Despite a weak story line, I had enjoyed Paladin’s Quest (Lennus) very much for its excellent music and challenging gameplay. Thanks to Vizzed, I was able to play the distant sequel to the game, Lennus 2, which was never released in North America. Too bad it spoiled the game…

Graphics: 6/10

For a game made in 1996, the graphics are very disappointing. There is barely any use of 3D – it’s mostly for very few cutscenes, and it’s not even that impressive. The overworld map has everything shrunk down, so Faris’ sprite looks like a fat midget. The modes of transportation you get (boat, alien animal, ship) do not improve the graphics at all and keep using 2D like PQ or even Lufia and the Fortress of Doom.

With respect to the previous game, however, the graphics are a nice improvement. Inside cities or dungeons, your characters are drawn very well (better than in Final Fantasy VI I might add) and they can run all the time! This is a relief, considering how large the dungeons can be. Their faces are clear, their proportions are realistic and no two characters look the same – although there are unavoidable pallet swaps.

The cities are also nicely drawn. They are gigantic compared to PQ and the citizens look much more different – like your mercenaries. They are drawn in harmony with the mood of the moment; cities in the underground world of Andel are darker while the cities of the overworld of Eltz are much more colorful. Finally, the cities of Lennus that remain look very much like what they did in PQ – Misuto still have the fog and Jurayn still shows the flower temple from the outside. There is even a city, Gloucester, that is HUGE and where each district stand distinctively from the other. You have the slum, where people look dirty poor; the shopping district, with all the neons, a theater and even a concert hall where the musicians lost their instruments; Hammond Hill, where all the rich people with big mansions and pricey collectibles; and Tranquil Hill, where “white cross” knights are fighting for justice. However all the houses look the same in any given city, so when finding certain key objects (or person to talk to) you might be looking for a long time.

But just like the previous game, Lennus 2 focused its graphics on the fights. Each magical element now has eight levels, and the higher they are the better-looking they are. Kekan (light) produces a very bright and strong bolt at maximum level where as it looks pretty weak at level 1. It becomes very practical for support magic since, at higher level, you can affect your whole team rather than casting your spell four times. Your weapon arsenal is now more diverse and also drawn better. No two swords attack alike, whips and boomerangs show up on the screen and attack whole groups rather than the individual enemies and there is even a weapon, fist, where you see a barrage of boxing gloves hitting an enemy or a group. It looks like the Atlas spell in Shining Force II.

At the very beginning of the battle, you also see the characters in your team waiting to get orders; too bad the screen then quickly switched to the PQ outlook of commands – that would have increased the rating at least one point. And although there is perspective – enemies at the back somehow look smaller – I found the drawings for the enemies to be inferior. The whip enemies, for example, seem to be whipping more clumsily than their predecessors. The only net improvement I can think of are the firesaurs, who actually look like they are spitting fire like dragons.

Music: 6/10

While the graphics in Lennus 2 were better than in PQ, the music wasn’t as memorable.

Sure, the arrangements are much more realistic and you can hear hints of real instruments. The overworld theme in Andel has obvious string arrangements and realistic bells, while Shrine of Farus has nice flutes and strings that make for a relaxing track. However the music didn’t get stuck in my head as it did for PQ. The boss battle, for example, does sound more dramatic but the tempo is much slower than in PQ and I found it uninteresting. Much like the mini-boss battle; despite good drum arrangements, the synth used about midway sounds like a very cheap ghost from the NES era and it spoils the rest. The other boss battles later in the game (even the final boss battle) were either out of place – some of them even sounded goofy – or completely unmemorable. And unlike Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals, there are hardly any musical references to the previous games. I could only detect the underground shuttle (with sounds too synthesized and inferior) and a dungeon music that sounded like Underground Lennus (the Lennus 2 version sounded much less dramatic and intriguing).

Well, there are some honorable mentions: Great Union, that has “organ” effect reminiscent of fugue in D Minor to show the dramatic event unfolding before you; bar, that sounds like a nice and quiet bar to have a drink and negotiate with mercenaries (better than Hagubo Tavern); and Geran Race, where despite silly-sounding effects, you can actually feel riding those weird space animals.

Sound effect wise now, your actions in the menu screen on when strategizing during battle produce a sounds that gets downright annoying. It sounds like you are trying to move through mud, especially when using a weapon instead of magic. Otherwise, I would have increased the score one point because, proportional to the better magic graphics, the magic sounds are reflective of their strength. Weapons also never sound the same, and the fist weapon really sounds like the monsters have all their bones broken.

