The Sword of Hope II

Overview

The Sword of Hope II, developed and published by Kemco, was released for the Nintendo Game Boy in 1996. It was later ported to the Nintendo 3DS, re-releasing on July 12, 2012 for $2.99; however, it is only playable in 2D. The previous game used a password system for saving progress, whereas players can save anywhere at any time in The Sword of Hope II by pressing the Start button.

In The Sword of Hope II, which has a lot in common with the classic franchises Wizardry and Bard's Tale, you take on the role of Prince Theo of Riccar, a young man who embarks on a mission to find the truth behind a mystery threatening the kingdom. It has been five years since Theo sealed away the Dragon of Darkness in The Sword of Hope. Since then, the kingdom has flourished. Unfortunately, something terrible has happened at the ancient temple long protected by the Collin Clan, and Theo's father King Hennesy sends him to investigate.

The key to solving the numerous puzzles and gimmicks is the use of commands like “look,” “open,” and “hit.” Many secrets can be discovered by examining different aspects of the screen.

Combat is turn-based, with actions like "attack," "magic," and "flee."

Characters

Unlike in The Sword of Hope, Theo can have up to two other party members in his company during battles. As he progresses, he'll meet four addable characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Every character can equip a weapon, armor, and accessory item.

Theo is the previous protagonist of The Sword of Hope, as well as the protagonist of The Sword of Hope II. He has strong offense and defense skills, a good selection of weapons and armor to equip, and is able to learn magic spells like Melt, Motion, and Dark.

Mute comes from a clan of mages. He is a magical powerhouse, learning most of the spells. This boy wizard joins Theo's company after the prince investigates the ancient temple to find everyone but Mute massacred. At first, Mute suspects Theo is the one who murdered his entire family. However, the quick appearance of Mute's father in ghostly forms convinces him otherwise, and the two join forces to find the demon responsible.

Nina joins Theo's company after being rescued from a sandworm attack. She is searching for her father and believes that by using an item called the Sand Drop, it will reveal the underground template where he disappeared to. So far, she has not had any luck finding him.

Bogi saves Theo's company from a one-sided fight with a creeper monster, dealing massive damage to it in one fell swoop. He's a fighter who calls himself an expert monster hunter, with the main goal in life to kill a Fire Dragon...just for the fun of it. Seeing that Theo is traveling the lands, he joins up with the company in hope of finding a dragon along the way.

Layl is a young woman with strong healing powers. Before joining Theo's company, she saves the prince and his companions from a deadly whirlpool with the help of her submarine. She and the monster hunter Bogi are somewhat connected to each other, which leads some to awkward adventuring.

Prince Theo will also come across a great number of NPCs, from innkeepers to shopkeepers to fortune tellers. Some of the more colorful characters include the demon Jaghi, King Winder, and old man Yota, a hermit living in a sea-side cave.

Magic

As Theo and his company levels up, they will learn new spells. Nina and Bogi are unable to learn magic spells, leaving the majority of casting to Theo, Mute, and Layl.

Spell name	Learned at	Effect
Motion	Level 2 for Theo, Level 14 for Layl	Unknown
Snooze	Level 3 for Theo, Level 18 for Layl	Puts a single monster to sleep
Fire	Level 2 for Mute	Fire-based attack against a single monster
Stone	Level 3 for Mute	Instant death spell that hardens a monster’s skin
Melt	Level 4 for Theo, Level 15 for Layl	Unknown
Dark	Level 5 for Theo, Level 19 for Layl	Gives a monster blindness, making it impossible to attack
Flame	Level 4 for Mute	Fire-based attack capable of targeting an entire group of monsters
Medic	Level 6 for Theo, Level 6 for Mute, Level 20 for Layl	Heals a character for 10 to 20 HP
Teleport	Level 7 for Theo, Level 16 for Layl	Able to transport Theo’s company to a specific location
Blaze	Level 7 for Mute	Fire-based spell that engulfs every enemy in flames
De-spell	Level 8 for Theo, Level 8 for Mute, Level 21 for Layl	Unknown
Fortify	Level 9 for Theo	Unknown
Blind	Level 10 for Theo, Level 22 for Layl	Unknown
Weaken	Level 11 for Theo	Unknown
Slumber	Level 12 for Theo, Level 23 for Layl	Sleep spell capable of putting a group of enemies asleep
Steal MP	Level 13 for Theo, Level 31 for Layl	Steals a small amount of MP from an enemy
Anti Magic	Level 14 for Theo, Level 14 for Mute	Unknown
Heal	Level 15 for Theo, Level 15 for Mute, Level 25 for Layl	Unknown
Blackout	Level 16 for Theo, Level 26 for Layl	Unknown
Steal HP	Level 17 for Theo, Level 30 for Layl	Unknown
Exit	Level 18 for Theo, Level 17 for Layl	Unknown
Recover	Level 19 for Theo, Level 27 for Layl	Unknown
Pillage	Level 20 for Theo, Level 32 for Layl	Unknown
Revive	Level 24 for Layl	Unknown
Cure	Level 28 for Layl	Unknown
Miracle	Level 29 for Layl	Unknown

Coins

After you win a battle, there's a 75% chance you'll get a Coin. This is different than the standard gold received after a successful fight. The text will say, "The spoils of the battle go to Theo," and you can later use these Coins to play a game of chance in the Casino for various prizes or sell it to merchants for around 400 gold.