Atlus Offers Knights in the Nightmare Tutorial

[Keane Ng]

Atlus Offers Knights in the Nightmare Tutorial

Knights in the Nightmare, Sting Entertainment's new strategy-RPG, looks ridiculously complicated. Publisher Atlus seems to be aware of this, because they're giving gamers a chance to get a feel for the game ahead of time with a DS demo downloadable via the Wii.

Even after reading scads of info and watching tutorial videos, I still can't really tell you how Knights in the Nightmare [http://www.atlus.com/knights/], the new DS SPRG by Sting Entertainment of Riviera and Yggdra Union fame, plays. It's like a shoot-em-up with stylus-based bullet-dodging, a SPRG with troops and an isometric battlefield, and a whole lot of other stuff that might make the game worth it in the end but will undoubtedly confound and bewilder you for the first couple hours. At least.

Luckily, publisher Atlus, who are no strangers to heinously difficult games with arcane mechanics, have foreseen that gamers might be a bit hesitant to dive into Knights in the Nightmare. So they're offering us an advance lesson in the rules of Knights via a tutorial demo. Downloadable for a limited time from the Wii's Nintendo Channel onto your DS, the demo is "the perfect step-by-step introduction" to things like "properly shifting between law and chaos modes, weapon management, special moves" and more.

It's nice to see a publisher giving gamers an advance taste of a niche game like this, but it's also a bit intimidating to consider that even Atlus knows that this game is so hard to wrap your head around that they need to put out a tutorial demo weeks in advance. Sigh. At least it's better than going to GameFAQs so some 12 year-old can explain to me how to play a game.


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[sanzo]

Dang, I don't own a Wii. No demo for me.

That being said, the game certainly looks confusing but I'll probably still grab it

 

[grinklehi]

So it's overly and needlessly complex? Hm, kind of reminds me of this old Mech-battler game where the controller had over 300 buttons & knobs and cost $200. Although I kinda remember that game having an insane amount of customization in it, so might something similar be the reason for this very early tutorial?

 

[Rodger]

With the fact that there's shoot-em-up bullet dodging and a seemingly steep difficulty curve...I'm picturing a final battle where you're issuing commands to troops while in the middle of a scenario out of a bullet hell shooter. Sounds like fun. Maybe I'll give that demo a spin...

 

[Gamer137]

Wow. A DS demo on the Wii that isn't some kid game? I might actually use that channel for once.

 

[randommaster]

I need to find a copy of Riviera.

I played Yggdra Union, and it is my favorite SRPG because the game stays challenging all the way to the end since you can't simply equip all of your troops with uber gear. If you like the genre, check it out, but be prepared to forget most conventional SRPG wisdom.

I'm looking forward to this game.

 

[sanzo]

I need to find a copy of Riviera.

I played Yggdra Union, and it is my favorite SRPG because the game stays challenging all the way to the end since you can't simply equip all of your troops with uber gear. If you like the genre, check it out, but be prepared to forget most conventional SRPG wisdom.

I'm looking forward to this game.

Both of those are on the PSP... but you probably already knew that

 

[Valiard]

I played Yggdra Union, i got like 3/4ths of the way thru the tutorial and then my calvary gets stomped by witches on brooms, how the hell do witches have better Melee values then Armored Calvary is beyond me....needless to say i stopped.

 

[Earthbound]

So it's overly and needlessly complex? Hm, kind of reminds me of this old Mech-battler game where the controller had over 300 buttons & knobs and cost $200. Although I kinda remember that game having an insane amount of customization in it, so might something similar be the reason for this very early tutorial?

That game is Steel Battalion. The controller was ridiculously ridiculous. I remember one reviewer saying about the game, not a direct quote by the way, "[Some other mech game] won't let us get into the cockpit. Steel Battalion won't let us get out." The controller allowed for full immersion, assuming that you had a full bank account to buy it.

 

[Keane Ng]

I tried the demo, it has about eight different parts that explain a whole lot about the battle system.

I'd probably say if you're interested in this game and are considering buying it, do check it out so that when you do start the game, you'll be able to jump right in.

 

[sanzo]

I played Yggdra Union, i got like 3/4ths of the way thru the tutorial and then my calvary gets stomped by witches on brooms, how the hell do witches have better Melee values then Armored Calvary is beyond me....needless to say i stopped.

Magic > armor. Standard RPG fare

 

[randommaster]

I need to find a copy of Riviera.

I played Yggdra Union, and it is my favorite SRPG because the game stays challenging all the way to the end since you can't simply equip all of your troops with uber gear. If you like the genre, check it out, but be prepared to forget most conventional SRPG wisdom.

I'm looking forward to this game.

Both of those are on the PSP... but you probably already knew that

Actually, YU premiered on the GBA. It actually had pretty good graphics by GBA standards, but they didn,t upgrade them for the port. Also, they made the game easier, which, in my opinion, was a bad move, since the complexity was what made it special.

I played Yggdra Union, i got like 3/4ths of the way thru the tutorial and then my calvary gets stomped by witches on brooms, how the hell do witches have better Melee values then Armored Calvary is beyond me....needless to say i stopped.

What do you mean 3/4? You encounter Witches and Necromancers, both of which use the same weapon, about 1/4 of the way into the game. Do you remember the stage, mission number, or anything else?

You also have to take into account the two weapon triangles: axe>spear>sword>axe, and then mace>axe/sword/spear>bow>mace. Dealing with mace users early on requires some planning, and they can easily stomp your units if you are not careful.

Also, was the unit a boss? That can catch people unaware every now and then. The game is not so much hard, as it is complicated, but it can punish mistakes really harshly. If you think ahead, things tend to go rather smoothly, but if you don't, then you get stomped.

 

[sanzo]

I need to find a copy of Riviera.

I played Yggdra Union, and it is my favorite SRPG because the game stays challenging all the way to the end since you can't simply equip all of your troops with uber gear. If you like the genre, check it out, but be prepared to forget most conventional SRPG wisdom.

I'm looking forward to this game.

Both of those are on the PSP... but you probably already knew that

Actually, YU premiered on the GBA. It actually had pretty good graphics by GBA standards, but they didn,t upgrade them for the port. Also, they made the game easier, which, in my opinion, was a bad move, since the complexity was what made it special.

Oh, meant to say they were remade onto the PSP, so it'd be pretty easy to find a copy of Riviera. My mistake there

 

[Valiard]

No it was not the boss i was like an hour into the third tutorial i still didnt have access to all the features, and are you serious macemen are better than knights with lances? i understand that mages would be better than every other class due to magic but not at melee range, in any case i ended up wasting my entire army because those witches were pretty much unstoppable juggernauts in lamé bikinis you would think that a full cross union vs 1 unit of witches would work...

 

[Gamer137]

Just finished taking a shot at the demo. It is original to say the least. Regardless of your opinion of the game elements themselves, the game does have some small problems that can lead to major frustration, such as being unable to unselect a character when you accidently move your wisp over it. It feels like a $20 at best, though most Atlus games feel that way to me. I do recommend giving it a shot if you have both a DS and a Wii with the Nintendo Channel.