Lunar Knights (DS): A Game Review

Konami is most often associated with two game franchises. Namely, the Metal Gear Solid series, which was made famous mainly for the amazing creativity that was infused into the game by it’s creator, Hideo Kojima and the Castlevania series, which is known for having a whip and using it to beat the living daylights into vampires. However, it also has quite a few other franchises under its belt, not the least of which is the Boktai series on the GameBoy Advance. Lunar Knights for the Nintendo DS is that game's spiritual successor, combining the inventive genius of Metal Gear Solid, and the monster-hacking action of Castlevania.

The basic plot is extremely simple, if not a little cheesy. There are evil vampires. They are waging war against the living of Earth. Naturally, the living beings are losing, not the least because the evil vampires have cloaked the world in an eternal night. Your job is to go in and defeat the vampires.

To accomplish this task, you are placed in control of two characters, each with their unique abilities and fighting style. There's Lucian, wielder of the Dark Sword, your typical shadowy, mysterious, 'I work alone and care for no one else' fighter. On the other hand, there’s Aaron, your typical 'I'm a rookie but with the power of light and justice I will prevail' gunfighter.

The main game takes place from an isometric viewpoint, where your character wanders around, looking for treasure, beating up enemies, and generally doing what is expected of an Action-RPG. As an added bonus, guarding has actually been implemented well, for once. After defeating a boss, the game will transition to a flying mission, in which you command a spacecraft to break through the barrier of night and expose the captured vampire boss to the purifying light of the sun.

You’re given control over a ParaSOL system early in the game which allows you to manipulate the weather to your benefit (or detriment, if you want a challenge). For example, setting the environment to 'arid desert' drastically increases the temperature rating of the area, leading most ice-based enemies to melt, and standing water to evaporate, thus opening new paths. Other gameplay elements include upgrading your weapons with the parts found in treasure chests or defeated enemies, and taking all manner of quests such as racing through previously cleared dungeons in a set time limit.

The look of the game greatly resembles the Boktai series from the GBA, which means that from a visual standpoint, there’s not been much improvement. Still, the game animates fluidly, and the artistic style is none too jarring on the eyes.

The music, however, is simply superb in composition, especially in the spacecraft section. If you have earphones, use them. You won’t be disappointed.

Lunar Knights is, hands down, one of the best games available for the Nintendo DS. If you can find it, get it. No questions asked.

By: Jonathan Lau