This is unironically one of my favourite PS2 games. I get that I'm probably alone in this and there's a lot that could be improved upon, but the foundation is there for something truly special.
I think I’ve gotten through this game at least 10 times on ps2 and 2 times on pc. It starts out pretty slow loading times are crap The camera angles are ass, graphics suck controls are clunky and for some reason it’s my favorite rpg and I’ve played a lot of rpgs. There’s something about this game that no other rpg has I can’t put my finger on it but I love it.
Now this is a game near and dear to my heart. I thought it was so cool when I watched people play it and I've tried to play it more than a few times but it's so clunky and so long. Which sucks because I love descent freespace.
Loved this game back in the day. Still have my PS2 copy. Also the soundtrack is severely underrated. For anyone interested, I actually recommend the PC version instead. Faster loading times, better view distance, and a clear UI make it less clunky than the PS2 port.
Glad to see you're still uploading videos! Ever since I jailbroke my PS3, I've been on a kick using it as a all-in-1 sony box. Been playing as many PS2 games as I could get my hands on. In fact, your vid on Michigan: report from heck made me try it out
Wonderful review. I tried so very strongly to power through this one. I got about 15 hours in, and couldn't take it anymore. A rare moment where I simply can't finish a game lol
I recently played this through and the sequel too. Being a technical wonder and a non-usual fantasy story I could really imagine what could have been a Summoner 3 around the time of the end of PS2 era with a team understanding the tech better and bringing a Dragon Age-Mass Effect like experience before Bioware to this generation. Also the poison forest ... that makes man out of little boys. When you are damaged DURING the cutscene and when its over 4 out of 5 characters are dead. Than you know its something ... else. Fond memories, but the forced solo and duo parts weren't too fun. In the sequel its worse, but still. Happy that the video series is still running.
Yeah, that was a real good on paper -gloves off moment. Nowadays i appriciate things like that very much. I became emotional at one point. In the library with the stolen book side story i unintentionally told the head librarian about the missing book and the acolyte was mad with me, refused to talk again. And when the library became white i found the guy on the some spot dead. I was sad. I failed him two times.
The only reason old games had no quest markers and other stuff was that they had to sell strategy guides and discourage people from reselling/lending their disks.
It's crazy cause I saw an article today that said the same thing. Apparently it was made by Volition way back before they made Saints Row, and then destroyed Saint's Row and closed :(
How are you liking it? The PS5 version thankfully removed the long loading times, it's very quick. I hadn't played these games since the PS2 days, so it's interesting to go back and play an early attempt at a console CRPG
I'm really glad to see you upload again. PS2 was such an important console to me, and it feels like it's not represented enough on TH-cam. Looking forward to what you do next
I got this game in a bargain bin and didn't regret it. The music was fantastic and I was surprised at the depth of lore. The sequel was also decent but I think it lacked all the charm Summoner had. Another excellent game that surprised me I got in a bargain bin was Shadow Hearts, probably among the best JRPG series on PS2 in my opinion.
Maaaaan I loved this game so much back in its day. I just discovered that it's in the playstation plus classics catalog and I'll now be obsessing over it all over again.
I remember somewhat enjoying this game as a very young kid, it was my older brothers game and i think he also enjoyed it a little bit. I remember barely getting past like an hour of gamelay because i was lost and confused of what to do lol too young to understand properly. Its fun to see this again
3:42 that reminds me of when I played through this game and I did not compensate for blunt damage. I got to the stone swamp temple place and it was a slugfest because every monster was either immune or highly resistant to my damage types, including spells! Lol
I loved this game. I have no clue how many times I played through it but it was quite a few. It has its issues but there was this certain unidentifiable quality about it that just made me want to play it. Oddly the graphics (that most people complain about) just FIT the game. I couldn't imagine it looking different. RUNE is like that too. They're both those kind of "semi low tier" games with odd controls/cameras that just make you say "hell yeah these games are cool" when you finally get the feel for them.
