Ninety-Nine Nights

Did You Know?

• Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes developer Youn-Lee was involved in creating the game.
• The game had only seven months of development time; development kits were received in September 2005.
• The game was released in Japan on April 20, 2006.

Plot

The struggle between light and dark began when a mysterious power stone was destroyed, creating two forces destined to fight since the beginning of time. Before this, peace existed among all races. When a magical orb shattered, light and dark entered the world, a demon was born, and 99 nights of darkness followed. The Demon Lord led his army but was defeated on the one-hundredth day by the Keeper of the Orb. The slain demon was named the King of Ninety Nine Nights. Peace was brief; the Keeper was murdered and the sacred orb split in half. Humans took the light shard, goblins the dark shard. War erupted, and the elves sided with humans, driving goblins into the forbidden forest. The Goblin King then allied with the Lord of Darkness.

Gameplay

Ninety-Nine Nights belongs to the crowd combat subgenre, where players battle hundreds of foes at once. Combo moves use combinations of two main attack buttons, while jump and dash buttons initiate other actions or specialty attacks. Individual enemies are weak, unable to perform combos or block effectively. Seven characters with different play styles are available; only Inphyy is unlocked at the start. Completing each character's story unlocks one or two more until all are revealed. After levels, performance is scored with a letter grade and points, which can be spent on extras like concept art and character bios. The game has limited role-playing elements: characters gain levels and can select weapons and accessories found in stages or awarded for performance. These items provide benefits such as increased attack power. As characters level up, they learn additional attack combinations, but there is no skill customization. The orb attack system involves killing enemies for red orbs that fill an orb attack bar. When full, pressing B enters orb attack mode, allowing powerful attacks that drop blue orbs. Accumulating enough blue orbs enables a screen-clearing orb spark attack. Equipment drops occur during combat and can be equipped anytime except when retaliating, in midair, or mid-attack. The orb collection is automatic, similar to Onimusha: Warlords. Orb attacks resemble musou attacks from Dynasty Warriors, with invulnerability during use, but are significantly more powerful. Each character has unique attacks, weapons, orb attacks, and a questline of about four stages.

Reception

Ninety-Nine Nights received mixed reviews on Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it three eights and one seven, while Famitsu X360 gave it one ten and three nines. GamePro stated that the game has moments but that visual appeal cannot mask flawed mechanics, calling it suitable for button mashing but not a lasting experience. X-Play gave it three stars out of five, noting that the addition of perspective and emotional content is well done, and that the game has both heart and brains alongside its mindless exterior.