Hello gamers and welcome to the XPN Gaming site! My name is Ash Aka Ima Gh0stbuster and I am here today to talk to you about what is probably one of the best old school, retro inspired RPG games I have played in quite some time. Originally released in January 2023 on PC, 8-Bit Adventures 2 is now out on all consoles!
From developer Critical Games, this follow up improves on the original in so many way and is a love letter to classic NES JRPG video games.
Release Date: PC - 31 January 2023 XBOX, PLAYSTATION, NINTENDO - 16th October 2024
I played the game on Xbox - Xbox Series X console specifically but its also playable on Xbox One, and thanks to Xbox Smart Delivery you get to play the best version of the game dependant on the system you are using! If you are interested in trying the game before making a purchase, then a full demo is available on Steam. On Xbox the game costs £14.99.
The game begins with the world threatened by a mysterious entity known as the Glitch. This being, once an innocent child, gained extraordinary powers after a tragic experiment. Unfortunately, this child was mistreated and neglected, leading to feelings of anger and vengeance. Now, the Glitch seeks to reshape the world according to his chaotic vision. As the narrative unfolds, players join a group of heroes on their quest to stop the Glitch. The plot succeeds in delivering a heartfelt and engaging story with well-crafted characters. It’s a tribute to classic JRPGs while standing on its own with a unique and memorable narrative.
I will say, I had never played the original game before jumping into this sequel, however the plot takes place many, many years after the original and whilst there are call backs to the first game, the story is pretty self contained so you don't need to worry that you will be missing out a heap of crucial lore or information if you skip straight to number two.
Combat in the game is turn based, with you having three active team members in combat from a selection of seven various characters/classes. You are able to switch between characters freely, and there are 99 unique abilities that you can utilise including Team/Finisher moves. There is also a pretty heft amount of content here, with the story taking between 30-40 hours to see until the credits. Outside of combat, there is a large world to explore, and you can do this on both foot and via airship.
Whilst this game is trying to ooze as much retro goodness as possible, it does offer a variety of modern quality of life improvements such as auto saves with the option to save whenever you want, fast travel and more, all of which make the game much less frustrating than actually playing a JRPG on a NES.
If you want to see the game in action, I recommend checking out friend of the site GRIMREAPERSAGE's gameplay video to see the first hour of the game!
Gameplay wise, 8-Bit Adventures 2 reminds me more of Live A Live with its more focused story and pacing. There has been a conscious effort made by the devs to streamline things, so there's alot less grind and alot more engagement. It's nice to place a rpg game where it always feels like I am doing something of importance to the plot/proceedings, over grinding kills to get my level up so I can slowly plod forward. The fact that you can see the enemies on the map meaning I'm not pulled into random unforeseen battles over and over is a godsend.
Now, I have spoken a ton about the other aspects of the game, but due credit needs to also be given to the games soundtrack. Featuring a host of original, chiptune style tracks that would fit perfectly in some of the most famous JRPGs around. There are over 70 original tracks composed by Sebastian Cruz (Carfonu) using authentic NES accurate tools.
8-Bit Adventures 2 is everything you know and love from classic RPG video games from the 80s/90s, crammed full of content, complimented with a great soundtrack and bright pixel graphics, all wrapped up with some modern platform improvements. As a full package it's such a joy to play and will keep you hooked for hours and hours. If you have been craving for that old school final fantasy style RPG since they turned to a more action oriented style of gameplay, then this is definitely a release for you! Anyway guys and girls, thanks for reading my review! Make sure you check out the rest of the awesome content found here on XPN Gaming!
XPN Rating: 5 out of 5 (Platinum)
8-Bit Adventures 2 is AVAILABLE NOW!
A copy of the game was provided for this review. A huge thank you for that!
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