Ninety-Nine Nights

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N3: Ninety-Nine Nights

Developer(s)	Q Entertainment, Phantagram
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Designer(s)	Sangyoun Lee Tetsuya Mizuguchi
Release date(s)	^JP April 20, 2006 ^KR May 4, 2006 ^NA August 15, 2006 ^EU September 1, 2006 ^PL November 3, 2006
Genre(s)	Action, Role-playing
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Mature (M) CERO: Ages 15 and up (C) PEGI: 12+
Platform(s)	Xbox 360
Media	DVD

N3: Ninety-Nine Nights, (Korean:나인티-나인 나이츠, Japanese: ナインティナインナイツ), or simply Ninety-Nine Nights, is a fantasy action video game developed exclusively for the Xbox 360 by an alliance between Q Entertainment and Phantagram. Phantagram is a South Korean based developer noted for creating the Kingdom Under Fire series. Q Entertainment is a Japanese developer best known for its Lumines and Meteos series. Acclaimed video game designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi served as producer for the game. The game features hundreds of enemies onscreen at any given time, and borrows heavily from other video games of the genre, most notably from the Dynasty Warriors series and the two Kingdom Under Fire games.

The game was released in Japan on April 20, 2006, in America on August 15, 2006 and in Europe on August 25, 2006.

A demo of Ninety-Nine Nights was released on a DVD-ROM as a pre-order bonus in Japan only, and on July 28, 2006, one was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo is free and available in all regions.

1 Gameplay
- 1.1 Orb Attack and Orb Spark
- 1.2 Color co-ordination issues
2 Characters
3 Reaction
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Gameplay

N3 differentiates itself from other games in the genre by utilizing fantasy elements, such as Orcs and Trolls, as opposed to human armies from games like Dynasty Warriors. N3 features seven different characters with different play styles, although only one character, Inphyy, is unlocked at the beginning. Successfully completing each character's story typically unlocks one or two new characters, until they have all been revealed.

After completing levels in Ninety-Nine Nights, a player's performance is scored, with both a letter grade and 'points' being awarded, depending on how well the player did. Points can be spent to unlock extras, such as concept art and character bios. Earning high letter grades results in certain weapons or other pieces of equipment being automatically bestowed upon the player.

Although each level contains different goals of various types, they all involve defeating hundreds or even thousands of enemies. Two buttons on the Xbox 360 controller are designated for attacks, X and Y, while A makes the character jump. Holding down L will block attacks coming from any direction, and squeezing R will make the character dash in a specified direction. There are two exceptions. Tyururu, a 12-year-old magician, cannot dash; Instead, R makes her jump back (attacks can be added later) and at level 2, tapping A twice makes her hop on her key staff and fly for a short period, acting like a dash. Klarrann, a priest, presents a third attack with the A button, and has no jump capabilities.

The title has some role-playing elements, with the ability to select which weapon and accessories are currently equipped. Characters gain levels and as a result learn additional attack combinations, but there is no opportunity for skill customization.

[edit] Orb Attack and Orb Spark

Another key component of N3 is the Orb Attack and Orb Spark options. Killing enemies yields red orbs that are stored up until the "Orb Attack" bar is full. Once the bar is full, a player may press B to enter "Orb Attack" mode, where the character can use powerful attacks to slay groups of enemies. Enemies killed while in "Orb Attack" mode drop blue, not red, orbs.

Once a player has stored up enough blue orbs (which usually requires several Orb Attacks), he or she can unleash a super-devastating, screen-clearing Orb Spark attack. This attack varies more from character to character than the Orb Attack. Aspharr will create, a good distance away, a huge beam of light that sucks enemies into it. Inphyy will draw the souls out of all surrounding enemies. Myifee will call down comets upon his enemies that travel forward. Tyururu summons a massive blanket of water that engulfs all of the enemies in front of her. Dwingvatt lets out what looks like a massive mushroom cloud that annhilihates enemies in front of him, some distance away. Klarrann creates a glowing symbol in the air the also annihilates a mass of enemies in front of him. Finally, Vigk Vagk creates a massive earthquake that destroys any army that stands before him.

[edit] Color co-ordination issues

In the game, a few items make mention of "blue" potions, which are clearly green in-game. This may lead to a small amount of confusion for some players. This is most likely a translation issue, because "青", which is used to denote "blue" in modern times, can also be used for "green" in both the sense of "inexperienced" as well as the color.

[edit] Characters

Inphyy -- This powerful woman grew up knowing that she would someday become a warrior. She has trained all her life for just that honor. When she was small, her father, a brave and wise warrior himself, was killed by invading Goblins. As a result, Inphyy has very little mercy in her heart for these abominable creatures.

She wants nothing more than to exact a brutal revenge upon the race of monsters that took her father from her. She has worked hard to become the best warrior she can be, and has become the co-leader of the Temple Knights in partnership with her older brother, Aspharr.

Inphyy fights with a sword, and her attacks have speed and agility on their side. Her basic orb attacks include Crimson Impact and Crimson Nova. She acquires increased speed and rages through the enemy without mercy when using her orb energy.

