Published stateside by Atlus, Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library & The Monster Seal is a dungeon crawler RPG for the PlayStation Vita. Compared to the other dungeon crawlers, Dungeon Travelers 2 is very accessible in the gameplay department. However, it's very racy and will not be suitable for some audiences. 

Nearly five hundred years ago, the ancient Demon God was sealed away and a new age of peace began. In Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library & The Monster Seal, the kingdom of Romulea is experiencing bizarre anomalies like random earthquakes and monsters attacking civilians like crazy! A young Libra (pronounced “lie-bra," like “library”) named Fried (pronounced “freed”) is tasked to investigate these anomalies. Hoping to study monsters in action, Fried will discover a lot more than what he signed up for.

If you're wondering what happened to the first Dungeon Travelers, it never came out here, but there is DLC available to purchase all of the characters from the original game on the PSN store, although they're not mandatory to finish the game.

Gameplay in Dungeon Travelers 2 is simple: You make preparations in the Royal Library, which acts as your guild, then buy whatever supplies that are needed in the Shop, then head out to whichever dungeons your chief assigns you to crawl. While crawling through these labyrinthine first-person dungeons, you'll find traps, treasure and traders: the usual fare. You'll also find monsters and in Dungeon Travelers 2 and this is where things deviate.

Nearly all of the monsters in Dungeon Travelers 2 are moe-anthropomorphized versions of stock RPG villains, with some fruits thrown in for good measure. Some of these villains range from cute slime-girls to sexy spider wenches and the allies you enlist in battle are no different: every fighter in your side is female. Knights, mages, thieves, maids, spielers (gamblers) and more, these girls are your frontlines: you are actually there to seal these monsters since you can't fight. After sealing a set amount of monsters, seal books can be manifested at the Royal Library. Seal books can be used to boost (or deplete) stats for your girls and sealing boss monsters can be used to manifest Grand Seal Books that only Fried can equip. As you play and get more allies, they'll be able to develop specialized skills and perform joint attacks on enemies, depending on the formation. They can also change classes, which can offer an array of new skills, especially since some classes branch out into different paths.

Your girls can equip treasure found at these dungeons, but only after they've been identified. Identification costs money but scouts can appraise these items for free once they level up. After identification, you can either equip these items or sell unwanted or surplus items for more gold. Surplus seal books can be sold too, although Grand seal books cannot be sold since they are one of a kind. Be mindful about how much you carry: your bag can hold a limited number of items and it's a good idea to leave dungeons periodically to sell treasure or to put it in storage so you can free up more space for future plundering. Retreating to the Library often is also a good idea since your party can heal themselves 100% every time you visit and new quests and lectures are posted periodically.

Dungeon Travelers 2 has some modern touches for an old-school genre. There is automap in this game and every tile walked is recorded, traps and all. It's helpful if you hate getting lost or if you need to escape and recuperate. Despite the traps and the encounter rates, you can save and load your game whenever you want, wherever you want. That feature alone is plenty merciful for anyone who hasn't played a dungeon crawler before and is prone to making rookie mistakes. 

The game is very niche, with every character and monster being an anime girl, barring Fried and some weird animals. Whether the monster in question is a kawaii lolita or a sultry sex demon, it's your job to seal them and absorb their powers. With boss monsters, there will be a “bonus” illustration when you defeat them, often posing in a lurid position. In spite of the racy content, a handful of images were censored from the Japanese release.  I personally feel that the censorship is unnecessary since the game is perverted enough as is, and the idea of censorship, no matter how big or small, will annoy players who are a part of that niche that enjoys games with ridiculous amount of fan service.

Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library & The Monster Seal is a tricky title to recommend. On one hand, there's good gameplay and some funny dialogue and it's one of the better dungeon crawlers out there on the Vita. On the other hand, your enjoyment will be determined by your tolerance for cute, often half-naked anime girls.

Hint: Always pack an Emergency Exit with you! It's better to be safe than sorry when you're having a hard time crawling around unfamiliar dungeons. They can be bought at the Shop.

by Ray n.