Normally the only RPGs I will play are ones that have originally launched as console or PC specific titles, but not this time. Seven Knights: Time Wanderer is a title that launched onto mobile platforms back in 2015 and was a quick hit due to its story and characters. Now, Netmarble has released it onto the Nintendo Switch with updates to make it more compatible with the system. Find out how this port measures up in our review.
Seven Knights, like any normal RPG, centers on the main protagonist, in our case, Vanessa. She is a young mage who finds a mysterious glowing orb in her family’s secret vault. This quickly sends her on the journey of her life where she makes an ally in a magical hourglass named Sandy. Her mission is to find time crystals and put things back to normal and prevent any serious trouble from occurring. She meets up with different allies as her quest goes on and this is just beginning. This leads to one of the first features that I can appreciate in the game, the party system. So unlike other RPGs, this one gives you allies that aren’t even with you most of the time but they are still able to be used in fights because of Sandy. This is not only cool, but it is essential if you are going to defeat some of the bosses that will be coming.
I like everything about the combat except for how your turn works. So like many RPGs, you have a turn-based attack system where you select your attack and then go at it. However, in this system, if you do not have an attack queued up prior to your box hitting the attack marker you lose the ability to attack for that turn. The other item that gets me a bit mad is that you can’t set up attacks for each character. It is one attack per turn, period. This is very unlike RPGs such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest to name a few. The attacks themselves are attached to you your controller buttons like A, B, and X.
Each character has their own unique attacks and it becomes clear very quickly who will help in the short term and long term as the battles continue on. Your character’s magical affiliation, which is marked by different colored diamonds, affect battles as well. Green beats red, while red beats purple, and so on. If your character is strong against an enemy then there is a chance for a second attack for one of your characters before that enemy is permitted to attack again. This works out very well and is common in other mobile type RPGs that I play such as Dragonball Dokkan Battle.
Exploration is one item on my list that is pretty simple to understand. You see dots on the ground, follow the dots on the ground until you reach your destination, or a fork in the road to make a decision about where to go. All roads ultimately lead to Rome though and the final destination is close at hand. Be sure to watch out for any checkpoints, chests, or other markers that you can interact with. Checkpoints are especially helpful because they allow you to quickly travel to other checkpoints you have discovered previously and also the Sand Room. This room is an important place to visit. It is where you buy meds and new gear for your characters to increase their stats on their journey. It is also where you get free heals and can level up your skill tree. Your attack skills level up as the characters level increases normally.
As Vanessa searches through time and space, like Doctor Who, she will come across villains that want to do harm to everything and everyone. She will also find that some normal people have become affected by the time crystals and because of the immense power they are turned evil. By defeating these people Vanessa claims the time crystal and returns everyone in that time to normal. This is a pretty cool way to explain big boss battles in a fantasy game and I love how it works out.
Note: Our copy was reviewed on Nintendo Switch with a code provided by PR.
