Customer Reviews

Magna Carta 2

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Extra points if you know what the title is quoted from, but anyway...

This game is simple. So I'm going to give you a simple review. This is a JRPG in the finest sense. If you've played most if not all of the RPGs on the 360, you've played this game before. It borrows VERY heavily from almost every single original (meaning, non-sequel) one, and I'm going to focus on that, but first a little back story. Your character is Juto, a young man who has washed up on an island with amnesia (Infinite Undiscovery anyone?). Melissa finds him, and takes him in as family, showing him the basics of combat and survival during the ongoing war that is taking place (Blue Dragon anyone?).

The battle engine uses a controlled action engine, identical to the one found in Infinite Undiscovery. If you didn't like that battle engine, you won't like this one, period. The graphics are strikingly similar to Infinite Undiscovery as well, also making use of the Unreal Engine. The war backstory feels like a toned down version of The Last Remnant, not quite as large scale. And, as in Infinite Undiscovery, you'll encounter a runaway princess accompanied by her guardian. (Trust me, I'm not done yet...)

There also happens to be "Kan", which is a form of energy that gives humans extraordinary powers. This is not unlike the energy in Infinite Undiscovery that gave people powers of the moon, since the hero, Strauss, also comes from another planet. But what really made me giggle is the presence of "Doomseeds" in the game...some sort of light shower which seem to be related to Kan in some way and affect Kan users negatively when exposed to it. (Infinite Undiscovery players, does any of this sound familiar?)

Basically...this game really does rip off a lot from Infinite Undiscovery. That's not a bad thing, but if you couldn't stand that game, PLEASE skip this.


=-= What Magna Carta 2 Does RIGHT =-=

- Graphics are quite beautiful.
- Lots of cutscenes, some manually controlled, some static with text, others fully CGI.
- Battle engine is easy to get into (see WRONG below though...)
- 100% camera control in multiple directions, including up and down.
- If you install to the hard drive the load times are almost nonexistent.
- Fairly deep story. It's easy to see that story is what drives this game, along with graphics.
- Music is light, not overpowering, just enough to get you into the environment.


=-= What Magna Carta 2 Does WRONG =-=

- Inefficient use of button commands. I mean, if I need to switch skills, why do I have to press RT, then Dpad, Then RT, then X? Why can't I just have RT cycle through the options and then X when I'm done? That's just one example; don't even get me started on the Drive Chain.

- Drive and Chain and all of the variations are absolutely mind numbingly confusing. It's not explained well in the first place, and given the button inefficiency I mentioned above...

- Quest explanations are stupid. One quest asks you to basically use Fire Tap (Crocell's Special) to generate Fire Kan. Never is it explained exactly how to trigger his Fire Tap, unless I missed it somewhere.

- Forced requirement to go back and "check in" with requesters. I understand this is real and all, but the problem is that the game is structured such that if you proceed a certain length, you will get to a point where you cannot return, thus if there is a quest that exists at the very end of one of these parts, there's usually a single event (which you can't back out of) that is your point of no return. Since you didn't know in advance, even if you did the quest correctly, you can't go back to check in and thus you lose those Experience points.

- A LOT of backtracking due to the aforementioned "check in" requirement. The land is huge, so this gets annoying.

- I find the voice acting to be subpar. Maybe it's just me.


So...do I recommend it? If you liked Infinite Undiscovery, yes. If you never played that game, you might want to play that first to see if you like that direction. It's scary how identical it really is to that game. You might consider renting Magna Carta 2 if you really feel like taking a plunge. I will say though for the record, for everyone who is reading. THIS IS A JRPG. THIS IS NOT OBLIVION, IT's NOT FALLOUT 3. Please don't come in here blasting it for "sticking to the old formula". Yes, it does. And there's nothing wrong with that, for people who enjoy that formula. It's not going to change the face of RPG gaming. Doubtful it'll end up on PS3. But it's a solid addition to the RPG library for 360 and well worth at least a playthrough, as long as you can accept it for being the very basic of RPG.

Magna Carta 2 starts out with a man named Juto suddenly washing up on Highwind island shore one day. Juto has lost his memory and has no idea who he is, the villagers of Highwind island take him in as one of their own and a lady named Melissa takes Juto in as family and trains him how to fight to defend the island, although for some reason holding a real sword scares the daylights out of him. Life on the island is very peaceful until something is uncovered on the island that is of great importance towards the two armies involved in a civil war, from here on out Juto's life changes drastically due to the tides of war.

