A good story, intriguing graphics and plenty of challenge are ruined by a haphazard battle system that makes fighting a bore and a chore in Atlus’ new RPG, “Knights in the Nightmare.â€
It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get through the tutorial of this game and even longer to firmly get the hang of the battle system. A shame too, considering the beginning cinemas and text set up a rich and engaging story full of a drama and suspense. Much like the other RPGs in the Atlus library, you won’t be disappointed by the events that occur in the game. The characters all have a unique story to tell and if you can get the battle system, you’re in for a few dozen hours of possible gameplay.
Most casual gamers however won’t be able to stomach the tutorial, which is extremely complex and uninviting. Even hardcore RPG fans will wonder why Knights in the Nightmare had to be so damn complicated. Simply put, there are way too many menus and sub menus are the player to get lost in. The focus on the fighting also takes away from the fun that could be had in the other parts of the game.
The fact that this is more of a strategy/RPG allows Atlus to test our nerves a bit more though. As a gamer, you know this is a different type of game and that it’s going to play differently than many others. That idea is put to the supreme test here, as “Knights in the Nightmare” is so complex that it does feel like a game at all. Getting a grip on its battle system is practically like learning a new language.
Again, the story here is one worth telling, but ultimately not worth the trouble of driving yourself crazy over. In the end, this gameplay system works much better on the Nintendo DS, where the game was originally released over a year and a half ago. With all the moving of the analog pad, it’s all much easier with a stylus.
As a result, you have a game that never rewards you for all of your effort that isn’t nearly as fun as its older version on the Nintendo DS.
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports.
Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders.
His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023.
Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief.
Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale.
Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.
A good story, intriguing graphics and plenty of challenge are ruined by a haphazard battle system that makes fighting a bore and a chore in Atlus’ new RPG, “Knights in the Nightmare.â€
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