Cerise Magazine

September 2007 Issue

Features

• From the Editors
• Craft Check: Handkerchief Dice Bags
• Gaming in the Media: Reflections on Princess Peach...
• Market to Me: Feminine gamers

Interviews

• Blogger Interview: Regina Buenaobra [Acid for Blood]

Articles

• Gender & Live-Action Role Play: LARP and Social Darwinism
  Author: Samara Hayley Steele

Samara continues her series on gender and LARP.

• D&D for Girls?
  Author: John Kim

John discusses a recent incident involving gender and the official Dungeons & Dragons discussion forums, what went wrong and some ideas for making it right.

• Reclaiming Pink
  Author: Olivia Luna

Olivia takes a critical look at the some of the uses of the color pink in the world of handheld gaming.

• Sisterhood is powerful: women-oriented gaming communities
  Author: Andrea Rubenstein

Andrea brings up some of the positive aspects of women-oriented gaming communities.

• Is Gamerdom Really a Bastion of Masculinity?
  Author: Latoya Peterson

Latoya looks at the perceptions of gaming and gamers and what that means for the female gamers out there.

Gamer Stories

• The Dice of Evil
  by Robyn Fleming

Reviews

• Puzzle Quest
  by Olivia Luna
• Nocturne
  by Bonnie Moxnes
• Retro Review: Castle of Dragon
by Abby Wilson

Odds 'n Ends

• The Back Page

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Nocturne, Atlus, Playstation 2, 2004

I am, in all honesty, probably the last person to climb under the Shin Megami Tensei game franchise banner. When I saw Nocturne for thirty dollars at a local thrift shop and recalled how swank the series looked back when it came out in 2003, I jumped on it. I had heard nothing but good things about the game, it looked stylized, had an interesting premise, and I hadn’t played a good RPG for quite some time. I proclaimed right then and there “This game is going to be swell!”

I was mostly right.

The Story

Nocturne’s dark non-epic, mostly-urban fantasy/occult plot is a separate entity of of the Shin Megami Tensei universe. The games of the series maintain a consistent mythos, but that is all (excluding direct sequels). As the main character (I named him Asobi Seksu), you and a handfull of other humans survive what is known as the Conception; which is, in fact, the end of the world. You awaken after the Conception, alone, and realize you are a demi-demon (which means you lose your shirt and have glowing tattoos, apparently) and are dropped into a Tokyo (it’s still in Japan, for those of you wondering) filled with creatures from different pantheons looking to snag a piece of creation and realize their perfect world. The story plays out as your enemies and companions go their separate ways in order to create unique vision of utopia, which means you are caught in the middle of a building war. What’s your idea of a perfect world? Do you share a common vision or do you have your own interpretation? Your decisions in game will ultimately decide the ending. I don’t want to get too deep into the story of the game, simply because that is the reason you play most RPG’s, but if this little blurb entices you to take a look… you should be pleasantly surprised by how it plays out.

Playing with Demons

It took some time, but getting familiar with the battle system brings me to one conclusion: I love it. While fighting enemies, the main character has the option to talk with whatever he is battling to convince them to join your side by using natural charm, gifts, or bribes. This means nearly all the creatures you fight in-game can join your group and fight alongside you, though you may not want to invite everything you come across. There are dangers to asking some demons to your creation cause. For example, they may not be impressed with your offer, or your current level, and they might attack you, leave the battle, or worse, leave the battle with the money and gifts you presented them. Some might even drop you a pity item for your time or offer a quick heal. Recruiting is not just a solo move though, as other demons can help you deal with less enthusiastic clients through innate and unique skills.

The process of fiend-convincing is incredibly addictive. I found myself going through areas just to see if I could get every last demon on my side, which gives a Pokémon-esque feel to the game. On top of that, certain demons may end up evolving into something better at a later level which, of course, changes their appearance, abilities, and stats, provided you have the patience for it. Plus, Nocturne offers another incentive to collecting fiends. In the first section of city you visit, there’s a Cathedral of Shadows. There, you can splice together two demons into a completely different creation. This place also provides you a list of creatures befriended and the option to buy the exact one back. That way, if you bind a fiend on accident, you can get a copy of him fresh from the pit.

The Protagonist

But enough cohort conversation, let’s not forget our quiet hero. How he plays is completely up to you. He can digest Magatama, which gives him certain immunities or possibly abilities. The Magatama can be bought, found and won throughout the game and depending on how you want to shape the main character; you may want him to digest different ones. Since I had no idea what I was doing, I kept switching back and forth through the different sets. You can get by without having a clear concept in mind for the hero, such as a healer/fighter/spell caster, as all the options yield a potent resulting hero. And because ultimately you make all the decisions for the character, you can shape the new world with whatever vision appeals to you… to an extent, of course.

Battling

The battles are pretty standard as far as RPGs go. Faster characters go first, slower characters go last. You can attack, cast magic at the cost of magic points, sack some hit point to make a killer hit, or flee the scene. The main character is the only one that can use items and he also possesses the ability to switch out fiends during the battle. Nocturne also gives an option of simply pressing triangle to speed through the battle, putting your party on automatic physical attack mode. The auto-battle mechanic can get a tad treacherous though, since going on autopilot can end up killing your party if, say, you walk out of the room and the monster you end up fighting reflects physical damage. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything, but really… heads up!

All the run-of-the-mill encounters can add up to a bit of annoyance and some insane levels of frustration. Undoubtedly, one enemy that you have run across countless times will somehow whip out a spell that will kill your main character in one turn. And, oh yeah, did I forget to mention that if your main character dies, that’s it, end of story? An automatic game over will occur even if the rest of your party is still alive. Unless your willpower and saving habits are better than my own, this will cause obscenity-laden conversations with the game and general loathing of anything to do with Nocturne. So, tread carefully, lightweights, because this isn’t a game for you.

Puzzles, which usually amount to “put the red piece into the red slot” in most RPGs, are brain-wracking and prolonged throughout this game. One puzzle in particular was actually a series of twenty puzzles in which you move your character around pushing blocks in certain patterns to create a path to the finish. I spent most of my night staring at the screen in disbelief before calling it quits. The temptation of looking up solutions will creep into your mind… but, c’mon, figure them out yourself. It is why you bought the game, isn’t it?

Characters

The number of playable characters is amazing, including a cameo by a Capcom franchise-maker. If you recall, this game features Dante (from Devil May Cry) which was a game-selling point at the time. There are hundreds of beings to choose from and build, each with different sets of abilities and level adjustments. The designs of the general fiends are exciting, interesting, and surprising to behold. Many of the demons have some kind of attachment to mythologies of different cultures. It is not uncommon to have a team that includes Thor, Cerberus and one of the Fates. The bosses in the game are bizarre and some are downright disgusting. For example, one has made clothes from different peoples faces and all you see is the dark circles where the faces’ eyes used to be peppered all over the enemy’s body.

Overall, the characters (and the graphics in general) have a weirdly compelling prettiness. Everything appears almost cel-shaded (and maybe it is?) and has a very simple color palette, with most creature designs following a four color maximum scheme with simple, well-executed animations.

I do have some previous RPG experience under my gamer belt, having played through some Final Fantasy’s and anime-inspired titles, and Nocturne is a refreshing breath of air in this genre. Atlus has a unique world and mythos populated with colorful characters, a complex and more adult-oriented storyline (which provides the requisite amount of confusion necessary by Japanese standards). But be warned, this game is difficult (you are going to die a lot), it is long (80 hours possibly!), and puzzles are excessive… but if you want something a little different from your standard RPG, look no further than Nocturne.