Developer: Sting Entertainment
Publisher: NIS America, ATLUS
Platform: PS Vita, PS TV
Tested on: PS TV
Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library & The Monster Seal – Review
Dungeon crawlers have been around since the eighties, and the Might and Magic series is probably one of the most known franchises that still lives on today. Things were often presented in a Dungeons & Dragons fashion, making the user use his imagination a bit throughout the entire ordeal, of course with the proper context and later on, with picturesque environments, monsters and legendary tales to wade through. It’s interesting to see that NIS America (and/or ATLUS) are still keeping the genre alive, with their own quirks thrown into the mix. Grab your torches and pitchforks, we have ourselves a good ol’ fashioned monster hunt.
Story
Even though the monster population has been dwindling over the last 500 years in the kingdom of Romulea, all of a sudden a swift spike in monster activity has been occurring. There’s only one explanation, namely sudden earthquakes that may indicate an increase in magical activity in the region and thus allowing more and more monsters to roam the lands.
Luckily there are several organizations occupying themselves with the safety of their fellow men, perhaps even so much that most people don’t even realize the predicament they find themselves in. One of these organizations houses itself in the Royal Library and you will soon join their forces. You play the role of Fried Einhard, the unlucky honor student, a Libra who has the ability to seal away demons in a sealbook, where they can no longer cause any harm. Even though you’re a newbie, you’re immediately thrown onto the battlefield to meet up with your new party members, who just happen to be your two best friends from the academy. Throw in the fact you’re seemingly the only man who roams the halls of the library and the organization, your harem will only grow further and further as you progress.
The plot is rather simple, as you’re sent out to decimate the monster population but it seems there is something going on which actually causes the sudden spike of activity. Nonetheless, the story is brought in a very entertaining way, even making it seem a bit more elaborate than it truly is at times. Other than that, you’re also presented with very amusing tutorials in the Royal Library itself, as well as on the battlefield. Overall everything is portrayed quite well and in a very light manner, keeping the game very fun at all times.
Graphics
Even though the game does not make use of that many moving animations, it does have a certain appealing appearance that draws you in. The characters and the enemies themselves are just 2D anime images, which change their expressions once in a while during conversation but remain still throughout most of the combat sequences. This is a subtle, yet clear wink to old school games in this genre and truth be told, it sets the tone just right. Whilst a little more fluent motions during the visual novel-esque scenes would have been nice, the game’s visuals remain pleasant.
The environments you’ll be roaming through, be it alone or with your party, are fairly simplistic, but once again very appealing. Most of the walls will move around you just like in the older games of the genre, whilst there are a few details added here and there to spice things up. Overall a simple appearance but in many places it hits the nail on the head.
Even though we tested the game on the PlayStation TV, one would expect the quality to drop exponentially but this wasn’t the case. The only thing that might become bothersome for some, especially those with a smaller television set is the fact that the map will be a tad less clear on your normal HUD display. Nonetheless, there are still options for you to zoom in, thus offering a bit of solace.
Seeing this game has a very adult theme going on, the developers once again decided to censor things overseas, thus we have a well-behaved version of the original Japanese game, which is actually quite silly given the age rating. Nonetheless, all monster encounters in this universe seem to be aggressive pieces of fruit or very attractive ladies in cute costumes, which still makes everything, given the censorship, a win-win situation.
Sound
First of all, this game immediately brings a lot to the table by offering a fully voiced game. Even though we can only choose the original Japanese voice and not one of the very typical NIS America dubs, it’s still an impressive feat. For some reason the pervs amongst us can also enjoy this feature as they can actually turn off the male voice acting in the game. Nonetheless, with the censorship in place, you might not get lucky tonight. That being said, the voice acting itself is superb, the same humor as in the other NIS America franchises remains and the well chosen voices once again confirm that the actors were selected with care.
The music itself sets the atmosphere though never truly steals the show, but as a backdrop it does the trick. Battle themes and casual themes alike will never become bothersome and lift your spirits now and then and perhaps an occasional tune can get your adrenaline pumping through your veins, just that little more.
Gameplay
Dungeon Travelers 2: the Royal Library & The Monster Seal is a J-RPG dungeon crawler that aims to keep an ‘ancient’ genre alive. We can immediately state that the developers succeed quite well in that onset. Before you know it, you’ll be diving into the first dungeon, learning the ropes and sealing your first batch of monsters.
Everything that goes on in the game will be centered around your workstation, namely the Royal Library. In this local hub, you’ll be able to arrange your party set-up, buy and equip gear, sell valuables and craft sealbooks, but more on that later.
When entering a dungeon for the first time, you’ll be presented with only the view that is directly in front of you and a blank map on the right side of your screen. This map will slowly start forming itself, one tile at a time, as you walk through the dungeon, like the true explorer you are. Those who like to look in every nook and cranny will find the exploration part of this game truly blissful.
As this game follows the rather typical formula of other J-RPG games with a healthy dose of random encounters, it will take mere moments before you’re face to face with your first monster attacker. From here on out it also follows the well known turn based combat scenario, in which you’ll have the option to choose, when it’s your turn, to either attack, defend, use a special skill, use an item or try to run for the hills. Everything is very straightforward, even the special skills, which are simply based on the class of the character that is performing it. Of course, it takes some time to get to know the skills of your party members, as well as which ones that suit your style when choosing new skills each time your characters level up. Sometimes the explanation of the skills tends to be a bit vague for you to make the right choice the first time around. Luckily, the game offers the chance to ‘unlevel’ your characters, slimming down their experience level but reverting them to an earlier state, which grants you a do over. (You can even change the classes of your characters later in the game.)
Every dungeon has a decent amount of respawning enemies that are thrown at you, with a boss hidden in the midst of the chaos. You’ll have to take into account that monsters also use formations, that will either benefit your short ranged weapons, or put them at a disadvantage. Magic users often don’t experience that much of a disadvantage. Of course, you can do the same with your party, when you’d rather see certain characters on the front row or in the back.
Outside of the hectic combat situations, you’ll find yourself scouting through the spoils of your successful trips down the rabbit hole. Whilst equipment comes in many forms, weapons, armors, helmets, shields and accessories, which all point out themselves, there is one extra feature to the roster, namely the aforementioned ‘sealbooks’. Even though the name sounds rather fancy, in reality it’s a small additional piece of equipment per playable character and even the non-playable Fried, that grants them an extra passive boost. Sealbooks can be crafted by using the trapped monsters in Fried’s personal sealbook as the essence of those he wishes to craft. Not only are these items useful, they also earn you a pretty penny if you’d rather sell them, or have some extra ones you don’t want to use anymore.
After the game is completed, you’ll be able to wade through even more content, making this a very meaty game. Even though the difficulty level might make you take more time than you’d originally expect, the overall content you get for the price you pay is quite royal. Nonetheless, here’s a small tip: Try to level your party up a bit ‘extra’ now and then, to keep things manageable.
Conclusion
Whilst a dungeon would not be the most ideal travel location, Dungeon Travelers 2: The Loyal Library & The Monster Seal makes it feel like a small holiday. You’ll be taken back to the lost days of old school dungeon crawlers, with everything still feeling brand new. Even though the game is censored in our region, the adult theme is still slightly present, and overall the gameplay, which is still fairly simplistic, is top notch. If you feel like dusting off your PlayStation Vita or you want to hook up your PlayStation TV again, this game might be the one to actually make you do that. Enjoy the travel, we certainly did.
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