Alundra 2

"Want to gnash teeth in a natural way? Play Alundra 2.^^"

*Sniff* Whatever happened to one of my most favorite PSX titles?!
^_^!

Okay, well, what’s done is done; so no use rambling, right?

While “Alundra 2: The Mystery of the Machinevolution” can’t quite stand up to its great predecessor, it is, in itself, a very good game. Personally, I loved A2, though I’m not really sure why - since I find almost all of its aspects extremely lacking. But strangely enough, I do. And that’s already enough reason for me to not do this review in a “rating” way, so as not to scare off any future gamers who have probably never even heard of Alundra to come clicking that ‘X’ button above without even considering the pros of playing A2. (I am going to have to give an overall rating…-_-!)

In other words, I’m forcing you to read, not scan, my review. ^^ Here we go…

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Graphics: OUCH. Why’d they have to make it 3D when 2D was perfectly fine?? This really hurt my opinion of the game, especially when I was first playing through it. I actually checked the case to make sure it was Alundra I was playing and not some second-rate game. While it’s true that graphics don’t really make a game (unless you’re the type who goes crazy whenever you don’t see smooth, very human-like contours), A2’s graphics just…sucked. I’ve played the game several times, but I never really knew whether Flint was hot or was just your average red-headed adolescent guy. There were some bright perks to it, though, such as, um…bright colors. Yep. Bright colors, indeed.
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Story: W-ell, you’re swashbuckling Flint and you’re also a wanted man. You’re out to get revenge on the pirates responsible for your poor parents’ deaths. Now, meanie Baron Diaz is after the kingdom of Varuna (which is where you live, btw) and he’s already taken over the throne after the king gets kidnapped. He also wants to marry Princess Alexia, but surprise, surprise, Alexia isn’t exactly inclined on doing just that. Instead, Alexia hooks up with you and you’re off to save the kingdom. You battle with screwed people and monsters that’re under the power of screw-loving sorcerer Mephisto – the main villain of the game.

Intriguing, it is not. Fun? Why, yes, it is. It’s actually, IMO, a whole lot cheery compared to the prequel, although I do miss all the dreamwalking stuff. Humor galore also abounds in this game, so I don’t think you won’t get bored. Much.
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Gameplay: The game’s only saving grace. It does define what an Adventure RPG is all about, meaning: slash, walk, run, combos, jump, jump, and jump. You get combos that aren’t really that useful, but fun to watch all the same. You get to equip rings and you get to collect puzzle pieces. You hack bushes to acquire some goodies such as gold or some bit of healing. You can rob people’s piggy banks and you won’t go to jail. You play great mini-games. You figure out stupidly nerve-racking puzzles, which is actually a good thing compared to the prequel’s majorly stupid nerve-rackingly mind-boggling puzzles. Confused? Just take note of the number of adjectives and you’ll figure it out. I hope. ^^

Ahem, so how’s that for ya? Not exactly original, but hey, believe me, all of it’s just pure enjoyable. This game’s gameplay more than makes up for all the other low aspects.
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Music: Good, I s’pose. Fits each place and dungeon. But for some reason, I just absolutely despise the voice-acting. I don’t think I can bear hearing Ruby’s tilting high-pitched voice again. She reminds me of that princess from Brave Fencer Musashi, only she’s way more annoying.
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Challenge: Patience is a virtue. Remember that. You’ll need a lot of patience for this game, and then maybe some more. I tried playing this without any help from a walkthrough at first, but where’d that get me? I only ended up buying a new controller to replace the one I’ve thrown countless times against the wall. My fingers hurt for days. And the damage to my brain…ugh. Some words of advice: Read the darn walkthrough to spare yourself the frustration. Although, I do think you’ll need more than a walkthrough to get through this…

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Overall: 8/10
Despite many lowdowns, this game proved to be very challenging and very fun to play. I’m sorry it’s totally different than the prequel, but life’s tough like that. I suggest you buy this; it’s rather cheap but it’s a game you’ll hopefully learn to like in time. Just…practice patience first, ok? ^^

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/11/02, Updated 08/11/02