I freaking love this game. Watching your video, I have definitely grown a soft spot for it and can see the flaws but god damnit it’s just so nostalgic for me. Summoner 2 is also very good, and is the continuation of the world building story. There however you play as the reincarnated version of the goddess of death you learned about in summoner 1, Lahara aka Maia. I’m so sad they never continued with this world.
I played this on PC back in the day and didn't even know it had a ps2 version until much later. The PC version thankfully isn't bothered by loading nearly as much.
Glad I stumbled on this video. This is one of the first PS2 games I played and thinking how huge it was in scope. Sadly, I never got past the city part because I had trouble progressing in that area but the game was solid.
Good to hear that the difficulty in this game is not ridiculous like many old cRPG's tend to be. I really loved the sequel (Summoner 2/Summoner Goddess Reborn) it's a Jank-sterpiece I can't recommend to normal people but it's such an experience full of pulpable ambition and passion as well as great sense of humor that you just don't forget. While the PS2 version runs at a lower framerate than the GC port I'd still say the original PS2 version is better, simply because the designs of characters are nicer and it has better FMV compression. There's also a number of absolutely hilarious mock interviews with the cast of the game(as in the game characters) where they stand against real life backgrounds and talk about starring in the game as if it was a movie and all of that is missing from the GC version (probably cause the character designs no longer match). Good job on the review, it's very informative, concise and well edited.
Sounds like a neat idea for a game let down by technical limitations and other problems of the age. Another solid video, man. I like fantasy settings with atypical magic (as opposed to the standard elemental stuff popular now) which seemed to be a lot more common back in PS2 days, and if I'd played this as a kid I probably would remember it fondly. As it stands, this review will probably be my only exposure to the title, which is good because you covered the story and gameplay mechanics really well. Looking forward to your next video, as always.
15:12 that is why Rey should have been on Jakku. Snoke put her there so she would live a long life but never become a Jedi, thus the Sith would be reborn.
Anybody interested in this should 1) play the PC version, 2) lookup the "Summoner Texture Upscale" on Nexus and the "Summoner Mod Guide 2021" and "Runic's HQ Music Mod" on Steam, and 3) learn the teleport trick.
I never get into this chain attacks system in both games, at least it's not mandatory like parrying in DS which I still never learnt. Developed in strange times when developers could create games from various genres. Volition made action games and there - RPG. I remember doing simple sidequest to find instrument and got showered in gold (100k gold?), bought a lot of potions that could be used from the (paused) inventory, trivializing the whole game. All that remain is a LOT of walking...
this game is so underrated for a Ps2 launch it does have framerate issues in cities but the gameplay is so good especially using the summons and you get dragons one later on too I wish this and summoner 2 the sequel were on PS5 I play it all over again XD
First rpg I ever played as a wee mut lol. It had countless issues but the soundtrack was 🔥🔥 story had so much potential and that world map though ugh how I wish they could have added more on Orenia’s side
I'd always been vaguely aware of Summoner, I think I might've even bought it on GOG years ago. But after this review I reckon I'm finally going to play it. It looks cool but man those loading screens, oof.
It's crazy cause I saw an article today that said this game is rereleasing on modern consoles, and apparently it was made by Volition way back before they made Saints Row, and then destroyed Saint's Row and closed :(
Good review bro and memories ive played both 1 and 2 solid games being a young fella at the time found these games dark souls level difficulty but some how managed to get through both
I had this when I was a teen. There was a gamfaqs guide back in the day, not sure if still there. The game feels like not much is explained, which makes it kinda difficult. The main thing that made me stop playing was horrible load times, very long game, and sometimes game would just crash for me on ps2. Very ambitious game, but hey apparently we got it playable on psn now?
