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Neutopia II

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Neutopia II[a] is a 1991 action-adventure/action role-playing video game developed and published in Japan by Hudson Soft and in North America by Turbo Technologies for the TurboGrafx-16. It is the sequel to Neutopia, which was released earlier in 1989. In the game, the player takes control of Jazeta's son, who embarks on a quest to both save his father and defeat the returning evil demon Dirth.

Neutopia II
Developer(s)Hudson Soft
Publisher(s)
  • JP: Hudson Soft
  • NA: Turbo Technologies, Inc.
Director(s)Shigeki Fujiwara
Designer(s)Shigeki Fujiwara
Programmer(s)Kōji Kaneta
Masato Tobisawa
Artist(s)Fumie Takaoka
Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Yutaka Satō
Composer(s)Keita Hoshi
SeriesNeutopia
Platform(s)TurboGrafx-16
Release
  • JP: September 27, 1991
  • NA: August 1992
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Headed by director and designer Shigeki Fujiwara, Neutopia II was created by a mostly different team at Hudson Soft who did not work on the first Neutopia. First released on the TurboGrafx-16, the game has since been re-released through download services such as the Virtual Console and PlayStation Network download services, in addition to being included on the PC Engine Mini console.

Neutopia II received mostly positive reception from critics since its release; praise was given to the varied monster designs, new gameplay additions, straightfoward plot and audiovisual presentation, while criticism was geared towards its lack of originality, simplistic puzzles and poor sprite animations, with some stating that the sequel felt indistinguishable from the first Neutopia. A third entry, Neutopia III, was teased by Hudson Soft but never materialized. Retrospective commentary has been equally positive, although some have criticized it as very derivative and imitative of The Legend of Zelda series.

Gameplay

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Gameplay screenshot

Neutopia II shares many similarities in visuals and gameplay with the early Legend of Zelda titles.[1] The player takes control of a young boy who freely roams through a sizable 2D environment. The player may progress through accepted tasks in any order at certain points of the game, at other times it is more linear in progression and story.[2]

Development and release

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Neutopia II was created by a mostly different team at Hudson Soft who did not work on the first Neutopia, with Shigeki Fujiwara leading its development as director and also acting as game designer.[3] Two members of the original Neutopia staff, Kōji Kaneta and Masato Tobisawa, returned to serve as co-programmers.[3] The characters were designed by Fumie Takaoka, while Yutaka Satō and Yoshikazu Yasuhiko were responsible for designing background graphics and sprites respectively.[3] The soundtrack was composed by Keita Hoshi, who would later work on Soldier Blade and Super Bomberman 3.[2] Hoshi also created the game's sound effects.[3]

Neutopia II was first published in Japan by Hudson Soft on September 27, 1991 for the PC Engine.[4] Prior to launch, it was demonstrated at the 1991 Tokyo Toy Show during summer.[5] The game was first slated for a July 1992 release date in North America,[6][7] but was published by Turbo Technologies in August 1992 for the TurboGrafx-16. The game was one of many launch titles under the Turbo Technologies Inc relaunch for the TurboGrafx-16, the other games including Air Zonk, Jackie Chan's Action Kung-Fu, and Dungeons and Dragons: Order of the Griffon.[8][9] The title was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console on June 12, 2007 in Japan, then in North America on September 10 and later in Europe on September 14.[10][11] It was also re-released for the PlayStation Network as part of the "PC Engine Archives" line in Japan on July 21, 2010.[12][13] It was re-released in June 2013 across Japanese cloud gaming services like Hikari TV and G-cluster.[14][15] In addition, it was re-released through the Wii U's Virtual Console in Japan on July 30, 2014 and later in North America on January 8, 2017.[16][17] It was included in both the Japanese and western variants of the PC Engine Mini console in 2020.[18][19][20]

Reception

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Neutopia II received mostly positive reception from critics since its release on the TurboGrafx-16, most of which reviewed it as an import title.[31] Public reception was also positive; readers of PC Engine Fan voted to give the game a 22.24 out of 30 score, ranking at the number 150 spot in a poll, indicating a popular following.[32] Video Games' Martin Gaksch commended its visuals for the varied monster designs, new gameplay additions and stylish music.[28] Famitsu's four reviewers commended the plot for being straightfoward and easy to understand, as well as the Zelda-style gameplay but criticized its lack of originality.[4] Consoles Plus' Kaneda Kun and Matt gave positive remarks to the presentation, graphics, character animations, pleasant music and playability but criticized its simplistic puzzles.[22] Likewise, Génération 4's Philippe Querleux gave positive commentary in regards to the audiovisual presentation and gameplay.[25] Similarly, Joypad's Alain Huyghues-Lacour praised its graphics, sprite animations, controls and sound.[26] Joystick's Jean-François Morisse concurred with Lacour on most points but gave the title a low rating.[27]

