MediEvil 2
Not to be confused with Medieval II: Total War.
| MediEvil 2 | |
|---|---|
 Cover art | |
| Developer(s) | SCE Cambridge Studio |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Director(s) | James Shepherd |
| Producer(s) | Andrew Kennedy |
| Artist(s) | Jason Wilson |
| Writer(s) | James Shepherd Jim Sangster |
| Composer(s) | Andrew Barnabas Paul Arnold |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
MediEvil 2, written as MediEvil II in North America, is a Gothic comedy-horror action-adventure game developed by SCE Cambridge Studio for the PlayStation and is the second installment in the MediEvil video-game series. It is the sequel to the 1998 game, MediEvil, taking place 500 years after the game's events. It was released on May 9 2000 in North America and April 19 2000 in Europe.
Gameplay
MediEvil 2 sees players once again in control of the undead hero of Gallowmere, Sir Daniel Fortesque, who must stop the evil Lord Palethorn from using Zarok's magic to take over London. MediEvil 2 contains several of the original forms of gameplay, weaponry, and graphics that were present in the first installment of the series. Whilst featuring many of the classic swords and other medieval weaponry, long range weapons are more modern, taking the form of pistols, shotguns and a Gatling gun. Players can visit merchants known as Spivs to buy additional ammo and services and can get advice from Winston the Ghost. Like the previous game, the player can defeat enemies in order to fill up the Chalice of Souls, which can then be collected and traded with Professor Kift for new weapons and items.
New Features
- Weapon toggle: Two weapons can be selected from the inventory, so players can easily switch between them. For example, to equip a close-range weapon, like a sword or an axe, and a projectile weapon, like a crossbow or a gatling gun. By default, L1 + square changes weapon.
- Camera controls: It is now possible to control the game camera with the right analog stick.
- Dan-hand: Unlocked halfway through the game, Dan can place his heads on one of the scuttling green hands in order to get into small areas to solve puzzles or access hidden treasure. Whilst in this mode, Dan can freely swap between his head and his body. This does come with risks, as Dan-hand has no attacks and is quite vulnerable. Sometimes Dan's head will be stolen by a bird on certain levels, and Dan must climb to their nest to retrieve it. While Dan's head is off, octomators can also attach themselves on top of Dan and sap his health; rapidly pressing action will shake them off. L1 + triangle switches between Dan and his head, or puts it back on when standing over it.
- Dankenstein: One of the levels involve Dan fighting in a boxing match, using a Monster-esque body, against a large robot. The fighters fight each other, with limbs coming off after certain amounts of damage. Up to two lost limbs can be recovered between rounds (after defeating the imps who are carrying them around). Dan will lose if he loses all his limbs, or if he is unable to defeat his opponent in three rounds.
Changes
- Linear progression and level selection: There is only one choice of next level, unlike at certain points in the first game, as the game doesn't feature a map. A projector in the Professor's Lab displays a single level onto a board and the player can scroll left or right one at a time to choose a level. Sometimes new levels will start immediately after completing one without first returning to the lab. Unlike in the first game you can ask the Professor to give you a mission briefing for a level.
- Spiv: The Spiv character replaces the Merchant Gargoyles from the first game.
- Start-of-Area Saving: As some levels in the game are made-up of more than one area, Winston the Ghost will offer you the chance to save inside a new area (after a load sequence), which often occurs before boss fights, using the phrase "Alright Dan, you've come a long way. I'd save if I was you!"
- Falling Damage: Unlike in the previous game, when falling from a height Dan will now receive damage. Dan will either lose health or die instantly, depending on the height from which he falls.
Plot
In Kensington in the year 1886, 500 years after Sir Daniel Fortesque's climactic battle against the evil sorcerer Zarok, a sorcerer named Lord Palethorn discovers Zarok's spell book and casts the spell of eternal darkness over the city of London. However, the pages of the book soon scatter across London and Palethorn gains a demonlike appearance as a result. The spell Palethorn casts once again brings Sir Dan, who was resting at a nearby museum back to life. He is recruited by a professor named Hamilton Kift and his ghostly sidekick Winston to recover the pages of Zarok's spellbook and put a stop to Palethorn's plans. Along the way, they end up being joined by an ancient mummy princess named Kiya, who becomes Dan's love interest.
