Developer: Beam Software Publisher: Ultra Games Release: 01/92 Genre: Adventure
Konami’s late NES phase was an interesting time of experimentation. With nearly all of their most popular brands making their 16-bit debut on the SNES the little grey box received a number of odd licensed titles instead. No disrespect to the game but I am relatively sure no one was asking for a Zen: Intergalactic Ninja title. There were a few original games in the bunch and Nightshade is the most interesting. As one of the few adventure games for the system it stands out. But I don’t know if I would recommend it even if I like it.
The story of Nightshade is particularly dark. Metro City has seen better days as new villains appear every week. The city’s lone protector, Vortex, is overwhelmed by the hordes of criminals and eventually captured, tortured, and killed. With his absence crime is on the rise as the gangs vie for supremacy. Out of the chaos a crime lord named Sutekh unites the city’s malcontents and plans to take over Metro City. Mark Gray, a nerdy researcher decides he has had enough and dons a trench coat and becomes Nightshade, Metro City’s newest protector. With nothing but his fists and his wits he plans to take Sutekh down.
Despite its brutal backstory Nightshade is light in tone and downright comedic at times. Nightshade is a sarcastic bastard and will mock the player when choosing wrong options. Sutekh, despite being a crime boss, is more like the Riddler than the Joker. You almost cannot take him seriously. The world of Metro City is absurd with superheroes, talking rats, and living mummies inhabiting its depths. Despite this silliness the game plays it straight. The weirdness is a large reason why I like the game so much; all of the original adventure games for the NES were left in Japan so this one stands out. It also helps that it is pretty good to boot.
As an adventure game Nightshade is a lot more open than most. The game does not make it explicitly clear at first how to achieve your ultimate goal of entering Sutekh’s lair and ending his reign. By speaking to the various citizens around the city you will learn you need to find five scarabs to open the way to his hideout. How you go about finding the scarabs and the order is up to you. Four of Sutekh’s crime lords hold a scarab while one is somewhere in the city. The freedom to tackle these goals how you see fit is one of the game’s greatest strengths. There are also optional sub-quests that reward items that will make your life easier.
The interface uses a lot of the typical commands of the genre. For the most part you can get by examining objects with a single button press so that entering the menu is kept to a minimum. I also like that the game switches to first person when using a command and will highlight objects in the environment to cut down on pixel hunting. It is not perfect but a lot more elegant than other NES adventures. Although the interface does its best to work within the confines of a controller it is a bit clumsy and slow to navigate. This is true of nearly any console point and click adventure when compared to a mouse and keyboard however.
Nightshade is bit unique in that it features a heavy action component. As a fledgling hero your notoriety is zero. By beating up criminals around the city and performing good deeds your popularity increases. This gives access to new areas and more information from NPCs. The hand to hand combat sequences are the game’s weak point. I can see what they were going for but in practice it is frustrating. Hit detection is spotty and there is not enough variety in attacks to make them enjoyable. The few mandatory battles feature gimmicks that are not immediately intuitive. This aspect of the game is tolerable at best and mars an otherwise enjoyable experience.
Possibly the biggest flaw in Nightshade is the lack of passwords or game saves. You have to complete this in one sitting which is a big ask. Due to its action game elements Nightshade is more difficult than your standard adventure game. Boss enemies are aggressive and it is easy to get caught in a loop and die. When you die you are placed in a death trap with a slim chance to escape. But you can only do this four times before escape is impossible. Death comes frequently until you learn the game’s ins and outs and it is soul crushing to have to start over due to a cheap death. This is the one area I wish were fixed, everything else is secondary. This one absence brings the game down a notch.
In Closing
Nightshade is a divisive title. As an adventure game its free form structure and openness is rewarding and unique. But its action elements and lack of any way to save progress bring it down. Even in spite of its flaws I still like Nightshade and enjoyed my time with it. You might want to try before you buy though.
