The Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight

"A mix of 3D mazes and tough battles...it was hard."

Too bad it's one of those good games which never made it to America.

Graphics: 8 Very Good
This game has sported some great graphics. Although not as good as some games like Castlevania 3, these are quite hot on it's heels. The background graphics are nice, the monster sprites are also cool, and the pictures that show up in stores or certain times are pretty cool. Added to that are portraits in some parts of the game, and they're animated! In battles, however, you can only see one monster, even if you're fighting many monsters, because their sprites are so big.

Sound/Music: 6 Above Average
The audio is not bad, but it could have been a little better. The tunes are moody and catchy, but the sound effects seem to have been recycled from part 1.

Controls: 6 Above Average
No problem here. It's like in most RPGs, but they're slightly more responsive than part 1's.

Gameplay: 7 Good
You wander in 3D mazes with a party of 5 members (6, technically, when you summon or capture a monster). You can use a bard in your team who can sing a song to brainwash a monster, which stays with you until it dies or you control a new one. There are ten character classes to choose from, each with strengths and weaknesses. Fighters and knights have high HP and attack power, and hunters are the only ones who can do critical hits (instantly kills enemy). Mages and conjurers can cast powerful spells. Bards can sing songs which have cool effects in battle and overworld, and thieves can disarm traps. The other three are only available when you've gotten far.

Story: ? Unknown
Okay, so I don't know Japanese. Sucks for me, so I did some blind wandering and play around.

Challenge: 8 Very Good
You might simply think that it's hard just because it's a bunch of mazes, and then easy when you get your 5 members at the start. How nice, five team members! Enter your first battle scene against some weak enemies early on, and you're likely to have 2 or 3 members die after the first two or three battles. Another difficulty you might encounter is choosing your characters' classes. Since there are 10 (three of those are available if you play well) classes and only 5 members allowed, it can be tricky to choose carefully.

Overall: 7 Good
Good, but not great. It delivers much you want in a game, despite minor flaws.

Pluses
+Fairly challenging
+Nice graphics
+Just plain fun, but not fantastic

Minuses
-Only one monster appears on the screen in battle, even though there are more to fight
-The rarity of this game and it never made it to America

Buy? Rent? Throw Away? Or what...
Buy, but considering you might not know Japanese and that it's rare, download.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/22/03