
	Platform DS Genre Action Publisher Square-Enix Developer Square-Enix ESRB E (Everyone) Released October 7, 2008

- Very reminiscent of old school sidescrollers - Excellent use of DS’s graphical abilities

- Can have action in the “divider” of the DS’s screen - Tad on the easy side.

Review: Lost in Blue 3 (DS) Review: Final Fantasy IV (DS) Review: New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
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Legend of Kage 2

Score: 8.0 / 10

It’s not often that old console games from the 80’s get a sequel, and it’s even less frequently that the game isn’t horribly re-imagined into a game with a similar name and nothing else. Legend of Kage 2 pays an homage to its roots with some of the original game elements from 1985 while showing what can be done with the DS. Like the original, the characters are super-human – able to jump greater than the

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- DS Game Reviews
- Action Game Reviews
- Games Published by Square-Enix

height of the screen, run like the wind and run up walls and jump off of them with ease.

You get to control either Chihiro or the titular character Kage on the mission to recover the princess, who has just been kidnapped. Although the two have different weapons (a kusarigama versus a katana) their attacks take pretty much the same amount of space

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and aren’t represented too differently. Besides the primary attacks, your character can learn ninjutsu by picking up elemental orbs – once you have collected some, you get to arrange these orbs on a grid. Different combinations of orbs and orientations yield you different spells – some defensive, most offensive. Some additional skills are learned as you progress through the game whether you collect elemental orbs or not.

The game levels aren’t particularly difficult to navigate, but they are massive. At times some levels can be as high as 4-5 DS screens and about 50 screens long – which means that there are a ton of enemies and goodies to find on these levels. But most people won’t be drawn into inspecting each level since you can just fly through these environments without too much difficulty. My only complaint about the level layouts has got to be about the usage of the little divider: it’s treated as being active space on the screen. So it’s possible to position yourself or an enemy into this dead-zone.

The boss battles are where the game really shines – each boss attacks with their own nasty patterns, and some of the later bosses will challenge you until their attack patterns can be figured out. A tough boss can take up to 5-6 battles before a method to beating them can be worked out. What makes it so challenging is that while the bosses may repeat their attacks, they won’t use them in the same patterns.

Realistically, most people can complete the game in about 5 hours – you can add a little replay if you decide to go back and complete it again with the 2^nd character, although I doubt it will take another 5 hours to beat it the 2^nd time.

All in all, Legend of Kage 2 is a great pickup for those amongst us who long for the old Nintendo sidescroller games, admittedly not a complicated game, but a darn load of fun.

- Mike Siewert

(December 1, 2008)