No, you SHOULD have to grind, this RPG is from a time period before they forgot that, grinding is an integral part of RPGs, it's why there are random encounters in the first place. grinding is love, grinding is life.
im trying to find guides for this game on how to get the 2nd summon for the ring of darkness but all i see is guides for elden ring eve though i search summoner ps2... what ps2 can run elden ring if anyone knows a video guide on when+where i can get the item to unlock the 2nd summon ill be happy
I owned this game on ps2 a few years back i remember after playing for a certain amount of time the game would lock up randomly which sucked i had to save the game alot anyway the graphics were ok nothing amazing for an early ps2 game gameplay and story were great though
The deity murals are so beautifully presented but the actual artwork is ridiculous. I think the style is “pointillism” and to my eyes looks really gorgeous even in very low res. The effect is amazingly great and such a standout. So it’s a shame the drawings in this case look so… stupid. Like a computer’s idea of a child’s drawings perfectly pointilised. It’s such a sticking point for me. I’ll try to get over it…
Mate this was fantastic! I’m selling my ps2 collection (2-3000 titles). I plan to watch a review on each game as I let it go. I can’t believe I just found your channel!!! Instant subscriber! I hope this journey brings you the joy passion and life changing experiences the ps2 has brought me :)
Glad to hear you like it, maybe we can work something out for a few titles that I'm looking for at some point if you're not getting rid of it all at once :o
Thanks to Raizhen010 for letting me use his footage, go check out his youtube channel when you get a chance!
Type "summoner ps2" to look shit up for it.
Summoner just arrived on PS4/5
This is unironically one of my favourite PS2 games. I get that I'm probably alone in this and there's a lot that could be improved upon, but the foundation is there for something truly special.
I definitely agree with you, I think they really were on the cusp of something really great
This is absolutely one of the ps2 games I go back to, over and over.
I think I’ve gotten through this game at least 10 times on ps2 and 2 times on pc. It starts out pretty slow loading times are crap The camera angles are ass, graphics suck controls are clunky and for some reason it’s my favorite rpg and I’ve played a lot of rpgs. There’s something about this game that no other rpg has I can’t put my finger on it but I love it.
YOU'RE NOT ALONE BROTHA
Definitely not alone part 2 was dope too! That dnd skit at the end too. They loved their fans
Now this is a game near and dear to my heart. I thought it was so cool when I watched people play it and I've tried to play it more than a few times but it's so clunky and so long. Which sucks because I love descent freespace.
Loved this game back in the day. Still have my PS2 copy. Also the soundtrack is severely underrated.
For anyone interested, I actually recommend the PC version instead. Faster loading times, better view distance, and a clear UI make it less clunky than the PS2 port.
Glad to see you're still uploading videos! Ever since I jailbroke my PS3, I've been on a kick using it as a all-in-1 sony box. Been playing as many PS2 games as I could get my hands on. In fact, your vid on Michigan: report from heck made me try it out
I put tons of hours back in the day and tried to get it to work on my modded PS3 but it won't run properly :/
Try resident evil outbreak and outbreak file 2 🙏 please. Thank me later
Wonderful review. I tried so very strongly to power through this one. I got about 15 hours in, and couldn't take it anymore. A rare moment where I simply can't finish a game lol
I recently played this through and the sequel too. Being a technical wonder and a non-usual fantasy story I could really imagine what could have been a Summoner 3 around the time of the end of PS2 era with a team understanding the tech better and bringing a Dragon Age-Mass Effect like experience before Bioware to this generation.
Also the poison forest ... that makes man out of little boys. When you are damaged DURING the cutscene and when its over 4 out of 5 characters are dead. Than you know its something ... else. Fond memories, but the forced solo and duo parts weren't too fun. In the sequel its worse, but still.
Happy that the video series is still running.
The poison area was so insane to me, I remember being so amazed that they would make such a decision.
Yeah, that was a real good on paper -gloves off moment. Nowadays i appriciate things like that very much.
