Mizuguchi responded by emphasizing that he was after a "dramatic experience," something very different from his previous games (Space Channel 5, Rez, and LUMINES). He explained that this game germinated from his own impressions of the tragedies of September 11th, 2001. As Mizuguchi watched the televised news reports that day, he noticed that each news outlet had its own story based on the same event. He started thinking of these different perspectives as having "different [ideas about] justice."
As the story of Ninety-Nine Nights plays out through each of the seven playable characters, you get a glimpse of each character's perspective on their own brand of personal justice. You get to "see it from their side," says Mizuguchi, and examine how "it's all the same, it's all killing ... at one point, you play as a goblin character and you watch the humans storm your village - and it is Hell. It's Hell outside."
So it would appear that much of Ninety-Nine Nights appeal is hidden away within the dense plot and character choices. While this may not be readily apparent from brief contact with the game, our conversation with Mizuguchi has us convinced that beneath the veneer of crazy-sword-battle-action there exists a depth of story that could make this a poignant example of the horrors of war.
