$20 Game of the Week: Knights in the Nightmare (DS)

This turn-based strategy RPG is easily one of the most underrated Nintendo DS games of last year. In fact, I’d almost go as far to say that it was one of last year’s big sleepers. It introduces a unique style of play that sets it apart from other games on the DS, as well as other games in its genre. I would be hesitant to even call it a strategy RPG, as it takes a lot of pages from other genres, such as real time strategy, shooter, and even some tower defense games for good measure. It’s Episode 4 in developer Sting’s Department Heaven series, which also includes the Game Boy Advance titles Yggadra Union and Rivera, although there isn’t much of a relation between them, and one does not have to have played the other two to enjoy KITN.

You don’t control any of the units, instead you control a floating wisp. You attack by re-awaking the ghosts of the dearly departed, whom served as soldiers in life. You equip them with weaponry to make them attack. If you find a key item during battle, then knight’s spirits will join you. You can raise their levels, and merge their spirits together to make them even more powerful. There is a lot to go into, such as battle phases, elements, and character classes and the battle system is complex, some times seemingly too much. However, once you get the hang of things, a light goes off in your head, kinda like the first time you were able to pull off a hadoken in Street Fighter or successfully run a play in Madden. Although you still have a long way to go before you fully master it, at least you know how things work.

Not even the game’s story is your traditional RPG fare. Similar to film noir fashion, it is told in both real-time and flashbacks, and it hints at a disaster that happened some time ago which claimed the lives of the king, most of his knights, and most of the villagers. There is a conspiracy afoot, and it’s up to you to piece things together. What happened, and when did it happen? Who is responsible? Who is the wisp whose actions you guide, and who is the armored maiden helping him? What’s in it for her anyhow? For every question you manage to find the answer to, two more seem to pop-up!

KITN may not be for everyone, but it is rewarding to those who give it a chance. Multiple endings, hidden secrets, and unlockables await those willing to dive in and discover it’s secrets. This game is also coming to PSP, so we’ll see how the stylus given gameplay translated to Sony’s handheld.