Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes II (PC Engine)
I completed this earlier today, and it ended up being a pretty decent game! Chapter 1 is a major grindfest, but once you get over that hump it's smooth sailing to the end with no need to grind whatsoever.
The biggest change from the first game is how magic works. Instead of the standard Magic Point system from the first game, each character now has seven spell slots. You can assign any spell you want to any slot (even the same spell to multiple slots), and you "learn" spells by purchasing spell books, which can be used an unlimited number of times. Once you cast a spell once, that slot is exhausted but slowly refills over time, with more powerful spells taking longer to recharge. It's a cool system that lets you customize your spell loadout for specific situations. However, I found attack magic to be mostly worthless as it doesn't really do much damage, and being restricted to just seven spells in between slots recharging combined with how frequent combat is, means you can't cast spells very often. I stuck with a mix of Heal and Silence spells for all characters, and then would swap in some Attack+ and Defense+ spells for bosses, and that got me through the game without any issue.
Combat is a major downside. It's too frequent and too easy/simple (after Chapter 1), and enemies are massive damage sponges. Many enemies also have devastating magic attacks, so your strategy for every battle quickly becomes to cast Silence (which works 100% of the time, even on bosses) for your first action, and then to simply attack until the enemy is dead.
There are some cool things making up for that, though. There's a fun twist at the end of Chapter 1 where you discover a Zork-esque underground empire, and it's here where most of the rest of the game takes place. The story ended up being surprisingly interesting, especially compared with the somewhat dull previous game, with fun companions and NPCs, and some cool twists and turns along the way (including a big twist toward the end that brings to mind
Might & Magic: Book One). Finally, I must mention how the enemies are actually quite unique, each with their own special abilities and attacks. Some enemies even have fun little quirks, like one endgame monster that wags its tail and smiles whenever it lands a critical hit on you.
Overall, a pretty good game (excepting the awful grindfest that is Chapter 1). I'm definitely looking forward to playing
The Legend of Heroes III, though I know it's the start of a new trilogy that has nothing to do with this game.
