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Wish I hadn't bought it...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: July 14, 2000
Author: Amazon User

To be honest, I think this is one of the worst Playstation games I've ever experienced. I LOVED the original, and bought this under the assumption that it would reflect all the great qualities of Alundra.....sad to say it does not. The 3D format was an admirable idea, but it limits the actual length of the game to an unbearable level. One of the originals best attractions was it's immersiveness due to it's long duration, but this is lost in the sequel. I feel so strongly against this game I've gone out of my way to write this, it's a BIG disappointment.

Alundra 2

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 10
Date: December 14, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I have played some very bad games in my ten years of gaming but this game tops them all. When I first bought it I hoped that it would keep up the excellent standards that Alundra set. I was wrong. This game is totally rubish as far as I am concerned. While the graphics may look good they become very annoying. The music is o.k but the worst features of this game have to be the lack of a decent storyline and the camera angles. Overall, u think that any real RPGest should go out and buy a decent game such as FFVII.

Robots, Pirates and Underwear Monkeys, Oh My!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: August 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

That's only in the first hour. Unfortunately, this childish cast of monsters follows you throughout your journey as Flint "The Pirate Hunter" in your quest to take down the ultimate evil in the form of a trollish frog-wizard. If you've ever wondered why there is no Alundra 3, all you need to do is try to make a single pass through this one.

Gameplay:
Alundra 2 completely breaks away from its predecessor by throwing away the old 2d engine and replaces it with a clunky 3d one. The control is directionally based, much like the original Parasite Eve, adding the ability to rotate your camera in 8 directions. Here, the first problem arises while playing. Should you have the need to rotate the camera while moving, you'll find yourself unable to change directions unless you stop moving completely. Movement is very clumsy in this game which compounds with Flint's sheer sluggish-ness. Now add the game's horrid clipping, and dodging enemies can sometimes be an impossibility. Which is a shame, since no matter how many hit points you have, odds are 6 hits (attacks or collisions) with an enemy will find you dead.

Like the original, Alundra 2 is full of puzzles that require manipulation of the environment, and this clumsiness usually means that you'll be getting stuck running by diagonal walls or missing crucial jumps because you can't see where you're supposed to be going. The puzzles are also extremely easy until you get to around the 60% point of the game, at which point they actually take some thought. Which is good, because by that point the monsters and bosses become childishly easy, and without the more challenging puzzles, you'll be hard pressed to find reason to keep playing.

Graphics:
The move to a 3d engine was a bad one. The graphics in this game are just completely bland and uninspired. It's like taking all the bad parts of Granstream Saga and Threads of Fate and mixing them together. The polygonal characters are poorly rendered with bodies consisting of no more than ten polygons and the texture mapping is poorly done. There are no FMV's so-to-speak, with all the cut-scenes done with the game engine and the few movies being the game-engine on some other background. Definitely nothing to please your eyes while you slug through this one.

Sound:
The voice-acting in this game is surprisingly well done, albeit corny, and the list of actors is impressive with more than one recognizable voice in the mix. Unfortunately, the voices are the only upside since the music is uninspired at best. Be prepared for a lot of digitized oboes since the composer seems to love them more than is natural. Sound effects are par, they aren't annoying, nor do they rise out of this flavorless morass.

Overall:
If you're looking for a sequel to Alundra, this is not the game to you. Having gone through the entire game, there is not a single reference to Alundra or even to the Alundra world of Inoa. In fact the only thing that can be said to link the two games are the puzzles, but even then, these are much easier than the original. Even the original had a story that was dark and interesting, with Alundra being able to walk in people's nightmares and save their souls, but this one is pitiful and hackneyed. Basically, you are a pirate-hunter that teams up with a princess to save the kingdom from a court magician who goes awry. That's it, there's no side-story, back-story, or better-story ever revealed during gameplay.

Basically put, I can take games with bad graphics, poor sound, shoddy gameplay or no story; I just can't take a game with all of those traits combined. In fact, the game will clock you in around 20 hours with the last 5 hours being no too bad. The problem is that the first 15 hours were absolutely horrid. So horrid, in fact, that had my memory card corrupted and I had to replay them to get to the enjoyable part of the game, I would have just thrown the CD in the microwave and watched the lightshow.

Aflumpa 2!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: May 27, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I was so disappointed with this! The original Alundra was fantastic boasting a cracking manga intro (although this was a bit revealing), a good solid game engine and above all gameplay that worked! Here none of the above apply...

What shocked me the most at first was how much the graphics had been degraded! Instead of nice to look at cartoony graphics here they have adopted graphics recently took on by Shadow madness (that's not a good thing by the way!) Surely a sequel should move forwards not backwards?

