If I've learned one thing from "Gargoyle's Quest II," it's that ancestors aren't always as competent as the legends and stories tell.
"Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness," the sequel to “Gargoyle’s Quest” for the Nintendo Gameboy, was released in 1992 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Developed and published by Capcom like the first game.
There was a Gameboy port for "Gargoyle's Quest II," known as “Makaimura Gaiden: The Demon Darkness," but it was only released in Japan.
More Colourful Hardware
"Gargoyle's Quest II" stars not the Firebrand but the original Red Blaze Firebrand mentioned many times in "Gargoyle's Quest."
For the sake of simplicity, "Gargoyle's Quests'" protagonist will be called Firebrand, and "Gargoyle's Quest IIs'" protagonist will be called Firebrand II.
It's an interesting move to play as Firebrand's ancestor, but I like it. We get to how the original legend came to be, and it's an interesting story, if nothing exhilarating, at least for the NES.
No three ghouls dying to tell Firebrand II what he needs to know though, so unfortunately, I must say that the intro is inferior in every way.
The sequel gets a massive upgrade with its visuals thanks to the additions of colours. The colours are vibrant and make the areas pop out.
Unfortunately, the overworld didn't get the same treatment. Sure, there's colour, but the colours are stale.
The overworld theme in "Gargoyle's Quest II" is also notably inferior to the first game's overworld theme. The second game's overworld theme is still good, but not angelically amazing.
The soundtrack overall is still fantastic though, with catchy and atmospheric songs. the title theme, Dark Forest of Hidon, and Hecate's Cave are my personal favourites.
However, there's also a Gameboy version of the soundtrack that I prefer far more. While I can't show the entire soundtrack since it's on YouTube unfortunately, you'll have to trust me when I say the Gameboy is far catchier and more memorable.
One final element to note on the presentation are Firebrand's animations, they're far smoother now and look great.
Improved Overworld
"Gargoyle's Quest II" blesses us with an improved overworld that no longer has random encounters. Battles on the overworld only happen when you talk to specific NPCs.
Some of these NPCs will block the way, but other times they're off to the side and optional to talk to. The optional NPCs that trigger battles do not disappear, allowing for easy grinding if needed, which is surprisingly polite of the enemy.
The menu system has been refined so NPCs can be talked to, and items can be picked up like normal, as opposed to navigating a menu to select the option to talk to them. The menu is also faster and overall smoother for when you need to use items or switch weapons.
These two changes make the flow of the overworld far better. Instead of having to slowly do the simplest of tasks, now they're fast and simple.
The NPCs also act less weird. While this does remove their charm, I'm glad I can understand what they're saying more. Although, they somehow act more cryptic here than in the first "Gargoyle's Quest."
At one point, you must repeat a puzzle from "Gargoyle's Quest" where you need to enter the right cave to progress. In the first game, there was a hint of which cave was the right one. In the sequel? Nope, no hints.
You're on your own, good luck having to play the same mini stage repeatedly. I hate it. :(
At least the towns are clearer with which buildings are important or have the vendors for extra lives. While this wasn't a problem in the first game, this change is welcomed.
The Same Gameplay, but with an Expired Baking Mix Added
"Gargoyle's Quest II" continues to use the excellent mechanics and gameplay as its predecessor. Firebrand II has most of Firebrand's abilities: flying, shooting projectiles, clinging onto walls, jumping, etc. All these abilities get upgraded as well.
The game also provides a more lenient tutorial level with no enemies. While unnecessary, I can see how it can help better accustomed to the great controls.
Firebrand II now has access to not only red vials, which are currency, but yellow vials that permanently increase Firebrand II's health. Compared to the maximum of five hit points in the first game, you can now get up to eight hit points.
Both Firebrands share the same projectile types, such as creating a wall on spikes to stick onto. Firebrand II has new, well for us they're new projectile types, not so much for the Ghoul Realm.
For example, if you need a makeshift platform, the tornado allows you to do just that. While the platform is temporary, your progress is forever... Unless you die.
To balance the tornado, it does have a short range. While fine for creating platforms, it's an annoyance to use it against enemies.
The bosses are still good too. While the difficulty is sometimes poorly placed, like with the easy final boss, none of the bosses are ever a pain. If I died to them, it was on me, not the game.
Finally, there are the levels. They function the same as the first game with their own gimmicks but... Honestly, the gimmicks are annoying. While the moving floating platforms and mirror doors could've been fun, they have massive annoyances.
For example, the mirror doors can send you back to earlier in the level if you choose the wrong one. However, there's no way to tell which mirror door is the right one or not, so it's pure trial and error.
The enemies also got on my nerves so much. While some enemies annoyed me in the first game, here it feels as though the annoying enemies are increased tenfold. The enemies and gimmicks just ruin most of the levels for me.
I want to say this might be me not knowing how to Gargoyle properly, but none of these problems existed or existed nearly as much as they do in the sequel.
However, I think I'm being too harsh, there are genuinely great levels. While few, they do put a smile on my face.
To also give some credit, the hearts and wing meter's colours changing every level is an awesome detail.
Overall (A-)
"Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness" is interesting as a sequel. It's a prequel that improves a lot on its overworld elements and expands on some gameplay elements while looking prettier.
However, it suffers from inferior level design and some presentations elements (overworld visuals and soundtrack) that were better on the Gameboy.
This is a great game, but I heavily prefer "Gargoyle's Quest" over "Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness." This was the exact same opinion I had when I played "Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness" for the first time, and in the end, that opinion didn't change at all.
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