After hearing about how good Turok 2 in comparison to the first game, I finally decided to probably play through it after so many years of never playing past the first level.

Turok 2, ironically, helped me appreciate how enjoyable the original Turok is. Turok 2 is mired in backtracking, so, so much of it. And the absolute worst of 90's mazelike level design. (Good like getting past level 4 without a guide...) That being said, there is clear ambition here and I can definitely appreciate how complex this game is for the time it came out, and on the N64 to boot! I will also say needing to 100% a level simply to progress is honestly one of the worst design choices. Playing it now, though? In 2024? It's heavily outdated and there are certainly much better games.

Overall I enjoyed my time with Turok 2, and i'm glad I played it. Will I ever replay it? Doubtful. I'd much rather replay the original Turok.

Known in Japan under the hilarious title of "VIOLENCE KILLER: Turok New Generation", after I finished The first Turok, it was logically time to progress onto the other one that came out here. I wasn't a super huge fan of the original Turok, but I had more than enough fun with it that I was looking forward to this one, especially since I'd heard this was the better of the two. While my first impression wasn't amazing, I ultimately ended up having a pretty good time with it, especially after I finally ditched the super sensitive aftermarket joystick that I was using for Turok 1 and actually used a proper N64 controller for this one XD. It took me around 25 hours to complete the normal difficulty of the Japanese version of the game on original hardware using a guide a couple times and without using any cheats.

Where Turok 1 had almost no story in the actual game, Turok 2 has a fair bit more. Going away from the more mystical aspects of Turok and towards the more sci-fi parts, this starts a new holder of the title of Turok getting summoned to the Lost Land to save it (and the universe) once again. An ancient alien entity called the Primagen is attempting to destroy the universe with the help of several clans from across space and time, and it's up to Turok to stop them. It's pretty standard for the time and really nothing special, as basically all of the story here is just exposition, and when it isn't it's sequel baiting XD. That said, I do have to give massive props to Acclaim for actually dubbing the game into Japanese! This is the only western-developed game on the N64 I know that did this (and it wasn't super common on the PS1 either, in my experience anyhow), and I definitely want to give credit where credit is due for another excellent localization for the region when most companies barely bothered. Ultimately, the story is fun and good enough for what it's here to do. It's here to facilitate fun dinosaur & alien shooty-bang action, and that's just what it does.

The gameplay of Turok 2 is fairly similar to the first game but also VERY different in a lot of ways that matter. On the more similar end, we have a shooter with several levels (6 this time instead of 8 like last time) with three bosses + a final boss. In each level, you have to collect a number of keys to unlock more worlds, and there are oodles of guns you can find and use to kill the oodles of enemies that are here to mess you up. On the somewhat different side, we now have mission objectives to complete in each stage, and you can't leave the level until the mission objectives are all complete. You also have holy eagle feathers to find to use to unlock special talismans that bestow special powers.

However, all of that extra stuff is effectively just keys with extra steps. The mission objectives may as well just be more keys with how it's just more finding hidden stuff, and the talismans can only be used at certain points to access content you need to access (usually) anyhow for progression, so even though Turok 2 is dressed up like a more complicated game, this is just as much a key hunt as the first game. The level design overall is by and large better and more forgiving than the first game. There's a LOT less first-person platforming, thank gods, and there are also certain ammo and health points in each level that respawn resources infinitely, making it a lot less scary to go hog-wild with your big, fun guns than it ever was in the original Turok. That said, a key hunt is still a key hunt, and if you didn't like it in the last game, you're very likely not going to like it here either no matter how much better polished the level design is.

The guns and such are switched up quite a bit too, but in ways that aren't obvious at first. We've toned down the number of weapons and also made UI improvements that make switching between upgrades to old guns as well as different ammo types WAY easier in a way that's really good. Certain guns like the mini-gun (or what approximates it in this game, anyhow) have also gotten HUGE buffs in power while others like the super OP grenade launcher from the first game have gotten insanely huge nerfs. Explosive weapons on the whole were things I found almost completely useless with how wimpy they were, and that was a big disappointment in just how much it limited my arsenal.

On the topic of guns though, the big reason I had to switch to a controller with a proper joystick was because this game actually gives you a crosshair to aim with! This game on the whole requires you to have FAR more accuracy than the first game did, so it's a good thing it does. While there is still auto aim (which you can turn on and off whenever you want in the options menu) that is very helpful, things like head shots are now possible, and dynamically damaging enemies for different point values depending on where you shoot them can make them explode and die in all sorts of lovingly animated ways. However, that also brings about another big problem.

