1. Brandish 2: The Planet Buster | SFC | 1995 | 15hrs | 9/10Brandish 2 is the sequel to the original Brandish. Rather than explain what the original Brandish is all over again, I'll instead refer to my previous reviews of the PSP Brandish remake:
Ares Mode:
viewtopic.php?p=977933#p977933Dela Mode:
viewtopic.php?p=980077#p980077And now, on to Brandish 2...
Brandish 2 is a top down dungeon crawler, which focuses on intense difficulty with zero hand holding. It was first developed and released on the NEC PC-98 in 1993 by Falcom. Later in 1995, Falcom had Koei port Brandish 2 to the Super Famicom. There were some enhancements made to the SFC version. Much better music for one, a livelier color palette with more detailed graphics, and even SFC mouse control. The SFC version also contains many cutscenes and well drawn character portraits. It's certainly no slouch.
Detailed character portraits make conversations with NPCs more entertaining.The player once again plays as the legendary swordsman Ares. At the end of the first Brandish, Ares acquired a powerful sword known as the Planet Buster. This sword is so powerful, it supposedly has the ability to cleave a planet in half. Unfortunately for Ares, while traveling he collapses in a desert due to heat exhaustion. Ares is captured by servants of a King, a King who is quickly convinced Ares is the hero spoken of in a prophecy, a prophecy which says a wandering swordsman will one day kill the king himself. Fearing this prophecy, the King has Ares thrown into the kingdom's deepest darkest prison, and the Planet Buster sword is taken from him. However, Ares is able to escape thanks to his best frenemy, Dela. Of course Dela wants something out of the deal (as always). And so Brandish 2's entertaining plot begins.
The indomitable Dela returns, as snarky and sexy as ever.If I were going to describe Brandish 2's gameplay simply, I'd say it's a top down dungeon crawler with the principle game design of a first person one. Like Brandish, Brandish 2 rotates the world around the player, rather than having the player rotate within the world. (This sole aspect is often the immediate deal breaker for most new players.) You must move methodically and slowly, carefully searching for hidden doors or breakable walls, avoid concealed pitfalls, and discover cleverly tucked away treasure chests. Deadly traps are everywhere, rushing is the fastest way to a Game Over screen. Even something as rudimentary as shop keepers are rarely easy to find, often squirreled away in forgotten recesses.
Shopkeepers come in all shapes and sizes, but are rarely easy to find.Finding all the gold and items in the world won't help you if you can't fight. And fighting takes an even bigger precedent in Brandish 2. Enemies are smarter, faster, stronger, and generally more ferocious than before. There's a lot of variety to enemy types, and just as much variation in their attack styles. The designers often group enemies together that work well as a tag team. Say an enemy type that will freeze Ares, while other types work to surround him while he's incapacitated. Bosses are typically large and wickedly deadly, making short work of Ares in two or three hits. Thankfully Ares now has the ability to optionally dual wield weapons, giving the player new types of tactical advantages based on weapon type. However doing so means Ares doesn't hold a shield, making him all the more vulnerable.
Enemy designs are great, but so is their ability to massacre Ares.Surviving combat is one thing, surviving the dungeons themselves is another. The player must become highly proficient at using the mini-map to make any progress at all. Graciously this time around, Brandish 2 on SFC includes the mini-map onscreen. This means unlike the original Brandish on SNES, the player can successfully navigate the twisting world without becoming hopefully confused. Navigation is one thing, but the constant barrage of puzzles and byzantine riddles are another. There are cryptic hints available which are often not much help honestly. (This being a Japanese game, there isn't much in the way of English walkthroughs available either. There's a partially finished one on GameFAQs, that's all I saw.) Some puzzles are switch based, some block based, and others are item based. In general Brandish 2's puzzles are more complex than its predecessor. The biggest hurdle of all is simply item management. You will always be juggling dozens of crucial items at a time with very limited item slots in your inventory.
Paying attention to cutscenes, inscriptions, mini-maps, stats, and item management is all vital to survival.Most of what I've described sounds quite the same as the original Brandish, and that's because Brandish 2 is very similar to its predecessor. And yet Brandish 2 consistently manages to outshine the original game in sheer scope. Brandish 2's enemies are bigger and badder, its puzzles more complex, and the dungeons are often absolutely mammoth in size. Many dungeons also include special elements all their own, such as trick treasure chests that explode fatally, paths that can only be traversed while walking backwards, or dastardly rooms full of conveyor belts. Aesthetic variety in dungeons has improved immensely, sometimes Ares will be outside in a jungle, or navigating rooftops, or even walking the shore of a forgotten isle. When it comes to dungeon design, Brandish 2 is top notch stuff.
Surviving the tricky dungeons will require a determined attention to detail.If I haven't made it clear yet, let me do so now: Brandish 2 is a brutally difficult game. And that's a huge part of why I love it. I'd go so far as to say Brandish 2 is the single most hardcore SFC/SNES game I've played. What truly blows my mind, is that Brandish 2 received an
"Expert" version release. I have no idea how much harder the "Expert" version is, but only an utter masochist could wish for such a thing.
Still, I deeply appreciated the challenge of the original Brandish 2. It's a tremendous dungeon crawler, perhaps the best on its platform. This is an extremely well made experience, with deep gameplay, an astounding OST, and consistently impressive graphics. Brandish 2 also has one of the best endings I've seen in a 16-bit game. Yes folks there were times I wanted to snap my gamepad in half, but in the end I absolutely adored Brandish 2: The Planet Buster.
Brandish 2 never received an official English release. But a fan translation is available:
http://www.romhacking.net/translations/1442/
