Summoner 2

"Laharah walked the desert of thirty suns. And in a stone she trapped them all but one. In the sand she sowed the seed from which the Tree of Eleh grew. Aosi is the wind that blows through its branches. (...) The wind grew fierce. A storm rose up that broke the Tree of Eleh. Laharah wept as the long night fell, and darkness devoured her children. How to heal the broken tree? How to mend the branches?"

Far from the kingdoms of Medeva and Orenia lies the empire of Galdyr, and its province of Halassar. Halassar is said to be the birthplace of the goddess Laharah, and it is foretold that some day she will be reborn. Twenty years ago, the priestesses of Laharah declared newborn Maia to be the goddess reborn. Armies led by the Emperor's brother rose up in Maia's name, and Halassar became independent from Galdyr. Now, twenty years later, a grown up Maia sails to an island in pursuit of the tome of prophecy that can guide her to fulfill her destiny - ascend as a goddess and bring forth a new golden age to her people via re-creating the Tree of Eleh. However, the powers that long ago shattered the tree are at work. And back in Halassar, an invasion of crusaders from Medeva threatens the kingdom.

Summoner 2 on the Play Station 2 (later ported to the Game Cube as Summoner: A Goddess Reborn) is the sequel to Summoner, released in 2002. Gameplay was improved by making it an action RPG. Like its predecessor, it contains a rich original world filled with a complex history. It is also remembered for the large Cosmic Retcon it applied on its predecessor.

This game contains the following tropes.

 * A God Am I: Maia, as well as
 * Action Girl: Maia and Sangaril.
 * All Myths Are True: Subverted. Myths have basis in truth, but the reality is different.
 * Arbitrary Headcount Limit: You are generally only allowed three party members, and everywhere except the Arena and the Tome of the Nuvhasarim one of them has to be Maia.
 * Authority Equals Asskicking: Azraman, Taurgis and Maia. Also Krobelus, who despite being a bishop is stronger than any of the armored crusaders he commands.
 * Back Stab: Sangaril's shtick.
 * Badass Grandpa: Yago.
 * Cosmic Horror:
 * Cosmic Retcon: A BIG one, compared to the first game. Laharah is an evil goddess, and her followers, the Nuvasarim, feed on agony. This is thoroughly retconned in the sequel, in which Laharah is the protagonist.
 * Distaff Counterpart: Maia to Joseph from Summoner 1. Maia is in fact the complete opposite of Joseph. Where he was meek, and shunned his power and destiny, she was raised to embrace it, making her strong willed and even rebellious, while Joseph was more willing to listen to advice.
 * Dual Boss: Taurgis Vs Azraman.
 * Downer Ending:
 * A weird case, as the game's Cosmic Retcon and other story events takes the potential for an epic ending in the previous game and makes it rather depressing.
 * Dropped a Bridge On Him:
 * The Empire: Subverted. Except for his obsession at re-annexing Halassar, Azraman's Galdyr is not depicted as particularly evil or a terrible place to live.
 * Gladiator Subquest: The Munari City Arena.
 * Jack of All Stats: Maia, who has good combat skills and a wide selection of magic powers.
 * Mighty Glacier: Taurgis.
 * Royals Who Actually Do Something: Maia. Taurgis when he was still prince of Galdyr. Azraman II also counts.
 * Stop Helping Me: You run into a man named Osuke in Munari City, who is constantly belching up slugs due to a failed experiment. You can feed him more experimental serum to try to cure him. The first vial sets him on fire, the second turns him inside out, the third causes him to fade in and out of existance, and the fourth causes his body to constantly disintegrate into energy particles and reform. As you might guess, he starts longing for the days when he was just belching up slugs (that is, until the fifth vial cures him).
 * So Long and Thanks For All The Gear: Krobelus. There are warning signs. Nick all his stuff before you reach the portal, and don't sell the wooden staff - you'll need to give it back to him to get the better weapon back, since you can't just disarm him.
 * Summon Magic: Maia turns into the creatures she summons.
 * Tomboy Princess: Maia
 * You All Look Familiar: Particularly obvious with the pirates, Galdyran soldiers, and the gladiators.
 * Voluntary Shapeshifter: Maia's summons work this way.