the basics, but it's deep, complex, and presented out of order so it's very, very hard to understand what's happening. The plot seems interesting enough, when I can make sense out of it, so I don't think the plot is bad, and the out-of-order presentation is interesting... but it just makes understanding it so much harder!
Also, of course, it's fairly depressing, what with how most of the characters in the game are either dead or you're seeing flashbacks of their last moments alive...
And the disconnect between the cutscenes, which usually show flashbacks of knights, and the gameplay, which is your wisp fighting monsters, is a little jarring at times I think. The cutscenes and gameplay have almost nothing in common, really. (I know that they're showing what happened to those characters in the level you're in, but still, it is a little odd somehow).
And of course the frustration at not really being able to get all of the characters unless I was willing to replay every mission over and over and use a guide every step of the way is extreme. I really hate missing characters... especially when it keeps giving ones I don't have much use for, but not the ones I need or have weapons for... (I've got like one weapon which any of my current Lance Knights can actually use, but it keeps giving me more of the guys...) frustrating! The random nature of the weapons you get (again, unless you're using a guide) is also annoying to say the least. Same goes for character power -- that you use some up with every attack and will never be able to replenish all of it via levelups. The 'solution' is soul transfer or whatever where you sacrifice one unit to strengthen another, but I don't want to do that unless I really have to... :(
Still, the game is really, really good. Many of those factors in the paragraph above are annoying, but not gamebreaking or anything like Yggdra Union's strict, cruel life-replenishment system coupled invincible enemies and cannons that you have to sit under and get shot by... and the actual gameplay is incredibly fun, with lots of depth and strategy in which types of characters to use, what they can do and where they can attack, which weapons to equip (reminiscent of Riviera a bit there, now that I think about it, though in general the games are very different of course), and more... all merged with a totally unique for the genre bullet-dodging game. Well, that's different, and awesome.
Oh, the tutorial was quite comprehensive and useful, but was also entirely optional. They did that really well.
So yeah, it's a fantastic, fantastic game that I'll definitely be playing more. I do find the Japanese RPG/strategy game fascination with hiding stuff from the player frustrating, though. I shouldn't need a guide just to properly play the game... yet many games like this sure seem to think that anyone without a guide should be punished. It's not a good game design philosophy. Still, the game is fantastic, almost certainly the best game from 2009 that I have played, and unlike Yggdra the hidden stuff does not ruin the game. It just leaves you without things that it'd be nice to have.
I'd absolutely loved Riviera, it was one of my favorite GBA games. Yggdra, though, really disappointed me on the GBA. It had some interesting features, but just had so many problems that crippled it... the characters, the plot, the invincible enemies, etc, etc. I was hoping that KitN would be great again, but was hesitant because of my experience with Yggdra so I didn't get it right away. I'm glad I finally did, though, because yeah, the game is fantastic.
So far, I'm at about chapter 20 of the game (first playthrough).
About the only major criticism I can think of is that the plot is really confusing. I mean, I think I understand some of the basics, but it's deep, complex, and presented out of order so it's very, very hard to understand what's happening. The plot seems interesting enough, when I can make sense out of it, so I don't think the plot is bad, and the out-of-order presentation is interesting... but it just makes understanding it so much harder!
Also, of course, it's fairly depressing, what with how most of the characters in the game are either dead or you're seeing flashbacks of their last moments alive...
And the disconnect between the cutscenes, which usually show flashbacks of knights, and the gameplay, which is your wisp fighting monsters, is a little jarring at times I think. The cutscenes and gameplay have almost nothing in common, really. (I know that they're showing what happened to those characters in the level you're in, but still, it is a little odd somehow).
And of course the frustration at not really being able to get all of the characters unless I was willing to replay every mission over and over and use a guide every step of the way is extreme. I really hate missing characters... especially when it keeps giving ones I don't have much use for, but not the ones I need or have weapons for... (I've got like one weapon which any of my current Lance Knights can actually use, but it keeps giving me more of the guys...) frustrating! The random nature of the weapons you get (again, unless you're using a guide) is also annoying to say the least. Same goes for character power -- that you use some up with every attack and will never be able to replenish all of it via levelups. The 'solution' is soul transfer or whatever where you sacrifice one unit to strengthen another, but I don't want to do that unless I really have to... :(
Still, the game is really, really good. Many of those factors in the paragraph above are annoying, but not gamebreaking or anything like Yggdra Union's strict, cruel life-replenishment system coupled invincible enemies and cannons that you have to sit under and get shot by... and the actual gameplay is incredibly fun, with lots of depth and strategy in which types of characters to use, what they can do and where they can attack, which weapons to equip (reminiscent of Riviera a bit there, now that I think about it, though in general the games are very different of course), and more... all merged with a totally unique for the genre bullet-dodging game. Well, that's different, and awesome.
Oh, the tutorial was quite comprehensive and useful, but was also entirely optional. They did that really well.
So yeah, it's a fantastic, fantastic game that I'll definitely be playing more. I do find the Japanese RPG/strategy game fascination with hiding stuff from the player frustrating, though. I shouldn't need a guide just to properly play the game... yet many games like this sure seem to think that anyone without a guide should be punished. It's not a good game design philosophy. Still, the game is fantastic, almost certainly the best game from 2009 that I have played, and unlike Yggdra the hidden stuff does not ruin the game. It just leaves you without things that it'd be nice to have.