That is the basic premise of Magna Carta 2, it should be noted that Magna Carta 2 has absolutely nothing to do with Magna Carta: Tears of Blood, the only thing shared here is the name. Magna Carta 2 does borrow heavily from other RPG's of the past (Last Remnant, FF7, FF8, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Infinite Undiscovery to name a few) but what is does borrow from other RPG's is the good stuff and it melds them together nicely in Magna Carta 2, the story told here is fairly good and it kept me interested all the way through. Magna Carta 2 is a fairly long game, taking me about 38 hours to complete the main story itself, if I would have done side quests (I'm not one for side quests) it probably would have tacked on an additional 5 or so hours. The one thing that kind of ticked me off was that items in Magna Carta 2 are expensive, 1 healing item in the last parts of the game is going to run you $3000! Selling old equipment is almost a waste of time as you get next to nothing for them in return, this lead me to fight monster after monster to get enough healing items to go further in the story, and trust me, your going to want extra healing items, especially early on in the game as you will go through them fast when your doing plot progressing battles, and you usually only get one chance on the field to buy healing items (usually at the start of the map, when you should be getting a chance at the middle or end of it) Overall I probably was probably grinding for money at least 6 hours total, no biggie, but healing items should not be so expensive. One thing Magna Carta 2 does well is it gives you plenty of save points and is generally fairly forgiving if you don't have enough items (it will let you run back to the end of the map to buy some more items, the enemies respawn after a certain amount time though, so you have to run back to your last save point while taking hit.

Graphics in Magna Carta 2 are for the most part, great, there are some rather murky textures on some of the NPC's and later on in the game you will get a little bit of that Last Remnant style texture loading (although not to the same extent, you will only get it on the ground textures) Gameplay is Magna Carta 2 is very fun, its done in an action style and is fast paced, you have a stamina meter and if you let it fill up all the way you will go into overdrive, here your attack power is doubled, once you fill up your overdrive gauge you will over heat, once this happens you can chain your attack with another character and do the same thing, if you can overheat your other character with a special attack before the other character recovers from overheat than both stamina gauges will be fully recharged, this is called a chain break, this adds some strategy to the game, if you fail to chain break correctly you will have 2 characters unable to act- this can prove very fatal in a boss battle. The characters in Magna Carta 2 were (to me anyway) Like able, there are no little kids in this game and the characters designs are amazing. The voice actors tend to do a good job and Juto is voiced by my favorite voice actor, Johnny Young Bosch, he generally does very convincing acting in the games he voices. You would actually be surprised to learn that, Magna Carta 2 is not a JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Game) but is a KRPG (Korean Role Playing Game) You can see that the characters are designed a wee bit different than the Japanese folks would normally do them, but I think I like the Korean art work a little better. If I did have one complaint about Magna Carta 2, it would be the ending. While it isn't bad per se it leaves too much open, the ending is not fully explained to begin with and I'm pretty sure it almost completely defies the laws of life in that games particular world. One plot point that is introduced 15 minutes (that's right 15 minutes) before the end of the game is left completely unanswered, I mean why even open up the plot like that only to not close it up at the end? To me, if they would have left that certain plot point out (it certainly did not need it) and they would have made the ending more clear, this would have been the perfect action RPG for me, on the Xbox 360.

As some final closing comments I'd like to say that a lot of people say that if you liked Infinite Undisovery than you will like Magna Carta 2. Well let me tell you, I hated, really hated Infinite Undiscovery, I didn't like the main character (sure they start out whiny and then they grow on you, but this just didn't happen in Infinite Undiscovery), and there was way to many characters (12 or so) introduced in a game not near long enough to give everyone a sufficient story, just to name a few of my complaints. But I absolutely loved Magna Carta 2, there was not a truck load of characters, and while Juto starts out whiny, he slowly started maturing, and by the end of the game, you can see what a long way he has come from the whiny little ***** he was on Highwind Island. The final thing I'd like to address is some people say you need to buy the DLC to beat the game, this is NOT true, if you are the correct level, and go in to the final boss battles prepared, the game can be beaten with out the need for the DLC (the DLC includes 2 super weapons witch pretty much brings the game down to its knees in terms of challenge) and in all truth Magna Carta 2 is not all that hard to begin with.

Overall this is one of the better RPG's on the 360 and I would definitely recommend it if you are a fan of action RPG's and some of the games I mentioned above as Magna Carta 2 does borrow story elements from them.

It seems to me that if you have to qualify an RPG as a Japanese RPG on the XBox 360 to apply the word 'best' then somehow the point has been missed. So before I give what will really be a positive review let me point out that Magna Carta II is not the best RPG on the XBox 360, and arguably not the best JRPG either. And if the rushes for FF XIII are any indicator, even if Magna Carta II was a 'best' it wouldn't be so for very long. All that being said, MC2 is actually a good game with a lot going for it and a few things going against it.

