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 Alundra
2 is the latest game from Contrail, the producers of the original Alundra,
Wild Arms, and Legend of Legaia.
Published here by Activision, it still retains the flavor of
Contrail’s unique blend of action and entertaining story. The sequel
to the Alundra really has nothing in common with the first game.
Featuring a completely new world, a new cast of characters, and a 3D
look, Alundra 2 is a game all its own that should not be
associated with the original in any way.
The
story starts out as a typical "kingdom in trouble" yarn with the hero
as the only one left to save the day.
The king has been imprisoned by an evil baron who is in league
with the former court magician, Mephisto, and a band of pirates led by
the overly voluptuous Milena. Alexia,
the king’s daughter, tries to save the kingdom by finding Flint,
a famous pirate hunter and son of the missing king’s champion.
Together, they uncover the baron’s plot and fight to save the
day.
What would otherwise
be a hackneyed story turns out really well due to the humor in the
game. Activision did a
fine job translating the jokes and inserting their own when the plot
allowed for it. The
personalities of the characters are memorable and relationships
actually grow and change during the course of the story.
What also helps is the plethora of spoken dialogue in the
cinema scenes. Each
character has a voice that fleshes out their personality and it's done well. Unfortunately,
Flint is the only one who never talks which, to me, makes him the least
interesting character. However,
the entertaining style of all the rest of the cast makes up for any
drawbacks of the hero.
The
look of the game is completely 3D with a fully rotatable world and a capability to zoom in and out of the action that helps tremendously
with the puzzles and navigation.
Graphically, however, the game stumbles badly. The polygon representations of the characters are very rough
to say the least. There’s
also low detail to the point that sometimes you can’t even figure
out what you are looking at. The
movies are the worst because they keep the ugly in-game graphics.
A switch to wide-screen doesn’t help either.
The environments are, at best, subdued and not overly colorful.
The variety in the dungeons is decent ranging from caves, castles,
forests, and even an underwater shipwreck.
In a late generation game like this, Contrail should have put
more effort on the graphics.
 The
graphics may be lacking, but the music is actually pretty good.
The music tracks change
during key plot events and the background music stays in the
background during dungeon exploration.
Sound effects are also nicely felt when Flint jumps and attacks
the enemies.
Alundra 2 really shines when it comes to gameplay.
Unlike the original, the puzzles are much easier and as a
result are more fun rather than frustrating.
Each dungeon features numerous types of puzzles ranging from
block moving and fire dodging to killing all the enemies and jumping
on switches. The good
thing about this is you don’t end up going from one endless dungeon
to the next without good reason. Rather, the game's flow is very plot
oriented and moves naturally from location to location as Flint
travels the world to uncover the Baron’s convoluted plans.
Battles are completely action-based usually involving fighting
with your sword, using magic attacks, or combo moves.
The enemies are always seen and can be avoided. There are also very few items in the game consisting of several
levels of healing and magic replenishment herbs which must be kept in
a 3 slot pocket for instant use.
Equipment-wise there is only a sword and shield to keep track
of which are upgraded through buying the corresponding higher-level
items in shops.
Magic is
simple and handled well. All
of it is elemental and contained in rings, which must either be found
or earned during the course of the game.
Each magic type is used for puzzle solving as well as for
attack. Added to the joy of solving the puzzles and fighting are a
range of mini-games which act as either a distraction or the only way
to get magic upgrades. These include a dart game, a primitive Pac-Man, racing, and
dungeon scenario games for escaping traps.
 Finally, the game is loaded with secret treasures that must be
collected in order to learn more combo moves.
All of these elements are combined into a truly enjoyable game
that surpasses the original in every way.
If you loved The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the N64 then
Alundra 2 will be the
closest you can get on the PlayStation.
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