Knights in the Nightmare....shmup and strat/rpg??

maxlords · Post by **maxlords** » Sat May 23, 2009 2:29 am

Anyone checked out Knights in the Nightmare yet? I was watcing the video reviews and essentially it looks like they combined a strategy RPG interface with shmup bullet hell. Pretty wild looking game that's for sure....I've never seen a manic strat/RPG before. IMO it's almost a shmup and a must buy for me

Thoughts anyone? Sorry if you guys think this is a bit OT...check out some battle footage though!

drboom · Post by **drboom** » Sat May 23, 2009 1:53 pm

I've been super stoked for this game for some time. I read a review early on that said it was like a "combination of Dodonpachi and FF Tactics" and I was ready to buy it right then. Comes out pretty soon - week or two, right?

ZOM · Post by **ZOM** » Sat May 23, 2009 2:53 pm

Took a look at the video tutorials on Atlus' site and I'm intrigued.
Looks like this system could make for some pretty frantic gameplay, dunno if some one picks this up for Europe, looks like I have to import but I think I'll pick it up later this year seeing as Atlus' listed release date is 06/02/2009.
Little hole in the wallet here, too many things to buy.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Sat May 23, 2009 3:16 pm

Got a copy reserved - definitely sounds unique, though some have said precision can be a problem. Will be finding out for myself in a few weeks either way...

On that note, this probably ought to go in Off-Topic, since despite the shmup elements this is definitely not a shmup.

Sonic R · Post by **Sonic R** » Sat May 23, 2009 3:29 pm

Wow, look and sounds interesting, I'm going to go and pre-order this TODAY!

edit: just found out its on DS… that mean my wife will likely play this through and conquer it before I even sniff it lol. FML

kengou · Post by **kengou** » Sat May 23, 2009 3:43 pm

Looks unique, shmup sections remind me of big bang mini. I don't really like RPGs so I'm on the fence about picking this up. Maybe if it really drops in price or gets outstanding reviews.

PainAmplifier · Post by **PainAmplifier** » Sat May 23, 2009 5:14 pm

First time I've heard of this game, so did a quick search to find a clip of the gameplay on youtube. And I can't say I'm impressed or even interested. It looks like gameplay is just a mess of stylus sweeping spam.

Might be just me, but I have my doubts about that. I find that anything 'realtime' crammed into the usually turn based RPG or Strategy genre's end up poorly done with very few exceptions. RTS games being a one of the few common ways of merging the two that has been more or less refined into a working model. (I don't like them much, but they do combine realtime and strategy in a working way.)

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Sat May 23, 2009 8:48 pm

I read a review the other day, and I am definitely worried about how complex the game is. Complexity can be good, but an hour+ of tutorials? Sounds like it would take forever for me to get comfortable with it. I'll probably get it anyway when I can find it for a decent price.

ForceDevice · Post by **ForceDevice** » Sat May 23, 2009 11:44 pm

It's Knights in the nightmare.

[/nitpick]

I was getting kinda hyped for this until I found out it's from the same series as Riviera and Yggdra Union. Ewww.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Sun May 24, 2009 2:17 am

So this is RTS, not a more traditional turn-based strategy game? I thought it was the latter.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Sun May 24, 2009 2:24 am

ForceDevice wrote:I was getting kinda hyped for this until I found out it's from the same series as Riviera and Yggdra Union. Ewww.

Heh, I actually liked both those titles, though both are definitely imperfect, and have a very niche appeal. I imagine that this one will be much the same - at least we probably won't have to grumble about an "enhanced" PSP port coming out later on.

So this is RTS, not a more traditional turn-based strategy game? I thought it was the latter.

I'm pretty sure everything happens in real time - at least that's how it looks from what I've seen of it.

sfried · Post by **sfried** » Sun May 24, 2009 3:39 am

I'm going to have this in pre-order soon. I like the concept, and it adds much needed dynamism in SRPGS (like what they tried in Yggdra Union, but this time more involved).

Drascin · Post by **Drascin** » Sun May 24, 2009 8:47 am

drboom wrote:I've been super stoked for this game for some time. I read a review early on that said it was like a "combination of Dodonpachi and FF Tactics" and I was ready to buy it right then. Comes out pretty soon - week or two, right?

...DDP and FFT in the same game? Why wasn't I notified of this?! Must find videos, must find information, must find relase date...!

...must... breathe...too, I guess.

Etrian · Post by **Etrian** » Sun May 24, 2009 2:16 pm

Visually I think this game could be a winner, but since it's on the DS, probably not. Nope. Sorry. Just doesn't happen. BAM I'm having flashbacks of The New Zealand Story and Rainbow Islands DS.. yes.. unlocking doors with the touchscreen by touching them and moving with the dpad while jumping all at the same time is a great idea.

It would be nice if developers stopped jumping to conclusions with the touchscreen just because it exists instead of using it for the sake of using it because it's there.

Momijitsuki · Post by **Momijitsuki** » Sun May 24, 2009 5:55 pm

I played the demo of this and fell in love with it. I plan on getting it when it comes out.

It mixes three of my favorite genres! Strategy RPGs, shmups, and there's a bit of a rhythm element to it as well.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Sun May 24, 2009 9:56 pm

Etrian wrote:Visually I think this game could be a winner, but since it's on the DS, probably not. Nope. Sorry. Just doesn't happen. BAM I'm having flashbacks of The New Zealand Story and Rainbow Islands DS.. yes.. unlocking doors with the touchscreen by touching them and moving with the dpad while jumping all at the same time is a great idea.

