Hercules no Eikou II

"A Worthy, Yet Flawed, Sequel"

Ah, yes, the sequel to just one of many Dragon Quest clones, none of which, thanks to Nintendo USA and their anti-RPG ways, never saw the light of day in America. Except that this sequel isn't exactly cloning Dragon Quest anymore, but rather emerging as its own distinctive series (I'm talking about when it was first released in Japan in 1989), as you shall see in my review.

The game is lax in story just like the first, although it does follow a boy you get to name (not Heracles, who joins your party late in the game), living with his grandmother. The boy finds a letter under his bed, telling about how the Dark Lord is sending his minions, the Titans, to haunt the people of Greece. Soon enough, the boy goes on a great journey to defeat the Dark Lord, getting three companions along the way, a centuar, a statue, and yes, Heracles, who has since the first game joined Zeus in Heaven.

The most significant improvement in this sequel over its predecessor are the graphics, which nearly meet the 8-bit standards set forth by ''Phantasy Star'' on the Sega Master System, save for the lack of fancy anime cuts. Still, the graphics are far better than those of the NES Dragon Warriors, definitely something to venerate.

A few tunes from this game's selection of music are also quite memorable, namely the jazzy ship theme, although there are a few that simply pass over your mind. Although the composer is no Beethoven or Sugiyama (DQ/DW's composer), the music is most certainly tolerable, although I could have used a boss battle theme (unfortunately absent from this title except for the final boss).

It's time now for the first of my, Otterland's, Big Two of RPGs, the interface. One improvement from the first game is the item menu, or rather menus, what with the allies you get during your journey, and rest assured that you'll never have to make decisions on what to throw away to make room for items necessary towards beating the game. Still, you still can't see what the effects of items are or how weapons and armor affect your stats before buying them.

Now for my other Big Two, the battle system. It's been slightly improved from the first game, namely because when you cancel out of an item (or magic, new to this game) menu, a turn isn't wasted, although they are if you try casting a spell, only to discover you don't have enough MP. In addition, enemies can kill you before you get a chance to heal, and the Escape option doesn't work in every regular enemy battle.

In conclusion, although I preferred the first Heracles no Eikou, I found its sequel to be worthy of the series' name, despite its flaws, and an RPG that any diehard fan of the genre should give a spin, although you might want to avoid it if you're not really a big fan of old-school RPGaming.

Battle System: 7
Interface: 7
Music and Sound: 7
Originality: 6
Story & Plot: 6
Localization: N/A
Replay Value: 6
Visuals: 9
Difficulty: Moderate
Completion Time: 20-25 Hours

Overall: 7

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/03, Updated 06/26/03