games / Reviews
8-Bit Adventures 2 (Switch) Review
Image Credit: Critical Games
Loading...024 was a great year for RPGs. While Metaphor: ReFantazio has taken up a good portion of my time, the retro love letter from Critical Games has proven to be a hidden gem to enjoy as well.
8-Bit Adventures 2, a direct continuation of 8-Bit Adventures 1: The Forgotten Journey Remastered Edition, is a homage to the old RPGs I grew up on. Your cast of characters travels the world trying to take on a “Glitch” as it tries to destroy the world.
Combat takes place in the traditional turn-based style with a look like the original Final Fantasy games, with your smaller team in front and the enemies larger on the main screen. Three of your seven party members can be in the battle at the time, either in the front or back row (depending on whether they are melee or magic focused or prioritizing attack or defense).
However, each party member can be subbed in during battle with no turn penalty, letting you set up combo attacks or put members in with a tactical advantage quickly. Additionally, all party members gain XP regardless of if they fight in the battle or not.
Speaking of defense, it is worth noting that defending can restore a bit of health for you, which is quite nice considering healing items can be a bit harder to come by, and are pricy in the story with limited funds available.
Thankfully, combat isn’t full of random encounters. In the overworld map. You can see each enemy that is able to be fought and can either choose to take them on head-on, or try and avoid and move on. When each enemy is defeated, they won’t respawn unless you choose to reset the enemies at “save reminder points.”
While you can save at any time, these points are available toward the end of dungeons prior to boss battles to give you a way to grind some additional XP if you want to, and also give hints as to the upcoming boss fights.
Outside of fighting, the world is actually great to explore and varies quite a bit throughout the game. The world is vibrant and can change from flying through the sky, to neon worlds and more. Each act is unique and interesting to see and helps to keep driving the progress forward.
Unlike RPGs of today, the game and dungeons are fairly linear, but reward exploration with treasures such as new weapons and useable items. However, sometimes that exploration needs to be balanced with the enemies in your way and if it may be worth taking a bit on your health or status effects on your way through a dungeon.
