Toukiden 2 Review

Toukiden 2
Developer: Omega Force, Koei Techmo Games
Publisher: Koei Techmo
Platform: Playstation 4 (reviewed), