The Witch and the Hundred Knight

Some baffling design decisions hamper an otherwise fun RPG

The Witch and the Hundred Knight
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Publisher: NIS America
Reviewed On: Playstation 3
Cert: 16
Available On: Playstation 3

In the beginning, you’re a squat, insignificant little thing; a runt so wimpy that you’re dwarfed by your helmet, like Marvin the Martian from Looney Toons. Worse - you’re the plaything of Metallia, an evil, sadistic witch. Will you do her bidding? And will you bide your time and build up your own strengths? The Witch and the Hundred Knight (sic) is an RPG with depth and wit. It’s also got some of the most baffling game design decisions I’ve seen in recent times. Simply put, it has a terrible game-play to exposition ratio. As a third-person, action RPG it’s quite charming when it settles into letting you explore, fight and delve into its menus and maps. You can “raid” houses, claiming their contents and basking in brief, glitter-flecked moments of praise. Then it all shudders to a halt, as the Witch goes on another lengthy diatribe. This is a potentially likeable RPG that fails to escape the curse of its structure.