I became emotional at one point. In the library with the stolen book side story i unintentionally told the head librarian about the missing book and the acolyte was mad with me, refused to talk again. And when the library became white i found the guy on the some spot dead. I was sad. I failed him two times.
The only reason old games had no quest markers and other stuff was that they had to sell strategy guides and discourage people from reselling/lending their disks.
I've been waiting for this.
This is actually going to be downloadable on PS4 and PS5 in a few days, so I'm here to see what it's like. 👀
It's crazy cause I saw an article today that said the same thing. Apparently it was made by Volition way back before they made Saints Row, and then destroyed Saint's Row and closed :(
How are you liking it? The PS5 version thankfully removed the long loading times, it's very quick. I hadn't played these games since the PS2 days, so it's interesting to go back and play an early attempt at a console CRPG
I'm really glad to see you upload again. PS2 was such an important console to me, and it feels like it's not represented enough on TH-cam. Looking forward to what you do next
Happy to hear this, thanks for watching :)
This game series and resident evil outbreak series were my whole childhood. Shoutout to anyone who has played outbreak or outbreak file 2
I got this game in a bargain bin and didn't regret it. The music was fantastic and I was surprised at the depth of lore. The sequel was also decent but I think it lacked all the charm Summoner had. Another excellent game that surprised me I got in a bargain bin was Shadow Hearts, probably among the best JRPG series on PS2 in my opinion.
This was the first RPG I ever experienced about 18 years ago, when I was about 7. I was obsessed, I really ought to go back to it.
Maaaaan I loved this game so much back in its day. I just discovered that it's in the playstation plus classics catalog and I'll now be obsessing over it all over again.
This game just got rereleased on the PS5 this month. Spent countless hours on it so far and about to do it again.
Lol loved the Cave Story music during the load times.
Fuck yeah I love these types of channels, forgot I was subscribed to this. Hope you upload more
I remember somewhat enjoying this game as a very young kid, it was my older brothers game and i think he also enjoyed it a little bit. I remember barely getting past like an hour of gamelay because i was lost and confused of what to do lol too young to understand properly. Its fun to see this again
3:42 that reminds me of when I played through this game and I did not compensate for blunt damage. I got to the stone swamp temple place and it was a slugfest because every monster was either immune or highly resistant to my damage types, including spells! Lol
I loved this game. I have no clue how many times I played through it but it was quite a few. It has its issues but there was this certain unidentifiable quality about it that just made me want to play it. Oddly the graphics (that most people complain about) just FIT the game. I couldn't imagine it looking different. RUNE is like that too. They're both those kind of "semi low tier" games with odd controls/cameras that just make you say "hell yeah these games are cool" when you finally get the feel for them.
I freaking love this game. Watching your video, I have definitely grown a soft spot for it and can see the flaws but god damnit it’s just so nostalgic for me. Summoner 2 is also very good, and is the continuation of the world building story. There however you play as the reincarnated version of the goddess of death you learned about in summoner 1, Lahara aka Maia. I’m so sad they never continued with this world.
I feel you bro
I played this on PC back in the day and didn't even know it had a ps2 version until much later.
The PC version thankfully isn't bothered by loading nearly as much.
Totally believe that the PC port would feel better to play.
Glad I stumbled on this video. This is one of the first PS2 games I played and thinking how huge it was in scope. Sadly, I never got past the city part because I had trouble progressing in that area but the game was solid.
Wow great moves Michael, keep it up
Good to hear that the difficulty in this game is not ridiculous like many old cRPG's tend to be. I really loved the sequel (Summoner 2/Summoner Goddess Reborn) it's a Jank-sterpiece I can't recommend to normal people but it's such an experience full of pulpable ambition and passion as well as great sense of humor that you just don't forget.
While the PS2 version runs at a lower framerate than the GC port I'd still say the original PS2 version is better, simply because the designs of characters are nicer and it has better FMV compression.
