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Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2(GBA) (T) (Adventure) |
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Well-Crafted
The quest for the ?perfect? handheld game is an elusive one. The ideal marriage of story and gameplay elements can be hard enough to balance on a console, but generally we expect something a little different from our handheld- immersive complexity as well as portability, a game we can play just as well crashed on the couch as we can in line at the bank. Fortunately, GameBoy junkies have a rich new option in Flight Plan?s Summon Knight: Swordcraft Story 2, the sequel to an earlier installment also released by Atlus in America this year.
RPGs in particular are tricky to get ?right?, portable elements aside. Elaborate maps, massive bestiaries and heavy plots peppered liberally with CG movies have helped to carry the genre on the console, but the GBA has, of course, no such capability. As a result, most RPGs released for the GBA are loaded down with many of the drawbacks that plagued most of the previous decade?s console titles- endless and brutal level-grinding in a tedious battle system, with a two-dimensional cast of characters and simplistic story providing little motivation for this sort of play. Indeed, a good portion of the GBA?s RPG suite is comprised of old-school re-releases, many of which would beg the question, ?why would I want to play this again?? Somehow, Swordcraft Story 2 manages to deftly sidestep these deterrents and still gives the gamer a great experience that?s highly portable, too.  From the start, the game allows for an appealing degree of customization, allowing you to choose a male or a female protagonist. You can play as either Edgar or Aera Colthearts, and you?re an apprentice Craftknight, the adopted child of a family of artisanal blacksmiths. The peace of your charming village is disrupted early on by the unsealing of a demonic force, Goura, from a sacred site, and you must embark on your epic journey to find the sacred swords that will lock the evil safely away once again. You?re accompanied in your journey by a Guardian Beast, a supernatural sidekick who you meet early on and who takes a bonding pledge to assist and protect you. Here, too, you have the freedom of selection, paired with one of four creatures depending on which options you choose. The dialogue is pleasingly variant depending on your chosen combination of protagonist and guardian, and each Guardian Beast has his or her own different personality quirks. You and your companion will search the world for clues and tools to reseal Goura, continuing in your quest to become a fully-fledged Craftknight along the way. All the weapons used in the game are ?crafted? by you from materials collected in your journey- discovered in the field, gained from defeating monsters, or obtained through special quests. The game offers five distinct weapon types- sword, axe, spear, knuckle and (mysteriously useless) drill. The weapons can be used in battle against monsters, or, through clever application in the field areas, to eliminate obstacles and discover more treasure.  The item-based, weapons creation system is one of the game?s best elements- incidentally, you can also create your defense and recuperative items from field materials at a much lower cost than you?d spend buying them. Generating weapons is fully customizable, with an impressive array of effects from different ores in virtually limitless combinations. As a result, this title is sure to please the quest-obsessive mini-game addict with the perfectionist tendency to search and collect compulsively as you fill out your bestiary and weapon roster. A fun, timing-based fishing mini-game allows you to accrue points that you can trade for weapon ores, and it?s perfect for killing time when you don?t feel like delving into a full-fledged quest chapter. The game?s flexible, though, in that those who find those kinds of details tedious merely don?t have to indulge them; the game?s most basic elements are fairly simple to achieve.
Possibly the game?s most distinctive feature is its battle system. There?s no turn-based, menu-oriented level-grinding here. Instead, the game takes a bit of a risk with a realtime, sidescrolling battle model that plays like a simplistic 2D fighter. The reason that most RPGs stick to some variation on the turn-based system is because deviations rarely work. But in this case, it?s pulled off nicely- it?s a real treat to get to cycle through and actually utilize the weapons you build, and the necessity of timing and strategy against different enemy types makes each fight fun and different- a big plus when the encounter rate?s generally quite high and the spoils of battle are necessary materials for crafting. Though most RPG gamers will, on occasion, roll their eyes and sigh impatiently during that typified screen flash before the enemy appears- that?s just part of the experience- the impatience is fairly minimized here; battles aren?t grueling. The rich soundtrack, detailed, interactive environments and nearly endless parade of nicely animated characters so cute they hurt your teeth help to put this game head and shoulders above most other handheld titles of its type. Finally, a fun portable RPG that actually plays like a cute old-school console title, stylistically recalling Xenogears or Chrono Trigger, but adapted quite well for the handheld environment.
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Dinah: A devil-girl with a split personality (she?s got a sugary angelic half) and a flair for the dramatic. She feigns detachment and often tries to avoid doing any work, but it?s all an act.
Loki: A brash, combative oni-boy striving to become a great swordsman. He pridefully assumes responsibility for protecting you.
Arno: An androgynous, peaceable creature with puppy ears whose sweet, pacifistic nature sometimes interferes with his productivity. He claims to be able to communicate with the wind and frequently cites its feelings.
EX-e-LD: A creature from the machine world who is only capable of dealing with problems via logic, often confounded by the temperamental characters. Charmingly, his circuits become frazzled if he?s teased too much.