YOU REVIVED
I recently beat Lost Kingdoms II, or reached the end of the story at least.
Overall I'd say the game is about even with LKI. I was just gonna write a few thoughts but somehow a ramble came out.
It's that low budget old Fromsoft goodness. LKI had more of that desolate atmosphere I crave while II gets a bit too colourful at times.
I can forgive this splash of colour as they were going for a lighter feel than their other fantasy fare; with cards forming your arsenal for battle and female fixed protagonists.
A key factor in story and environments is that events occur while you are present in II, like when Tara must fight her way into a besieged castle. In the first game Katia seems to turn up after everything's happened, which usually means trudging around ruins.
LKI had a better feel, I'm not sure exactly why that is. Maybe it's the better framerate, looks like 60 on real hardware. Whereas II runs at 30 or maybe lower at certain points.
Exploration is more of a factor in II: with slightly more freedom from the world map, the ability to always re-enter most areas. A lower down camera perspective allowing you to see the horizon and switch back to top-down view with one flick of the C-stick. Certain cards allow you to transform and reach new areas/overcome obstacles - giving you incentive to retrace old areas to reach new levels or chests you'd seen before.
While this is a welcome addition it means you have to spend quite some time fucking around in menus between levels sorting out your cards to bring whatever abilities you'll need. This faffing is compounded by the card combos available for fights: using certain cards at the same time allows you to perform special attacks. This means you'll have to choose these cards for your deck and maybe carry cards that are useless until combined, so you'll be constantly cycling your deck on the field until the right cards are in your hand. Consequently I didn't bother with any combos other than a 2 card healing combo for dire situations; I wanted to
play the damn game.
LKII added a lock on system for easier targeting. It blows and is unnecessary I think, especially if you're using the top-down view for a fight. Get this: you lock on by pressing C-up, and unlock with C-down. These are the same controls for changing the camera perspective, also panning the camera is C-right/left. So you're constantly locking on accidentally when you just wanna adjust the camera
The story was entertaining for most of the game: with the kingdom of Kendarie on the warpath and invading the other Kingdoms (which are no longer Lost). However towards the end the attempts to tell story via cutscenes fall flat in my opinion, has this ever been done well by FromSoft? In LKII it's cheesy as hell, in a cringeworthy and not endearing way. I simply laughed it off though, the same way you'd enjoy a low budget game as 'quaint.'
The lore is pretty cool though - with the gods who created the world and how their feud has repercussions that still affect and influence the humans' struggle. The monuments and portraits of Katia from the first game also cement that lore, with LKII taking place centuries later. These portrayals of Katia are pretty, which is interesting as she was ugly as hell in LKI. I wouldn't mind playing as an ugly girl for once, but it's more likely they just failed to make an attractive character haha.
Artwork:
http://www.rpgfan.com/pics/rune/art-char-01.jpgIn game:
http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/los ... 1104202535
What's interesting is that Dark Souls begins with a lore dump - the world's origin. Then eventually you uncover the story of what's happening in the present. Lost Kingdoms I is the other way around, you're told what's going on in scrolling text, eventually uncovering the secret of the world's origin and its legacy.
Final boss & Denouement actually sucked.
A static monster in the middle of a tower with tentacle arms around the stage that allow you to get away and sit in a corner healing whenever you need to. I somehow killed it in a few hits with a card that dishes out revenge damage; I didn't realise it was so OP, it just happened to be the card I was dealt for that time and threw it out to cover my retreat..
No ending to speak of really. This wouldn't usually be a problem, but the game had tried to tell a story with characters up till this point, so why just go HAPPY END and fade to black...
There was one level with a puzzle I never solved however, and more places opened up on the map after beating the game, so there's hope for a bigger challenge yet.
A little rundown:
Lost Kingdoms I:
Smoother, feels better.
More desolate atmosphere
More of a pure experience, less bloated mechanics.
Better story, better told.
Harder - Worthy final level/boss.
Lost Kingdoms II:
More open; exploration.
No random encounters, enemies are visible and level design reflects this.
Level up system - no opinion of this really.
More dialogue, some living places to visit.
Replay value for individual areas.
Some BGM that captures the LK feel well:
Greenfoel ChurchBernden FieldLKII Boss ThemeI know some people want FromSoft to take a break from the Souls series. I do wish there was a Lost Kingdoms III, or even a King's Field V. I'd love to see what a bigger, richer From could do with these IPs with all they've learned from producing Soulsborne. I also think they've earned themselves legions of die hard fans who would give a fair chance/buy pretty much anything they release now, within reason. I want to sit by the bonfire and prepare my deck for the next adventure..
A man can dream.