Addictiveness: 2/10

Unlike PQ, I can’t really say I got hooked on the game. The main problem stems from the exaggerated efforts made by producers to link both game. Sure, you know from the get go that Farus is a Raigan (the same race as Sophie, Kormu, Gabnid and Chenzi), but you have to wait more than half the game to actually find out about the link. And even when it all comes out together, there are still unanswered questions: what did Midia and Chenzi do during the 10 years after their adventures? Why did Chenzi change his name? How did Midia ended up *up there*? Mind you, the answers might actually lie around if you speak to villagers, but I was so eager to finish the game once and for all that I didn’t bother looking for them.

The reason why I didn’t give addictiveness a 1 is because of the few sidequests that do keep some interest in the game. There is the orchestra that lost its instruments, a pawn shop that buys your useless objects like White Shadow for an increasingly interesting price, a place where you can speculate on metals (gold, silver and copper) and another where you can ride your weird space animals.

Story: 5/10

You play Farus, a Raigan (the super race from PQ) that was put to sleep 10,000 years ago. After your awakening, you are told that you are a man from the prophecies who will trigger the Great Union. People all over Andel are looking forward to this grand event… until it happens. It consists of the union of the four continents on Andel into one, killing many in the process.

After it happens, you are propelled to the surface, in a world called Eltz, where you learn that the Great Union was just part of a larger plot: the Real Great Union. A man called Petro, whom you saw when you were gathering the four treasures of the Great Union, now gives you a new mission: gather the eight seals to prevent the Real Great Union in order to stop doomsday.

When I first started the game, I didn’t find the story very interesting. However I kind of knew that this Great Union was bound to be something bad, and it was. But even after the quest for the seals starts… the story never really hooked me up.

Depth: 5/10

However, despite not being hooked to the story, I still have to admit that the game was at least worth 25 to 30 hours of gameplay without a guide. Indeed, getting those seals sometimes involves moving back and forth between several places in order to exchange specific objects in order to eventually get a seal.

And when you reach Lennus, there is a lot of continuity with PQ. You land near Reyinold, Chenzi’s hometown, and people still talk about him – even his adoptive mother, who has no idea where he’s at. You will come across Conshiuto, the Magic School, Daphne and even Mouth’s son, who roams around the Throne of the Immortals.

However, just like the previous games, mercenaries are just there to serve you and have no other purpose in life… except for one, who seeks revenge for her murdered family (you can find her in the first village in Eltz). When she does get revenge, she leaves your party but you can get her later.

Difficulty: 5/10

The difficulty level has been averaged. If you like long, tedious level grinding then it would actually be a 3 or a 4 since you can easily boost your magic spells quickly. But unlike PQ, you can only boost your magic if the enemy has the said element when it dies. So unless it yields fire, your fire magic will not increase in strength.

Also, strangely enough, you (Faris) are only allowed up to four elements at once. For a game based on magic, this was a nonsense. In PQ, after you purchased an element you could combine it instantly with the others you already have. Here, you will not be able to wield two spirits at once until you defeat the Gold Spirit. And now that I think about it, it may not even be necessary to get them since, unlike PQ, there is no monster or boss that can only be defeated by magic.

So considering the limited number of spirits you can have at once, you will find yourself changing them constantly and it’s very annoying. For example, when you are in the dungeon you will need Fire and Earth (to cast peace to avoid monsters), but for a boss fight you will need two completely different spirits to block magic or physical attacks. In other words, you will need lots of spirit orbs (fortunately very cheap) and change your spirits before a boss fight, which is very time-consuming.

Furthermore, leveling up gets very difficult past level 30 since you need over 100,000 experience points to get to the next level – and a big group of enemies yield at most 10 to 15,000 experience points. While it’s still good for leveling magic, your hit points won’t increase as much, leaving you healing yourself very often during major boss battles. And the giga bottles don’t heal everyone all their hp at once; the best you can do is 2,500 hp healed if the person can cast bottle, which divides the power of the bottle among your allies.

In short, I can’t find it in my heart to recommend Lennus 2. Its link to Paladin’s Quest is so tenuous and stretched out that you will find yourself wondering how the hell they were able to make it. Also, unlike most RPGs in the 16-bit era, the level grinding is not enjoyable at all. You will find yourself looking around for the right enemies in order to level your magic accordingly, and only one point at once.