The Legend of Heroes II: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch

"And so the legend continues..."

I almost considered just copying and pasting what I wrote about the first LoH game, tweaking the score and hoping it's pass. But I then remembered the first game didn't deserve that. The truth is this game is not as good as the first. I got it because I enjoyed the first game and like RPGs and since the PSP isn't overflowing with great games, I thought this would bring the same joy Tears of Vermilion did. If only it did.

Story
”Boy with sword and group of friends save the world.” That's how the first game went, it's also exactly how this game goes. The twist it, the story starts out very happy and light hearted. Chris and Jurio are heading out on their pilgrimage because apparently sending kids out across the world helps them to become adults. It's a simple goal; sea all five magic mirrors and return home. The goal is so boring the first half of the game is filled with nothing but really bad missions that are just about helping people. I swear, one mission is to find a string for a kitara so the guy can play music. By the second half of the game, things speed up but you don't really find anything out until the last part of the game. Now, this part of the story is great; but the build up to get there takes far too long.

Characters
Once again, you're given a large cast of characters who pop in and out of the game. Bad part is, the game makes little to no effort to make us care about them. I really didn't give a crap about any of them until the final part of the game which is a pity. But, some of these characters have interesting twists…which I can't tell you.

Moonlight Witch aka Gueld. She isn't a playable character; however, she is the most important person in the game. Everything is pretty much centered on her. I can't even go into details about her without ruining the ending but I can tell you that she is the most developed character in the game which is saying much since you never technically meet her.

Jurio aka Crybaby. Jurio is by far one of the worst main characters I've seen in an RPG. He's weak in nature, scared and whiny. He lets Chris lead him by..well yeah. Even though he is annoying he's a very nice person and sort of cute when he's shy. However, he's too ordinary to scream out “hero” in my book. Nothing wrong with an ordinary person being hero but Jurio just doesn't seem strong enough to do anything.

Christina aka Psycho Chick. Chris is Jurio's childhood friend who has apparently been watching out for him and bossing him around for a while. She's a year older than him but failed to go out on her pilgrimage the year before due to being sick. Good for her or she would have missed saving the world! She is said to be a tomboy however, she is stuck as being the typical weak magic using female in the game.

Filly aka Chris Light. She's a carbon copy of Chris in gameplay sense. Difference is, she's prettier and nicer than Chris. She is a sweet girl everyone loves and she loves to help everyone. She's not a major character but she should be.

Goose & Shirla aka Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb. These two are the worst thieves ever. Sadly, their characters are barely developed at all. They're purely for comic relief. Shirla uses a bow and arrow, it's a pity you can't use her more in the game.

Alfred aka Alf. I'm sorry but if my name was Alfred I'd rather be called Al than Alf. You don't have him in your party long, however, he plays a pretty important role in the game as you progress.

There are many other characters, some playable and some just part of the story. However, I can't go into detail about them all. One, it would take too long. Two, the game doesn't put enough effort in developing the characters for me to have much else to say about them.

Gameplay
When you defeat a monster, you get Pia which you can't spend. You need to go to the store and exchange Pia for Roze which you can spend. One Pia is worth five Roze so money isn't much of an issue. And what shall you spend this money on? Total crap! The variety in weapons is horrible. Sword, staff, spear and that's it. Only two characters actually use unique weapons but they're not in your party long enough for it to matter. Aside from the lack of stores, weapons and armor and variety, things are ok. The game has no other mini games, no side quests, no hidden weapons or items or characters. The only thing that might be considered a “side quest” would be collecting books. You do so, you get a sword near the end of the game. Yes, that's about it. I hope you don't want to get to level 99 because the game's exp system won't allow it. If the enemy is stronger than you then you'll get more exp. If it is weaker then you then you'll get barely any exp. I finished the game at level 43, just as the first game, I could have tried to push it to 44 but the at this point the final dungeon monsters were only giving 40exp when 1200exp was needed to level up. As you can see, it's pointless and near impossible. One thing that annoyed me in the first game is back in this game; your backpack can only hold ten of each item. You can't upgrade your backpack either, why did they do this? It wouldn't be so bad if your pet didn't keep finding stuff. Yes, the pet system is back. And, as in the first one, your pet will find things when happen. This fills up your backpack fast. You shouldn't even have a need to buy curing items in town. They also made the pet system better. What you feed your pet actually affects what it does in battle. Certain foods do certain attacks or give certain buffs. However, the game is still linear and doesn't give you much choice on your path or how you want to take it. One of the worst things about the game is a lot of the characters play like carbon copies. As I said, Filly is a copy of Chris. Lodi is a copy of Jurio. Stella is a copy of Morrison. Durzel is a copy of Joanna. This huge lack of variety hurts an already almost boring game.

Graphics
Cute sprites stuck on beautiful backgrounds, a very nice mix. The graphics are the same style from the first game. A very Japanese animation feel mixed with a bit of 3D as well. I saw nothing wrong with them, I think they fit the game well.

Sound
Nothing special at all; no voice acting and the background music was usually bland. If you play this game on mute you won't lose anything, trust me.

Replay Factor
None at all. Unless you want to relive the story then there is no replay value. No secret areas or New Game + to draw you into picking up this title again.

Scores
Story - 7
Gameplay - 5
Graphics - 6
Sound - 4
Replay Factor - 1
Overall - 5

Closing Thoughts
This game could have been so much better if they beefed up on the story and character development. The story is actually great! But it doesn't become great until you're almost finished the game. However, the game doesn't take very long to beat so if you liked the first one I'd suggest buying this one and playing it through at least once. Legend of Heros: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch is a good game that could have been made great.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 04/26/07