It isn’t often that an Indie JRPG escapes my view, but when it launched in 2023, I missed out on 8-Bit Adventures 2 by Critical Games. Now that it is getting making the jump from the PC to the consoles, I had to give it a shot and it was well worth the play.
Game Name: 8-Bit Adventures 2
Platform(s): PS4, PS5 (Reviewed), Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, Nintendo Switch, PC
Developer(s): Critical Games
Publisher(s): Critical Games
Release Date: October 16th, 2024
Price: $19.99
The world is finally at peace after the intense adventures of the three heroes from 8-Bit Adventures. The warrior is called to some ruins by their help aid in the sky, Computer. After reaching that ruin, he is off the grid. Neither the Rogue nor the Mage can contact him. With the help of one of the orphans they rescued, Daniel, they are now discovering what has made Computer so scared for their world. The cast of characters has deepened and the story has gotten bigger.
The Good
8-Bit Adventures 2 begins by introducing you to most of its battle mechanics. You play as the Warrior from the previous 8-Bit Adventures game, who is searching through the desert for an unknown purpose. The game features a top-down view as your character navigates the map. Enemies are visible on the map, and if you touch them—or vice versa—combat begins. I appreciate how this 8-bit game steers away from random encounters, making it easier to gauge the experience you can gain in each dungeon.
As you explore, you’ll come across shiny spots on the map known as save spots. At these locations, you can save your progress and restore all the enemies in the area, allowing you to grind for additional experience if you choose.
I never felt the need to grind for more enemies, as the game is well-balanced in terms of enemy difficulty. However, I did struggle with some bosses when figuring out their combat strategies. Once you learn how to tackle a boss, managing the fight becomes much easier, but the early encounters can be challenging. While grinding for experience can help enhance your power fantasy approach, it isn’t necessary to progress. As long as you defeat all the enemies on the map, you’ll remain evenly leveled with the bosses in each dungeon.
Combat is turn-based, allowing you to perform a normal attack with your equipped weapon or learn and use various skills. When characters level up, they acquire new abilities, and each character also possesses a unique ability that doesn’t require MP. The Warrior can bash his shield into an enemy to attempt to stun them; if successful, he follows up with a normal attack. The Rogue has the ability to steal an item from an enemy, which is very helpful—I’d recommend trying to steal from every enemy you encounter. The Mage can focus to gather more MP, enabling the use of additional spells. Each ally you meet will have their own abilities to take advantage of, making every party member feel unique.
During combat, you can swap any of your three frontliners with other party members without using an action. This feature can be particularly useful for executing combo skills. Combo skills require specific characters to be in the front line, with some focusing on dealing extra damage while others provide better healing or shielding. Just be sure that the party members involved have enough MP, as it will be consumed from all of them.
The art and presentation in 8-Bit Adventures 2 are beautiful. The 8-bit art style evokes the nostalgia of early gaming while incorporating high-quality renders that feel modern. Playing the game on my 4K TV through the PS5 maintained the quality of the 8-bit artwork, showcasing how well they scaled this style to 4K. However, it’s worth noting that the game uses fullscreen ratios rather than widescreen, in case that’s a concern for you.
The Bad
The text in 8-Bit Adventures 2 is generally readable, though some design choices intended to evoke older-era games can hinder clarity. For instance, sometimes the name of the character speaking appears, while at other times it does not. This inconsistency means you often have to guess who is talking based on the last name displayed. It would be helpful if they used color coding to indicate speakers or maintained consistent placement of the character names within the dialogue.
While the balance in 8-Bit Adventures 2 is impressive, it can make some mechanics feel unnecessary. When you take damage, a blue bar fills up, allowing you to unleash a move called an Omega Burst once it is full. Any character in the party can activate it, but I often found myself forgetting about the blue bar, focusing instead on the enemy in front of me. Although this may be more of a personal oversight, the Omega Burst doesn’t feel particularly essential, and even when used, it usually deals minimal damage that doesn’t justify its status as a super ability.
The game features two excellent dungeons that include engaging puzzles and intricate design, but the remaining dungeons feel quite bare-bones. If those two standout dungeons didn’t exist, I might have been more forgiving of the others, but their quality raised my expectations.
The Verdict
Overall, I had a blast with 8-Bit Adventures 2. It captures some of the best elements of classic JRPGs while striving to create something new and even meta, rather than simply copying layouts or stories. The combat is well-balanced, allowing you to improve by learning the fights instead of grinding levels.
I appreciate how the game recaps the first installment, ensuring that players who haven’t experienced it can still understand the vibe and relationships between the three heroes. I highly recommend 8-Bit Adventures 2 to anyone who loves the aesthetics of older games and is comfortable with reading dialogue instead of experiencing fully voiced interactions.
8-Bit Adventures 2 is available right now on PC. It will be released on October 16th, 2024 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, and Nintendo Switch.
Review Disclosure Statement: 8-Bit Adventures 2 was provided to us by Critical Games for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy.
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Summary
8-Bit Adventures 2 is a fantastic adventure JRPG featuring a fun story and plenty of content to keep you engaged. It captures the whimsy of older generations of games while presenting it with a modern 8-bit aesthetic.
Pros
- Great 8-bit sprites
- Characters are well written and have emotional depth
- Well balanced combat
Cons
- Omega Burst Lackluster
- Inconsistent text layout
