So THIS is where Snake's Solar gun in MGS4 comes from...
This action RPG is one of those types of games that pop up every now and again in the gaming world that don't seem to fit in anywhere in particular. Either because of their quirky style or lack of marketing, games like these fail to get much recognition from the masses. In this respect Lunar Knights seems more of a labour of love for the creators, Kojima Productions - the same blokes behind the ludicrously successful Metal Gear Solid games - than a commercially motivated venture.
After you get introduced to both of the main characters, they team up to take on the vampires together due to the fact that the game has a rather interesting day/night mechanic at work. Lucian is aligned with the dark, and thus uses the rays of the moon for his special attacks, though he can get by with just his sword. Aaron on the other hand must have sunlight available in order to use his solar guns. Obviously, as you play, day will become night, handily compelling you to switch characters.
In addition to the lunar/solar changeover, attention should also be drawn to the climate, permanently displayed on the upper screen of the DS. If it is cloudy, it will be difficult for Aaron to charge up his guns. Tropical heat and intense cold affect other environmental aspects of the areas you explore, such as lakes freezing over, allowing you to cross, or drying them up, letting you see what lies beneath. This may seem overly complicated to begin with, and it is too tiresome to explain here, yet the game slowly introduces you to the four elements as you play.
The artistic style of the whole thing seems to hover somewhere around the traditional anime, yet it still doesn't totally fall in line graphically with other games of its type. Don't be mistaken; the whole thing looks fine, though it takes a little getting used to. Aaron and Lucian have the typical big eyes, small mouths and choppy flamboyant bouffant hairstyles, but other periphery details like the non-player characters look slightly departed from the usual. Nothing bad about any of them, and once you get past it you quickly accustom.
The main problem with Lunar Knights is that the moment you begin playing, you're not exactly sure what the hell is going on. From the off, every character you encounter seems like they have some intricate back-story. Some of them certainly do, especially Lucian and one of the primary antagonists, which can confuse matters slightly. As such you have to sort of persevere for a while, like eavesdropping on a group conversation at an office party, biding your time until you can contribute without making an arse of yourself.
A strange gameplay dichotomy also crops up occasionally. For most of the game, it's an isometric Zelda-esque cartoon romp around dungeons, hacking and slashing stuff until you meet one of the chief vampires and shred them apart. Once you end up defeating one of the big bad guys, a bizarre gameplay element suddenly crops out of nowhere. It turns out Lucian has a space ship that he uses to totally purify the corpses of the vampires by dragging them into the atmosphere in order to expose them completely to the sun's rays. At this point, you abandon using the d-pad and buttons and get the DS stylus out to control your ship, utilising a kind of point and click system. It is fun, but there still remains this nagging notion that it's been hastily stuck on for no apparent reason. Shifting the action suddenly from dungeon crawling to warp-speed does make you wonder in terms of plot why Lucian doesn't simply fly about and blast his nemeses apart from the safety of the skies.
Anyway, despite its peculiar form, Lunar Knights is a thoroughly satisfying action RPG. The controls are responsive, and it introduces neat little touches the DS can do. Blowing into the microphone will make Lucian and Aaron whistle, distracting patrolling enemies. The stylus can be used during the special elemental attacks as well as menu navigation. Once you complete it, which isn't that hard, but not easy either, and will take a few hours, various other elements open up when you replay, like a kind of survival mode that reaps useful bonuses, as well as a boss mode that lets you replay the various boss fights at various difficulties. It all adds up to creating a worthy gaming experience.
It seems Lunar Knights will be one of those sleeper hits that end up with a cult audience. Like Shadowrun on the SNES, Nights on the Sega Dreamcast, or Zone Of the Enders on the PS2, Lunar Knights is a splendid title, but it will go largely unnoticed in favour of the more marketable titles.