The Spirit Engine 2
Encyclopedia
The Spirit Engine 2 is a two-dimensional
, side-scrolling
indie
RPG
drawn, programmed and written by Mark Pay with music by Josh Whelchel
. The title is an improved spiritual sequel to The Spirit Engine, a freeware
2D RPG released in 2003.
s and obtaining missions, purchasing or selling items to equip on characters, and moving between areas. Enemy encounters are not random, although enemy type is sometimes randomized. Special statues function as save point
s.
The Spirit Engine 2s battle system takes place in real time, and characters attack automatically. Battle speed may be sped up, slowed down, or paused. The game removes the mana
mechanic of The Spirit Engine that allowed for a limited number of attacks before needing to recharge, and players' actions can be paused to build up extra attack power or wait for an opening. The two teams form lines on either side of the screen. On one side is the player’s three characters, on the other side are the enemies currently being fought. The player can rotate the three party members: changing who is in front, in the middle, and in the back. Melee attacks cause characters to change positions, potentially becoming vulnerable, while ranged attacks can strike back row, or multiple characters. Party members have "damage multipliers" which rise as the number of continuous hits sustained increases and vice-versa. Characters, both player and enemy, are automatically revived after a certain amount of time with decreased health. All health is restored between battles.
Each combatant has a unique set of skills that they can draw from. Unlike the "regular actions" of The Spirit Engine, skills must be used at all times, and consist of four damage types. "Skill chains" can be formed for each player, or for the entire party, before battle takes place, and allow a number of skills to be used in sequence depending on the situation. The player characters’ actions begin relatively weak, but can be improved by investing skill points. When the player’s party gains enough experience through defeating enemies, it will gain a level. Higher level parties have more powerful actions in general, however each individual character gains one skill point when the party increases in level. These skill points allow the player to specialize their party members. Skills can only be increased up to a quarter of the party level, and higher level skills are boosted less per skill point. Characters also gain "refund points" which can be used to free previously assigned skill points.
The game takes place in Lereftain, a country under a tenuous peace treaty
with the neighboring nation of Yaegara. The continent of Medea is ruled over by the tentacled, psychic
Rakari, who are accepted by most humans, including the Lereftese Parliament, but held in suspicion by some due to their mysterious motives. The Rakari also function as a peacekeeping force by removing criminals from the population and rehabilitating
them. The three characters are brought together after witnessing an unexplained murder by a cult called the Keepers, and set out to discover the Keepers' motives. In the process, they discover a plot of political intrigue that threatens to send the two countries to war.
and sold in a four-disc set on his website. In February 2010, the game was released as freeware.
's Kieron Gillen
called the game "delectable and novel", believing that the game would attract "non-traditional jRPG fans" despite the "linear story" due to the different character permutations. Gillen called the game's literalization of linearity "appealing", expressing his disappointment that Pay did not attempt to market the game more.
2D computer graphics
2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
, side-scrolling
Side-scrolling video game
A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a video game in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right. These games make use of scrolling computer display technology...
indie
Independent video game development
Independent video game development is the process of creating video games without the financial support of a video game publisher. While large firms can create independent games, they are usually designed by an individual or a small team of as many as ten people, depending on the complexity of the...
RPG
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
drawn, programmed and written by Mark Pay with music by Josh Whelchel
Josh Whelchel
Josh Whelchel is a composer and a musician, best known for his work in video games such as The Spirit Engine 1 and 2 and Bonesaw.-External links:*...
. The title is an improved spiritual sequel to The Spirit Engine, a freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
2D RPG released in 2003.
Gameplay
Outside of combat, the player can move the party along sidescrolling levels, speaking to NPCNon-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s and obtaining missions, purchasing or selling items to equip on characters, and moving between areas. Enemy encounters are not random, although enemy type is sometimes randomized. Special statues function as save point
Saved game
A saved game is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game. This saved game can be reloaded later, so the player can continue where he or she had stopped...
s.
