Shining Soul II

"One of the best games on GBA, some would say it shines."

Note: My rating scale may be different than others. On my scale, 5 is average, 7 is very decent, and 10 is perfect.

An amazing GBA hack n slash with a diablo feel, lots of replay, a nice challenge, is an amazing port of the Sega classic. This version features new and improved AI that doesn't run into your sword like idiots, which is a huge improvement. As far as GBA ports/hacknslashers go, this is probably the best.

Concept
You get to choose what kind of character class you want to be (Ninja, Warrior, Brawler, Archer, Priestess, Etc.) and start on a journey that isn't really deep, but sure is fun. You go on missions that the king send you on. You also collect weapons, level up, and gain new summon spirits.

Story/gameplay
Not much story to it. Save the king's daughter, rid the land of evilness, "oh noes the witch done stole'd the princess!" basically you're the King's pawn, but its not bad. As you progress through the game, new missions and even sidequest become available. Its more of a "level up, then grind the next dungeon" type game which can be very fun. For every level you gain, you get to control your stats, and each level gain gives you one stat. It also gives you 4 points to control spirit, Vitality, defense, and strength. You also get stronger weapons along the way.

difficulty
This game offers a great challenge. For everytime you die, you lose a very important item from your inventory, even if its equipped, and half your Gold. You might need to go back to dungeons and area you previously completed to level up just so you can battle the boss. If you leave the dungeon or choose not to go back, all accomplishments from the dungeon you were at is vaporized. You will die a lot of times, trust me. And gold becomes hard to get, causing healing items to be hard to get. also depending on which class you chose, it may be far more challenging. Warrior is probably the hardest path to go. Archer is probably the easiest.

Replayability
This game offers a lot of that. with about 15-20 hours of gameplay each game, you also have 8 characters to choose from. Its so much fun going back with new characters seeing the differences between each one. I've gone through at least 4 times now, all with different classes.

Overall
This game is a must get for any GBA owner who is into RPG's, HacknSlashers, Action/Adventure, and even platformers. With tons of things to do, and different characters t choose from, this game is one of the best GBA games out there.

PS: Archer > All.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/12/07