Lost Kingdoms II is a card-themed RPG for the Gamecube. Set 200 years after Queen Katia saved her kingdom from the God of Destruction, Tara Grimface must now save the land from a new threat.
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Lost Kingdoms II is an ambitious sequel that has some cool ideas on how to open the gameplay up into a real-time action-adventure, but doesn't fully deliver on the new concepts.
There's a crazy amount of new cards, summon cards have been expanded to have multiple effects, and there are several potent card combos with unique effects you can discover. The expansion of the core card battling is pretty much all improved; it's a shame the switch from encounter-based combat trivializes such a large portion of the game.
While the open-world battling makes the entire game flow more seamlessly, it kills the more deliberate pacing and removes much of the challenge of the first game. Deck management and card restoration effects were crucial in the first game, but almost entirely irrelevant here. You are free to run past any encounter with practically no consequences.
Transformation cards are one of the more interesting new mechanics - transforming into monsters to fly across gaps, jump onto ledges, or break down walls - but are sadly rarely utilized for anything more than obtaining a few optional chests or items. The mechanics end up feeling undercooked and are just begging for more compelling level and puzzle design.
Overall, it is impressive From Software managed to make such a vastly different and still largely enjoyable sequel with such limited development time. With all the resources the studio has nowadays, one can't help but think of all the potential of a modern Lost Kingdoms III. Make it happen.
There's a crazy amount of new cards, summon cards have been expanded to have multiple effects, and there are several potent card combos with unique effects you can discover. The expansion of the core card battling is pretty much all improved; it's a shame the switch from encounter-based combat trivializes such a large portion of the game.
While the open-world battling makes the entire game flow more seamlessly, it kills the more deliberate pacing and removes much of the challenge of the first game. Deck management and card restoration effects were crucial in the first game, but almost entirely irrelevant here. You are free to run past any encounter with practically no consequences.
Transformation cards are one of the more interesting new mechanics - transforming into monsters to fly across gaps, jump onto ledges, or break down walls - but are sadly rarely utilized for anything more than obtaining a few optional chests or items. The mechanics end up feeling undercooked and are just begging for more compelling level and puzzle design.
Overall, it is impressive From Software managed to make such a vastly different and still largely enjoyable sequel with such limited development time. With all the resources the studio has nowadays, one can't help but think of all the potential of a modern Lost Kingdoms III. Make it happen.
many improvements over the first game, still a bit frustrating and janky at points
need more action card battlers pls
need more action card battlers pls
GOTY every year
Better production, a third-person view, non-segmented battling and longer cutscenes bolster Lost Kingdoms II, that largely continued their card-summoner style with more ambition and charm. Some of the appeal is lost in their oversized areas and sluggish movement, but its new transformation cards inject an unlockable/puzzle-driven factor to gameplay, while the stressful bosses of before have been tamed to a much more tolerable level.
It's everything I love about the first game, but without the random battles or the free monster catching. (God, those capture cards are expensive). Secrets you have to backtrack for, monster transformation and the ability to play as Katia for multiplayer. I love it.
Weird how this one both improves upon the original and somehow ends up being exactly the same game. I definitely prefer the full 3D and the real time battle system as a way of making the game flow better, but all the combat and card effects still feel dreadfully slow and tedious despite how much I wanted to love it. Even the graphics, the card art, the scenery desgin; everything looks better but it just didn't improve enough. At the very least, many people will finally have the FromSoft game for them as this is the easiest to get into and to actually play, just couldn't stick with it myself.