Shining Soul II

"A shining diamond in the rough"

The second Soul game for the GBA has definitely made a vast improvement over the repetitious first RPG hack'n'slash. With 8 different classes with 10 colors sets and 8 skills for each class, there is a character for every preference. There are 10 different areas to explore (and many side-quest places as well) all with beautifully colored backgrounds. Hundreds of monsters can be slain by either physical or magical weapons. There are quite a few easter eggs to be found as well.

Gameplay (9/10)
The heart of the game is dungeon crawling. It sometimes does get repetitive, but I personally enjoy any game that follows along the Diablo veins. The different monster types which changes your attack strategy helps the sometimes monotonous gameplay. There is a coliseum area, where you have to destroy groups of monsters in a limited amount of time. You get rewarded with some nice prizes for your trouble though. Sub-quests are fairly plentiful, which will award you with a new area to level up in, or with some nice items.

Graphics (9.5/10)
I love isometric-view sprite RPGs, and this is no exception. The characters are drawn very nice, and the backgrounds are absolutely gorgeous. I really enjoyed some of the pseudo-3d moments, they blended in perfectly. My only complaint are some of the animations. It only seemed like 2 frames were made for movement. Other than that, perfect.

Sound (7/10)
It's hard to produce good sound/music with a GBA, but Atlus pulled off a decent job. The music isn't very catchy, but it won't drive you mad either. Sound effects are pretty sub-par. Nothing too impressive in this department.

Storyline (7.5/10)
There is very little storyline, and what is there isn't worth much. You start out fighting in the coliseum when disaster strikes. The princess is missing. (hmmmmm where have I heard this before?) After rescuing the princess, you find out there is a bigger plot behind kidnapping. The Darkness is rising and getting ready to take over. Your main quest then is to go out and stop the Darkness before it strikes. Not the best, but I've seen much worse.

Replay Value (10/10)
8 different classes can take you a while to max with the 200 level cap. Finishing all the mini-quests, finding all the monster cards, and constantly improving your gear is plenty enough reason to keep playing this game. Also two GBAs and a link cable will net you with some awesome multiplayer, which unlocks a few places within the original areas. All-in-all, there's quite a few hours packed away in this cartridge.

Overall (9/10) *not an average*
Definitely on the must buy list for GBA, especially for RPGers. No one will regret purchasing this, and people who have friends with a GBA and SSII will enjoy this masterpiece even more.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/10/04