Neutopia II Review - Screenshot 1 of 2

Looking very much like it predecessor, Neutopia II plays more like an expansion pack than a fully-fledged sequel. Shamelessly stealing ideas from Nintendo’s Zelda series, this action RPG trundles along quite amiably but never really reaches the heights of the games it tries so hard to emulate. However, it’s still a fantastic game that is worthy of your attention if you like to indulge in a spot of dungeon crawling every now and then.

The visuals are almost identical and much of the screen furniture is carried over from the previous release. This isn’t a terribly bad thing – the graphics in the first game were pleasing to the eye; it’s just a shame that more work wasn’t done to make this look even better – the TG-16 is definitely capable of more attractive visuals.

Neutopia II Review - Screenshot 2 of 2

The gameplay will be familiar to anyone that has played Zelda or Zelda III; you attack enemies in real-time, explore dungeons and tackle bosses. The entire game is pretty derivative but it’s pulled off with such aplomb it’s hard not to like it.

The lack of a save feature proved to be a problem when the game was originally released – the player was expected to note down a massive password in order to continue progress later. Thankfully you can use the save feature of the Virtual Console to circumvent this issue. Thank goodness for technological advancements, eh?

Conclusion

There’s plenty of gameplay to be had here – the main quest is substantial and will keep the most avid adventurer busy for a few days at least – but this should only really be considered if you’ve played and completed Zelda III, which is a better game in practically every respect. If you loved the first Neutopia – which is also excellent - then this is a must-buy.