This is a series of gameplay vids I'm doing highlighting overlooked games for the PS2.
Those who are familiar with the PS2's North American launch are probably also familiar with this game. Summoner was a hack and slash RPG that hit shelves on 10/25/00. This was definitely one of the best games at launch. I didn't partake in the launch of the PS2, but if I had, I would definitely have wanted to snatch this game up.
As in most RPGs , you get more people in your party as the game progresses, and you can switch in between them at any time. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses that do come into play in the game. Joseph also has the ability to summon monsters (hence the name Summoner) to fight along side you.
The fighting system is kinda turned based real time. You point out an enemy for your character to attack in real time, and they'll attack on command. It's not actually you pressing buttons to attack, but the chain system makes the combat more engrossing. When you hit a direction the d-pad at the right time is allows you to chain your last attack into another attack. There are various chain attacks that you can use, and you have the ability to set which direction does what attack in the game. The magic is also turn based real time where you can bring up the magic menu at any time, but your magic attacks can be canceled out at any time if you get hit by an enemy before you cast it.
Graphically, well what do you expect? It's a PS2 launch game. For those who may remember, it took developers quite a long time to finally figure out how to push the PS2 properly, because of it's difficult architecture, so this along with most of the launch games falls under the category of "looks like a Dreamcast game." not that there's anything wrong with that. In it's defense, the textures are nicely detailed (an early pitfall of the PS2, because of it's 4 MB of V-ram), it's lighting effects look nice and help set the mood, and some of the areas in the game are expansive for the time this game was made (not GTAIII expansive, but expansive by comparison to games that had come before). However, it does suffer from rather excessive pop in.
The game does have it's flaws. First and foremost, this game is for the patient. Summoner being a first gen game, it has first gen load times. Some areas can take up to a minute or more to load. Also, the world map has random encounters, but unlike other RPGs these random encounters take you to the middle of a field, and you have to fight your way back out. I don't mind it overall, but there are times where you just want to progress the story without constantly having to go through random encounters (and the load times of those encounters), and it can get a little annoying if you don't have the patience for such things. Especially since Summoners random encounters can last quite a bit longer than those in other RPGs.
Also, though the quest journal does a decent job of letting you know where you have to go next, there are still those times where you'll be scratching your head. Often times you'll have to run around the world map to find a random encounter that has an important character in it, and sometimes it's only at specific points on the map. Also, the map system in the game could have benefited greatly from a zoom function.
The game obviously has it's fair share of flaws, and even a few glitches, but that usually comes with the territory of a first gen game. That being said, I still highly recommend this game. Even now that I'm finally playing it nine years later, it has sucked me in. Many games of this type have come and gone since, and may be better, but Summoner is still an extremely enjoyable, playable and engrossing hack and slash RPG, and it even has an awesome soundtrack to go along with it. First gen or not, this is a great game. I highly recommend it, but you will need some patience in order to play it.
Summoner is also available on the PC, and even on a Mac.
Note: I've edited out the load screens and a few other parts in order to make the vid more interesting. The load times can take quite a while in this game.
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@FugaziCharon you are a living example of something I've been believing since the PS2 generation ended, and that is that those who grew up on the PS2 do not know quality lol. I'm sorry if this offends you in any way, but this game is garbage, it was garbage when I first played in years ago and it's still garbage now.
Radioswim 1 week ago
@ladygodia Yep they talk..
Budgiein87 2 weeks ago
Played and worshiped this game as a child at launch, I now recently have downloaded it for the PC and I can see that in my youth, I had good taste. I'm absolutely loving and being engrossed by this game. The lore and writing is definitely my favorite part of the game. A gem in the rough, for sure
FugaziCharon 1 month ago
I never managed to get past Pjilan or whatever his name was.Too reliant on my summons i guess.XD
TheSephiroth5 1 month ago
This reminds me of dragon age!
shiranui 1 month ago
@Tinhh None except mayyyyyybe Golden sun 1&2 for gameboy advanced
Waylander904 4 months ago
That guy needs to clip his finger nails
romans1001 4 months ago
I used to play as the chic with the hood. I'd put the hood on to become invisible, sneak around my enemies, and backstab them. Good times, good times.
jdlhnewhh 5 months ago
@DotaHelm the pc console was better is just in the ps2 version is is just a waste
MrPs2masters 6 months ago
This was the first ps2 game I owned. I loved it. The only bad things I didnt like were load times and sometimes it was unclear where to go.
mikeyturner777 7 months ago in playlist Games 2