Reviewed: April 14, 2011
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
NIS America

Developer
Nippon Ichi Software

Released: August 30, 2011
Genre: RPG
Players: 1-2

8
9
8
9
8.5

Supported Features:

ClaDun X2, which stands for Classic Dungeon, is a dungeon crawler that redefines the phrase. Players create their main character from the title’s 8 different starting classes and 20 different unique looks and then find themselves immediately in a dungeon that you wake up in. You’re given your first set of gear from a mysterious man and you must fight your way to the exit and into the world of Arcanus Cella.

What you soon find out is that you’re officially stuck in this almost too cheerful environment made up of several small islands with no exit. The inhabitants seem all too comfortable to be here and the apparent leader, Parchmin, seems all too eager to give them every comfort. Though he seems to have a soft spot for those seeking a challenge and you are his new favorite. What’s even better is that someone has a bizarre sense of humor that is right at home in this classic RPG material. The only things you can do in Arcanus Cella is knit something or head into seemingly endless battle through a series of nearly exhaustible dungeons. As you fight your way though each increasingly difficult dungeons you will gain experience and items that will help you along the way. However these dungeons should not be ventured alone so it’s wise to follow Parchmin’s required teachings on creating other adventures to aid you.

Unlike most RPGs, you don’t actually get to use these characters alongside you, but rather as shields to protect you in battle. Though they don’t actively fight they can provide valuable assistance in the form of Magic Circles, which is one of ClaDun’s more unique qualities. There are several different types of circles that you will earn as you level up each with their unique stat boosting abilities. For instance, the Scout is a great magic Circle for the beginning players as it gives a 2X Mana increase which helps a lot when activating the many artifacts that use Mana to work.

There are a few things that impressed me more than the sheer number of dungeons that ClaDun X2 has to offer. I was blown away from the pure amount of customization that was available. As I mentioned, you get to chose from 20 different starter looks varying from male and female. But that’s only the start, as you can edit those starter figures and create some awesome characters of your very own or recreate some of your favorite icons to navigate Arcanus Cella. The customization doesn’t stop there, as you can customize your weapons, clothing and even go as far as to create relationships between your characters. If you want to make two characters brother and sister or student and master you can. While relationships don’t affect the story that I saw, it makes for a deeper player interaction to a point.

Players can experience more dungeon action later on in the game by visiting Hiyo’s Ship which besides being ClaDun’s giant encyclopedia is where you can tackle Ran-geons or Random Dungeons. These are broken in two categories, Neo-geons and Tri-geons, both which are challenging. Neo-geons are filled with multiple floors that contain different gates that will affect the next floor for better or worse depending on the gate you enter. Tri-geons however are totally different monsters containing 3 ran-geons: normal, chaos and heaven. Much like their names suggest, there is some serious challenge to be found in the chaos dungeons but the collectible titles are there for the picking. If you want some rare titles then you need to make the best of the heaven dungeons while you can.

Graphically, ClaDun X2 is as retro as its name suggests. And that’s in a good way I might add. I love the old school look. Even in 8bit, the dungeons and environments are pretty detailed. The character models look awesome and it’s obvious that a fair bit of time went into creating old school designs. The dungeons are also varied enough to not becoming repetitive like some of the older RPGs that I’ve played. I also like the dot style font that the default option. If you don’t dig the old ways then there is the “Real” option is available which those that prefer the modern RPGs.

To go with ClaDun X2’s retro looks, there is plenty of midi goodness as well as some more modern tracks to be had including the catchy theme song. I also love the combat sound effects as well as all the enemies and the various traps. For those that are truly ambitious you can create your own music via the MML function which is something I’ve never seen before in anything outside of the music rhythm genre. You can actually share your music with another player via the Network feature if you have another friend with a copy of ClaDun X2. You can also share your character edits via the Tavern Network. There is no multiplayer feature other than data sharing though, so ClaDun X2 is primarily a single player experience.

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of retro gaming, and it will be a sad day indeed if that day ever comes. ClaDun X2 is a fun and challenging example of why I love the old school way of gaming. Nippon Ichi did a great job at creating a classic world with good old fashioned gameplay. I loved the old fashioned and somewhat crude humor and the near limitless dungeon crawling. ClaDun X2 was a real treat and I’m only sad that I haven’t played the original. If you love retro gaming or just a good classic RPG, ClaDun X2 is a must have.