G-pinions

Allow me to begin by saying that killing 1000 enemies at once is very satisfying - and even when my 360 cannot handle the mathematics of 1000 goblins dying and starts to slow to a chopped zombie fungus stutter, I am not annoyed at the lack of a smooth performance N3 has brought to the table. Nay, instead I am absolutely elated to know that my hands, bloodied with the splatter of genocide, have not only brought the war to a crashing halt, but have transcended the video game realm into the physical world in which I have halted the audio visual feed. I'm just that good.

Once upon a time, Q Entertainment and Phantagram decided that they were going to make a game. It was going to be extraordinary. It would have large-scale action, RPG elements, and even rhythm game elements! This game would be known as N3: Ninety Nine Nights (aka N3: NAINTINAIN NAITSU). Unfortunately, it feels as if Microsoft published it ninety-nine nights too soon [burn! - ed.]. The game feels unfinished and unpolished to the point that it carries a certain homebrew charm. I won't even get into the flaws because I'm sure you, the esteemed reader, have read on numerous occasions how bad the hit detection is, how vague and uninteresting the story is, how annoying it is to have a combo interrupted by a shitty cut scene, etc. What I would like to discuss is the puzzle and rhythm game elements that go much overlooked.

On-screen you are treated with two corners worth of HUD - in the bottom right you see your current combo count, your max combo achieved thus far in the current mission, and your kill count. At certain combo and kill intervals the text jumps out and chimes, also rewarding you with certain item bonuses. Very satisfying. On the left you have your current experience level, your health, and your orb count. The health meter is a nicely shaped 270 degree curve that stacks upon itself to indicate more health (as opposed to a rectangle that just gets longer and longer as you gain Max HP). As far as the orbs go, there are two meters - red and blue. Orbs function both as experience points as well as fuel for special attacks. Upon killing an enemy, a red orb is released. Collect enough of these and your red orb meter begins to flash yellow, indicating that you are ready to unleash orb attacks for a limited amount of time. Orb attacks typically come in two flavors per character: X and Y. The attack assigned to X is for the most part directional while the one assigned to Y is more radial. Every kill made with these attacks nets blue orbs. Collect enough blue orbs and your blue orb meter will begin to flash yellow. Now is the time for an orb spark, a sort of smart bomb attack that has a tendency to glitch out like crazy. Now I should mention that there's a question every Ninety-Nine Nighter has to ask themselves at that juncture: "should I use the orb attack now or later?" This is where the puzzle portion of N3 rears its fluffy head.

Obviously, one's first playthrough is purely action based - Kill kill kill X X X Y X X, repeat. But on your second attempt you'll already know where the cut scenes occur, where the enemies huddle, what the objectives are, and where you can find treasure chests. The key then becomes maximizing your combo by stringing enemy hordes together and orb sparking AFTER the cut scene. For example, instead of just charging in and defeating the waves of enemies as soon as they appear, hold back until they cluster and then let them have it. You will soon see that there is a greater depth to the game, in the sense that it's not about killing individual enemies, but collecting them into large enough groups so as to kill them efficiently. It kind of feels like a game of Lumines once you realize that instead of clearing 5 groups of 10 archers you could rally them together and kill one block of 50. Mizuguchi, you devil you.

As far as the combo attacks are concerned, you will also notice that this game is a button masher. Or is it? Yes, you could just tap the button like a moron, beat the game, and then complain about the lack of depth behind the play mechanics. Inphyy for example has one combo in particular in which she raises the enemies she is hitting into the air as she spins about. It's deadly as hell and I would not be surprised if using that same killer combo bored many gamers. On the other hand, one could notice the difference in rhythm between each character and each combo that character has available. After a few Level 5 Inphyy missions, I realized I was having more fun pressing the attack buttons to a rhythm and hearing the hit sound effect on beat with the soundtrack than I had expected. Yes, killing was still fun. Seeing thousands of red or blue orbs flock towards your character is very exciting, but the impact of having the audio visual experience mesh was unexpected. Who would have thought that I could have found rhythmic satisfaction in genocide? Mizuguchi... you devil you. The soundtrack, which cleverly weaves in and out depending on the intensity of the battle, eggs you on to kill. Matched with the swiftness of your character compared to the grunts in your way, the sensation of commanding an almighty demon general is well conveyed. One goblin fifty paces away notices your presence and starts to make his way towar- WHACK!!! Him and the 15 others around him are now dead, and that's just the first part of your combo. Match this with the vibrant eye-catching visuals of the attacks, swirls and spirals all unique to each character, and the game starts to take shape despite all of its flaws. It's as if you're playing an old school shooter with the crazy beams and such, except instead of motherships you have trolls.

Ultimately though, the game falls shorter than Tyurru in a troll festival. Perhaps Mizuguchi's genius wasn't gelling with the rest of the team. Perhaps the genre was too different and too ambitious, thus drawing the development teams too thin. Who knows? Point is, N3 had the potential to be a truly new take on the action genre but just didn't make it. The action/rhythm/puzzler I expected is in there, it's just under 10 troll festivals worth of poor design. Give it another go Mizuguchi, I think you're hot.

Thanks Al!