Last Blade 2 Review

Last Blade 2 Review

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US Title:Last Blade 2
Japanese Title:Gekka no Kenshi 2
By:SNK
Year:1998
Size:554 Megs
Home Release?Yes
MVS Release?Yes
CD Release?Yes

Many on this site (and many others) argue that the original Last Blade was better than the second. Whichever you choose is fine, but they are both great games in my opinion. To me, Last Blade 2 has more soul then the first: the entire series of which there are only 2 games is a good series. With that said lets get on with the review.


Gameplay- to me this game does not fall short, although many characters are combo reliant (i.e. speed Setsuna), it meets expectations of a SNK fighter. Controls are great, as well as the games overall enjoyment -it will last you a while.

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Character design- I personally love the design of the characters. They are very cool. Kagami, for example, is a snob of sorts but it meets his character pretty well. I also enjoyed Setsuna, known as Hades' messenger (Hades is the God of the underworld according to Greek mythology). I also like the character animations. Now considering that this game was released in '98, its good to see that it still is recognized as something with great value. A lot of this value particularly comes from the character design, they are very cool.


Music/Sound- To me its always cool to hear music that meets the game's appearance, whether it be about WW2 or ancient Japan: good atmosphere becomes even better when appropriate music accompanies it. Also take into consideration the SFX. They're great and range from sword slashes to screaming deaths. Its all there as it should be; 'slashing action' is a good term to describe it. I especially enjoyed the over all musical approach with its 1920's feel. Keep in mind this type of game pertains to the past. What comes with that is the feeling your living the games environment, as foolish as that may sound its quite true.

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Difficulty- LB2 has a decent amount of difficulty. While it can be very challenging, I do not own the home cart version, just the MVS version and from what I have played the games is pretty difficult on 8-expert. Personally, I like a game that grabs me and pulls me in (like Garou and KOF 2000). Its also HARD (unlike KOF 2000, which is a cinch on EXPERT) so you have something to come back to. So, putting it in overall perspective LB2 is decently difficult, but not as hard as other neo games can be.


Replayability- The category you see in many reviewers' eyes, well for me I would say this rates very high in the replayability factor for two reasons.

1)The difficulty as I stated earlier will keep you coming back (and that's a major plus considering how limited many fighters are). This one still shines through the competition. Just be wary: if you play on level-one endlessly you will never learn anything useful against human opponents. Conversely, if they have experience against other human fighters they can dominate against any AI. Since its just generated and no REAL though pattern is better then the human brain.

2) Most (I do not speak for all) gamers like a game which has a mythical element to it, (Take for example people's lost of interest in the newer Final Fantasy series) There is something really enjoyable about the approach the game takes on, I feel it touches new ground in a sword based game.

Overall- I have to say this is more then worth the time, a sequel would also be a welcomed site, as this series has not been milked and was a very sweet approach to the typical fighter. I however will not answer the long asked question. "Which is better 1 or 2?" My reasoning is simple, they are both great games, I highly recommend the second myself.

Good day,
LWK
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