Aktueller Software Markt's Michael Anton praised Neutopia II for its "great" visuals and soundtrack, "cute" enemy designs and controls but noted that the gameplay was nothing new.[21] TurboPlay stated that the game's graphics, presentation, items and puzzle were "virtually indistinguishable" from the original Neutopia aside from the enemies, plot and world layout. They commended the sound design and gameplay but criticized its labyrinths for their limited variety of puzzles and not deviating in terms of strategy, stating that "your imagination won't be stretched nearly as much as it is in Zelda III".[30] Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers commented that the sequel still felt like Zelda gameplay-wise but gave positive remarks to the effective and fast-paced action, as well as the increased length compared to the original game and audiovisual presentation, although they criticized its poor character animations and lack of originality.[23] GameFan's Dave Halverson and Brody noted that its quest was longer than the first entry but felt that the game was not graphically on par.[24] Play Time's Ray found both graphics and sound fitting for the in-game action, as well as the plot to be dense and atmospheric. He gave a positive remarks to the gameplay, despite noting that it borrowed from Zelda franchise.[29]

Retrospective coverage

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Retrospective reviews for Neutopia II have been equally positive, although some have criticized it as very derivative and imitative of The Legend of Zelda series.[1][10][33] Reviewing the Virtual Console re-release, Nintendo Life's Damien McFerran stated that the sequel felt more like an expansion pack to its predecessor than a full-fledged sequel. McFerran commended the game's main quest for being substantial but expressed disappointment with the lack of graphical upgrades compared to the first Neutopia.[10] Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead also reviewed the Virtual Console release and regarded it as a solid role-playing game for the TurboGrafx.[33] IGN's Lucas M. Thomas concurred with McFerran when reviewing the Virtual Console relaunch, stating that the title felt more like a remixed second quest of the original game. Thomas gave positive remarks to its more polished and accessible gameplay due to the introduction of diagonal movement, improved plot progression and diverse character interactions, but felt mixed in regards to the visuals and criticized the sound for not being as "great" as its predecessor, as well as the overuse of hidden rooms. Regardless, he stated that both Neutopia games are equally replayable, and that together offer complete story.[34]

GameSpot's Austin Shau also agreed with both McFerran and Thomas, stating that the game felt like an extension of the first entry. Shau commended its "interesting" mix of enemies and complex labyrinths, as well as the improved audio and gameplay, but criticized the presentation for being generic and for not distinguishing enough from the original.[1] The Japanese book PC Engine Complete Guide 1987-1999 noted that its difficulty level felt low due to the overpowered items the player obtains during gameplay and similarities with the Zelda series. Nevertheless, they stated that Neutopia II was "a good work" and not just an imitation.[35]

Legacy

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A third entry, Neutopia III, had been teased by Hudson Soft during the credits sequence of Neutopia II, but it never materialized.[3][36] An unofficial iteration of the third title had been in development for the TurboGrafx-CD by homebrew developer Frozen Utopia since 2005, who teased a single in-game screenshot of the game.[36][37] The last update from Frozen Utopia was in May 2008, when it was said that development on the project was postponed due to the developers focusing on other homebrew projects.[36]

Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: ニュートピアII, Hepburn: Nyūtopia Tsū

