Written by Rastafoo69, edited by Otaku Apologist
Knights of the Phantasm, a hentai RPG developed by Adult’s Hobby. Released December 20, 2014. Download on DLsite for $12.00. For PC Windows. No voice acting. Censored genitals. Free demo available.
Annefitryte is a strong independent redhead bitch planning to visit a foreign land. Unfortunately for her, when she comes into contact with a magical red stone full of mysterious power, her life is forever fucked!
Before trying this game, please read our guide how to download DLSite games.
STORY
In this world, malice is absorbed and concentrated into a gem called The Great Agate. Ten years ago it shattered, and malice has been let loose on the world like never before. You must lead the Knights of the Phantasm to victory against the forces of evil.
The story offers a great premise that never really pays off. The main character, Annefitryte, controls the Red Agate of the Beserker. It makes her immortal, but she is trapped within the borders of her nation. She must travel around and find the other four magic stones and their wielders in order to lift this curse and finally be able to return home. Although this sounds cool, the execution is lackluster.
Excessive level grinding and tedious traveling is mandatory between every plot point. The quest log is disorganized, so it’s hard to keep track of things. And of course, the story is written as a generic RPG with no surprises to be found.
There are five endings in total, three of which require virginity. This is never told to you, meaning if you accidentally lose it, you’ve locked yourself out of most endings. Worse still, the true ending requires zero infamy. If you accidentally gain even a tiny bit, you’ll be locked out of the true ending permanently.
The writer does a great job of foreshadowing, but story points are so spread out, it doesn’t flow naturally. You’ll hear about the Capital City Slums and the Battle Arena from NPC dialogue, but it’ll be a long time before you actually see them yourself.
GAMEPLAY
Knights of the Phantasm was created with RPG Maker XP, an old but reliable edition of the engine. Use the arrow keys to move. Press Shift to enter battle stance. Press S to swing your sword. Press D to use your magic. Press A to fast travel or wait in place. Press Alt+Enter to go fullscreen. The game cycle is simple: Defeat enemies and collect their item drops to sell for cash. Level up and buy new equipment to advance further. Check your quest log if you need direction.
The game starts out promising, but level grinding and walking around will consume most of your time. There is a crime and bounty system, the ability to play as a vampire, the optional 21 side quests, a lock-picking mini-game, and so much more. Sadly, most of your time will be spent level-grinding, which overshadows these great features.
The lockpicking mini-game in particular deserved to be fleshed out more. Rather than visually, the game is played audibly. If the lock makes a pitch too low or too high, you know to pull away your lockpick. However, if it lands perfectly in the middle, you know there’s a balance and you can open the door. Auditory mini-games are great because they’re so unusual and require such focus, but sadly, theft in this game isn’t well executed. Many houses have nothing at all inside, making you waste lockpicks for nothing, discouraging exploration.
This game is an action RPG, not turn based. You can play skillfully and defeat enemies many levels higher than you. Enemies roam the map screen, and you always have the option to avoid combat entirely!
Certain quests in this game are borderline impossible to complete without a walkthrough. The world is so vast, I literally spent a full hour looking for my quest objective. There are fundamental flaws in the player experience.
GRAPHICS
The art is Japanese anime style. The colors tend to be muted, with a heavy emphasis on earth tones and eggshell white. This creates a bland aesthetic, and makes the game seem far older than it actually is.
There are thousands of visual assets in this game spread across 44 scenes. This is because most scenes offer different artworks depending on which outfit you’re wearing. Not to mention clothing damage and facial expressions! The developer paid attention to little details, and made an immersive experience that allows different playstyles.
The in-game sprite will change depending on your outfit, and may even change how people treat you in-game. For example, wearing your prisoner clothing will get guards to pay special attention to your character.
You’ll see small animations from time to time. For example, there’s a pixel animated sex scene in the bath-house. Another example is a moving CG hand during the train groping scene. Although these animations are few and far between, they make for a welcome change of pace that wonderfully spices things up.
The world map is huge. There are 12 towns and numerous caves and other miscellaneous areas to explore. Each town has multiple NPCs to talk to, some of which will even give you quests. The world feels alive.
VOICE ACTING AND SOUND EFFECTS (SFX)
Knights of the Phantasm has no voice acting.
The sound effects are either too old to be recognized or completely unique to this developer. Most notably, the sound effect for vaginal sex was super realistic and erotic. Just hearing it without visuals, you’d easily imagine the slapping of flesh as a man plunges his cock into a woman. The sounds for swordplay and spells are also good, but it’s the sex scenes where the sound design really shines. It’s not always perfect, but hits the right notes oftentimes.
MUSIC
There are 60 songs on the soundtrack, most of which are completely unique compositions.
Although all tracks are digitally synthesized, they make use of drums and flutes to create a realistic and engaging melody. The music is best compared to the super Nintendo game “Secret of Mana”, with a heavy emphasis on xylophone and other obscure instruments. All tracks fit the theme of exploration and independence perfectly, though they can get repetitive while level grinding. Altogether, it’s a super enjoyable soundtrack that fills me with nostalgia whenever I hear the songs.
HENTAI
Knights of the Phantasm has 44 sex scenes in total. Most sexual encounters have multiple stages depending on player experience. For example, the bunny sex scene has 8 variations in total, with unique dialogue and customers every time.
Sex positions featured range from doggystyle to missionary, and even a cowgirl scene late in the game! The primary fetishes are monster sex and forced creampies. There are a handful of vore scenes that can get graphic and disturbing. This game does not pander to the trend of ahegao protagonists, instead relying on facial expressions and mumbled dialogue to convey how the protagonist feels.
Considering this is an RPG, level grinding will take up most of your time. Hentai content is secondary, and in some respects even discouraged. Losing your virginity will stop you from completing 3 out of the 5 endings. This feels like a punishment, so if you want to see all the story beats, you’re expected to avoid sex at all costs! Very disappointing design.
Sleeping in a random tent outdoors will lead to a nomad dropping an unprotected load in Annefryte’s pussy. This is hot, except that this same scenario plays like four times in total. The developer should have focused more on scene variety.
CONCLUDING WORDS
Knights of the Phantasm is a classic RPG hentai game with a focus on exploration. The world is enormous and the music is fantastic. This is the perfect game to turn off your brain and run around killing things before a nice casual fapping session.
I recommend this game to RPG hentai fans everywhere. Download Knights of the Phantasm. If you want a similar sex game, check out our review for Vera’s Region Tour Diary.
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