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The DS gets a new hack-and-slash dungeon crawler from Atlus.

It was only a matter of time before a game like this came out. After the release of the stellar Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass, it only seemed natural that another developer would follow Nintendo’s lead and make a great dungeon hack that controls solely with the stylus. The Summon Night series garnered great praise on the Game Boy Advance, where it featured innovative side-scrolling combat almost more akin to a Street Fighter-type game or a platformer than a role-playing game. It comes as a surprise (but a welcome one) that the latest DS incarnation, Summon Night: Twin Age, takes the series in a completely different direction. It draws inspiration from The Phantom Hourglass, resulting in a fun (if bland) hack-and-slash.

As mentioned above, Summon Night: Twin Age is controlled entirely using the stylus. Tapping anywhere on the screen leads your character there, and tapping on an enemy will cause your character to attack. Both the left and right sides of the screen house customizable toolbars that let you cast spells, use items, and perform other tasks. It works very well, allowing you to quickly access anything you might need to take on the game’s various baddies.

The command toolbars on the sides of the screen help you to manage hectic battles like this

In addition to spells, skills (attacks that require special stylus motions), and items, Summon Night also gives you a number of computer-controlled allies. From the start of the game, you have two characters in your party; you only control one at a time, but an on-screen button toggles between the two. The AI controlling your partner is very helpful - if you run in to melee an enemy, the other character will often stay back to cast long-range spells and to heal you if you need it.

Throughout the story you also gain a number of other allies, as well as spells that summon forth friendly monsters, but you do not have the option to control any of them. Instead, options in the menu let you define simple strategies for them to follow. However, this doesn’t really matter for most battles; while the boss fights are difficult and compelling, fighting regular enemies can often feel like you are on auto-pilot, as your hordes of allies inevitably swarm the enemy and make light work of them.

There are a bevy of other character customizations you can make to add depth to the game. The skill system gives you a lot of choice, and items can be crafted from raw materials found in treasure chests and looted off of enemies. When you eventually get too many allies to fight with you at once, you are allowed to hand-pick your party from all available characters.