So what was that dragon?

 Let me know if this sounds familiar. 

There are some games that marvel with their technical masterpiece. Others bring something new to the table. While more still just try to standout in one way or another. It works sometimes. Other times, it's a disappointing slog. And then there is the occasional experience that does all of the above while also doing nothing. And let's not forget that some games can do nothing while accidentally doing a lot. Dual Orb II is one of those games. 

Where do I begin with Dual Orb II? The beginning, probably. The opening scenes depict a dragon attacking a modern city while scientists panic. They shoot something that stops the dragon, and then we skip ahead. We'll later learn that it's way ahead. A man is walking through the snow with a crying baby. The man arrives home to inform his king that he has been recognized as the High Priest. En route home, he was ambushed by a group of people and given a baby and told to raise it to be a good man. Yes, I consider that an ambush. The king is thrilled because his son will have a friend. Aleth and Lagnus become fast friends, as seen when we skip forward again to the two of them building a fort in the woods. They practice their swordsmanship there while taking a break from their duties of priest and prince. One day, they're attacked by bandits, saved by a bard, and as punishment, have to go to church. They sneak into the back cloisters and find god, which, as one would expect, takes them on a journey across the world to save humanity from an evil empire. The setup is great, and the actual plot beats line up Dual Orb II to be amazing. It's rare we get to experience why an ancient civilization collapsed, how they were benevolent, and how they successfully (sorta) reignited the spark of humanity. But we do here! But there's a plot hole that ruins it. More importantly, the gameplay lets it all down. 

For starters, what the HFIL does it all mean? Rather than buying new weapons at every city, Dual Orb has us upgrading ones we already have. I don't know if this is financially stable, as you'll find mid tier weapons until the late game. Is it best to buy the +10 ones or upgrade as we go? Not that it matters, as damage numbers don't seem to correlate with better weapons. My +10 sword did comparable damage to my +20 one. And even leveling didn't help. I was doing the same damage at level 99 as I was at 40. And don't get me started on defense and armor. How did rows work? Asking these questions is ultimately pointless because the difficulty is entirely artificial. Late game bosses don't obey speed stats and go multiple times between your turns, dealing damage that isn't easy to recover from. The lack of a team heal is nonsense. The gameplay, like the plot, has me asking "why" too often. 

But how's the presentation? Well... It's a lie. The battle sprites look amazing, but they're surface level in depth. There are about ten enemy sprites in the game. This includes (non final) bosses as well. It's all color swaps here. And there's only one architect on the planet as the villages all look alike. The layout is different, thankfully, but those tilesets are reused often. 

And the music is along the same lines. They're of high quality and fun to listen to, but there isn't all that much here. There are just over thirty tracks, with most of them being front loaded. To make matters worse, the song doesn't remember its position when you transition away from it. Meaning, when you get into a random battle on the overworld, which are plentiful, you're gonna hear that annoying opening fanfare again and again. Get ready to hear seven seconds of seven tracks for thirty hours. 

Eternal Filena was a basic game that I walked away from happy. Dual Orb II is a game that tried to be something bigger than it really is. And it almost did that. I thought the story had the makings to be top ten, if not five, on the console for a while. Most of the plot twists are heavy hitting, and the general theme is something that resonates with modern society thirty years later. But it's killed by a poor presentation. I walked away happy from Eternal Filena, but I'm running away frustrated and annoyed from Dual Orb II. 

27/50