Koudelka

Koudelka is a role-playing video game (RPG) set in the fictional Nemeton Mansion. Controlling Koudelka Iasant, the main protagonist, the player explores Nemeton. Gameplay is divided between event scenes, in which story sequences play; exploration, incorporating puzzle-solving; and a battle screen where players fight monsters spawned in Nemeton. Exploration is similar to the early Resident Evil games; Koudelka—rendered as a 3D character model—explores environments created with pre-rendered backgrounds shown through fixed camera angles. Items and weapons are found in the environment or gained after a battle, with the number of items which can be carried limited.

Combat is triggered through random encounters, with battles governed by a turn-based system. The three playable characters and the enemy are positioned on a grid, able to move to a new square and perform an action with each turn. Each party has access to physical and magical attacks and other abilities, such as status effects, healing magic and the ability to escape from battle. Each player character can equip any of a variety of weapons, which break after being used a number of times.

In 1898, near Aberystwyth, Wales, Romani psychic Koudelka Iasant is drawn by a mysterious voice to the isolated Nemeton. A former medieval monastery, Nemeton was converted into a mansion and is now infested with monsters. Koudelka breaks into Nemeton, losing her magic pendant in the process, and saves wayward adventurer Edward Plunkett from a monster attack. They are offered hospitality by the mansion's caretakers, Ogden and Bessy Hartman.

Their food is poisoned, and Koudelka—having detected the poison and refused to eat—cures Edward. Exploring Nemeton, they meet Catholic bishop James O'Flaherty; James refuses to believe that the Hartmans are responsible for the deaths, since they did not try to poison him. They also encounter the ghost of Charlotte D'lota, a young girl who was executed in Nemeton, and are attacked by an intruder named Alias. From visions, human remains and confiscated artefacts, Koudelka learns that Nemeton was a prison for dissidents that now haunt the mansion.

Koudelka was created by Hiroki Kikuta, who composed the music for Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3 and Soukaigi at Square. Kikuta wanted to direct his own game, but Square's corporate structure prevented him from moving beyond a composer. Searching for a way to expand his role, Kikuta was introduced to the chairman of SNK; during their talk, he outlined many perceived pitfalls in the role-playing genre. Leaving Square, he formed Sacnoth in 1997 with other Square employees and SNK's funding.

As Sacnoth's CEO and the game's main creative lead, Kikuta wanted to create a horror RPG. Koudelka began development after Sacnoth was founded, and Kikuta was its producer, director, writer and composer.

While no sales figures were reported, Koudelka was said to have been "moderately successful" in Japan. The title was not mentioned by Infogrames during its financial report at the end of the 2000-2001 fiscal year.

The Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu compared Koudelka's atmosphere to Western horror films. The dark atmosphere was one of the points of praise for Electronic Gaming Monthly. GameSpot's Ike Sato called the story "quite entertaining", and David Zdyrko of IGN enjoyed its cinematic tone. RPGamer's Jake Alley praised the game's tone, presentation and localization.

Sacnoth is one of a group of video-game companies—with Monolith Soft, Love-de-Lic and Mistwalker—founded by Square staff who had worked on notable titles produced during the 1990s. After Koudelka's release, Kikuta resigned as the company's CEO and founded a music label; his planned sequels, continuing the story of Koudelka's family, were never produced.

Sacnoth would go on to develop Shadow Hearts, a role-playing game for the PlayStation 2 and the first instalment of the Shadow Hearts series. Shadow Hearts is set in the same reality as Koudelka, taking place after the bad ending of the latter. Sacnoth produced two more Shadow Hearts titles (Covenant and From the New World) before it was merged into company owner Aruze in 2007 and ceased video game production. Iwahara's work on the game and its manga adaptation influenced anime director Tensai Okamura into hiring him for the anime series Darker than Black.