Undead Knights

Undead Knights (アンデッドナイツ) is an action game where players raise an army of zombies and command them to attack their foes. It is said to have been inspired by the Evil Dead series.

Kohei Shibata was the producer of the game while Hiroyuki Aoyagi served as the director. The narration was done by Susan Silo.

Plot

A medieval clan known as House Blood had been unjustly murdered in one night after daring to criticize King Kirk for being under the influence of his devious wife Fatima. Though House Blood should have been no more, three of its prominent members were brought back to life by a mysterious entity who granted them the power of necromancy. All to eager to commit slaughter in the name of vengeance, the trio rampage across the land seeking to avenge themselves against those who caused their deaths in the first place.

Gameplay

Controls

The game's controls and mechanics are similar to the Warriors series albeit with additional gimmicks involving zombies. is used to perform normal attack strings while activates more powerful strikes. has two different functions: jumping and evading. Tap the button once to jump and twice to do an evasive roll; it is possible to do a double jump by pressing again while in mid-air.

is a grab that turns regular enemies into zombies. Up to 10 zombies can be created at a time. A timer gauge indicates how many seconds the player has to convert their victim; taking too long will cause them to escape. If the target is under critical health (indicated by flashing red), they will instantly be turned and restore a small portion of the player's health. This is useful when fighting in areas filled with weaker enemies.

When grabbing a zombie, the player may opt to use them as a meat shield to absorb projectiles or employ two offensive maneuvers: throwing and slamming. Throwing zombies is done by pressing . If a large foe has three zombies thrown at them, they will collapse from the added weight and be susceptible to three regular hits. Sometimes, throwing is necessary to open certain passages. The other maneuver is a slam attack triggered by tapping . While more damaging than a throw, the force of the slam will destroy the zombie's body, leaving the player to summon more in its place.

Pressing and together allows the player to perform a Musou-like attack called Infernal Wrath (Genocide Charge in the Japanese version). The move requires a full Wrath gauge to activate and has an added effect of turning enemies killed by it into zombies, making it ideal for crowd-clearing. However, the attack may be aborted by finishing off a boss or triggering an event scene.

R is used to designate a target for zombies who may attack foes in greater numbers or destroy obstacles blocking the way. Targeting certain objects may trigger quick time events that require the player to tap the right button input repeatedly before they can advance. Failure to do so will cause the zombies to die, forcing the player to refill their ranks and try again. For these events, the number of zombies needed are usually 5 or above.

The directional buttons are used to control the camera view according to the player's preference. L is used to realign the camera's perspective from the direction the controlled character is facing which may be helpful at times.

Battles

Each chapter gives players a set of objectives to complete before they can progress any further. These range from defeating a specified number of enemies to breaching certain areas using zombies. Check points are marked by a white dot on the stage map.

Killing off enemies or destroying objects yield souls that serve as bonus points to acquire dark energy needed for unlocking new skills. The more souls they collect, the higher their ranking will be. The performance rank itself is determined by the amount of souls accumulated and how fast the stage was cleared.

Pots contain green souls that fully restore health while treasure chests bear red souls that completely fill up the Wrath gauge. These are found sparingly and should only be used during emergency situations.

Multiplayer Mode

Allows players to challenge one another via ad-hoc multiplayer missions that are divided into three different categories.

Survival Race - A timed challenge where up to four players must outlive the other by any means necessary.
King Battle - The goal of this challenge is to defeat the boss first before any of the other players do. Players can disable rival zombies by touching candlesticks that appear in the area.
Undead Battle - Two players are tasked with attacking each other using their respective zombie hordes. The objectives for winning vary depending on the type of mission selected in this challenge.

New multiplayer missions become available after clearing certain chapters on any difficulty level.

Survival Race Mission 4 - Clear Chapter 9.
Survival Race Mission 5 - Clear Chapter 20.
King Battle Mission 3 - Clear Chapter 6.
King Battle Mission 4 - Clear Chapter 9.
King Battle Mission 5 - Clear Chapter 15.

Characters

Romulus Blood
Remus Blood
Sylvia Blood
King Kirk Gladys (カーク・グラディス) - Voiced by Steven Blum.

The aging ruler of Cavalier, King Kirk ordered his men to assassinate House Blood at the behest of his young wife Fatima who saw them as a threat to their kingdom. In truth, he had been under her sway for quite some time due to the bewitched wine she had fed him with. He eventually loses control of his body and is made a puppet empowered by demonic energy. Still somewhat aware of the events that transpired, he earnestly regrets betraying House Blood and asks them to put him out of his misery.

