Suddenly, you're awake. Memories from the past flood your mind. It's still dark outside and there are so many questions that need to be answered. But the most pressing matter is the tape you clutch in your hand. What secrets does it hold? How can you unlock its mysteries? Before you or your friend can say another word, a motorcycle leaps into the scene, its rider attacking both of you and making off with the tape. With nothing more than a metal pipe in your hand, you follow the bike towards a secure complex in the distance, hoping to get the answers you've long been looking for.
This is how Sonny 2, a sequel to one of the best tactical battle games on the Web, Sonny, begins. Sonny 2 is a turn-based action RPG where you buy equipment, level up, and train after each fight, all in preparation for the next round of combat. It's extraordinarily detailed without being too overwhelming and boasts a high level of polish.
The sequel packs a ton of features not available in the original Sonny. Dozens of voiced lines, five new chapters, all new enemies, skills and weapons, plus a brand new game engine and a great new soundtrack. It's remarkably faithful to the original, and everything that made Sonny so great is abundantly present in Sonny 2.
When you begin the game you have the option to customize the difficulty, which mainstream build you want to go for (thus affecting your skill tree and which abilities you can use in combat), and whether you want to play the tutorial. Soon you'll enter battle and will level up, giving you a chance to spend attribute points on your character's vitality, strength, instinct, speed, and a host of skills. This is the meat of the game: customizing your character to get stronger and eliminate the enemy. And it's all handled with a smooth grace both casual and more dedicated gamers can appreciate.
Analysis: Krin Juangbhanich worked on Sonny 2 for almost a year, creating a polished (and lengthy) final product that boasts three separate character classes, hundreds of new items, and a Player vs. Player arena mode. The low-profile launch acts as an open beta of sorts to help wipe out glitches and polish the game before it makes its rounds across the Web.
Voice acting is top notch, just like in the first Sonny, though this tends to create a long loading time. The music is also superbly composed, as it really creates an atmosphere of tense action in each fight scene. The story composition is packed with both serious and sarcastic moments, sprinkled with references to the real world. For example, later in the game you may get a "Bugo Hoss" armor piece, switching the first letters of a popular clothing brand.
Next to a bug or two which will be hammered out in later updates, there are no real flaws in this game, only nitpicks. For example, zone three was a bit of a filler level, with only 2-3 scenes with actual voice acting, and no groundbreaking plot advancements. Also, the game has a tendency to let fights go on forever, though this has been reduced quite a bit from the original Sonny.
One new feature we found especially intriguing are AI stances, allowing you to steer your fellow combatants tactics from full defensive to a relentless offense. The visuals have also received an upgrade, and the local PVP arena is great if you want to test your fighting skills to the extreme.
Sonny 2 fulfilled the promises made by the first Sonny, and Krin has really listened to the audience and adjusted the game accordingly. With upcoming tweaks and improvements, this may be one of the best strategy/RPG Flash games you've ever played. Until Sonny 3 comes out, of course!
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