During an incident in which Kiya goes off on her own, she is killed by Jack the Ripper, much to the shock of Dan. Discovering a time machine, Dan travels back in time in order to save Kiya, merging with his past self to gain super armour. As Dan finally confronts Palethorn, he steals the pages from him and uses it to summon a demon. However, Dan manages to turn the demon against Palethorn, putting a stop to both of them. Palethorn, with his dying breath, then proceeds to detonate a bomb as a final effort to destroy Dan. Dan manages to escape the explosion and reunites with the Professor and Kiya. From here, the games ending is then determined by whether the player collected all the chalices or not.
- If the player has not collected all the Chalices of Souls, then Dan decides to join Kiya together in the afterlife as they say their goodbyes to the Professor and return to their eternal rest.
- If the player has collected all the Chalices of Souls, then Dan, Kiya, and the Professor will enter through a gap in a wall which takes them to a section of London that was caught in the blast from the destruction of the Cathedral. As they're walking through the street, the time machine appears before them. The Professor then gestures to Dan and Kiya to take the machine and return to their original timeline. Dan and Kiya hop on the machine and, after waving goodbye to the Professor, use it to travel back in time to Gallowmere. However, they find that the machine has taken them within Zarok's fortress. They are then attacked by the dragon creature that Zarok transformed into in the first game, except it has Palthorn's head in this scenario. According to the games art director, Jason Wilson, this ending was meant as a silly B-movie twist for fun. Palethorn had used the spell book to travel back and rewrite time - Dan had not only traveled back in time but also to an alternative time line.
Characters
- Sir Daniel Fortesque - The protagonist of the game. He was the captain chosen to lead the fight against Zarok, but was killed by an arrow during the first charge. He was later resurrected when Zarok returned to terrorize the land once again. This time Sir Dan was able to defeat his nemesis, restoring his name and proving himself to be a true hero. He is a skeleton with no lower jaw, therefore he humorously mumbles in speech although unlike the first game, the player can understand him. Compared to the first game, his design was slightly modified. His head is a little larger, and he also wears leather gloves. Marc Silk replaced Jason Wilson as Dan's voice-actor in this game.
- Professor Hamilton Kift - A nervous, fast-talking professor in the laboratory near an unused underground rail station. He's a somewhat short man with mechanical hands and a large head. He is skilled in different forms of science, philosophy, the occult and has a knack for creating inventions. Collecting the Chalice in each level provides him the materials to earn a new weapon. Collecting the Chalice from a level you've already done before earns a load of money. Dan can access new levels as well as levels he's already completed via the Professor's projector in the lab.
- Kiya - A soft spoken mummy who has been dead inside The Tomb for thousands of years and enunciates every word she says carefully. She is actually blue in skin color and wears bandages. She knows embalming techniques and is grateful to Sir Dan for having rescued her from her eternal prison. Later, their relationship becomes deeper after Dan goes through a huge ordeal to rescue her from Jack the Ripper in Whitechapel.
- Winston Chapelmount - A cheery young ghost with large eyes. His name is a play on Winston Churchill. His history creates a spectral shadow, upon which he can be called to provide help for Dan. He teaches Dan how to find and use ancient magic. He also provides save points on long levels and on a few occasions relays Dan's earned weapon to him when he is unable to access the Professor's lab.
- Lord Palethorn - The villain of the game. His motive is to find all the lost pages of Zarok's spellbook so he can gain control of London. He was once an acquaintance of the Professor and was the one responsible for damaging his hands before being banished from the cult. He is voiced by Steven Blum.
- Mander - Lord Palethorn's associate, he was turned into a lizard during the spell and is notably smarter than Dogman.
- Dogman- Dogman is Lord Palethorn's muscle man. He was also another victim of Palethorn's spell, turning him into a dog.
- Jack the Ripper (The Ripper)- The notorious murderer who attacks Kiya. To defeat him, Dan must wait until the killer starts draining Kiya's life. He will then go from transparent to opaque, so that is Dan's chance to attack him. Once he defeats the Ripper, he begs for mercy. Dan ignores it and kills him with a single shot from his pistol.