King Kirk's backstory reveals he felt threatened by the Philosopher King Follis's rise to power. To ease his fears, he willingly complied to his Jester's advice in meeting Fatima whose machinations would bring prosperity to Cavalier at the cost of his own soul.

Fatima (ファティマ) - Voiced by Wendy Braun.

The consort of King Kirk and the de-facto leader of Cavalier. Fatima may seem like an innocuous beauty at first glance, but underneath that glamour lies a charismatic woman driven by ambition. She one day came out of nowhere to seduce the king and used his authority to unite the land into a commonwealth, earning her the people's support as a result. While many went so far as to call Fatima a saint, there were those who saw her actions as tyrannical. She did not hesitate to have the kingdom's knights slaughter House Blood to make an example of those who would turn on her.

Halfway throughout the story, it is revealed that Fatima herself once made a pact with the Beast for power. Though she was able to escape its influence by crafting a jewel derived from its blood, it was not enough for her to cheat death. She wanted to control the Beast's powers in hopes of creating an ideal world where humans could live without dying. To accomplish this, she created a living tree made out of unnatural flesh to produce more of the Beast's blood and formed a cult to serve as the foundation of her new order.

When confronted by the protagonists within the Void, Fatima tries to tempt them into joining her only to be rejected outright. She then fuses with her tree to eliminate the intruders, but even that fails to quell their vengeance. Although defeated and on the verge of death, she sympathizes with House Blood's predicament and offers her jewel to protect them from the Beast's full control.

Jester (道化師) - Voiced by Thomas Bromhead.

Shrouded in mystery, the Jester is an enigmatic figure observing the rampage of House Blood from a distance. Witty yet morbid, he is a sadomasochistic figure who willingly allowed himself to become a guinea pig for his sister Fatima, serving her out of devotion. He taunts the members of House Blood for their hypocrisy, but ends up losing his life to them.

Duke Gloucester (グロスタ) - Voiced by Fred Tatasciore.

Once a famous war hero, the now gluttonous Duke Gloucester becomes the first target of House Blood for being involved in their deaths. Blaming Fatima for his situation, he tries to worm his way out through bribery only to fail when the protagonists make their thirst for vengeance clear.

Skarsgard (スカーシュゴード) - One of the Three Elites of the Holy Tree Knights.

Skarsgard faces House Blood at the Wall Citadel and dies fighting them. His corpse is later reanimated by Fatima only for him to fall once more. According to his backstory, he found himself stranded in Cavalier as a child after surviving a maritime accident. He worked as a mercenary for some time before being recruited by the Holy Tree Knights. Because of the warm treatment he had received from his captain and the order, Skarsgard sought to live up to the lofty ideals of chivalry by devoting himself completely to Fatima's cause.

Bloody Haggarty (ブラッディ・ハガティー) - One of the Three Elites of the Holy Tree Knights.

He is the second of them to confront the protagonists. Bloody Haggarty earned his place in the knighthood by participating in the Marriage of Blood, a fact he uses to taunt the revived victims. After his demise, Fatima brought his body back to life with necromancy, though he ended up losing to his killers again. Haggarty had lived a life of hardship, having been born from a destitute clan and forced to take on all kinds of dirty work just to survive. His willingness to take on reprehensible jobs made him something of an asset for the order.

Francesca (フランチェスカ) - Voiced by Wendy Braun. One of the Three Elites of the Holy Tree Knights.

Francesca is also the beloved daughter of Captain Gerard. Tasked with guarding her father, she proves herself to be the most formidable of the Three Elites. However, House Blood's rampage proves too much for her in the end. She later reappears as a zombie at the knight mausoleum of Altalia Citadel. While death has not dulled her skills, she falls to the protagonists a second time. According to her origins, Francesca sought to become a knight in order to please her family, having believed they were disappointed she was born a girl instead of a boy.

Captain Gerard (騎士団長ジェラール) - Voiced by Phil Morris.

Captain of the Holy Tree Knights and a former comrade of Romulus Blood, Gerard is seemingly just and fair to those around him. However, his fear of Fatima overshadowed his loyalty to Romulus, forcing him to betray House Blood. Upon being cornered by the undead, he uses a fruit of the Holy Tree to turn himself into a formidable creature. Unfortunately, the power he gained from the transformation was not enough to stop House Blood, leading to his untimely demise.

