Rengoku II: The Stairway to H.E.A.V.E.N.

This is a consistently entertaining piece of fluff that sticks to an idea and doesn't stray too far from it. [Issue 144, p.96]

The game is fairly repetitive, not bothering to bring puzzles or anything non-combat into play at all, but this is the nature of the genre, really.

Rengoku is a tight, focused experience not aimed at the average gamer, but it carves out its own niche and fills it nicely. It's an acquired taste perhaps, but one that I definitely crave.

A dramatic improvement over its predecessor, although the gameplay is more repetitive than we would like to see.

Konami still has a ways to go before its Rengoku series can be called respectable, but Stairway to H.E.A.V.E.N. is miles ahead of its predecessor. The visuals look better, environments look great, and the customization in the game is addictive. Should the combat improve in the inevitable third iteration, this will be a franchise worth checking out.

The game ultimately runs out of steam before it's over, but along the way, Rengoku II creates a more streamlined and interesting experience than its predecessor.

Generally not a terrible game, but it grows tedious all too quickly.

Unfortunately, the game manages to duplicate just about every single problem that the first game had, from a weak storyline to an unbalanced combat system to unimpressive level designs.

While Rengoku II has its few interesting moments, there isn’t much here that will keep you playing this one for very long.

Rengoku II is incredibly repetitive. If the fighting was fun, this wouldn’t be an issue. If the game had an understandable story, it might be worth trying to progress through to the end. Instead, you’ll grow tired of Rengoku II rather quickly.

It’s another short game in a terrible series that should have been axed at the first try but for some reason it’s back and will be terrorizing the USA later this year. My advice is to look the other way and never touch Rengoku 2 the Stairway to Hell. [JPN Import]

The gameplay isn't necessarily flashy but it can be a lot of fun if you are attracted to mindless and seemingly endless combat.

Delivers the absolute bare minimum of atmosphere and uninspiring, tedious gameplay. It’s not strictly bad; it’s just that nothing about it is good, either.

Why Hudson Soft and Konami decided to make a sequel to Rengoku is puzzling. Why they decided to make it just like the original, albeit a little better, is mind-boggling.

Only marginally better then its predecessor and still suffers from many of the exact same flaws that made the first game so dismal.

Calling this game a nice $30.00 coaster would be a compliment, as it would mean that you’d actually have to go into a store and buy it. Instead, avoid it like the plague and hope that it gets buried somewhere in a New Mexican Desert.

There just isn't a reason for Rengoku II: Stairway to Heaven to exist besides duping buyers into picking up a throwaway title, or, the most likely case, to get PS3 owners who've never played the PSP versions to pick up that game just because the franchise seems familiar somehow.

Perhaps with better level design, Rengoku II could have been a contender, but as it stands right now the game fails to deliver the goods.

Each stage is still full of repetitious androids to fight, and you still fight in nearly identical rooms and hallways. [Oct 2006, p.84]

In the end, Stairway to H.E.A.V.E.N.'s gravest flaw is its beat-for-beat recreation of the original game's many problems. None of these issues are new, and they haven't been improved in any notable way since the first game.

The more time I spent with the game, the deeper I delved into its defects. [Oct. 2006, p.114]

A repetitive third-person action game. Dull combat and duller levels mean you should steer clear of this. [Christmas 2006, p.87]