The Spirit Engine 2 Short
Released in 2008, The Spirit Engine 2 is a side scrolling, turn based RPG with story and world building set as the priority. From the start you have to select your party members, each with their own drives, desires and fears. The character interactions, variety of difficulties and limited enemy randomisation make The Spirit Engine 2 very re-playable.
The combat side isn't lacking either. Enemies have their own unique attack pattern and resistances to certain attacks. It is up to you to figure out the most effective skills and plan your actions to minimise the risk to your party.
Level design is excellent. Level backdrops are varied and often beautiful . Timed sections breakup the standard battles and offer some tension. You also get some preparation for a difficulty spike in chapter 5 in the form of fairground mini games.
The only real issue I had was that the maps and world scream out to be explored, but after completing a chapter or section you can't go back to revisit.
I'd recommend this game to anyone that is a fan of story-driven RPGs
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