Among all of the Nippon Ichi announcements for the coming year, I wouldn’t be surprised if Zillions of Enemy X was the one you had heard the least about. It doesn’t have the unique art assets of Time and Eternity, or the sexy name brand of Disgaea. However, it’s looking like one of the most interesting of the set.
Zillions of Enemy X is a something of a hybrid between a strategy-RPG and a card game. It’s an interesting idea for a hybrid, and immediately brings to mind the Yu-Gi-Oh game, The Duelists of the Roses, although hopefully, this fares a little better critically than that one. The game takes place on a hexagonal grid, where, unlike most card based games, positioning and movement play a key role.
One of the biggest parts of the positioning in the game is the creation of “chains”, through which you take territory for yourself as you move. The more spaces you “own,” the larger the boosts your character receives in combat, and it’s possible to sever opponent’s chains with your own movements. In addition to being able to capture territory with your own movements, you can summon familiars to help with the tasks, as well as use an ability called an “Area Hack” to take over more territory.
It’ll be interesting to see how well these ideas all mesh; card games and strategy games are usually among the slower game types, so a combination of the two could either be insanely addictive or a drag, depending on execution. There’s also competitive online play, so if the game gathers a decent audience, and stays relatively balanced, this could be one to look out for. It will release in Japan on May 23rd for the PS3. It has yet to be announced for localization.
