''Lost Kingdoms II'', known as in Japan, is a 2003

action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...

developed by

FromSoftware FromSoftware, Inc. is a Japanese video game development and publishing company based in Tokyo. Founded by Naotoshi Zin in November 1986, the company developed business software before releasing their first video game, ''King's Field (video game) ...

and published by

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

. The sequel to ''

Lost Kingdoms ''Lost Kingdoms'' is a 2002 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Activision. The game was released in Japan in April; in North America in May; and in Europe in August. ''Lost Kingdoms'' is a card-based action rol ...

''. ''Lost Kingdoms II'' is a card-based

where battles are fought in real-time.

Plot

Generations after the events of ''Lost Kingdoms'', Katia of Argwyll is now remembered as a legendary queen. The heroine of this story is Tara Grimface, a reserved member of a

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

of thieves, who is trying to find her way in a dangerous world. While she is an outcast even among her allies, they respect and fear her because she possesses a True

Runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones da ...

that allows Tara to use powerful magic cards in battle. Tara becomes embroiled in events that will eventually shape the lands around her as she travels with the Band of the Scorpion on a mission to steal the runestones crafted in the caverns of Kendaria. It is here that Tara first happens across the monster responsible for creating these runestones to which she later finds to be the body of the god of harmony. Through the journey Tara undertakes she will eventually find herself on a path to discovering her former self. Although, if she is to uncover the secret of her mysterious origins, she will have to overcome her distrust of others.

Gameplay

In ''Lost Kingdoms II'' the player engages enemies during exploration and may revisit levels after they have been completed. There are a number of new cards, though most of the original cards from the first game are retained. Many of the originals have their effects reworked in various ways. Notable changes in the card effects include giving each summon card two effects that the player may choose from, and a new type of card that transforms the player into a creature.(226 cards total). A notable interface addition is the ability to pay double the cost for any card in exchange for enhanced effect. Certain card combinations can be combined into a single, generally highly potent effect. A new element is also introduced along with the original elements of fire, water, wood, earth and neutral. The new element, mechanical, is much like neutral as it has no weakness and strengths versus other elements. The only difference between the two is that mechanical and neutral have separate power levels, which the player can increase by using cards of the same element repeatedly, but lowering all other elements slightly and the opposite element even further. The main villain of the game is a user of the mechanical element.

Reception

The game received a bit more mixed reviews than the original according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. In Japan, ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...

'' gave it a score of one eight, two sevens, and one eight for a total of 30 out of 40. ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' named it the best GameCube game of May 2003.

References

External links

Official website
* {{FromSoftware games 2003 video games Activision games Digital collectible card games Fantasy video games Video games about shapeshifting FromSoftware games Multiplayer and single-player video games GameCube games GameCube-only games Role-playing video games Video game sequels Video games about magic Video games developed in Japan Video games featuring female protagonists Video games scored by Kota Hoshino