This was one of the first reasons I wanted to buy a DS. Being a fan of the Summon Night games for the GBA, I was stoked to see a sequel for the DS! Lo and behold, it was NOTHING like the first two games I played but who's to say I was disappointed?
This was one of the first reasons I wanted to buy a DS. Being a fan of the Summon Night games for the GBA, I was stoked to see a sequel for the DS! Lo and behold, it was NOTHING like the first two games I played but who's to say I was disappointed?
First Impression:
The opening sequence was just recycling the stills they use in game. A full motion video would have been nice, really. When I first saw the screenshots on DSFanboy, I was a little nervous. Would this game disappoint me because they changed the battle system I oh so loved?
Gameplay:
Summon Night Swordcraft Story: you find yourself choosing which character to be: male or female and you end up picking a Summon Beast who grants you magic, helps you forge your weapons.
Summon Night Twin Age: you can STILL pick who you want to be, male or female but it doesn't matter as you can switch control to either one on the field. Perhaps the only thing that changes is points of view. You can't pick a Summon Beast this time because... the male character you have liberty of choosing IS the summon beast. This time around, you can't really forge weapons like you used to. You can have them made at the store by providing the raw materials.
You start off with a knife, an axe and a lance. I've gone through half the game with the knife which becomes a sword eventually as you upgrade your weapons. You also have a TON of healing items (50 MP restore pots that restore 200 MP?!) which probably won't run out until much later. There are also monsters to be summoned that can aid you in battle and the game gives you two level 10+ ones to start with. Drop rate in dungeon crates and urns is REALLY high. Methinks the American release got dumbed down.
The battle system reminded me of an MMORPG. You run to the enemy, click them and your character attacks it until it falls. On the side is a command list where you can put ability icons for use. Yep. Definitely MMORPG like. Sure, they got rid of the best part of Summon Night for me but what they replaced it with was rather satisfying nontheless. Kinda.
Dungeons seem short and as long as you try to beat every single enemy in it and keep your weapons and armor upgraded, they won't pose much of a challenge.
Heck, even the skill tree reminds me of an MMORPG! You spend skill points (earned during a level up) to upgrade skills or buy new ones. Upgrade a skill enough and you max it. Buy enough skills and you unlock new ones. All in all, this leads to a deeper level of character customization.
Characters join your party as events unfold but you can only have three at a time. The boy and the girl can NOT be removed. The third member of the party can be chosen from the rest of the motley crew following you around.
As Gamespot said, the AI seems a little shabby. Your party members can get caught in corners and you'll have to backtrack to get them.
Story:
This Summon Night seems to be set somewhere different from its two predecessors so don't expect to see the same thing. Sure, there are some factors that bear similarity (Summon Beasts) but it's not quite the same. Maybe it's an AU of sorts.
Last words:
As I said, Summon Night Twin Age is a different flavor from Swordcraft Story but it's the sort of flavor that wasn't at all a complete disaster. It wasn't what I expected but I wasn't really disappointed at all.
Maybe this is what it would be like if Summon Night was... yes, you guessed it. an MMORPG.
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Ratings:
Graphics: 4.5
The character designs and the sprites are bright and colorful, same with the backgrounds. They look mostly like GBA graphics though and that might be a turn off for some people. Personally, I like how they kept the charm of the older Summon Night games.
Gameplay: 4/5
Easy to pick up. Click, drag, click, drag... if you've played an MMORPG, you'll have no problems.
Soundtrack: 3.5/5
It's... cute. Well... kind of. No audio orgasms here.
The Look and Feel: 4/5
It's a nice, clean game. Fun and easy to pick up. As long as you kill everything in sight, you'll be fine. A few missions are frustrating, though.
Overall Rating: 8/10
Rating: 8.5/10
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