May 23, 2017 Jada Griffin

Hunt giant monsters in Toukiden 2 (PS4 Review)

Grab your katanas, greatswords, rifles and every other feudal Japan era weapon you can think of. You’ll need them to take on giant enemies called Oni. Toukiden 2 is a giant monster hunting action/adventure game that draws heavy inspiration from Capcom’s Monster Hunter franchise. The sequel steps it up by adding new weapons, features, mechanics, bigger bosses, and an explorable overworld filled to the brim with demons.

Story/Gameplay

Toukiden 2 takes place two years after the series’ first entry, Toukiden Kiwami. Oversized demons called oni have engulfed the world in an evil miasma. Your created character awakens with amnesia after being thrown into a portal. It transports them back in time with little knowledge of his/her surroundings and past. The storyline often trends towards the predictable side but is by far the least important portion of the game. It usually is present for context as to what monster you will be hunting next and why it’s important.

Beyond the main campaign, there are side stories to be seen. These involve various citizens of the town that will often and repeatedly ask for the normal fetch/hunting quests. Players will be able to enhance the town with shop inventory upgrades and other similar bonuses. Along with the town’s citizens, there are temporary allies and permanent allies to assist you on your journey. The temporary ones are found in the open world environment. They are in need of assistance of some form. In addition, your more permanent and recruitable allies will mostly come from progressing the main storyline. These characters each have their own personality. And based on your relationship with them, they will decide whether to trust you with revealing their backstory.

Combat

Combat is at the heart of Toukiden 2. And it’s obvious that this is where developer Omega Force focused most of its time and attention. While Toukiden Kiwami made a commendable effort when tackling combat with oversized creatures, it often showed signs of sluggishness and a lack of distinction from other monster hunting games. This has been drastically changed in the second game with the addition of a few new features. They include the Demon Hand, a device that allows the player to use an ethereal hand to grapple around the environment. It can also grabb bosses to inflict stuns or destroy body parts. There are also returning features such as the Mitama system with more abilities, increasing the variety of enemies with new medium-sized Oni, and more weapons each with their own distinct move list and feel.

There is also a brand-new overworld with seamless encounters and tons of new objectives to keep the player busy while questing. This comes with limitations. The world outside the village has been corrupted by Oni and is covered in miasma that will instantly kill players who venture too deep for too long.

Highlights

When thinking about what stood out when playing Toukiden, it really boiled down to one thing. Again it’s the combat. The first 4 or so chapters, the computer A.I will actually have no problem killing and purifying bosses even without the player’s help. So it’s a perfect time for the player to spend time learning mechanics, combos, and enemy patterns. It is recommended that they pick at least 2 types of weapons to master. This is because various bosses will have increased weaknesses to different types of attacks such as slashing versus blunt strikes, or other various elemental attacks. This is a great setup for newcomers to the genre to learn and enjoy their time. However, veterans of the monster hunting genre like myself may often find the missions repetitive and tedious. Therefore, the more experienced players will know what to look for when identifying patterns and weakness.

Rewarding Victories

After progressing to the more advanced hunts, it’s when beginners will start feeling the real depth of the game. They will manage resources, command allies (when playing solo), and optimize load-outs for each fight. This preparation along with the victories and defeats are what makes up the best part of Toukiden 2 and all other monster hunting games. Fights towards the end of the game may require multiple attempts as the bosses have augmented their move list with new skills and increased strength.

The upside to this formula is that failed missions and narrow victories make all the victories that much more rewarding. And this is where most of the fun is in Toukiden 2. Nothing is more enjoyable than working with three other friends and taking down overpowered monsters. This is, of course, after fighting for your life for 30-60 minutes, narrowly escaping death on multiple occasions and finding that rare item drop you need.

Toukiden 2 Final Reaction

Toukiden accomplishes a lot with its sophomore release. It upped the ante on missions, weapons, and options. The overworld is a nice new touch that expands upon the content of the original game. It shows more of the world that is building in the Toukiden franchise. Unfortunately, the story for Toukiden 2 still struggles to keep players engaged with its overcomplicated explanations that could have been shown in more impactful ways. Sadly, it was done by forcing the player to sit through lengthy text-based cutscenes.

The combat has definitely improved since the first game thanks to the new combat options. Therefore, most fights feel like they boil down to 60-minute slugging match which may turn off newcomers to the franchise. Toukiden 2 rewards players who are patient enough to slog through the first half of the game to get to the real challenges that await them in the end.

The issue that remains is asking players, especially newcomers, to practice for 10 hours before getting to the good part. It is like saying, “Here’s some cake, but you can’t have any until all the candles melt.” The veteran players of the genre will invest the time because they know how sweet that cake tastes. While newcomers will often give up and have a slice of pie just before the candles melt.

Toukiden 2 is better than the first game in every way, but it still has some ground to cover before it catches up to other games in the genre.