Gerard's backstory reveals he had been conflicted over whether to side with Romulus in his criticism of the king or to preserve the knighthood which he had dedicated his own life to. Though he chose the knights over his friend, the captain's guilt grew worse to the point where he loathed himself for giving in to cowardice.

Lord Follis (賢者王, Philosopher King) - Voiced by Liam O'Brien.

Renowned throughout Dracoon as the Philosopher King, the intelligent Lord Follis has a fascination for the Void and seeks to study its powers. To that end, he deploys the Order of Ouroboros to act his henchmen and forms an alliance with Fatima. The bloodied tools and contraptions within his castle imply that he engages in torture. Correctly pinpointing the Beast's blood as the source of the protagonists' necromantic abilities, he eagerly uses a fruit of the Holy Tree to transform. Unfortunately, the Philosopher King's newfound strength fails to defeat House Blood and his death is ridiculed by the Jester.

The man who would call himself Lord Follis was formerly known as Stefano, a young boy who once met a goddess deep in the forest. Hinted to be Fatima, she enlightened him to reject superstition and embrace scientific knowledge so that he may one day become an angel for humanity. He soon became invested in research and even had his own father assassinated to one day realize his own vision of the world.

The Beast (異界の者, Otherworldly Being) - Voiced by Steven Blum.

The mysterious entity that resurrected House Blood, it encourages them to take revenge on those who wronged them in life. But in reality, its true goal is to use them as pawns in bringing down Fatima whose ambitions run counter to the entity's desire to spread suffering. When the protagonists realize the Beast's treachery, it admits that they are beyond redemption for the sins they committed as undead knights. Rather than submit to its will forever, they choose to defy it by destroying the stone Fatima had given them for protection.

Locations

Duchy of Gloucester (グロスタ公国) - The domain of Duke Gloucester. House Blood lost their lives there and were supposedly buried at Tombstone Hill. Other locations include Fort Allessa and Grosstin Castle. As the starting point of the game, the defenses there are negligible at best.
Realm of the Knights - An area where the Knights of the Holy Tree are stationed at. It is filled to the brim with guards and siege weaponry. To reach Woodedge Castle, one must go through Victory Road and Wall Citadel first.
Dracoon (ドラクーン公国) - A violent land ruled by Lord Follis. Although it thrives from an age of enlightenment, the people fear those who rule over the domain. The intricate layouts and death traps within Wilhelm Citadel and Rondegarde Castle reflect the sadistic nature of Dracoon's king.
Cavalier (キャバリア) - A commonwealth kingdom led by King Kirk. Near the kingdom's castle is Altalia Citadel where the worshipers of Fatima reside. The defenses for each location are more robust and fortified than any other area.

Glossary

Marriage of Blood (血の結婚) - The event that led to the destruction of House Blood. Remus Blood and his fiancée Sylvia were on their way to Cavalier to announce their upcoming marriage to King Kirk only to be ambushed by his knights. Though Romulus tried to save the pair, all three of them ended up losing their lives. It was around this time that the Beast formed a pact with the victim, granting them unholy powers to get revenge on the perpetrators.
Holy Tree (聖樹) - A tree created by Fatima's experiments within the Void, its bark is made of flesh synthesized from humans and zombies. The fruit it bears has the same properties as the blood of the Beast, giving its users supernatural powers while drastically altering their bodies. In public, the Holy Tree is said to be Fatima herself in human form, giving rise to a cult that worships her. An order of knights bearing the crest of this tree had also been established.
Order of Ouroboros (ウロボロス兵団) - An order of assassins in league with Lord Follis. While many scholars debate their origins and serpent-like appearance, these beings are in fact homunculi created by Follis using forbidden knowledge.
The Void - A supernatural world where the Beast hails from. After marrying the king, Fatima formed a connection to the Void from Cavalier Castle, giving her ample opportunity to create artificial life with demonic energy while receiving protection from the kingdom's knights.

Navigation

Differences between ports

Remus is the starting character for both Japanese and European ports while Romulus receives this treatment in the American version instead.
The Japanese version uses orchestral music as opposed to the heavy metal tracks performed by Lightning Swords of Death in the English port.
Blood splatters are omitted in the Japanese version.