Fantasy Warrior 2: Good Preview

The original Fantasy Warrior starred Rento, a blue-haired hero whose mission was to generally annoy evildoers. This time around, you can choose to once again play as Rento, or you can opt to quest as his adversary, Vera the vampire. Sumea has split its Zelda-inspired adventure into two parts, respectively titled Fantasy Warrior 2: Good and Fantasy Warrior 2: Evil. The lawful-good skew of the game is looking sharp, with interesting action role-playing-game elements set in a gorgeous two-dimensional realm.

When the game opens, you're told that Rento somehow released Devin the demonlord from the magical prison that held him. Oops! It's now Rento's job to right the wrong he wrought by confronting Devin and his minions. To this end, Rento must hone his own skills and acquire secondary weapons that can be used in battle to turn the odds in his favor. Rento's linear quest involves various small acts of heroism, one of which requires you to find a Wizard's "Magical Mushrooms."

Fantasy Warrior's combat sequences are initiated when you run into an enemy who's patrolling the world map or a dungeon. Although the game's damage dealing relies on a standard RPG stat system, confrontations are executed in real time. Often facing off against multiple enemies, Rento must dodge and charge with equal facility to succeed. Secondary weapons, such as Rento's hammer or bow, can be used periodically to either stun or deal damage to enemy units. The simple addition of these weapons adds infinitely to the game's depth.

We played a build of the game on Motorola's V400. As compared to the slim selection of adventure offerings available for that handset, only Gameloft's Might and Magic trumps Fantasy Warrior 2's impressive audiovisual chops. The game is bright and colorful, and it features what seems like some of the best and most varied music on mobile. Suffice it to say, this is a technical effort worthy of notice.

While it seems like most players will want to purchase both versions of the game to experience the adventure in its entirety, Fantasy Warrior 2: Good looks to be a strong enough offering to stand alone on its own merits. The same can be said about the "Evil" version (In fact, we say it!), which we've also previewed.