Kingdom Under Fire Meets Devil May Cry

April 17, 2006 - PlayStation 3 may be getting Devil May Cry 4 all to itself, but it looks like Xbox 360 owners have something to look forward to as well. Sangyoun Lee, president of Korean developer Phantagram and director of Ninety-Nine Nights, speaking with Famitsu.com, likened his company's next project to the stylish Capcom action series.

Lee was referring to Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom, which is now in development for both Xbox 360 and the PC. The game's genre is action RPG, with Lee noting, "The simulation aspects aren't as strong as they are in Kingdom Under Fire Crusaders. The action elements are strong. If you have to ask, it's close to Capcom's Devil May Cry. We're aiming for a new style of action RPG."

Circle of Doom will feature randomly generated dungeons both for the overworld and underworld, Lee revealed to Famitsu. Gameplay will be in full 3D, he noted, compared to the 2D play of previous entries in the series, with enemies attacking from walls, from above, and from all sides. Lee hopes to give players the ability to damage the game world.

While Online play didn't make it into Ninety-Nine Nights, Circle of Doom will be different. "The border between single play and Online play will be gone," commented Lee to the site. "For instance, as you advance through the game in single player, other players will enter Online, and all of a sudden you will be in multiplayer."

Kingdom Under Fire purists may be disappointed with the change to action-oriented gameplay. Don't worry -- Phantagram hasn't abandoned you. As announced at the Circle of Doom unveiling a few weeks back, a true sequel in the Kingdom Under Fire series is also in development. "It's still a secret," Lee stated to Famitsu regarding details on the sequel.

Circle of Doom is being developed by Blueside for Japanese release in Spring of 2007. While Phantagram has licensed the series name to Blueside, Henry Lee, director of Crusaders and creative director of Ninety-Nine Nights, is supervising the project, so Lee expects a quality title.