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By Contributing Writer Jimmy Payne Rating: Good Alundra 2 is a unique and enjoyable game, but it's not quite good enough to make a noticeable bang in the world of RPGs. The biggest problems with the game are its outdated graphics, tedious puzzles, and horribly-designed boss battles. Alundra 2 has completely polygonal graphics (unlike the original game), but they're not well-done polygonal graphics. The poly counts on the characters don't seem to be very high, and in some ways the original game's distinct 2D graphics are more attractive than the sequel's. The character models are similar to quality to the three-year-old Final Fantasy 7. They don't look bad, but they do make the game seem older than it actually is. I'm not the slightest bit turned off by the fact that Alundra 2 has real-time combat rather than the turn-based combat traditionally found in most RPGs. I have fallen in love with lots of action/RPGs over the years (including Secret of Mana and Secret of Evermore), so I certainly don't have a grudge against this kind of game. The biggest difference between Alundra 2 and the aforementioned games is that Alundra 2 has many more puzzle elements. Every single dungeon has tons of puzzles, and after a while you just want to get on with the action and story line rather than moving a bunch of blocks around to open a door. Unfortunately for the game's long-term depth, the bosses are nowhere near as difficult as the puzzles. I don't like how a lot of the bosses in the Final Fantasy series have weak points that can be exploited for easy wins. This is way more out of control in Alundra 2 than it is in any of the Final Fantasy games or any other RPG. The bosses go through the same patterns for entire battles, and all you have to do is counter with a repetitive pattern of your own. You can practically close your eyes and still beat a boss once you've figured out its weak spot and pattern. I think most gamers will agree that when you're in a boss battle and there's no way in hell that you can lose, it's not a very challenging or fun experience. Another big problem with Alundra 2 is its character designs. The personalities of the characters are nicely developed in the story line, but they look way too generic. Even the main character looks like your average RPG hero with an average-looking sword and an average-looking hairstyle. I wish the developers had been a little more original when it came time to design the characters. The only thing that makes up for all of this game's flaws is the well- crafted story line. The story is the most important thing in any RPG, and this story is almost good enough to make Alundra 2 a must-have game despite its many flaws. I like how the story line isn't too childish (like Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon) or too serious (like Final Fantasy 8). The outdated graphics rear their ugly head in the cut scenes that convey a lot of the story line, but the story itself is great. I can look past this game's outdated graphics, but it's a lot harder to get past the annoying puzzles and easy boss battles, especially when there have been so many other good RPGs released in the past year. Alundra 2 is still worth playing all the way through because of the story line alone, but only if you have already finished Lunar, Final Fantasy 8, Grandia, and Suikoden 2. Send your thoughts on this review to jimmy@mastergamer.com
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