Nico Adventures: Perilous Diamonds

***Nico Adventures: Perilous Diamonds*** is an action-adventure video game developed and published by J-Games. It was released internationally in November 2010. The game is the fifth main entry in the *Nico Adventures* series and is the successor to *Nico Adventures: Isolation*. Initially released on the J-Flash and J-Exo, the game has been made available on each subsequent J-Games console.

*Perilous Diamonds* follows Nico and Pico, as well as Arch, Michael and Alistair, as they attempt to retrieve Penseka, a lightning-infused diamond blade that is the strongest weapon on Earth, from a series of tunnels that lie under a town called Yenta in France. Whilst initially seeming like a simple mission, the characters discover the tunnels expand further beyond they anticipated, and that they are not alone under the ground, as the tunnels are protected by the God of Lightning, Elektarah. Gameplay differs depending on the setting, which mirrors *Nico Adventures II* as relatively small-scale. The sprawling town of Yenta is entirely open world, and allows the player to complete story quests for different characters, as well as spend time with them. Hidden collectibles around the area can be achieved by platforming and completing environmental puzzles. Inside the tunnels, which can be entered in-game via Yenta Library, the player has to fight enemies using their swords, navigate around the tunnels by creating their own in-game map, and ensure nothing in the tunnels escapes into Yenta. The player takes control of either Nico, who is paired in game with Michael, or Pico, who is paired in game with Arch. Unlike the previous two games, the player can choose who to explore the tunnels as each time they enter, although some story quests make the choice for the player.

Development began in 2008, alongside *Nico Adventures: Isolation*, and was created over the span of two years. Initially planned to be a more puzzle-centric game, negative response to *Isolation*'s darker tone inspired the development team to try and perfect a more mature *Nico Adventures* game. Yenta built upon the mechanics of Gallin from *Nico Adventures II* as an interactive hub world. The game removed the firearms seen in the previous two games. Arch and Michael both become much more prominent characters in the game. Shiro Sagisu returns to compose the game's soundtrack, and the game's main theme was recorded by Duran Duran.

*Nico Adventures: Perilous Diamonds* released to critical acclaim. The game's narrative, settings, gameplay, controls, soundtrack, animation and level design were all the point of praise. Critics noted that the darker and more mature tone of the game didn't feel as out of place as *Isolation*. Controversy was drawn to the game's PEGI 16 rating, alienating some of the younger fans. Reviewers criticised the repetition in design of the tunnels, and stated they would have liked more variation. Yenta was positively received as feeling 'alive' and fleshed out, a stark improvement over the city in *Isolation*. The game's story was praised as simple enough to be understood, whilst still being emotional and 'captivating'. The game won Game of the Year at the 2010 Video Game Awards, despite only being released less than a month before the ceremony. Shiro Sagisu's adaptive soundtrack was deemed innovative and his best work in the series yet.

Critically, *Nico Adventures: Perilous Diamonds* is the second best selling release in the series, behind *Nico Adventures: Isolation*. The game has sold over 85 million copies across all platforms as of 2025. Retrospectively, *Perilous Diamonds* is often considered one of the best entries in the franchise, and served as a primary selling point for the J-Exo, although in its launch year, 78% of its sales were on the J-Flash. Many have observed that the J-Exo could have been substantially more successful if *Perilous Diamonds* was an exclusive on the platform. A feature film adaptation of the same name released in 2011. The game was succeeded by *Nico Adventures: Mystery*.