Hybrid 2: Saga of Nostalgia Review

Hybrid 2: Saga of Nostalgia reminds me of Streets of Rage with some basic RPG elements. This is in no way a bad thing as I adored Streets of Rage back in the day, but it is a shame that Hybrid 2 doesn't have as much depth as I was hoping for.

Pitched as a hack n slash RPG game, Hybrid 2: Saga of Nostalgia has a ridiculously convoluted storyline about time travel and parallel dimensions. It's so bizarre, in fact, that you'll probably never bother remembering more than the above summation. It's a similar case with the dialogue, except that all characters go on and on and on and...well you get the picture. I'm all for long story explanations; heck, I'm a big advocate of Final Fantasy XIII, and you know how endless those cutscenes are. Hybrid 2's story, on the other hand, just isn't interesting enough to keep me entertained.

Fortunately, everything else about it is rather more exciting even if it can get a tad repetive after a while. You spend the vast majority of your time running round glorious looking 2d scenes while attacking anything that moves. Combos are fairly easy to build up, making it all the more satisfying. The anime style to the game suits it to a tee and animation on the whole is fast and furious. The only true annoyance is that while the virtual d-pad controls are mostly very responsive, every once in a while I found my attacks not registering. It's not a huge problem but it was quite irritating at times, especially when up against a large number of foes at once.

A basic levelling up system and plenty of new weaponry and armour to collect on your quest gives Hybrid 2 the kind of satisfaction you expect from the likes of Diablo and Torchlight. It can get repetitive, as you find yourself doing the same thing over and over again - picking up quests from villages, running outside, killing lots of foes to acquire an item for the quest, ad infinitum. I can forgive that for the most part, as Hybrid 2 is good fun in short doses. It's like any hack n slasher: too much will get dull but keep it to just the right level, and it's good, attractive fun.