Several years ago I had taken it upon myself to run through all the games that Nippon Ichi Software had released on the PS3. Disgaea on the PS2 was the game to really put the studio on the map for America, although the first game from them I ever played was Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure back in 2000 on the PlayStation. To say NIS puts out a lot of games after that is a bit of an understatement, especially when considering all of the Japan only titles, so jumping into a sequel like this means it’s entirely possible to forget what you’re getting into gameplay wise. There are two main types of RPGs that the company puts out: SRPGs and more action based RPGs. So when I anticipated the often used chess board and got a real-time dungeon system, I was pleasantly surprised – and then remembered exactly what it was I was getting into.

The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 is an action RPG with the NIS flavor you would expect. If you don’t like NIS games because of their design or style of humor, this game won’t be changing that for you. If you played the original, this is more of the same with a new cast of characters. Admittedly, the gameplay can seem a bit generic at times, with enemies and dungeons becoming monotonous over the course of the game (especially if you played the previous one), but it has the overwhelming charm that you can always expect from the developer.

The game’s story opens with the search for a girl who shows up with a mysterious slit on her forehead while looking for a gift for her sister. Initially its thought that she hurt herself, but it ends up being a third eye for a witch that has possessed her. Shortly after being exiled from their home, the afflicted sister is taken in for some medical practices which don’t turn out the way they anticipate. The witch awakens and employs the Hundred Knight to reacquire her skills with their journey beginning thereafter.

The game can be mostly broken up into sections of dialogue with character portraits while the other involves dungeon crawling and battles. The dialogue can be skipped if for some reason you have to leave the game because something comes up (and you don’t just turn off the PS4 so you can continue later on), or in the event you don’t care for the game’s dialogue. Although considering that’s half the game, I can’t imagine why you’d bother playing the game in that manner. In addition to the story, you’ll have options to interact with the characters by agreeing, questioning, or denying the requests. These decisions have an impact on the ending you receive, as well as the immediate dialogue following your response, but they don’t seem to affect the majority of the experience.

As mentioned previously, a large amount of the game may come off as generic when it comes to the battle system. As you move throughout the dungeons, which will start to look the same as you wander throughout, somewhat similar to the randomized floors in Persona 3 and 4, you may start to wonder if you’re going the right way. Luckily the maps help give you direction, though the battles will often not require much than some button mashing. That’s not to say that the battles don’t have depth, as there is plenty available within the game with different abilities and battle options. Thing is, much of it isn’t necessary for your success. The item system is the same as before, as is the time limit of playing which is imposed by the GigaCalorie system that restores your health and allows for actions to be made.

Honestly, NIS games are almost all enjoyed by their fans, regardless of the format. Anyone that loved the first entry in this series will no doubt enjoy this one as well, but it won’t stand out for people that either don’t care for NIS games or this genre. It’s nice to see this universe get another chance, but it doesn’t do enough to differentiate it from the previous game, which is a shame.

6 out of 10

The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 was developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software America. It launched on PS4 March 27th, 2018 for $49.99. The game was provided to us for review on PS4. For more on The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2, check out the game’s official site.

 

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