Lost Kingdoms II

Lost Kingdoms II, known as Rune II: Koruten no Kagi no Himitsu (RUNE II(ルーン ツ) ～コルテンの鍵の秘密～, Rūn Tsu ～Koruten no Kagi no Himitsu～) in Japan, is a role-playing video game developed by FromSoftware and published by Activision in North America and Europe. It is the sequel to Lost Kingdoms. Lost Kingdoms II is a card-based action role-playing game where battles are fought in real-time.

Lost Kingdoms II
PAL region cover art
Developer(s)FromSoftware
Publisher(s)FromSoftware (JP)
Activision (US & EU)
Producer(s)Atsushi Taniguchi
Designer(s)Takashi Kojō
Programmer(s)Masaaki Sakamoto
Artist(s)Ikuko Matsui
Makoto Sato
Composer(s)Kota Hoshino
Platform(s)GameCube
Release
  • NA: May 13, 2003[1]
  • JP: May 23, 2003
  • EU: June 6, 2003
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Plot

Generations after the events of Lost Kingdoms, Katia of Argwyll is now remembered as a legendary queen. The heroine of this story is Tara Grimface, a reserved member of a guild of thieves, who is trying to find her way in a dangerous world. While she is an outcast even among her allies, they respect and fear her because she possesses a True Runestone that allows Tara to use powerful magic cards in battle. Tara becomes embroiled in events that will eventually shape the lands around her as she travels with the Band of the Scorpion on a mission to steal the runestones crafted in the caverns of Kendaria. It is here that Tara first happens across the monster responsible for creating these runestones to which she later finds to be the body of the god of harmony. Through the journey Tara undertakes she will eventually find herself on a path to discovering her former self. Although, if she is to uncover the secret of her mysterious origins, she will have to overcome her distrust of others.

Gameplay

In Lost Kingdoms II the player engages enemies during exploration and may revisit levels after they have been completed. There are a number of new cards, though most of the original cards from the first game are retained. Many of the originals have their effects reworked in various ways. Notable changes in the card effects include giving each summon card two effects that the player may choose from, and a new type of card that transforms the player into a creature.(226 cards total).

A notable interface addition is the ability to pay double the cost for any card in exchange for enhanced effect. Certain card combinations can be combined into a single, generally highly potent effect.

A new element is also introduced along with the original elements of fire, water, wood, earth and neutral. The new element, mechanical, is much like neutral as it has no weakness and strengths versus other elements. The only difference between the two is that mechanical and neutral have separate power levels, which the player can increase by using cards of the same element repeatedly, but lowering all other elements slightly and the opposite element even further. The main villain of the game is a user of the mechanical element.

Reception

The game received a bit more mixed reviews than the original according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[2] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one eight, two sevens, and one eight for a total of 30 out of 40.[6]

GameSpot named Lost Kingdoms II the best GameCube game of May 2003.[14]

References
  1. Schneider, Peer (May 23, 2003). "Lost Kingdoms II Review". IGN. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  2. "Lost Kingdoms II for GameCube Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  3. Edge staff (July 2003). "Lost Kingdoms II". Edge. No. 125.
  4. EGM staff (June 2003). "Lost Kingdoms II". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 167. p. 113. Archived from the original on April 1, 2004. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  5. Bramwell, Tom (August 11, 2003). "Lost Kingdoms II". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  6. Yoshinoya, Bakudan (May 19, 2003). "Famitsu Update". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  7. Barber, Chet (June 2003). "Lost Kingdoms II". Game Informer. No. 122. p. 107. Archived from the original on June 20, 2008. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  8. Fennec Fox (June 2003). "Lost Kingdoms II Review for GameCube on GamePro.com". GamePro. p. 112. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  9. Liu, Johnny (June 2003). "Lost Kingdoms II Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on November 26, 2004. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  10. Kasavin, Greg (May 23, 2003). "Lost Kingdoms II Review". GameSpot. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  11. Freeman, Matthew (May 21, 2003). "GameSpy: Lost Kingdoms II". GameSpy. Archived from the original on December 29, 2005. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  12. Lafferty, Michael (June 10, 2003). "Lost Kingdoms II - GC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  13. "Lost Kingdoms II". Nintendo Power. Vol. 169. June 2003. p. 137.
  14. The Editors of GameSpot (June 1, 2003). "GameSpot's Month in Review: May 2003". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 8, 2004.
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