Cosmic Fantasy 2
Reviewed by Michael LoCascio
Say what you will about Victor Ireland and the rest of the
folks at Working Designs, but the fact is that they've
brought some absolutely fabulous video games over to the
United States. My first experience with this wonderful
translation company came when I purchased Cosmic Fantasy 2
for the Turbografx-CD - and what a memorable experience it
was. Intriguing, exciting, suspenseful, hilarious,
captivating, and even touching at times, Cosmic Fantasy 2
was one of the best of the classic-system role-playing
games, and it ranks among the ten greatest video games that
I have ever had the pleasure of playing.
Cosmic Fantasy 2 takes place on the primitive planet of
Idea, where swords, shields, and sorcery are commonly used
and machinery is no where to be found. The hero of the game
is a young man named Van, an energetic lad who tends to act
before thinking and constantly avoids work in favor of play.
Apparently the only thing that Van takes seriously is his
relationship with his girlfriend Laura, who has been his
best (and possibly only) friend since childhood. Living
their life in a tranquil little village, Van and Laura would
have their lives forever altered by the ruthless Galam, a
maniacal, power-hungry sorcerer who utilizes his mighty
black magic to garner a tremendous following and conquer the
entire world. The final straw comes when Galam decides to
take Laura to be his wife - a decision that doesn't exactly
sit well with Van.
While there's nothing special about the basic premise of the
game, the many plot twists that occur along the way make the
story one of Cosmic Fantasy 2's most appealing elements.
After slaughtering Van in their initial battle, Galam opts
to send the young fool twenty years into the future, so that
Van can observe what Galam's mighty empire will be like at
the height of its power. Following this encounter, the game
completely switches gears, abandoning Van's story to focus
on a young lady named Babbette who just happens to be a
'Cosmic Hunter'. It is apparently the responsibility of
every Cosmic Hunter to maintain peace in the universe and
aid people in any way that they can, so when Cadet Babbette
receives a distress signal from Idea, she wastes no time in
cruising on over in her ship to check it out. Much like Van,
Babbette is a wild type who rushes into this situation
without thinking things through; as a result, she ends up
stuck on an underdeveloped planet with only one friend to
stand by her side: a talking cat named Pico. Eventually
Babbette and Pico will become acquainted with Van, and while
many other characters will join and leave your main party
during the adventure, these three rag-tag misfits are the
ones who you'll get to know best, as they'll stick around
for the duration of the game. They'll undoubtedly grow on
you as the game goes on; Van's maturation from a foolish,
reckless troublemaker to a prudent, powerful warrior is
gradual and believable, while Babbette and Pico offer some
wonderful comic relief - usually just as it appears that the
game is taking itself a bit too seriously.
While the idea of melding medieval and futuristic fantasy
did not originate in Cosmic Fantasy 2, it works quite well
in this adventure. The game uses the many differences
between the characters to create some exciting - and
sometimes hilarious - plot twists. Also, you'll have to
fight off a tremendous variety of enemies; traditional RPG
foes such as knights and goblins will attack you, along with
futuristic, robotic villains. Speaking of the enemies, there
are a ton of them in this game. The encounter rate is
annoyingly high; this becomes a major problem when you're
stuck in a new country or dungeon that you need to explore,
as you won't be able to take any more than a few steps
without being interrupted by monsters. The combat system is
typical, turn-based stuff: you can choose to make use of
weapons, spells or items, but if you fail to kill off the
evildoers, then they'll take their turn at beating on you.
This system worked well enough for its time, but younger
gamers who are used to the innovative combat systems
featured in games such as Grandia and Star Ocean: The Second
Story will likely be bored out of their minds with Cosmic
Fantasy 2's simple, tedious battles.
Like many titles for the Turbo-CD, Cosmic Fantasy 2 makes
use of numerous animated cinemas to tell its story. These
sequences look absolutely fabulous, and feature some superb
voice-acting. They're definitely beneficial to the game's
plot, although they sometimes get off track in order to
display the impressive physical traits of some of the female
characters (anyone who saw it will likely never forget the
infamous 'Cadet Babbette in the shower' scene). They also
range from being humorous to dramatic - I rather enjoyed the
sequence in which Galam taunts Van by remarking that he must
enjoy 'getting his butt kicked'.
The graphics outside of the animation scenes are above
average considering when the title was released. The enemy
creatures don't move at all during the battle scenes, but
for the most part they are extremely well drawn. Cosmic
Fantasy 2's visuals are definitely an improvement over the
Dragon Warrior and Ultima games that appeared for the NES,
and they're even a step above the Phantasy Star titles that
were released for the Genesis.
For a CD game, Cosmic Fantasy 2 contains some mediocre
music. It's not that the tracks are bad, but there aren't
all that many of them, and they can get extremely repetitive
at times. There is a neat little song that plays during the
credits at the conclusion of the game, but the rest of the
music really isn't noteworthy at all.
Cosmic Fantasy 2's greatest strength is its story. The
graphics and music are decent, the battle system is boring,
and the game play consists of your typical walking from town
to town purchasing equipment and collecting experience
points - but the plot really hits home. Not only can it be
an extremely funny little game, but it can also become quite
emotional at times. A tragic event takes place in this game
that will surprise and sadden most everyone who witnesses
it. The event may not be quite as shocking as the death of
Aeris in Final Fantasy VII, but it is just as emotional and affecting.
Anyone who has enjoyed Working Designs' more recent
translations for the PSX (such as Lunar and Alundra) would
do well to track down a copy of Cosmic Fantasy 2. Despite
all its flaws, the game remains excellent thanks to its
superb cinemas, fabulous sense of humor, and captivating
plot. I wish that subsequent Cosmic Fantasy titles had made
it to the States (or the one previous CF adventure, for that
matter). Nonetheless, I am more than satisfied with Cosmic
Fantasy 2. It provided me with one of the most enjoyable
gaming experiences I've ever had, and it may very well do
the same for you if you manage to find and purchase a copy.
Overall: 9 out of 10
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