References

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  1. ^ a b c Shau, Austin (November 20, 2007). "Neutopia II Review - It's very difficult to differentiate Neutopia II from its predecessor, but at least the adventure is a bit better this time around". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2019-02-21. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  2. ^ a b Chungus, Apollo (August 14, 2019). "Neutopia II". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  3. ^ a b c d e Hudson Soft (August 1992). Neutopia II (TurboGrafx-16). Turbo Technologies, Inc. Level/area: Neutopia II Staff.
  4. ^ a b c "NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: ニュートピアII (PCエンジン)". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 146. ASCII Corporation. October 4, 1991. p. 38. (Transcription by Famitsu.com. Archived 2015-11-26 at the Wayback Machine).
  5. ^ Nauert, Donn (September 1991). "Tokyo Toy Show — Summer 1991". TurboPlay. No. 8. Larry Flynt Publications. pp. 24–29.
  6. ^ Nauert, Donn (April–May 1992). "Coming Soon... - July". TurboPlay. No. 12. Larry Flynt Publications. p. 10.
  7. ^ "Coming Soon Information - Coming Soon!". TurboForce. Vol. 1. Sendai Publishing. June 1992. p. 24.
  8. ^ Bieniek, Chris (June–July 1992). "Coming Soon... - August". TurboPlay. No. 13. Larry Flynt Publications. p. 28.
  9. ^ Bieniek, Chris (August–September 1992). "Coming Soon... - August". TurboPlay. No. 14. Larry Flynt Publications. p. 26.
  10. ^ a b c McFerran, Damien (September 10, 2007). "Neutopia II Review (TG-16) - Some years have passed since the brave hero Jazeta destroyed Dirth, the Emperor of Darkness". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  11. ^ "Wii「バーチャルコンソール」の5月末＆6月配信タイトル公開". Dengeki Online (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. May 25, 2007. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  12. ^ Yama (July 14, 2010). ""毎月ザクザクキャンペーン"に5作品が新登場，PlayStation Store最新情報。PlayStation Plusの最新コンテンツ情報も". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Aetas Inc. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  13. ^ "ニュートピアII". PlayStation Official Site Software Catalog (in Japanese). Sony Interactive Entertainment. 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  14. ^ "KONAMI、人気ゲーム16タイトルをTV向けクラウドゲームサービス｢ひかりTVゲーム｣で配信". gamebiz (in Japanese). gamebiz, Inc. June 4, 2013. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  15. ^ Tsukui, Kazuhito (June 20, 2013). "KONAMI、本日発売のクラウドゲーム機「G-cluster」で『グラディウス』『高橋名人』など16タイトルを配信開始". Inside Games [ja] (in Japanese). IID, Inc. [ja]. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  16. ^ Tsukui, Kazuhito (July 23, 2014). "Wii Uバーチャルコンソール7月30日配信タイトル ― 『弟切草』『謎の村雨城』『ニュートピアII』『BE BALL』『ロックマンエグゼ バトルチップGP』の5本". Inside Games [ja] (in Japanese). IID, Inc. [ja]. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  17. ^ Richards, Brian (June 7, 2017). "Alien Crush, Neutopia II hitting the North American Wii U Virtual Console tomorrow". Nintendo Everything. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  18. ^ Ishii, Hideo (March 17, 2020). "【PCエンジン mini全タイトルレビュー！】「ニュートピアII」/「NEUTOPIA II」— ファンタジー系アクションRPGの王道ともいえる作品がさらにボリュームアップ！". GAME Watch (in Japanese). Impress Corporation. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  19. ^ Sam Machkovech, Sam Machkovech (April 15, 2020). "TurboGrafx-16 Mini review: Mostly best-in-class retro gaming, sometimes WTF". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2021-07-11. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  20. ^ "PC Engine Mini review – all 57 games reviewed, from Snatcher to Splatterhouse". Metro. April 15, 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  21. ^ a b Anton, Michael (February 1992). "Konsolen: Irgendwie Unverständlich — Neutopia II (PC-Engine)". Aktueller Software Markt (in German). No. 60. Tronic Verlag. p. 126.
  22. ^ a b Kun, Kaneda; Matt (November 1991). "PC Engine Review: Neutopia II". Consoles + [fr] (in French). No. 3. M.E.R.7 [fr]. pp. 44–45.
  23. ^ a b Harris, Steve; Semrad, Ed; Alessi, Martin; Williams, Ken (September 1992). "Review Crew: Neutopia II (TurboGrafx-16 - Turbo Tech.)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 38. Sendai Publishing. p. 26.
  24. ^ a b Halverson, Dave; Brody; Fausto, K. (October 1992). "Viewpoint - Neutopia II (Hudson); Turbo Toons - Neutopia II". GameFan. Vol. 1, no. 1. DieHard Gamers Club. pp. 7, 43.
  25. ^ a b Querleux, Philippe (November 1991). "Console Test: Neutopia II (Coregrafx)". Génération 4 [fr] (in French). No. 38. Computec. pp. 190–191.
  26. ^ a b Huyghues-Lacour, Alain; Morisse, Jean-François (November 1991). "NEC | Tests: Amour et Vengeance, Vengeance et Amour, attention le massacre! — Neutopia II". Joypad [fr] (in French). No. 2. Yellow Media [fr]. pp. 86–87.
  27. ^ a b Morisse, Jean-François (November 1991). "Console News - PC Engine: Neutopia II". Joystick (in French). No. 22. Sipress. p. 174.
  28. ^ a b Gaksch, Martin (April 1991). "Test: Alte Liebe Rostet Nicht - Neutopia 2 (PC-Engine)". Video Games [de] (in German). No. 4. Markt & Technik. p. 95.
  29. ^ a b Ray (February 1993). "Turbo Duo (Review): Neutopia II". Play Time [de] (in German). No. 20. Computec. p. 116.
  30. ^ a b "Closer Look: Neutopia II (TTI—TurboChip)". TurboPlay. No. 13. Larry Flynt Publications. June–July 1992. p. 18.
  31. ^ Knauf, Andreas (December 1992). "News: Engine-Ereignisse". Video Games [de] (in German). No. 13. Markt & Technik. pp. 44–45.
  32. ^ "PC Engine All Catalog '93 10月号特別付録 - ニュートピアII". PC Engine Fan (in Japanese). Vol. 6, no. 10. Tokuma Shoten. October 1, 1993. p. 47.
  33. ^ a b Whitehead, Dan (September 17, 2007). "Virtual Console Roundup • Page 2 - Mario Lost Super Picross. Neutopia". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  34. ^ M. Thomas, Lucas (October 12, 2007). "Neutopia II Review - A more polished follow-up, but it doesn't feel like a true sequel". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  35. ^ PCエンジンソフト完全カタログ 1991年 - ニュートピアII. Nostalgic Game Console Encyclopedia (in Japanese). Vol. 1. Standards. June 15, 2018. p. 111. ISBN 9784866362670. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  36. ^ a b c "Older News". Frozen Utopia. 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-09-08. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  37. ^ "Projects". Frozen Utopia. 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-06-30. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
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