Psychic Force 2

Port of a fighting game originally released on arcade machines in 1998. The game is distinguished by a unique roster of heroes, people with extraordinary powers, as well as several characteristic elements of the combat system.

Story

Two years have passed since the events presented in the first installment of the game. There is a war on Earth between two organizations that want to establish their own order. Defeated earlier, Keith Evans creates a new formation, Neo NOA, whose goal is to create a utopia only for people endowed with superhuman powers. Richard Wong's Army is trying to stop him. The conflict involves random Psychiccers, who are simply trying to find their own place in the world.

Mechanics

Psychic Force 2 is based on the formula known from the original, but also brings some novelties. The fights again take place in oval arenas, where the heroes fly using the power of levitation. They are surrounded by a special net, which hurts them at contact. As part of the combat system, the fighters ca use light, and strong attacks as well as blocks. Using the right combinations of buttons, they can also execute throws, special attacks, and chain their moves into more damaging combos. A novelty here are the health and power bars that work in a unique way. As damage is taken, the hero's life points decrease, but the empty space can be filled with more Psychic Force, enabling for stronger attacks to be performed.

The devs have prepared several new characters, including Regina Belfrond, her brother Carlo, who reigns over water, and Setsuna, who uses the power of darkness. The roster is complemented by heroes from the original, including Burn Griffiths, Wendy Ryan, and Gates Oltsman. The version released on Sony's console, compared to the edition from arcade machines or Sega Dreamcast, also contains three additional warriors.

The advantage of the port are additional modes. Psy-Expand enables us to gain experience for winning duels and develop the skills of our hero, who can then be saved and used in other modes, including battles with other players in VS mode on shared screen. The devs also prepared the option of browsing graphics and concept arts in a special gallery, and also gave us a chance to get to know the plot background of individual warriors in the Story Mode.

Technical aspects

Psychic Force 2 is a three-dimensional fighting game in which the designof characters, attacks, and arenas strongly resemble Japanese animation. The port sports worse visuals than the edition released on arcade machines. As a compensation, the devs at Taito created an FMV insert that opens the game and introduces the players to the universe.

Last updated on May 7, 2020