Knights in the Nightmare

It looks like a tactical RPG, and it even has many of the game mechanics of a tactical RPG - but as far as I can tell from the demo, Knights in the Nightmare plays more like a space shooter. Like The World Ends with You's ecclectic combination of design elements, it's an interesting hybridization that results in a really unique experience.

The game's tutorial sessions are available in the demo from the Nintendo Channel. You play Knights in the Nightmare not as one of said Knights, but as a wisp that controls Knights on the battlefield. The tutorial battlefields are rather small (the whole thing can fit on-screen at once), and I'm assuming that they don't get larger either, as you sometimes have to drag your stylus to and from UI elements on the edge of the screen. The field is organized into an isometric grid, with a Knight in one square, and enemies on other squares. There was no movement in the tutorial, and it seemed to imply that certain characters won't even be able to change the direction they're facing.

So what the hell do you do? Basically, you attack. Touch a Knight with the wisp (by moving it around with the stylus) to "activate" the Knight. Holding the stylus down will "charge" the Knight's attack, increasing his attack range. Letting go will execute the attack. What grid spaces the Knight can attack depends on the Knight, and on a sort of controllable weather system. Normal attacks don't deal much damage, but can release MP-replenishing crystals; you can also use items to attack - by dragging them from the sidebar UI onto your Knight - which stand a real chance of killing enemies.

Here's where it gets really interesting. Enemies don't attack the Knight. They attack you, the wisp. Enemies shoot projectile attacks that make the screen look like a bullet hell shooter game, and you must move your wisp around to dodge them. You must coordinate attacks at the same time. That is to say, you'll be moving your wisp to the necessary on-screen objects to attack, while simultaneously evading enemy fire. Getting hit reduces your time, but it's not a "time limit" in the traditional sense. Your available time is only used when you charge attacks and when you get hit, so you're still free to sit and observe the battlefield when necessary.

It's a really bizarre system, and I'm not entirely sure I understand it yet. I'm looking forward to finding out more about it.

Progress: Played the tutorial demo