To make matters worse there seemed to be an epmphasis on bad camera work! I was so sick and tired of adjusting the camera to attempt an impossible jump! I really had high expectations of this, considering the success of the original... My advice to you is leave this alone and catch up with original, as it is superior in every way possible.

too many annoying puzzles

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: April 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

alundra 2 is a weak game because of the lousy camera angle. i hate it when i cannot see were em i going because of an object blocking my view. and i also hate those annoying puzzles that when u mess up u have too start all over again. and those minigames, my god u have too have superhuman speed and patience just too accomplish them. and they all cost a bundle, apparently like in the real world money those not come easy in alundra 2. sidequesting also is barely original. even that shining sword whos still weak at the enemy. barely impressive. storyline is a bit edgy, meet the princess meet the bad guy save the princess from the bad guy, same old same old. one thing i like though, sometimes the characters make u giggle. but thats it, and i also like "the shooter" minigame.

Why is this rated teen

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 3
Date: November 14, 2003
Author: Amazon User

ok first off fighting monkeys and robots sucks.... this doesnt even come close to any zelda game by far.ok with that off my chest ill give you the good and the bad first the good, graphics:8 battle sytem:9 controls awkward at first because of the camera thing but its cool:7.5 now the bad plot:3 enemies,they're robots,monkies and stupid little gremlin things that should be in a dr. suess book c'mon :2 so i played about a half hour than turned it off in disgust maybe good for little kids with some parents help.so... stay away from this game

Disapointing.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I was so excited when I found this game in the used game bin at the Game Store the other day. I was a HUGE fan of the first one and was excited to see a sequel. Well after playing for one day I am sorry that I ever found it at all. The animation is choppy (even for its time. They should have never moved to 3D from 2D. I have no idea why this is even a sequel - there is no mention of the first one. The only simialrity is hacking the bushes for money. There are WAY to many cut scenes and while the voice acting is good, the scenes themselves are not well drawn. And they take place every few minutes. Fight a monster - get a cut. Walk into a room, get a cut.
The first boss is WAY to hard for a first battle, there are far to few saved spots. I am only a few hours into the game, so it could get better, but based on the other reviews here I am not optimistic.

The ugliest game I've ever seen

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 6
Date: July 18, 2000
Author: Amazon User

The graphics are now 3-D and terrible! They should have kept it 2-D. It's even worse than Grandia, but Grandia had many great qualities this title lacks.

Great Game. Deserving of four stars, but...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: May 13, 2000
Author: Amazon User

The Gamer from Gloucester has greatly enjoyed playing Alundra 2. If you know my reviews you probably know of my lack of fondness for, and my happiness at finding decent alternatives to the FF series. Alundra makes the cut with lots of room to spare. The animation is good, particularly the cinema sequences. The 360 view of gameplay takes a little getting used to, but once you do, being able to experience the whole enviornment is wonderful. Also, fighting enemies you can see coming makes the game more enjoyable. No random encounters in this one. That is a blessing, I wish more games would stop suprising me with random encounters, just when I think I'm getting somewhere. How many of you have ever just beaten the latest Boss and been on your way to a save point, only to be clobbered by a suprise attack of the weakest creatures in the game. Can't be helped, since there's no way to avoid the attack, and you used up all your healing potions and magic against the boss. Alundra 2 is a challenging game, and at times even very difficult, but this is one shortcoming I'm happy to report is not present here. The game has several neat distractions from the regular game play. These break up the monotony of the regular game and give the player a break. The mine car chase( very reminiscent of Temple of Doom) is one of my favorites. As always, the G.F.G. is over all a fan of the story. This one keeps it moving and interesting. There are a few suprises, and even a few creepy points. I would run this one in one of my regular RPG campaigns. The ducks( Play and see what I mean) were a nice touch. There is only one thing negative I have to say about this game. SHAME SHAME SHAME! Shame on activision for packaging a one disk game in a two disk box. I can only believe that the intent was to mislead players who don't read the label as well as they should. Don't let this happen to you. Read the box and be sure of what you are getting. The game is worth the price,but if you are looking for a multi disc Rpg that plays for ever and ever, this one may fool you. I would have thought the folks at Activision were aware of the fact that they had a good game here. There is no need to dress it up. it sells itself. For this reason I feel obligated to knock a star off this games rating. That aside. Be aware of what you're getting, and get it. You will definitely enjoy Alundra 2. It is on this gamer's play over and over list!

Going against the approval tide

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: April 12, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I love RPG games and have been playing since they 1st came out. This game would have rec'd a 5 Star rating if it wasn't so very frustrating. It 'loads' so often its annoying. Its easy to figure out the puzzles and most are fun but just as you have put an hour into the game (with no save point in sight)it puts in a easy puzzle but an impossible to do in less than another hour or more - skill to learn. If you don't learn the skill and get through it you must lose the last hour or more you put into the game. I am halfway through the game and will probably not play it to the end. The current skill I'm on is to leap to a box which lights another box and the one you are one disappears. Not so hard to figure out, but almost impossible unless you accidently land in the right place at the right time facing the right direction to go more than a few blocks before you have to start all over. Again not unreal to do just long and frustrating. I play to be challenged and the feeling of accomplishment at the complition of a difficult skill and I have NEVER shut off a game so often and been willing to loose all my progress rather than get upset. So, 3 Stars is all it deserves in my opinion. This could have been a great game.

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