Preview: Three Dungeon Travelers 2 mistakes I made and you shouldn’t

Ever play a game, start a save, go about your business and realize you’ve done every possible thing wrong? Maybe it wasn’t your fault (probably), perhaps it was, but there are times you kick off things off on the wrong foot. This, my friends, is exactly what happened when I started off Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library & the Monster Seal.

My first mistake was buying into the hype surrounding it. It was easy, really. Between people upset that four of the Dungeon Travelers 2 images were edited, Aquaplus’ reputation with eroge and connection to the “adult” visual novel game To Heart 2, I was ready to breeze through it. To mash to advance text whenever certain images came up. To play it alone for fear of people’s reactions should they see the screen. That sort of thing.

This meant I went into Dungeon Travelers 2 expecting it to be an easy excuse for people to see anime chicks. After all, one of these rather lewd images appears in the first ten minutes of the game, when our protagonist Fried reunites with Alisia and Melvy, his childhood friends. The two women fall on top of each other. Limbs are entwined. A blatant panty shot ensues. You get the idea.

Dungeon Travelers 2 is not easy.

Which brings me to mistake number two. I don’t like to follow in-game advice. You get sent off to the tutorial dungeon in the first five minutes of the game! You wouldn’t think you would die on the first floor of a tutorial dungeon! It’s a freaking tutorial dungeon.

I died in the tutorial dungeon.

Here’s what happened. Fried, a Libra researcher at the Royal Library of the Kingdom of Romulea, reunites with Alisia and Melvy, his two childhood friends who happen to be members of the Royal Order Guards. Monsters have started appearing in greater numbers in the world, and only Libras can use sealing magic to lock them away into books. Only the girls can fight. Once he hooks up with them, it’s possible to enter into a random encounter. The idea is you head back to the library after meeting up with them.

I’m obstinate. I didn’t want to go back to Dungeon Travelers 2‘s library. I wanted to keep exploring a bit. Maybe see if Alisia and Melvy could gain a level or two. The sign said to go west to the exit. I went east. The first enemy I fought, a sultry slime-girl, was a simple enough battle. There’s no way tough fights would be thrown at me this quickly in the game.

Here’s the thing. Dungeon Travelers 2‘s initial battles aren’t that difficult. When I happened upon a catgirl and two anthropomorphic oranges, I fully engaged. This is was my third mistake, if you’re counting. Alisia and Melvy went all-out. I forgot that Melvy is a support class, and it would probably have been wiser for her to use magic spells and healing abilities. She went down first, and Alisia soon followed. A “Game Over” notification appeared.

I had to completely restart Dungeon Travelers 2, because I guess no one at Sting or Aquaplus figured there’d be someone out there stupid enough to die in the first 15 minutes of the game. There was no save made. Rocks fell. Everyone died.

Which brings me to the point of this whimsical preview. Dungeon Travelers 2 is not a game to disregard or underestimate. It may have connotations and images that make you cringe. But, if you want to live long enough to see them, you’re going to have to play smart. Reading directions is key. So is paying attention to skills the women can learn, and making sure they’re adequately prepared for every battle. Organize the party so the mages and support classes are in the back row and attackers and tanks in the front. Keep track of where you’re going on the map. You may look at Dungeon Travelers 2 and not want to take it seriously, but you’ll be beaten to a pulp if you don’t.

Dungeon Travelers 2 will be released on August 18, 2015. You can get it on Amazon for $39.99.