The Spirit Engine 2s battle system takes place in real time, and characters attack automatically. Battle speed may be sped up, slowed down, or paused. The game removes the mana
Mana
Mana is an indigenous Pacific islander concept of an impersonal force or quality that resides in people, animals, and inanimate objects. The word is a cognate in many Oceanic languages, including Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian....
mechanic of The Spirit Engine that allowed for a limited number of attacks before needing to recharge, and players' actions can be paused to build up extra attack power or wait for an opening. The two teams form lines on either side of the screen. On one side is the player’s three characters, on the other side are the enemies currently being fought. The player can rotate the three party members: changing who is in front, in the middle, and in the back. Melee attacks cause characters to change positions, potentially becoming vulnerable, while ranged attacks can strike back row, or multiple characters. Party members have "damage multipliers" which rise as the number of continuous hits sustained increases and vice-versa. Characters, both player and enemy, are automatically revived after a certain amount of time with decreased health. All health is restored between battles.
Each combatant has a unique set of skills that they can draw from. Unlike the "regular actions" of The Spirit Engine, skills must be used at all times, and consist of four damage types. "Skill chains" can be formed for each player, or for the entire party, before battle takes place, and allow a number of skills to be used in sequence depending on the situation. The player characters’ actions begin relatively weak, but can be improved by investing skill points. When the player’s party gains enough experience through defeating enemies, it will gain a level. Higher level parties have more powerful actions in general, however each individual character gains one skill point when the party increases in level. These skill points allow the player to specialize their party members. Skills can only be increased up to a quarter of the party level, and higher level skills are boosted less per skill point. Characters also gain "refund points" which can be used to free previously assigned skill points.
Plot
The player can initially choose from a grid of nine different party members, with three per class and personality type. While the party members can occupy any class (knight, marksman, or priest), one of each personality type (antihero, naive, and logical) is needed. Each party member has unique dialogue and plot-related events due to their differing backstories.The game takes place in Lereftain, a country under a tenuous peace treaty
Peace treaty
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, that formally ends a state of war between the parties...
with the neighboring nation of Yaegara. The continent of Medea is ruled over by the tentacled, psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
Rakari, who are accepted by most humans, including the Lereftese Parliament, but held in suspicion by some due to their mysterious motives. The Rakari also function as a peacekeeping force by removing criminals from the population and rehabilitating
Rehabilitation (penology)
Rehabilitation means; To restore to useful life, as through therapy and education or To restore to good condition, operation, or capacity....
them. The three characters are brought together after witnessing an unexplained murder by a cult called the Keepers, and set out to discover the Keepers' motives. In the process, they discover a plot of political intrigue that threatens to send the two countries to war.
Development
The game was drawn, programmed and written by Mark Pay. Its soundtrack was composed by Josh WhelchelJosh Whelchel
Josh Whelchel is a composer and a musician, best known for his work in video games such as The Spirit Engine 1 and 2 and Bonesaw.-External links:*...
and sold in a four-disc set on his website. In February 2010, the game was released as freeware.
Reception
The Spirit Engine 2 won the GameTunnel "Top Independent RPG of 2008" and "#2 Independent Game of 2008" awards. GameTunnel's Michael Scarpelli praised the two-dimensional game as "a side-scrolling, pixel graphic, content-heavy piece of awesome." It received an 89/100 from RPGFan's Patrick Gann, who called it "tons of fun" and "so far removed from the quality of its predecessor that it deserves to be paid for. TIGSource's Derek Yu commented that it "improves on the original in almost every way". Rock, Paper, ShotgunRock, Paper, Shotgun
Rock, Paper, Shotgun is a UK-based PC gaming blog written by Alec Meer, Jim Rossignol, John Walker, and previously Kieron Gillen and Quintin Smith. Rock, Paper, Shotgun launched in July 2007. In 2010 the website partnered with Eurogamer...
's Kieron Gillen
Kieron Gillen
Kieron Gillen is a British computer games and music journalist, as well as a comic book author. Gillen has worked for many years as a video game journalist and has, more recently, worked on various comics. He is perhaps best known for his creator-owned comic Phonogram, created with artist Jamie...
called the game "delectable and novel", believing that the game would attract "non-traditional jRPG fans" despite the "linear story" due to the different character permutations. Gillen called the game's literalization of linearity "appealing", expressing his disappointment that Pay did not attempt to market the game more.