There's also a number of absolutely hilarious mock interviews with the cast of the game(as in the game characters) where they stand against real life backgrounds and talk about starring in the game as if it was a movie and all of that is missing from the GC version (probably cause the character designs no longer match).
Good job on the review, it's very informative, concise and well edited.
I had and loved Summoner 2 as a kid but could never find Summoner 1. What a crazy time for gaming.
Came here because I was told this game is like Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage on the N64 by THQ / H20 back in 2001
Sounds like a neat idea for a game let down by technical limitations and other problems of the age. Another solid video, man.
I like fantasy settings with atypical magic (as opposed to the standard elemental stuff popular now) which seemed to be a lot more common back in PS2 days, and if I'd played this as a kid I probably would remember it fondly. As it stands, this review will probably be my only exposure to the title, which is good because you covered the story and gameplay mechanics really well.
Looking forward to your next video, as always.
Oh man, this is the best TH-cam Channel I ever saw, please, come back
The load time. It was so painfully long. Still remember the game fondly, though.
Thanks for the video, been playing it again and wondered if anyone reviewed this old piece.
15:12 that is why Rey should have been on Jakku. Snoke put her there so she would live a long life but never become a Jedi, thus the Sith would be reborn.
Holy shit those loading times. That's worse than Demon's Souls lol
Great video as usual, interesting game. I'd love to see you talking about Odin Sphere or Grim Grimoire
Odin Sphere is something I'm very interested in :)
Anybody interested in this should 1) play the PC version, 2) lookup the "Summoner Texture Upscale" on Nexus and the "Summoner Mod Guide 2021" and "Runic's HQ Music Mod" on Steam, and 3) learn the teleport trick.
as a fan of open world action adventure RPGS i think i should buy this tbh
I never get into this chain attacks system in both games, at least it's not mandatory like parrying in DS which I still never learnt.
Developed in strange times when developers could create games from various genres. Volition made action games and there - RPG.
I remember doing simple sidequest to find instrument and got showered in gold (100k gold?), bought a lot of potions that could be used from the (paused) inventory, trivializing the whole game. All that remain is a LOT of walking...
I wanna cast magic missile 😂
this game is so underrated for a Ps2 launch it does have framerate issues in cities but the gameplay is so good especially using the summons and you get dragons one later on too
I wish this and summoner 2 the sequel were on PS5 I play it all over again XD
I’ve been looking for this game since I was 7 played it when I was very bad at gaming and only a little but it took my heart😊
First rpg I ever played as a wee mut lol. It had countless issues but the soundtrack was 🔥🔥 story had so much potential and that world map though ugh how I wish they could have added more on Orenia’s side
I'd always been vaguely aware of Summoner, I think I might've even bought it on GOG years ago. But after this review I reckon I'm finally going to play it.
It looks cool but man those loading screens, oof.
Awesome review of a very ambitious game. I hope you keep on making this kind of content, thanks!
Awesome review, would love to see your thoughts on Front Mission 4 or Armored Core 3 & Armored Core Silent Line, all great games.
I always wondered why Michael Shannon looked ao familiar... now I realize he looks like Jekhar
It's crazy cause I saw an article today that said this game is rereleasing on modern consoles, and apparently it was made by Volition way back before they made Saints Row, and then destroyed Saint's Row and closed :(
Great video! Watched some gameplays and didn't want to play this at all, but after this video I'm down to try
"Kept you waiting, huh?"
Good review bro and memories ive played both 1 and 2 solid games being a young fella at the time found these games dark souls level difficulty but some how managed to get through both
That active reload joke lmao, good shit man 👏
9:25 i believe as im playing it right now there is energy siphon from the energy skill that can steal mana
I had this when I was a teen. There was a gamfaqs guide back in the day, not sure if still there. The game feels like not much is explained, which makes it kinda difficult.
The main thing that made me stop playing was horrible load times, very long game, and sometimes game would just crash for me on ps2. Very ambitious game, but hey apparently we got it playable on psn now?
