A great game to play on a rainy day.
Review 76
Released: April 11, 2001 (Tara), September 15, 2001 (Cobi)
Developers: Enix America Inc., Enix Corporation
Game Genre: RPG
Opening Thoughts:
The original Dragon Warrior Monsters proved not to be a rip off of the popular Pokemon series, and also became one of the most addicting games for the Gameboy Color. Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 is even better.
Story
The story hardly follows the same line as Dragon Warrior Monsters. Instead of GreatTree, where the original was based, you control Cobi or Tara, depending on your game choice, and start a farm with your family in the kingdom of GreatLog (GreatTree’s rival). Again, depending on your game choice you either control Cobi or Tara. Magic Keys are found throughout the game that will allow you to enter different worlds. Some relate to the storyline, some are just random. The problem at the beginning of the game is that the life-force of the GreatLog tree is draining and Cobi/Tara needs to find a plug for it.
Overall, the storyline has improved over the original DWM.
Gameplay
The gameplay hasn’t changed. Battles are fought with hardly any animations and can get very repetitive, along with the general traveling through different worlds. The main idea of the game makes up for the boring nature of the battle system, but after a while, the game will indeed become repetitive. For some reason, though, it is still very hard to put down. The game overall is very climactic. Piece by piece is added to the storyline, making it more than worth the time spent. For example, only a small bit of the GreatLog kingdom is available at the beginning of the game, but more shops and more places open as the storyline progresses. Graphics
Also improved from its predecessor, there is more color and better, clearer shapes. For example, not everything has to take up one complete block in this game. Not everything is the same size.
Improvements
Previous Game: Dragon Warrior Monsters
The game has definitely improved, but most of the battle system and world travel has remained the same. The huge improvement is the difference in the idea of world traveling. Instead of travelers’ gates, there are now doors that act like portals. Also, instead of random landscaping, there are set maps and set places in the worlds. Also, there is not just a single boss that you have to beat to complete a level. Some levels have multiple bosses and some don’t even require beating a boss to complete.
The only improvement otherwise is the storyline and the wider variety of monsters. The battling and catching of monsters has remained the same.
Durability
Because of random magic keys, the game’s dungeons will take a long time to complete and the storyline also takes a while. The repetition of the game is the only reason you may ever put down the game, but not for long.
Final Thoughts:
A great game to pick up and play during a rainy day.