Mitsumete Knight

[AceNoctali]

Hey guys, last year, during my study trip in Japan, I've discovered by absolute chance an obscure yet awesome game that I'd like to show to you.

Ever heard of Mitsumete Knight ?

Probably not, unless you have visited my Youtube channel before.

Mitsumete Knight (which can be translated in English as "Admire Knight" or "Gazing Knight"), is a 1997 Playstation 1 game, created in cooperation by two famous companies : Konami, of Tokimeki Memorial fame, and Red Company, of Sakura Taisen fame.

Why do I mention two games famous for being Dating Sims, or having lots of Dating Sims elements ? Well, that's because Mitsumete Knight is a Dating Sim too.

...

...

...

Hey, don't leave the topic just yet, with those disgusted faces !

Dating Sim have the stigma of being Otaku games. I'm not myself a fan of this genre (actually the only ones I played at the Tokimemo games and this game), but I see it as a video game genre just like another.

...

Still not convinced ? Well, what about if I said that the setting is a medieval one (and not a high school one) where you play as a mercenary engaged by a Kingdom to win a war for them, where a lot of characters, including the main heroines, can die ?

Mitsumete Knight is different from your average Dating Sim, thanks to its engrossing scenario and world. If you're a fan of Fire Emblem 4's mythos, you'll like Mitsumete Knight : it has a VERY rich world, with tons of backstory about the characters and the countries. Politics and conspirations for power are rife in there, and there's a big setting behind all the Events that occur in the game.

Also, since this world is not one where there's a safe difference between good and evil, you've got "villains" which can have sympathetic motives (yet can also have despicable actions), and peoples on the "good" side that act like jerks and/or monsters.

And during this storyline, some characters will or can die. Most of them depend on your choices, even the most benign ones : for example, during the game, a character may need an urgent blood transfusion, and you are the only one available for it on the scene. Now, at the beginning of the game, you're able to choose your blood type. If your blood type and the victim's aren't compatible, said victim will die. Wow, huh ?

Said characters have, for most of them, developped personnalities, and storylines where you can't help but feel for them, as they sometimes go through a lot of unjust crap. However, there are still funny and heartwarming moments.

The game's gameplay is very intuitive, as it mostly uses the same engine as Tokimeki Memorial. You have to train your character with various commands (represented by understandable icons), so that he can adjust to the various girls' tastes, and be ready for battle. There's a Level-Up system, and it's important if you want to perform well enough in battle, and have a chance to reach one of your goals, the prestigous "Holy Knight" title (the other goal being getting the confession of love of one of the heroines).

Speaking of battles, since war is an important setting, yo'll have a number of them. When you're in War sequence, you'll have to first battle the opponent's army with your own corps, in a Fire Emblem Weapon Triangle style : Archers beat Horsemen, Horsemen beat Infantry, Infantry beats Archers, Mages have advantage against all of them. Once the corps' battle is over, you'll have to fight one of the dreaded Eight Generals of enemy mercenary army Valpha-Valaharian, in a style very reminiscing of Suikoden.

My little essay actually doesn't go in length with all the game's mechanics, but I didn't want to make a too big tl:dr block of text.

I'd like to advise you a few articles going a bit more in-depth, that are, at least IMO, interesting reads :

Main article on TV Tropes (all written by me and MUCH better than my essay here IMO)

Character Sheet on TV Tropes (all written by me too, beware of masked spoilers there, especially the ones with "HEAVY SPOILERS" written before, as they are storywise groundbreaking)

An excellent article written by Kojioe

A very good review of the game on GameFAQs

For those who are sick of reading and want to see the game in action, my Youtube channel provides :

My Full Sophia (main heroine of the game) Run playlist. First video of the list is subbed in English by yours truly ! ;)

(subbed in English)

(subbed in English)

(subbed in English)

(Final part, subbed in English)

My Youtube friend Vysethedetermined also has posted samples of this game :

All in all, a truly underrated game which only has the sole real flaw of being Japanese-only. Thanksfully, with the TV tropes articles I wrote, and the various translation I did, getting at least a good gist of the storyline is possible, and the gameplay is intuitive enough to be played without much Japanese knowledge. Of course, if you can read Japanese, you'll enjoy it a lot more.

Hope I haven't bored you with my brick of text, and that I have made you discover a game that you may come to like just as I did ! :)

P.S. : Oh, I forgot. Did you know that Sparkster, of Rocket Knight Adventures fame, makes a cameo in this game ?

at 1:00. :P Edited March 28, 2010 by AceNoctali

[Original Alear]

Although I'm convinced this would be the "game to try" if I was ever going to try a dating-sim, the fact that it's in japanese only pretty much eliminates my interest in playing it.