Shaman King: Master of Spirits 2 (GBA, 2005)

• Mostly linear structure besides optional backtracking and sidetracking for upgrades and combat abilities (can take 4 paths after a couple of areas and 2-3 more paths open up for many new locations that you visit however nearly all of them are blocked off by ability gates - you can really only go to where you get the box pushing ability and then the only path where you use it which is then basically repeated for the next ability (dash jump) then again for the poison gas protection ability (you can then explore 2 paths with the "freeze fire pillars" ability but only one leads anywhere new, etc.; in other words the main progression is pretty much linear), 2-3 more with the high jump or slide ability?, can go past the water in the north before getting the antiquity/final sword, two optional bosses (can go face magister before getting past the NE totem pole) and ten optional areas+some optional (and missable) spirits, no alternate paths on the hub map during the end game in the second hub area?)

• The world is divided into a number of areas (unnamed in-game and even in the manual?) which in turn are divided into several themed paths

• Save on the hub map screen (one slot per game only, three in total) - can't save within areas and there are no continues or lives

• Partial life refill after finishing a path (getting to the other side of it in either direction)

• Adds fast travel via teleporters/dobie gates - teleport between visited ones. Footballer/dash attack special attack also lets you backtrack through areas with weaker enemies quicker (a weaker version of ultra cavalry charge however (late game move) and it only really works in the early game). There's also a spirit item for teleporting back to the first location though you get it pretty late

• Gain a dragon for fast travel about halfway through the game here too (2-3h; a bit annoying how you have to use it for every path between two locations though)

• Some new combat moves besides ones tied to spirit items (combo-based)

• Get the forward dash+dash jump ability sooner (Mic spirit)

• Enemies carrying special items/souls always drop them after one kill

• Sometimes a minor puzzle element to bosses and three chase segments

• Some interesting abilities (wall jump/triangle jump w/ upgraded lee pai long, mid-air block/platform creation - optional and not used much though)

• Difficulty options (easy-expert/very hard)

• Can increase the number of sets to 7+ here as well as turn off ones you're not using in the menu

• Boss rush mode (at the first location; time attack - the rewards are just some artwork though, can refight some bosses from the prequel here too)

• Regenerating MP/special move energy (can also upgrade the speed of it by using up one special item slot)

• Some minor shortcuts when backtracking through paths (not enough of them though)

• Good economy in that being careful with your money stays relevant throughout unless you take it slow and use Mash (or play really well) - until the late game anyway

• Mandatory gates are often placed at the beginning of paths so that you can quickly backtrack to the map when running into them (there might still be a few paths to backtrack through leading up to that area though and there are exceptions such as a high wall in the NE totem area)

• New game plus (cleared levels+items+spirits etc. will be the same as before fighting the final boss)

• Most locations (dots on the map) can't be visited and explored - most of them simply represent the end of a path rather than a location you can visit and are where you access the shop and save screens (the training area at the beginning is an exception)

• Can jump past most enemies after gaining the dash jump (works like in MMX)

• Can look around but still need a soul equipped in a quick slot for it - a couple of leaps of faith before you find this ability (the camera is also too loose while falling)

• Some pits however they don't kill you - instead you lose some health and are carried to the platform you were on previously (there's also a spirit item that reduces damage from falling into them)

• Hotdogs aren't worth buying in terms of $ per HP (3 sushi are cheaper and heal more) - only in terms of space. Hamburgers aren't either but somewhat less so and you become encumbered before filling up the item inventory with either sushi, hotdogs or burgers

• Enemies now drop healing items (used immediately though - you can't carry them with you) but they are rare and a tougher enemy isn't more likely to drop one

• Carry capacity limitations on inventory items (better balanced due to the above but has the same weight limit issue)

• Can't escape from boss battles and they tend to be surprises

• Frequently respawning enemies (as soon as you leave a room/sub area)

• Enemy drops do disappear but it takes 10+ seconds

• Some resource management (chests don't respawn and enemies rarely drop money, a few ammo-based special attacks)

• Short knockback when hit but also short invincibility time (can get annoying vs some enemies like the eagles that swoop back and forth quickly)

• Frozen enemies still hurt when moved into meaning you can't use them as platforms

• Very little gear besides accessories that expand your spirit deck slots (the sword is upgraded after beating certain bosses)

• Lose your current weapon and have it replaced by the worst sword during the in-game intro cutscene

• Can't swim (a familiar of sorts picks you up and puts you at the last platform you were standing on but you also lose a lot of HP) - in underwater areas you move around underwater so it's a bit odd

• Box puzzles are pretty underused here after the early game (you just use that ability as a door opener a few times)

• A few NPC encounters but no neutral or friendly creatures (see SM; a couple of unkillable enemies that act more like obstacles though)

• Still no breakable walls or floors besides the obvious stone block doors

Some notable cons:

• Still no area maps and you can't check the world map while in an area (too many ability gates to remember besides the mandatory ones - while it's hard to get lost it is easy to keep taking non-essential or blocked off paths when you didn't want to, the game doesn't tell you if/how many items are left on a path, no area names on the hub map screen or title cards shown when entering them). At least the silver gear/guardian ghost locations are marked on the hub map

• Various control/interface issues

• Backtracking early on (you still have to backtrack through visited paths to go to previous locations on the map - can't just move past them on the map, if you screw up a box puzzle you have to re-enter the path instead of just moving a couple of screens away, you'll run into some temporary dead ends from ability gates pretty early on)

• Repeats various bosses from the prequel (no new patterns for these?; snowboard guy, blonde girl, dashing black guy, lee pai long, dragon guy, lyserg/chloe ability guy, etc.)

• Some tedious aspects (weird final boss second phase where you're floating around in space and can only use the default special attack while he has a bunch of different ones and frequently blocks, still no MP restoratives besides some temporary ones you can find in certain areas which trigger when picked up (can break flow or make some segments harder since even dashing and sliding costs a non-negligible amount of MP), box puzzles still don't stay solved - there could've been a default ability to reset them, removed fire pillars+stone block doors+totems don't stay removed, some pointless one way paths, the underwater areas, still has the weight mechanic, some optional areas aren't worth backtracking to, etc)

• New enemies don't appear on previously visited paths

• Some trial & error

• Some useful items are placed haphazardly instead of rewarding exploration

• Various abilities are redundant or weak

Playthrough - Mini Review

Influenced by: Igavanias (AoS specifically), possibly Clash at Demonhead or Alundra 2

Influenced: