Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2

Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2 continued the first handheld spin-off of the Summon Night series from Flight-Plan, once again published in the West by Atlus. The player once more becomes a Craftknight apprentice in a blacksmiths' guild, and together with a newly summoned Guardian Beast goes through trials meant to turn them into a full-fledged creator of living weapons, while the story introduces new characters and a slightly different perspective on the world of the first game.

The core gameplay system stays similar to its predecessor – battles take place in real time in dungeons, combining a self-crafted weapon with the abilities of a summoned companion, and the player gradually collects materials to upgrade and reshape it. The second game expands the roster of available Guardian Beasts and the weapon-customization options, and adds new dialogue branches depending on which partner is chosen, offering greater motivation to replay with a different combination of characters. The visual and musical style follows the first game, with a cute anime aesthetic and the light-hearted narrative tone typical of the entire Summon Night series.

The sequel was received much like the first game – as a pleasant, honestly crafted JRPG with an action battle system, appreciated mainly by a smaller but loyal group of genre fans on the Game Boy Advance. Today it forms, together with the first game, a complete pair of titles worth trying for anyone who enjoys the combination of hands-on crafting and action-RPG battles in a compact handheld package. The connection to the first game is also appreciated by players who grew fond of the Summon Night world and characters, since the second game brings a familiar setting enriched with new faces and a more elaborate weapon-customization system. Characters from the first game appear only marginally in the sequel, so the second game also works as a standalone entry, and new players won't get lost in its world even without knowing the previous story.

Why play: For fans of the first game and newcomers alike, it offers a familiar world and a more elaborate weapon-customization system, and thanks to its loose continuity it also works as a standalone entry into the series.