Eureka Seven Vol. 2: The New Vision – PS2 – Review

Introduced to
the Eureka Seven Japanese anime series through the Cartoon Network
weekend lineup, I have quickly become a loyal fan of one of the strangest,
emotionally stirring and action-packed animated series since the introduction of
Bleach. The show’s popularity in Japan as well as North America, no
doubt, was reason enough to design a game that was connected to the series. When
Eureka Seven Vol. 1: The New Wave was released, it was not only boring but also
a weak prequel that was a forgettable experience. Eureka Seven Vol.2: The New
Vision for the PlayStation 2 is another chapter in this series but it is simply
more of the same.

Once again
taking place before the events seen in the anime series when we first meet the
show’s hero Renton and the lovely title character Eureka, Vol. 2 finds Sumner
Sturgeon still pining for Ruri, a girl he met when he joined the New Wave (a
pilot training school). Having served the military as an LFO (a sort of
transforming mech) pilot, he left after having helped Ruri steal the Nirvash
(the same LFO Renton pilots in the anime) and is crushed when Ruri decides to
leave. The New Vision starts with Sumner joining a lifting (think of it as
futuristic skateboarding using a hover board called a Ref-Board) tournament that
has him thinking of becoming an LFO pilot again. It is in this tournament that
he meets up with old friends and is once again reunited with Ruri who needs
Sumner’s help once again.

For a game based
on an interesting show, the story is far from interesting and the drama you’ll
encounter in this volume doesn’t give you the impression that these two kids
were really meant for each another. If anything, Ruri doesn’t even seem all that
interested in Sumner even though she vowed she would see him again in the first
volume. Instead, Ruri faces off against Sumner in a LFO battle and then drags
him along for dangerous battles while never explaining why she is so willing to
risk his life. Even Sumner begins to wonder what he’s doing flying missions for
a girl who doesn’t know why she’s doing half the things she does. Yes, the story
just doesn’t seem to make any sense and it’s not as interesting as it sounds.

Much like the
first game, The New Vision is mainly composed of animated cutscenes with bits of
action tossed in for good measure. Still, unlike The New Wave, there is more
interaction with the environment. For instance, the game does begin with a
lifting tournament that has you racing various lifters to win the tournament and
later you participate in some LFO battle tournaments. You’ll meet up with key
cast members from the show such as Moondoggie who joins you on most of the
adventure as well as cameos from the likes of members from the Gekkostate. Even
though the game’s presentation consists of various “episodes” (complete with an
anime intro that mimic’s the show nicely), there will be many times when you
will feel like this is more of a long cut scene than a playable game.

What few action
sequences you will participate in start off as fun as first and then gets old
pretty quickly. This is quite baffling since the game involves transforming
mechs that can be upgraded with different weapon types as well as take to the
skies for aerial combat. Your LFO can transform to a ground vehicle with a spin
attack and a cannon while the mech form has a melee attack that can turn into a
projectile attack as well as a cannon weapon as well. Your LFO can also lift
when they take the action high above. The repetitive nature of the combat,
though, takes a backseat to the ease of the battles. Even when you go up against
four enemies at a time the game seems too easy … I hardly even see the need to
play through the Tutorial mode. In the end, the sporadic moments of action –
even the ones where you’re fist fighting as Sumner – are not enough to make this
game any better than the boring original.

There are no
improvements in the visual department as well and this is yet another
disappointment seeing as there are plenty of LFOs in this game. The character
models remain quite lackluster and expressionless and their movements aren’t
anywhere near realistic. The backgrounds sometimes look pretty good in the game
and the visual effects are decent enough. The LFO battles are just about the
only thing that looks exciting.

As for the
game’s sound, the soundtrack feels straight off the show and adds some
excitement to the battles. The voice acting is also pretty good, although Sumner
still sounds extremely wooden. Still, for the most part, the cast of characters
sound just like you expect them to sound and show regulars like Moondoggie sound
like the voice talent that portrays them on the anime. The sound effects are not
bad at all either and do the action justice.

Eureka Seven
Vol.2: The New Vision is yet another sample of the same poorly designed game
that was introduced to us a short while back. It neither improves nor advanced
the series to new and exciting heights and there’s very little in terms of
action to hook new fans. Even if you adore the excellent anime, this one will
just disappoint in every way. Sorry, but I recommend gamers stay away from this
one and purchase the anime on DVD instead.

Review Scoring Details for Eureka Seven Vol. 2: The New Vision

Gameplay: 4.0
Nothing has
changed since the last outing so consider this more of the same only with more
battles and lifting races. The story isn’t very interesting and you’ll find it
hard to get involved with characters that don’t know what they’re doing there in
the first place. Piloting LFOs are fun at first and gets old quickly.

Graphics: 5.0
This volume
retails the look of the first volume in the series and this is bad news since
there are more battles in this one and the locales should be a lot prettier. The
character models aren’t bad but the game could have looked better if it copied
the anime.

Sound: 5.0
The voice
acting is actually good (even though Sumner still sounds like everything
depresses him), although nowhere near as great as the top-notch voice acting on
the show. Still, there are some decent sound effects and the music is handled
well.

Difficulty:
Easy
Despite the
fact that you can change the difficulty setting, the battles remain simple
thanks to the fact that very little skill is required during combat. The battles
that take place high the ground above can be somewhat challenging, especially
when you’re up against more than two foes.

Concept: 3.9
Sumner is
finally reunited with his first major crush Ruri and he’s made lifting and LFOs
a priority again. Why gamers won’t care about any of this is the game’s fault
and even the fact that these events will eventually lead to the interesting
events seen on the show aren’t able to make this story interesting in any way.
At least there’s more lifting in this sequel and some of the battles can be
cool.

Overall: 4.0
Repeating the
flaws and dull gameplay of the first game, Eureka Seven Vol. 2 is a major
disappointment for any fan of the anime and gamer looking for cool mech action.
Even with the cameo from the show’s cast and the ability to pilot the Nirvash,
this is one game Eureka fans should certainly skip.