In making the transition to the Game Boy Advance, Summon Night sheds it tactical RPG trappings and opts to turn it into a unique blend of dungeon crawling and action gaming. Much like the console versions, you pick one of two characters, who are then assigned one of four Guardian Beasts based on some questions asked early in the game. And again, there are nighttime sequences where you can pick a character to converse with.

Despite your protagonist choice, the plot is essentially the same - as the son/daughter of a famous Craftsknight, it's up to you to face off against other fighters in a huge tournament.

Characters

Cleru

The male protagonist.

Pratty

The female protagonist.

Sugar

A fairy. Seems to have bisexual tendencies if you play as Pratty.

Rasho

An arrogant oni. Appears to have a crush on the main character's mom.

Zantek

A flying mech thing. Speaks in symbols which only your character can understand.

Kutty

A cute little green beast. Speaks in mostly unintelligible Pokémon-ese.

With the move to the PlayStation 2, Summon Night finally uses 3D rotatable landscapes, as well as different levels of zoom. All of the sprites are high-res and look substantially better than anything Nippon Ichi has put out on the platform. In fact, the artwork in general is much better than the previous two games.

Summon Night 3 is really the only installment that brings anything new to the table. For instance, certain summon magic can also be combined into a more powerful spells. There are parts of the environment that are destructible and can be used to damage enemies (or yourself, if you're not careful.) The main character has an alternate super powered form which is either triggered manually or whenever they're killed. While using this will make battles a lot easier, it will also increase your "karma" rating, which in turn can lead to a bad ending. It's a similar concept to the D-Ratio system in Breath of Fire V, although not nearly as strict.

Also new is the "Brave Clear" system. If you can beat a scenario under certain conditions - you must not be overleveled, you can't use too many healing items, and no one can die - then you'll get awarded with Party Abilities, which grant a variety of bonuses amongst your characters. It gives incentive to use some strategy to get through battles instead of simply grinding to beat them.

In Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2, you play as an orphan who watches as a great evil has been reawaken - by your former best friend, no less. It's up to them to make sure this long sealed monster stays dead.

Characters

Edgar

The male protagonist.

Aera

The female protagonist.

Dinah

A schizophrenic devil/angel girl. Pretty ripped off from Etna of Disgaea.

Arno

A somewhat dense beast child. Probably a boy, but this point is of contention.

Leki

A mischievous oni boy.

Y-XE-LD

A fearsome mechanical being.

Essentially Swordcraft Story 2 is the same as its predecessor with some minor improvements. You can switch between weapons when exploring, which can be used to cut down different obstacles. Also, your weapons don't regenerate after combat, forcing you to return to your home base every once in awhile to repair them. There's no longer a single dungeon to explore, as you can leave the central town and explore different areas. It's still pretty linear, so functionally it's the same, but it looks and feels less restrictive. The music quality is slightly better, and the writing is roughly about par with the original game. This game was also released in America in 2006, just a few months after the first, and there's really not that much new to justify checking it out.

The third and final GBA game, Hajimari no Ishi ("The Stone of Beginnings") tells the story of a young Craftsknight whose former master had been slain by a Guardian Beast gone awry. This same Guardian Beast returns and later joins the protagonist in repentance, while partnering with them on a quest to save the world.

Characters

Ritchburn

The male protagonist. His nickname is Ritchy.

Rifmonica

The female protagonist. Her nickname is Rif.

Enzi

Some kind of flying cat-thing.

Killfith

Swordcraft Story 2 had a demon chick. This one has a demon dude.

Rufeel

A cute little beast girl.

Rundor

Another one of the mechanical beings, this time with a drill for a nose.

The only real change in this installment is that the Guardian Beasts can be summoned into combat and can actually be controlled, as opposed to simply dropping in and casting spells. This one never saw a release outside of Japan.