Aspharr --Aspharr is Inphyy's brother. Powerfully built, he fights alongside his sister as the co-leader of the Temple Knights. Everyone in the kingdom knows that Aspharr is a good man, compassionate and fair. He holds his own on the battlefield, but knows the importance of heart and soul when leading men into battle.

Aspharr would do anything for his sister, and although she often beats him on the training fields, he still feels that it is his duty to protect her. Rarely does he travel far from her. He'd be devastated if anything dreadful were to befall her.

Aspharr carries a lance into battle, and with it he has the advantages of reach and power, although he has never learned to be as fast as Inphyy. Thus, he is more vulnerable to attack if he stays in one place for too long. Aspharr's basic orb attacks include Divine Knight and Shining Flare. He uses his orb energy to infuse his lance with blue light that increases the damage done to his enemies.

Myifee -- This muscular warrior is a mercenary not officially affiliated with the Temple Knights or any other organization. He comes from a long line of lawyers and officials, but unlike his ancestors, he has chosen to lead a life in which he answers to no one.

Myifee's loyalties may be flexible, but he is a good man. He fights with Inphyy and Aspharr in this war, and helps many others along the way. He'll get plenty of reward for his work when all is said and done, and maybe even find a little love along the way as well.

Myifee fights with a double-bladed sword. The element of fire accompanies his orb attacks, the basics of which are Bull Fireball and Max Volcano. Most impressive is his weapon's ability to shoot out from the handle on a lead. Myifee can then swing it around and around, knocking the enemy back. This range attack works exceedingly well.

Tyurru -- This young girl, innocent and naïve, grew up in the care of a great wizard named Mylarrvaryss. The wizard took the child in after her parents abandoned her and has trained her in the art of manipulating the element of water.

She showed natural talent for magic from an early age, and has great power at her command. Unfortunately, she doesn't yet fully understand the implications and consequences of war. She has some hard lessons awaiting her as she joins the fight against the Goblins and the Orcs.

Tyurru's power channels through a key-shaped staff in the beginning, though she will find other icons to channel her magic through as the story progresses. Her attacks are powerful, but slow and methodical, which can leave her vulnerable. If she is hit, she temporarily loses her ability to counter attack. Her orb attacks include Water Geysers and Water Splash, both of which wash the enemy away.

Klarrann -- The very first character you see in the introductory cinematic is Klarrann. He's a wandering priest now, but this wasn't always the case. At one time, long ago, he worked for the forces of darkness. An event that shook him to his core caused him to have a change of heart.

Klarrann has taken the oath of priesthood with the Church of Arrphathoss. Embracing their tenets and atoning for his criminal past, he now focuses on the war. Klarrann knows there's a great evil coming, and he knows that his destiny lies in attempting to stop this evil. Whether he will succeed or not, however, remains unwritten.

Klarrann's weapon comes from the Church of Arrphathoss and is a symbol of his faith. The icon he carries allows him to cast energy at his enemies. Although his attacks are slow, they include some of the most impressive light effects in the game. Klarrann's basic orb attacks include Take This Sword and Judgment. His orb energy comes from his faith.

Vigk Vagk -- One of the most tragic—and likeable—figures in the game, Vigk Vagk is a troll. He's huge, tough and dangerous, but he has a heart of gold. When he was younger, he lived a peaceful existence, happy with the other animals in the forest. Unfortunately, his gentle nature allowed Orcs to capture and enslave him.

The Orcs have worked hard to train him to fight, working to counter-act his innocence. No matter how many times they beat him or forced him to harm others, they could not, however, break his loving heart. Vigk Vagk has a friend who travels close to him, a young Goblin named Dwinkle. Vigk Vagk adores Dwinkle and would do anything for him, including fight.

Vigk Vagk doesn't usually carry a particular weapon, but rather picks things up along the way as he needs them. He's been known to grab an enemy soldier by the leg and use him to pound other soldiers into the ground. He also has been known to make use of logs or other debris on the field of battle.

Vigk Vagk doesn't move very quickly, but he shakes the ground when he does. His immense power makes him very dangerous. Vigk Vagk's basic orb attacks include Yargh!!! and Yaargh!!! These involve pounding things.

[edit] Reaction

Ninety-Nine Nights received mixed reviews from various media outlets. IGN and GameSpot gave it relatively poor review scores of 5.6 out of 10 and a 5.9 out of 10, respectively. On the other hand, Play Magazine awarded it a score of 90% in its review, while the Official Xbox Magazine gave it a 7.5 out of 10 [1]. However, the Japanese magazine Famitsu gave it an impressive score of 37/40 (10/9/9/9).^[1] Based on 64 reviews, the Metacritic gave the game a rating of 61 (mixed/average reactions).^[2]

Criticisms include an inability to save part-way through a mission (so that being killed by an enemy can result in the loss of 30+ minutes worth of progress), as well as a general lack of variety in the gameplay.