Developer: Hotfirelegend
The next RPG
maker game I am going to review is Zendir 2: A World Reborn. It takes place
several years after the first game in a fantasy world called Zendir. The main
character, Zaphilia, is now preparing to marry her close friend, Zane, but just
as the wedding ceremony begins, a demon from the past emerges and captures
Zane. Zaphilia unites with her friends in pursuit of the demon only to be
transported several years to the past. Now she must make her decisions
carefully not only to stop the demon, but also to make sure that her actions do
not have adverse effects on the future.
Zendir 2 is
generally an easy and enjoyable game to get through. It has a clear storyline
and set of objectives. Unlike the first game, it does not feature an overworld
map, which in my opinion was a good decision. It allows for a bit of
exploration here and there, but for the most part it’s pretty linear and the
players shouldn’t find themselves getting lost or confused as to where to go
next. Most of the enemies and the challenges might be a little easy, but that’s
not necessarily a bad thing, because it allows for many casual players to be
able to get through the game and witness how it ends.
There are
many differences present from the first game, as well as improvements. The pace
and the flow of the story is much better and the gameplay is more balanced when
it comes to the combat aspects of it, although towards late stages of the game
it feels that many of the enemies are a little too high on health and act more
like damage sponges than anything else. Also unlike the first game, the battles
with enemies are now initiated on touch encounters – the monsters are visible
on the map and the battle with them is triggered only if the player touches
them. Usually this kind of game mechanic means it’s too easy to avoid these
encounters. However, in Zendir 2, the enemies will start to approach the player
themselves once the player gets close enough and dodging them becomes somewhat
harder. When trying to do so among the mountain cliffs or inside caves, it’s
very easy to get swarmed by 2 or more enemies at once, which is a good thing in
my opinion and means that the players will have to get into some battles during
their playthroughs.
Apart from
the main story, the game also features a handful of sidequests and a few
optional bosses that can usually be found if the player strays off the main
path and searches deeper around the crypts and caves. There’s probably not a
whole lot of optional stuff to satisfy the completionist type gamers, but then
again, Zendir 2 is a story-centric game and hence I think it’s only right that
it’s more linear in its approach.
Overall I
found myself enjoying the game. It has some beautiful visuals, a nice soundtrack,
and generally a well-executed story with some interesting characters. At times
I felt that some characters needed a bit more development and a few story
points were a little confusing, but the overall impression was good. The game
should take roughly 3 hours to get through and has just enough of everything
not to feel padded and leaves enough of the story to be explored in the next
sequel.
You can find
more info on the game and its download link HERE.