The google search issue is so realllllllll. Hated not beeing able to look smth up.
That load time is crazy
Volition still exists, Deep Silver just owns them.
I absolutely loved this game as a kid
Played the second one back in the day and remember really enjoying it but never played the first one
There is a blue moon now.
Dude this was one of my favourites on ps2. Just downloaded Divinity original sin 2 after watchin this. Hopefully its as good as the hype about it.
3:19 you okay captain?
21:16 I put 100 hours into it when I first played it. Lol
I really wanted to love that game, but the loading times...I quit after a few hours
I don't blame you at all for that lol
It has long loading times, but most areas you load into, you are in for quite a while, so I never saw it as that big of a deal.
Hwy now on the ps5 you dont have the loading problem. it was a pain when i played this on the ps2
A game where you reload attacks instead of weapons👌
This channel is pure gold. I wish I could support but I live in Brazil so I can't support even my basic needs :p
Come to Brazil btw...
Awesome review.
Obrigado!
PS2 is one of the greatest consoles of all time and Summoner is one of the greatest games of all time.
Is it worth playing today 🤔
This game was awesome back then
I think in the second game they improved a lot of your criticisms.
I can't wait to get off work and watch this !!!
Great video. Keep up the good work!
Blessed day, another video! 😃
Is summoner payable anywhere other than Ps2? I would love a modern way to jump back into this gem!
Late reply but it looks like it's on Steam for like, less than two bucks. Hope this helps!
No, you SHOULD have to grind, this RPG is from a time period before they forgot that, grinding is an integral part of RPGs, it's why there are random encounters in the first place. grinding is love, grinding is life.
He's back!
King returns
One of the best game of the PS1.
Thanks Micheal
im trying to find guides for this game on how to get the 2nd summon for the ring of darkness but all i see is guides for elden ring eve though i search summoner ps2... what ps2 can run elden ring if anyone knows a video guide on when+where i can get the item to unlock the 2nd summon ill be happy
You go on and it's amazing.
I owned this game on ps2 a few years back i remember after playing for a certain amount of time the game would lock up randomly which sucked i had to save the game alot anyway the graphics were ok nothing amazing for an early ps2 game gameplay and story were great though
12:01 lol yes!!
sheeeeeeeeeeeeeesh , today is a good day I tell you what.
never heard of this one!
Please do video about RTX Red Rock hidden gem on ps2!
That ones definitely on my radar, I've seen it at my local game store a few times
The deity murals are so beautifully presented but the actual artwork is ridiculous.
I think the style is “pointillism” and to my eyes looks really gorgeous even in very low res. The effect is amazingly great and such a standout.
So it’s a shame the drawings in this case look so… stupid.
Like a computer’s idea of a child’s drawings perfectly pointilised. It’s such a sticking point for me.
I’ll try to get over it…
That Dungeons and Dragons parody video actually had a good game behind it? Who knew.
will always be the best ps2 game don't @ me
They just released thos on ps4/ps5 🙂
Really glossed over the demons
have you done oni? you should do oni
I wasted so many fucking hours on this game and the at least triple that on summoner 2
Big and long Ayoo mad sus my guy
cool.
Tactical battles? Yeah, I'm out.
Tactical battles are so scary.
@@nifftbatuff676 Not scary, just dumb.
i am watching this video because i was traumatized by how shit this game was
Mate this was fantastic! I’m selling my ps2 collection (2-3000 titles). I plan to watch a review on each game as I let it go. I can’t believe I just found your channel!!! Instant subscriber! I hope this journey brings you the joy passion and life changing experiences the ps2 has brought me :)
Glad to hear you like it, maybe we can work something out for a few titles that I'm looking for at some point if you're not getting rid of it all at once :o
@@WREPS2GOG :) yes.
@@WREPS2GOG loving it. Watching every night as I’m waiting for tomorrow’s trials lol
This game blew my mind back in the day