Doraemon 2: Nobita and the Temple of Light

Doraemon 2 abandons the Banjo-Kazooie template of the first N64 game for something closer to a simplified 3D Zelda, though its execution is far more fractured. The adventure is split into two halves that rarely speak to each other. The overworld—villages, plains, forests—is a no-combat zone viewed from a distant, isometric angle. Here you talk to NPCs, solve environmental puzzles, and ferry items back and forth. Combat and platforming are quarantined inside three (originally four) dungeons, where the camera shifts behind the shoulder and the game briefly becomes the action game it wants to be.

The systems are the most distinctive part, and also the most divisive. Time flows continuously, and at 18:00 a lethal cold sets in, draining health until you sleep. The world runs on a seven-day cycle—光 (Light), 炎 (Flame), 水 (Water), 木 (Wood), 風 (Wind), 岩 (Rock), 闇 (Darkness)—rather than weekdays, and certain paths only open on specific days. A five-stage Mood (機嫌) parameter for each character modifies damage dealt and received, recovering on Light Days and degrading through neglect or injury. The Light Crystal itself is a ticking clock: its power steadily drains, and if it empties completely, the game ends.

Reviews were poor to mixed. Famitsu scored it 21/40, and critics pinpointed the overworld as bland, empty, and padded with hours of backtracking for simple fetch-quests. The dungeons, while competently designed, are short—amounting to less than an hour combined—and a fourth was cut, making the finale feel abrupt. Character-switching was restricted to story beats, and every character was stripped of unique abilities, leaving only minor weapon differences. The stiff jumping, unresponsive menus, and the absence of overworld combat turned exploration into a chore. It remains a curiosity: bolder than its predecessor in ambition, but falling flat in the space between adventure and action.

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