Knights Contract
Encyclopedia
Knights Contract is an action-adventure
video game developed by Game Republic
and published by Namco Bandai Games
. The game was released on February 22, 2011 for the PlayStation 3
and Xbox 360
. The title was first announced in the May 20th issue of Weekly Famitsu Magazine
. A trailer for the game was shown at E3 2010. The game contains characters loosely based on and named after characters in the play Faust
along with several other fairytales.
with dark fantasy
characteristics, involving witchcraft, sorcery, and otherworldly monsters. A superstitious hatred for witches is the norm for society. As a result, people are able to employ witch-hunters and witch-executioners. The game follows Heinrich Hofmann, an experienced witch-executioner plagued by a curse, and a young woman named Gretchen, who is the reincarnation of a witch that Heinrich formerly executed under orders of Dr. Faust. In an act of revenge for her execution, Gretchen curses Heinrich with immortality
.
At the same time, the world is being afflicted by hordes of monsters created by Dr. Faust, the game's main antagonist
and a mad scientist who was responsible for the deaths of Gretchen and Heinrich. Gretchen, who intends to fully live out her life as she could not before, decides to confront the menace directly by joining forces with the cursed executioner, Heinrich. The now-immortal Heinrich is forced to protect the mortal Gretchen from danger, in hopes of undoing the curse and defeating Dr. Faust.
IGN's closing comments were "Knights Contract is a miserable game that I hope you do not have the misfortune to play. It completely blows up a cool premise with maddeningly stupid AI (a death sentence in a game that’s a glorified escort mission), a terrible camera that enables its unfair (and un-fun) instant kills, and a boss battle formula that should have never made past the first month of development. If you manage to run the gauntlet and make it to the end of Knights Contract, you will have undoubtedly let loose a string of paint-peeling curse words not only at the screen, but also at your wallet, which is now sixty bucks lighter with nothing remotely fun to show for it."
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video game developed by Game Republic
Game Republic
was an independent video game developer based in Tokyo, Japan. The company, which employed just under 300 individuals before its closure, was founded on July 1, 2003 by Yoshiki Okamoto after he departed from successful Japanese game developer and publisher Capcom. Okamoto is seen as somewhat of a...
and published by Namco Bandai Games
Namco Bandai Games
is an arcade, mobile and home video game developer and publisher based in Japan which is the product of a merger between the video game development divisions of Bandai and Namco. Namco Bandai Games is a wholly owned subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings and specializes in production and sales of...
. The game was released on February 22, 2011 for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. The title was first announced in the May 20th issue of Weekly Famitsu Magazine
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
. A trailer for the game was shown at E3 2010. The game contains characters loosely based on and named after characters in the play Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
along with several other fairytales.
Plot
The setting of Knights Contract takes place in a fictional Europe during the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
with dark fantasy
Dark fantasy
Dark fantasy is a term used to describe a fantasy story with a pronounced horror element.-Overview:A strict definition for dark fantasy is difficult to pin down. Gertrude Barrows Bennett has been called "the woman who invented dark fantasy". Both Charles L...
characteristics, involving witchcraft, sorcery, and otherworldly monsters. A superstitious hatred for witches is the norm for society. As a result, people are able to employ witch-hunters and witch-executioners. The game follows Heinrich Hofmann, an experienced witch-executioner plagued by a curse, and a young woman named Gretchen, who is the reincarnation of a witch that Heinrich formerly executed under orders of Dr. Faust. In an act of revenge for her execution, Gretchen curses Heinrich with immortality
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
.
At the same time, the world is being afflicted by hordes of monsters created by Dr. Faust, the game's main antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
and a mad scientist who was responsible for the deaths of Gretchen and Heinrich. Gretchen, who intends to fully live out her life as she could not before, decides to confront the menace directly by joining forces with the cursed executioner, Heinrich. The now-immortal Heinrich is forced to protect the mortal Gretchen from danger, in hopes of undoing the curse and defeating Dr. Faust.
Reception
Gamespot gave the game a 6.5, praising the story and art direction, while criticizing the quick-time events. GameFocus, however, gave a completely negative review of the game stating that the levels were poorly designed, the boss battles were frustrating, and that the camera was wonky.IGN's closing comments were "Knights Contract is a miserable game that I hope you do not have the misfortune to play. It completely blows up a cool premise with maddeningly stupid AI (a death sentence in a game that’s a glorified escort mission), a terrible camera that enables its unfair (and un-fun) instant kills, and a boss battle formula that should have never made past the first month of development. If you manage to run the gauntlet and make it to the end of Knights Contract, you will have undoubtedly let loose a string of paint-peeling curse words not only at the screen, but also at your wallet, which is now sixty bucks lighter with nothing remotely fun to show for it."