Trapt is an odd game in the Deception series. For some reason, Tecmo decided to drop the series name for this game. I stumbled across this game in the mid-2000s when I was in the Navy.
In Japan, this game was called Kagero II, which adds to the confusion for people following this series. Trapt is the fourth game in the Deception series, despite there being a Deception IV. This is such a confusing mess.
Trapt is a short game that I wanted to enjoy. It feels like a step back from the previous games as far as the gameplay is concerned. It has some very cool ideas, and I like that the boss battles are more challenging, but the trap creation system is a big step back from the PS1 games.
TLDR: Fun at first, but ultimately underwhelming.
Narrative
This story is a serious improvement over the nonsensical one in the third game. Trapt is a straightforward revenge tale that takes a little twist at the end. The translation is also much better.
Our story follows Princess Allura. In the opening cutscene, her father is killed by someone, and her stepmother blames it on Allura. We also hear about unrest in the country, something called “the mark of the fiend, and that Allura’s real mother died before the game.
Allura flees alongside her friend/servant named Rachel. They make it to a mansion, which is very similar to the one in the previous games. It would make sense if they were all taking place in the same world, but who knows at this point?
From here, we get some political maneuvering from various factions vying for power. This happens in all of the games. Our protagonist is caught up in all this, but at least her role makes more sense here.
Eventually, you end up fighting the Fiend. It has a real name, but who cares? A few twists in the story don’t make much sense. Overall, it is much better than the tangled and nonsensical mess that was Deception III.
There are the typical double-crosses, loose plot threads, and subplots that go nowhere, but that is something I like about these games. They’re nonsensical at times, and it is clear that your character is oblivious to what is happening. It is a fun change from other games where you’re trying to save the world.
Like the other games in the series, this is a stand-alone experience. You don’t need to know anything about the series to enjoy it, and it is probably better that you don’t know about the third game. If you wanted to see how the story from the previous game played out, then you’ll be disappointed, as Trapt has little to do with what happened in the last game.
Trapt takes place in the fictional country of Fronenberg. This country has apparently been around for a while, but we don’t know if it is set in the same world as the previous games. There are a few endings to this game.
In the good ending, Allura becomes the new queen; in the bad endings, she is either dead or possessed.
Gameplay
There haven’t been many changes to the core gameplay of the Deception series. You still fight two enemies at a time and run around a mansion setting traps. You don’t have a way to fight back aside from luring enemies into traps.
The controls have been completely reworked in this game. You have more control over the camera, and the tank controls are mostly gone. I wouldn’t say they are better overall, but I like some changes.
The trap-making section is odd. I don’t think I like it very much because they cut out a lot of the things I liked from the third game. Say what you want about Deception III; it had a very creative crafting system for the traps.
It looks like you have to unlock rooms. In the trap-making section, you can make keys. I think this is a waste of resources. Maybe it gets better later in the game, but I find it stupid right now. Something else could’ve been added here.
Trapt has a very cool side story system. In the story mode, you can play a mission from a different perspective. It is different from what was in the previous games.
The enemy AI has somehow gotten worse, or it seems like it has. Enemies were always dumb in these games, but it seems it has gotten worse in some spots. You don’t need to be as creative with what you’re doing in this game as you were in the previous ones.
Renia and Millenia are unlockable characters in this game. They were the protagonists from the second and third games. It is interesting how the main character from the first game is completely forgotten.
Overall, the gameplay is fun at first, but gets very repetitive. Trapt only has 15 chapters in the main story, which makes it odd that it gets a little boring at times. I wanted to like this game, but it isn’t as good as the other games in the series.
Visuals
The game looks pretty good. Most PS2 games still hold up today and look much better than those on the PS1, N64, and Sega Saturn. 3D technology had advanced pretty far at this point, and these games stand up better than the previous generation of consoles.
The cutscenes are good. Since this is on the PS2, the character models could show more emotion than the PS1 games. This is a nice-looking game.
The camera controls are rough. It can be difficult to get it in the right position, and it gets annoying. Trapt doesn’t have the worst camera, but it isn’t as good as the PS1 games.
For some reason, you start most levels way too close to an enemy. This makes this a little more complicated than it needs to be. Having control over the camera doesn’t help here, as it moves just as slowly as your character.
The levels look good, as long as you’re not a stickler for realism. No human being would set up their castle or house like this. Everyone in these games acts like having all these traps built into each location is perfectly normal. It is one of the things I find enjoyable about these games.
Overall, this is a good-looking PS2 game. It has issues with the camera, but that isn’t an insurmountable issue. You can adjust to it, and learn how to best set it up so it won’t mess with you during the game.
7/10. Trapt isn’t as good as Deception II, and it is about the same as Deception III. Its story makes more sense than the third game, but its gameplay is worse. It obviously looks better than the PS1 games.
Pros
- Good Graphics
- Good Story
Cons
- Repetitive Gameplay
- Short Game
Conclusion
If there is one thing you can take away from the Deception series, it is that everyone sucks. No one is on your side, there are no good people, and the best outcome is for everyone to die. It is a very dark series.
Trapt is a very short game. It is between 5 and 10 hours long, which is considerably shorter than the second and third games. This would’ve been fine if the game had been released early in the PS2 life cycle, but it came out in 2005. This is shockingly short, even with all the side content.
I remember liking this game when it was released. Playing it now, it is hard to ignore its flaws. The story makes more sense than the previous games, and I like that each character has a backstory that gets briefly explained.
This is a staple of the Deception series, and it is something that horror movies try to do. The idea is to make you identify and sympathize with them. It doesn’t work all the time, and I think the second game did a better job of doing this.
If you liked this post, please check out my Castlevania II or Blue Stinger reviews.