The plot is intricate - Juto, a boy who has lost his memory is building a life on an island. His friend (and boss) is Melissa, who is charged with the defense of the island. A revolution is in process and Juto finds himself thrust between opposing forces as the war overtakes the peaceful villagers. Tragedy strikes and Juto chooses his side (the Southern forces) and swears revenge. He meets his teamates - spell casters and combate specialists - and the game is off and running. The female lead is Zephie (Princess Rzephilda) who is trying to regain the kingdom she lost when the inevitable, evil prime miniter kills her mother.

The plot is complex, but fairly linear. There are any number of quests to clear to provide breaks, and you can often get away for some level building. However, for all the twists and turns, progress is often forced. And the quest structure does not always harmonize with the main story. The characters take a while to grow on you. All of them are irritating when they start out and they can take over half of the game to become likeable. Still the story tries to show an occasional bit of originality and captures the players interest, which is a vast improvement over a few other games.

The artwork and music are several steps above average. Lots of good CGI clips, the use of several styles to mark differences in narrative, and good looking characters make up the visual environment. Characters actually have gestures and expressions. The battle artwork is a little less satisfactory but is almost good enough. Occasionally I found it hard to make out what was what in a busy scene. Like when you are trying to pick off the healers in a crowd of enemies. But that's the only real flaw, and the backgrounds and buildings ate very nicely don't. This is a good game to look at.

It is a less good game to play in when you find yourself in battle. Magna Carta II has one of those inordantly complex fight systems that take forever to adjust to and send fingers flying over the controller. You are perpetual shifting characters, changing spells and attacks, and working up to combinations. Usually by the time you get a character lined up to deliver the final blow the freeze from exhaustion and you have to bring up andther character and fit them in as well. There never seems to be a rhythm to the battle, and if I were to pick out the game's worst flaw this would be it.

Another issue I have is being dragged thru conflicts with little or no access to a save area. This doesn't always happen, but it's tedious to have to run back and several scenes in order to save and then run forward again in order to slay more enemies. Over all, though, there are more good things than bad in Magna Carta II. If you like intricate plots, curvacious heroines, and frantic battles you will find the game to your liking and I'd happily recommend it to RPG players

Wow. I got this game not expecting much but wanting a pretty RPG to keep me occupied until Final fantasy. Boy was I surprised. While the story is just ok, the combat and magic system are great! It's sort of like a the last Final Fantasy on ps2 in that the battles are real time, and its one of the few RPGS in recent memory that I actually went out and looked for battles rather than dreading them. Definitely worth a try if you like RPGS in general, especially JRPGS!

I must say this game is a fresh new air to the sequel and a bit improve over its predecessor. Some may think its just a generic rpg with cliche story, I actually love it. Its just matter of opinion and the character art is gorgeous and fun to watch. If your looking for an rpg game look no further this should be another addition to your rpg collection and its really fun to play and more fun once you get the hang on the combat system.

This was a fun RPG that I thuroughly enjoyed playing and unlike many of today's RPGs, it didn't send me scurrying to Gamefaqs to solve some impossible quest. The graphics are very good and there is enough content in the game to keep you content. It took me a little over 40 hours to beat the game the first time watching all of the cut sceens and completing most of the sidequests. I'm currently replaying it with the DLC and I finished disk 1 in 7 hours. I would recommend getting the downloadable content too. The DLC weapons are the best in the game and let you clean house.

This games is very simialr to Infinite Discovery so if you liked that game try this one out.

Some may be turned off b/c of the game's cliched story of love and war, with an amneasic character who sets out for revenge, but i love the story. The graphics are amazing, in par with the best looking next gen games to date. The battle system is also very fun and complex, without being difficult to learn. I think all RPG fans should play this game. It is a masterpiece!

I am in love! I've put about 40 hours into this game so far and it is *just delightful*. This game is the perfect storm of wonderful, ridiculous fantasy RPG joy. Below I've written briefly about the best and worst aspects of the game, but overall I would definitely recommend this title to fans of the genre.

REAL TIME BATTLE
Yes you read that right! There are no load screens standing between you and that adorable worm monster! In this day and age, it is absolutely inexcusable for games to still be running the old school separate-zone battle systems - if you can't render your monsters in the same zone as your players, then you shouldn't be making games. It made sense in older games, which is why it doesn't bother me in games like Final Fantasy VII, but when you see it in games like the latest Star Ocean (a hybrid system), it's sheer laziness. In MG2, there is seamless, same-zone combat, which means there is nothing disrupting your flow while you're out beating up on the beasts of the world.

BEAUTIFUL GRAPHICS AND A LOVELY, LARGE WORLD
This game truly reminded me of FF XII in that it has a vast world with many widely different and beautifully rendered regions. Each location has unique scenery that has benefited from an obvious attention to detail - no two areas are alike, which keeps this longer game from getting boring. The characters are also gorgeous - the outfits alone (yes, they're ridiculous) are quite lovely to look at, and the clarity and facial detail of each character has clearly been lovingly crafted. In addition, the designers were kind enough to render different weapons, so whatever you equip, you see - not the case in a lot of these games. Some characters have costume changes, but there's no real armor in this game, so many of them just wear the same thing all the time.

