When a new system launches, it is only normal for reviewers to be a bit lenient with their scores, as neither developers nor players have really had time to get used to it yet. However, even though I didn’t own a PSP myself at launch (and I didn’t really have much desire to either), I do remember that not every game was so well received, including the original Rengoku, which was basically panned by critics. Though I didn’t pay too much attention to it back then, I certainly took a look at what people were saying about its sequel (when possible, I like to know what I’m getting into), the aptly named Rengoku II. Again, the scores were less than reassuring, with review after review pegging the game as a shallow, repetitive waste of time. Well, after getting my hands on this game, let me just tell you that they are wrong. Compared to your typical game, sure, Rengoku II: The Stairway to H.E.A.V.E.N. is a little shallow and, yes, even a bit repetitive, but compared to your average brawler, this game has more depth than you are likely to find anywhere else.
Like Tower of Purgatory (the game before it), The Stairway to H.E.A.V.E.N. involves the never-ending battle of manmade war machines known as A.D.A.M. The Autonomous Dueling Armed Machines were once created to fight mankind’s wars against one another for them, but after a peace was finally made (or futility finally realized), the machines were instead forced to battle one another for human enjoyment. This time though, Rengoku II unravels the tale of a betrayal among brothers in arms, a betrayal that lead to all their deaths. At the time, the squad was testing a type of A.I. combat armor that takes your own skills and knowledge and enhances it. The information gleaned from these tests was intended to help create the ultimate soldier (the A.D.A.M. from the way I understand it). However, the group's leader, your character, leaves behind a brilliant fiancé who is determined to resurrect his soul by pitting his A.I. against that of his comrades.
She succeeds in her endeavor of course, as the game watches him slowly regain his memory, but by the time she finally does...well, I don’t want to spoil it for you, but it is actually kind of sad. I mean, I wasn’t down on my knees, openly weeping like they just shot Old Yeller, but the story doesn’t exactly have a warm and fuzzy, basket full of puppies ("They’ll never be as good as Old Yeller!"), all is right in the world, touching the deepest cockles of your heart type ending. In the end, I found the story to be a little preachy (not to mention a bit confusing at times), questioning the nature of war and that sort of thing, but Rengoku 2 does have a nice allegory to Dante’s Inferno. As he ascends the tower (or stairway, if you prefer), the bosses, the fellow soldiers I mentioned before, represent the seven sins and the scientist, in some ways, even act as the guides from the Divine Comedy.
Though the story might require a guide (or at least summon a few WTF moments), you should have no problem picking up the gameplay, as it is pretty straight forward. It compares well to another game that was panned (though, again, I liked it), Rise of the Robots...or, rather, what Rise of the Robots could have been. If the machine-driven combat had been coupled with a slightly compelling story, thrown in even the most basic amount of dungeon crawling (or tower climbing, as the case may be), and allowed for an unprecedented level of customization, then you would have Rengoku II Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best example, but I think you get the idea: there are robots and they fight. You need to clear specific locations on each floor in order to ascend to the next, all while gathering elixir skin and weapons to upgrade your robot.
When you first reach a new floor, only a yellow arrow indicating your character, the terminal room (where you can travel between floors, save your game, and apply upgrades), and red-outlined, mini-boss-filled Challenge Rooms appear on the map, so you must fill in the paths with your own exploration. Of course, it isn’t always as simple as it looks. Luckily, as the maze-like rooms are charted, the game will mark doors that lead to rooms you have already been to with a blue square, doors that you have not (or locked doors, such as when you have to clear a room of enemies for the first time) with red squares, one way doors are marked with a red triangle, terminal teleportation pads are small, green circles, and, finally, only on the localized map that appears in the HUD, weapons dropped by enemies appear as a small green x and the enemies themselves as a big red arrow (showing you what direction they are facing). If that seems like a lot, that is only because I am longwinded, but believe me, you’ll pick it up in no time at all.
The rooms are also set up in a similar fashion. Apart from experience and traps and weapons, items in the game (and the destructible towers that can yield them) are color-coded to tell you what they contain. Though I never really memorized them myself, I knew that when I was near death (a close call that will happen oh-so-many times during this game), orange canisters were the color I needed to be on the lookout for, as they blessed you with a full recover, including health and ammo. The doors are also color-coded, with green being all access, blue doors are one way, purple doors can only be used from the other side, and green doors with an orange emblem warn you that the door is locked until you defeat all the enemies on the other side.
Posted: 2006-10-11 19:39:49 PST