Review: The Witch And The Hundred Knight

This story takes place in a familiar-sounding but twisted fantasy world. In a small forest adjacent to the Amataya kingdom lives the ugly, disgusting, and wholly unlikable Forest Witch. The genius Swamp Witch, who has a perfect figure and lusty voice, also lives nearby. As if the two were competing to learn whose magic is the strongest, they have constantly been bickering and battling for 100 years. Then one day, the Swamp Witch finds a legendary soldier slumbering in the depths of darkness, toppling the 100-year balance.

Pros:

• Graphics are good, In the character design and appearance field they are very good. Very Disgaea ish with influences from Persona series.
• Audio options allow you to have English or Japanese voice overs.
• Simple controls that are learnt in the huge open area of the tutorial level.
• Its a classic hack and slash come dungeon crawler rpg type game. Explore new worlds, kill huge enemies and loot goodies and then loot some more.
• The text in game can be hilarious, I don’t know if its a translation boo boo or intentional but it is brilliantly delivered in places. You can also fast forward and skip text dialogue with a button press.
• Aside form the voice over options, The soundtrack for the game is one of the best around. Giving you an eery almost Persona like sound blast. From boss fights intense scores to subtle tunes as you potter around the level, The game really brings the music. Above all the music is memorable.
• The characters during dialogue are represented in a cartoon art style that looks really good and is very NiS in both appearance and animation.
• The game brings an innovative combat combo system. Unlocked later in the game, Players can wield up to 5 weapons/powers and use them in a consecutive combo. Hit a guy with a sword then fireball then hammer then freeze then axe is the sort of thing to expect. Using certain weapons on certain enemies will give buffs and bonus points/hits. Along with assigning items to particular slots within the combo. Its all about experimenting and reading the stats on individual items.
• Loot will be random on every level even on multiple visits. The level itself and its inhabitants rarely change but loot and loot placement will always change.
• In each level the area is covered over in a dark smoke.You uncover the smoke as you traverse the land and find new areas. Each level has a bar with a 100% exploration icon on it. Use this as a guide to see if you have missed anything out.
• Find pillars in level where you can set a respawn point, refill your Gigacal, leave the area or fast travel to another pillar. This is also where you use your kills to level up your character stats.
• You have a central hub where you can buy/sell/upgrade weapons. You also save here and you will unlock new ones as you progress.
• Gigacals is a system used in the game and in a weird way can be described as a health/stamina system. Your Gigacal levels will always be dropping in level and decrease a fraction faster with running, attacks and general movement and once it gets too low, your stats will be affected and you wont deal as much damage. Further reductions will start affecting more abilities and eventually you will die and suffer a xp loss. To combat this you can eat enemies, heal up at pillars or leave the level and return to the hub. This in itself brings a risk reward system in. For every enemy you eat, you will get items which go into your stomach, now you cannot discard these items until you leave the level. You could get good items and to that end its all good, But you could also get junk items which will do nothing more than take up valuable space.
• The main story whilst contreversial in places is a fun romp and can easily suck over 40 hours to complete.
• There are multiple endings if you feel the need to play through the game again.
• Grinding is in the game and for the most part you can get away with minimal grinding over and over.
• Has a Platinum trophy and the trophies are well done in that they are more story based so you dont have to worry about missing them or going off the beaten track.
• Huge boss fights are in the game and do require skill, patience and luck. Learn your opponents attack pattern, counter and kill.
• You can replay levels at any time and as many times as you like.
• The HUD is non intrusive and shows you everything you need like mini map, Gigacal counter etc. On screen notifications like critical hit, combo, damage numbers etc are big bright vibrant colours.

Cons:

• Opening tutorial is long and drawn out. You learn what you need in about five minutes but spend the next twenty going over it again and again.
• Long loading times especially on initial start up, This is the case even with digital copies of the game.
• A lot of mechanics and systems to learn and take in. It will take a few hours and a lot of trial and error before it all sinks in.
• The characters are very dull except for the odd bit of humour. Your character the Knight is a mute for the most part and apart from a handful of situations, has no input on the outcome of events or makes any choices.
• The story is good but in places you can defiantly tell that “filler” material has been chucked in to stretch it out, That or they just slow the whole pace down.
• One controversial scene that not all gamers will like. Its not a in your face WATCH THIS! type thing but it is rape and it does have an effect on people. I wont go into much detail other than it gets mentioned and gets a bit in the story.
• The overall palette of the game is that of a washed out dull feeling, Using smingy browns and yellows, even the green can at best be a bit pukey. Matched with bright vibrant pinks and reds of text and sword swipes, it all looks a little bit off.
• Level design or the camera in particular is bad. Yes you can control the camera to a degree, But trees and buildings will obscure your view and make fighting and exploration quite tricky.

In Summary, This is a good game to grind away at. Yes it has a bit of controversy surrounding rape but its easily forgotten once you get into the game. The new systems and combo attacks make the game an interesting concept. I found hitting a few levels a night really worked out well but the content is there for marathon sessions. But the music, the music is simply wonderful and is enough to keep you plodding along, the art style in cut scenes is always a visual feast and you will get pangs of Disgaea and Persona but that’s only natural. Seek the game out and have some old school fun, As its plays very much like an old game but with current game mechanics. Defiantly worth a look.