Last year, NIS America released Cladun, a downloadable dungeon crawler on PSP with classic game visuals and tendencies (Cladun actually means ‘Classic Dungeon). Now they’ve followed it up with Cladun x2, and while it’s just more of the same, you get more dungeons, more monsters, more treasures, and just more Cladun gameplay overall.

There’s even less of a storyline in this game. You start by creating your own character and his or her gender, appearance, class, and personality. Then you wind up in Acanus Cella, a mysterious world full of dungeons and treasure, where you will never escape. Or can you? Then you spend the rest of the game venturing forth into dungeon mazes, avoiding traps and defeating enemies while acquiring better weapons and experience.

You can create as many other playable characters as you like. Characters that you are not playing as can be placed in a Magic Circle, and while you can’t see them in the dungeons, they can provide you with extra defense. You can also attach artifacts to characters in the Magic Circle to boost your stats. Unfortunately, just like in the first game, learning how to properly use the Magic Circle is as confusing as ever.

Cladun x2 provides even more customization options than before. You can even edit the appearance of your weapons and armor, and design and edit relationships with each of your created characters, although neither of these affects gameplay at all. Not only that, but you can even edit and create your own music to use in the dungeons, although this feature is REALLY CONFUSING!

The steep learning curve is Cladun x2’s main fault, aside from it not being as charming as other retro-themed games like Half-Minute Hero or Retro Game Challenge. But if you enjoy dungeon crawlers that let you control nearly every aspect of the game, then you might want to check this one out. The dungeons are short, you aren’t penalized too much for dying, and you can save at any time, which is perfect for portable gaming.

Kid Factor:

Cladun x2 is rated T for Teen with ESRB descriptors of Suggestive Themes and Fantasy Violence. While you do fight monsters with weapons and spells, they only fall down and disappear when defeated, so violence isn’t too bad. The suggestive themes are in the text only. However, the best reason why this game is better suited to older gamers is the sheer complexity of the features and the strong reading skill needed for all the text.

Tags: Game Reviews