With some technical improvements, Knightingale could be one of the best mobile JRPGs ever

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Square Enix has spent the past few years rebuilding a lot of its old-school credibility with a bunch of high-quality pixel-art games using what that publisher calls "HD-2D" visuals. Think stuff like Octopath Traveler, where it's using pixel visuals that would feel at home on the Super Nintendo, but with a level of quality that classic hardware couldn't possibly pull off.

It's a wonder that more other publishers and developers haven't tried to follow Square's example, which is why I was immediately interested in Knightingale, a gacha game with JRPG aesthetics and an absolutely beautiful look being created by NetEase. And while the first closed beta for Knightingale definitely has some very big technical issues, I'm impressed and cautiously optimistic with the actual game here.

In true classic JRPG fashion, Knightingale started me out in the shoes of Arthur, a young boy living in a sleepy seaside village who ends up setting out on a grand adventure and recruiting lots of friends along the way. The story that I've experienced so far is by-the-books stuff, but I don't mean that in a bad way. For anyone who has nostalgia for playing old Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games, this will feel very warm and cozy. And most importantly, the English translation is actually very solid already, which is still not often the case with mobile games.

The combat system is also satisfying old-school, although with plenty of strategy to consider. Players and enemies line up in two rows each on opposite sides of the battlefield, and different abilities can allow party members to damage all enemies in a line or row, or to focus on a single target for greater destruction. Other party members might focus entirely on support, with abilities focused on healing or buffing teammates or weakening enemies. Both placement and putting together a well-rounded team were important for success, even in the easygoing early hours.

Beyond the expected adventuring, exploring, and finding treasures, Knightingale also is trying to introduce some roguelike elements that will, in theory, help set it apart from the games it's been so clearly inspired by. Unfortunately, it's still too early to comment much on those elements.

While I was able to access the first roguelike maze dungeon in Knightingale, I wasn't able to progress through it cleanly due to a very annoying bug where exits to the next floor just...wouldn't appear. Unfortunately, that's not the only bug I encountered. Servers were up and down throughout my time playing, and I also frequently hit a brutal glitch where I couldn't attack upon entering combat.

If those sound like pretty bad bugs, you're not wrong. I wouldn't blame anyone for holding off on playing Knightingale for now. But on the other hand, finding and fixing bugs like this is what betas are for! And what's available here, underneath those technical problems, shows so much promise.

I'll be keeping an eye out for more beta tests and the eventual full release of Knightingale. If the bugs get ironed out and if NetEase doesn't make the monetization too evil, this could be a seriously great game. I seriously hope they don't screw it up!

[Review written by TapTap editor @Kef]