MANY FUN SIDE QUESTS
This game is full of fun and interesting optional side quests. In a lot of these games, all of the quests are of the 'fetch and carry' variety... everyone wants you to do their shopping for them. Not so in MG2, a lot of the quests are different and require various things and even various party configurations. The grinding (kill 20 x) and fetch and carry quests were kept to a bare minimum, so the game doesn't feel monotonous or tedious.

COMPELLING STORY
While the story doesn't always make 100% sense, it's pretty awesome when it does. I was a little let down at times because what I thought was going to be the case wasn't, but there are some pretty cool twists and once you get drawn in the way it unfolds is really interesting. This is a game that is worth playing just for the story, the writers wrapped up a good standard RPG setting complete with war and princess and hero with lost memories, but there are other aspects to it that make it unique and, not to spoil it, but no matter how many RPGs you've played in the past (I've played em all...) I think you'll find things here that you haven't seen before.

RIDICULOUS IN ALL THE RIGHT WAYS
Unbelievably silly writing? Check. Cheesy jokes? Yep. Sappy romance? Yep. Moments that make you go, "we're gonna need a bigger WTF"? Absolutely!

SLIGHTLY TEDIOUS BATTLE SYSTEM
The "chain drive" battle system definitely got on my nerves at first. This is something I hadn't seen before, and it's hard to explain, but characters use 'stamina' to perform combat moves, and when they do too much they overheat, meaning they lock up for a few seconds. In the chain system you can utilize this and make your party work together using moves in overheat, and if done right the overheat penalty goes away. It's actually as complicated as it sounds, which is the problem, because the few seconds of overheat can cost you the battle in some of the boss fights.

LAZY CUTSCENES
My one big gripe with this game is that there are practically no true cutscenes. I'm a cutscene whore, really - I like the animation, storytelling, etc. But in this game there are these weird dialogue breaks where you're pressing X to advance it, and there are two characters and a text box. If there are more than 2 characters talking, they slide in and out like they're being pulled by a hook. It's silly, and since they obviously had the technology to animate full cutscenes, I felt pretty cheated that they chose the basically frozen conversation method they use. In addition, I began to wonder if the characters were deaf or something, because a lot of the conversations consist of repeating the same information over and over again, which can get kind of irritating.

HIGHLY LINEAR GAMEPLAY
This is my other major criticism. Unlike FFXII there are very few areas in this game where you can wander - most of the regions are merely a straight path that you can't walk off of, so there's little to no exploration, and that takes a lot of the mystery out and makes the world feel more claustrophobic than it needs to. In addition, the game is really aggressive about moving you towards the next story point, which means that you can miss the chance to do a lot of the fun side quests I mentioned without even realizing it. With no fast travel for much of the game, you're pretty much confined to the region of the game the story has currently brought you to, and you never know if you'll be able to get back. It's disappointing that the designers would create such a vast and beautiful world and then rush you through it so much.

NO FAST TRAVEL (SORT OF)
Finally, I was blown away that there was no fast travel in this game - until I realized that there is, you just don't get access to it until after the halfway mark. I would have put this under the complaint above, but I wanted to highlight it because it's so different from most of the games of the genre. It makes the game much more linear, and cuts off your ability to wander very severely.

I can not belive IGN gave 6.8 for this... unbelievable! Generally, I agree w/ their review. Now let me tell you why you MUST buy this!

#1 This is the best JRPG on XBox360!
There are no competition! Some enjoy open RPG like FallOut 3 and such but I like JRPG better. Why? I think the characters are more charasmatic and story is more entertaining. Plus, there's only handful of JRPG in the market today..and they all gave BAD reviews! Some are really bad game but NOT THIS ONE!!!

#2 IGN says..it's the most blendest JRPG you'll see
I think I can say the same thing to all FPS games but would I give them low score? No! it's because they are fun! Same idea here! This game is really fun!

#3 Graphics
Top notch!! So much better than all Square-Enix game for 360!

#4 Music
I'd say music is 4/5. It's great but I wouldn't say awesome!

#5 Gameplay
This is where this game shines!!! This is real time battle, meaning no random battles! Also, the battle system is complex enough to NOT keep you bored!

#6 Character Voice
They've done A+ job. It's translated perfectly w/ the right voice!

#7 Story
Yes, the story is cliche~ we've seen it before but how many times did we play to a story called "SAVE THE WORLD"! Look at the music industry as well, all songs are either Love or Sex related since forever!

Anyways, don't believe the review! This is a great game! If you guys don't support JRPG will slowly die....