It would be nice if developers stopped jumping to conclusions with the touchscreen just because it exists instead of using it for the sake of using it because it's there.

Dude, you are such a downer

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Sun May 24, 2009 10:38 pm

Momijitsuki wrote:I played the demo of this and fell in love with it.

Ah, right, there is a demo/tutorial/something or other of this thing, on the Wii - I don't have the latter so I'll have to wait, but anyone else who's curious about it can try that.

Momijitsuki · Post by **Momijitsuki** » Sun May 24, 2009 10:48 pm

BulletMagnet wrote:
Momijitsuki wrote:I played the demo of this and fell in love with it.
Ah, right, there is a demo/tutorial/something or other of this thing, on the Wii - I don't have the latter so I'll have to wait, but anyone else who's curious about it can try that.

It's really just a tutorial, but it was still fun.

maxlords · Post by **maxlords** » Sun May 24, 2009 10:48 pm

I played the demo tutorial and thought it was quite interesting too. Very busy screen but I suspect you'll get used to it.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 1:35 pm

Anyone else picked this up? Brought it home last night myself - only played the first few levels so far, but at this point I'm liking it. There is a fair amount to learn, but it's really not THAT bad, at least when it comes to basic combat, just go through the "main" tutorial section once and you're largely set. Definitely unique, has the potential to be my favorite Sting title if the appeal holds up.

Also, in case anyone hadn't heard, playing with GBA Yggdra Union in the GBA slot gives you a few small bits of fan service (possibly more?) - I've heard rumors that using GBA Riviera will do the same, but don't have the latter to test, anyone know anything about that?

Momijitsuki · Post by **Momijitsuki** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 2:50 pm

I'm broke, can't pick it up

ZOM · Post by **ZOM** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 4:28 pm

Momijitsuki wrote:I'm broke, can't pick it up

Same here

Jon · Post by **Jon** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 4:43 pm

^^^Yeah, me too. Atlus has been responsible for a drastic thinning of my wallet as of late.

sfried · Post by **sfried** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 10:28 pm

Well Amazon has charged so it should be shipping soon.

Sonic R · Post by **Sonic R** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 10:38 pm

ZOM wrote:
Momijitsuki wrote:I'm broke, can't pick it up
Same here

Here too…

Zuhzuhzombie!! · Post by **Zuhzuhzombie!!** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 1:41 pm

Grabbed it yesterday along with Raiden Fighters Aces.

Digging it. It's different. More action orientated. The story is pretty interesting now that I have a grip on it.

Drascin · Post by **Drascin** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 6:37 pm

Got it yesterday. Barely had time to try the tutorial and the first few levels, but I'm loving the concept. Big Bang Mini meets Final Fantasy Tactics meets some pretty cool ambiance.

In fact, as soon as I finish this accursed assignment, I'll start playing again.

Tip, though - from what I've been able to see, this is a game only for places where you can hear clearly, because auditive cues are really important to keeping track of everything. Seriously, this might very well be the busiest game in DS right now. [/i]

Momijitsuki · Post by **Momijitsuki** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 6:56 pm

Drascin wrote:Got it yesterday. Barely had time to try the tutorial and the first few levels, but I'm loving the concept. Big Bang Mini meets Final Fantasy Tactics meets some pretty cool ambiance.

In fact, as soon as I finish this accursed assignment, I'll start playing again.

Tip, though - from what I've been able to see, this is a game only for places where you can hear clearly, because auditive cues are really important to keeping track of everything. Seriously, this might very well be the busiest game in DS right now. [/i]

Great, so it will be another game I can't play during my brother's boring baseball games. Damn it. It's bad enough I can't play Rhythm Heaven, but this too? x_x

Either way, I still want this game really bad.

Elixir · Post by **Elixir** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 7:16 pm

So let me get this straight:

You have to select various weapons which are color-coded to your "turn phase" and use them with characters (that don't actually exist) that you can summon (and they're given to you without any explanation whatsoever despite explanations being everywhere) and these summons can only use specific weapons. The enemies also have weaknesses which you can use against them, and during all of this, you have bullet hell while alternating between turn phases, dodging bullets and charging your attacks.

This game pretty damn complex. More like, overly complicated though. It's like this finely tuned RPG lands with a bunch of effort shoved into it, but they took that effort, ran with it, and kept running.

How do you move your characters from where they're currently standing? I wasn't able to do that, but I've only beaten two different battles and I shouldn't feel like I'm forced to read 50+ tutorials before I even play the game.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 8:43 pm

Elixir wrote:How do you move your characters from where they're currently standing?

Fencers and Lance Knights can move forward while attacking in Chaos mode - the former can only move one space at a time in two directions, while the latter can move one or two spaces at a time in all four directions. All other classes stay put in one spot.

The game is a bit intimidating, but it's not THAT bad once you get the basic idea - I might have a slight advantage in having played Riviera before though, as the game borrows a handful of mechanics from that (though oddly enough Riviera is a very simple game overall). It's mostly a matter of giving the correct weapon to the correct character at the correct time...well, that and not getting shot.

Also, audio cues are handy, but I'm not sure I'd call them absolutely vital.