Summoner 2

The player takes on the role of Maia, Queen of Halassar, who is the goddess Laharah reborn, and can transform herself into a variety of "summonable" creatures. The game's story revolves around Maia's quest to heal the World Tree, Eleh, which was shattered by the Storm.

Released: 23 September 2002
Platforms: GameCube PlayStation 2
Genres: Adventure Role-playing
Developers: —
Publishers: THQ
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Third person
Themes: Action Fantasy
Country: United States
Age ratings: PEGI 16 ESRB T

About

Summoner 2 is a 2002 action role-playing game developed by Volition and published by THQ as the sequel to Summoner. It was originally released for PlayStation 2 in 2002 and was ported to the GameCube in 2003 by Cranky Pants Games with some visual changes as Summoner: A Goddess Reborn. The game features improved visuals and a more real-time, action-oriented combat system from the original.

Instead of Joseph, the player now takes on the role of Maia, Queen of Halassar, who is the goddess Laharah reborn, and can transform herself into a variety of "summonable" creatures. Maia must heal the legendary Tree of Eleh, the source of Aosi, the language of creation. Along the way, she meets a host of characters, including Yago from the original Summoner game.

›Story

The game takes place 20 years after the previous. Halassar, a province in the Empire of Galdyr, distant from the kingdoms of Medeva and Orenia, was foretold as the birthplace of the Goddess Laharah Reborn. The priestesses of Laharah declared Maia as the goddess when she was an infant and armies rose up in Maia's name, led by the Emperor's brother Prince Taurgis, making Halassar independent from Galdyr and Maia, the Queen of the Halassar Empire.

Traveling with her is Sangaril, an orphan trained by the Shadow Clan assassins of the Munari, who was sent to kill Maia as a child, but instead became her sworn bodyguard. While reclaiming the Book of Prophets from the Halassar Palace traitor Dama Sivora, Maia activates a rune stone embedded in the pirate island stronghold of Prince Neru, on the Isle of Teomura, gaining the ability to transform into one of the 4 Summons. After recovering the Book of the Prophets and returning to the Palace she learns more about her destiny.

Keywords

pirates
ghosts
magic
summoning support
female protagonist
hand-to-hand combat
religion
leveling up
loot gathering
non-player character
side quests
potion

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Similar to its predecessor, combat is in real time, with spells cast over time depending on the complexity of the spell. The chain attack system from the first game was removed in favor of a more traditional button combo and guard system. Skills are increased as the characters level up, and equipment is collected, including skills that are specific for AI controlled characters, meaning the player can focus playing a specific character if desired. Some enemies will respawn over time.

Unlike the first game, which was played with an unchangeable 5 member party (except for the summon), Summoner 2 only allows up to 3 characters to be in the party at once, although these characters are picked from a group of 7. Some sections of the game have a fixed character set-up, and most sections require Maia to be in the party. Also unlike the first game, overworld travel is done point to point, with no random encounters during travel.

Story

Taking place two decades after the events of the previous game, the story is set around Maia, Queen of Halassar, the prophesised reincarnation of the Goddess Laharah whose followers believe created the known world from the Tree of Eleh only to disappear after it was destroyed by the Tempest. Halassar had been a province of its southerly neighbour, the Empire of Galdyr then ruled by king Azraman II, until winning its freedom following Maia's birth in a religious uprising led by the priestess Surdama Kir, aided by Azraman's brother Prince Taurgis and the Munari oligarch Mas Raldo. Surdama Kir then led the nascent kingdom in a regency, espousing that it was Maia's destiny to restore the Tree of Eleh, until Maia was old enough to lead in her own name, while Azraman continues to seek to reclaim the province and denounces Kir's claims.

While attempting to retrieve the Book of the Prophets from the pirate Prince Neru on the Isle of Teomura with the aid of former assassin turned trusted friend Sangaril, the recently-enthroned Maia discovers she possesses the ability to transform into guardian creatures recorded in the prophecy after activating rune stones. Upon reaching the pirate leader she finds that he is willing to return the book in exchange for her capturing and handing over Krobelus, the Hierophant of Urath and leader of a crusade currently attacking Halassar. Maia attempts to achieve this, defeating Krobelus' crusaders at the Imperial Sepulchure, only for the seemingly possessed Hierophant to declare himself the Tempest and vanish before them.

Reception

The original Summoner 2 received "generally favorable reviews", while A Goddess Reborn received "mixed or average reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Star Dingo of GamePro's December 2002 issue said of the former game, "Anyone willing to dive into this science-fantasy swirl will be duly rewarded with one of the more memorable and unique RPGs to ever grace the PS2. Unfortunately, it's a plunge most will be unwilling to take...on the surface, Summoner 2 looks a little too cold." Four issues later, he said of the latter, "While it may not be the most technically advanced RPG on the market by any stretch of the imagination, Summoner: A Goddess Reborn still manages to break through its weaknesses to stretch your imagination."

GameSpot named the same console version the best GameCube game of February 2003 in review.