The new "damage based on where they're shot" thing is ultimately more trouble than it's worth for my money, as it mostly just lead to enemies sometimes dying in just one shot, while other times they'd take half of the max ammo for a gun to kill because the game just decided that they hadn't been hit in quite the right way for whatever reason. It's a neat idea, but on the N64's hardware just doesn't allow for the degree of accuracy you'd need to really have a system like this pay off. On the subject of hardware, this is also a good time to bring up just how bad the slowdown can be, because especially when you're moving fast and there are a lot of enemies on screen (which happens quite often), it can be REALLY hard to actually tell what's going on because the framerate just tanks that badly. This wouldn't be so bad if actions weren't linked to framerate, as you'll often start moving more slowly while enemies get slowed down less, making the player get punished by taking more damage whenever the framerate starts to dip. It's not a game-destroying problem, but the framerate and inconsistent damage stuff were both things that annoyed me very greatly the whole game, and it's something even the most fun and powerful guns in the game couldn't fix.

Graphically, Turok 2 is quite a nice looking game. We're firmly into the mid-life of the N64 by this point, and we've also got the RAM expansion pak to play with, so Turok actually has some really nice looking resolutions to play with if you've got it. Oddly enough, the resolution actually gives you more to see on screen, as it effectively zooms you in if you're on low resolution mode, and even more oddly, your resolution mode doesn't seem to have any impact whatsoever on improving the framerate (sadly). Enemies are animated and designed really well, and all six levels have very unique and cool looks to them too, and I also loved the music. There are some really wild picks for the songs in this game, and it's overall a really diverse soundtrack compared to what I would've otherwise expected, with some levels having stuff that sounds like it'd be right at home in a Zelda game, and others sounding like they've been pulled right out of a Rare platformer.

Verdict: Hesitantly Recommended. As much as this absolutely is better than the first game, and it does pick up a fair bit once you hit level 3 or so and start getting some access to bigger and more fun guns, this game has way too many issues to recommend very confidently. Just how difficult it is to aim as well as how frustrating the framerate issues so often make combat makes this a far more frustrating time than it really feels is necessary. The newer remaster is honestly SO different that it's frankly closer to a modern reimagining than a simple remaster, but it takes these pieces and does things that are so much more geared towards a modern notion of a fun time with an FPS that it's really hard to recommend not just picking up the newer remaster unless you're a really big retro FPS fan and simply must see what it's like on the original hardware.

This game is really confusing to me. The most obvious confusing element to this game is its story, I have just finished and beaten playing this game with a total of over 5 hours of play time, yet I still have barley a clue on what the story of this game was about. My best interpretation is that its kinda like Evangelion? I mean I like the ascetics and the cheesy voice acting, but it just drops you into this world and explains nothing, with this story going a million miles an hour. Maybe it was explained in thr Japanese manuals, but I’m probably watching a youtube video explaining after I finish writing this. The gameplay though is actually really well thought out for a first stab at a 3D run and gun using the N64 controller. It can be kinda confusing to control a lot of the time, but it isnt overly complicated (not to mention I suck at this game too). But another confusing element is. why was this game fully translated into english dialogue, but only released for a Japanese audience. I can kind of understand that maybe after NOA translated the game, they realized that it would be way to confusing to realize in the west, but then why go through with implementing english speaking VA for the whole game? Overall, I really suck at this game, but I can admit that it holds up really well for a N64 3D run and gun. I am also just intrigued by it and want to know more about its history, because Treasure has always been a pretty big blind spot in my video game history knowledge. I’m really looking forward to trying Star Successor out one day because I feel like that could cure a lot of my gripes with the game.

I've tried on a few occasions in the past to play through this, though each has been well after the the game's original release. This was my furthest effort so far, and I got near the halfway mark before I finally gave up.

It's a little frustrating reviewing this, because there is so much to like. The game is gorgeous; it has aged incredibly well thanks to the art style, which makes fantastic use of Yoshida's concept and character artwork. The score is another strong element, as is the story and localization. The script is frankly a wonder for a game of its time, when localizations were still often rushed and threadbare. You can tell that genuine care went into it, and the story deserves it; the characters are interesting, and the political/religious web of intrigue is compelling.

But the gameplay. I don't doubt that at a younger age, I would've had more patience to navigate the game's obtuse and granular combat system, exacerbated by the cumbersome menus you have to navigate on a constant basis. It took some effort to overcome one of the numerous walls in the game, spending several minutes sorting through a half dozen weapons one by one, looking for the one with the right array of parameters to deal more than a single point of damage against an enemy at hand. Eventually it was just exhausting, especially when little more than bad luck found me without such a weapon, and even more particularly when trying to navigate maps where said enemies respawn, hamstringing me in the throes of being hopelessly lost.

I think some of the elements of the combat design are very cool and interesting, and some amount of streamlining might've really clicked for me, but as is I just grew tired of it, and found myself trying to simply run past whatever fights I could, its own exercise in frustration. I simply wasn't having fun at a point, and I had to call it.

But I did immediately go to YouTube and find a cutscene compilation so that I could experience the rest of the story, visuals, and soundtrack. I can't give the game a bad rating in light of that, but I also just can't say I love the game like I wish that I could.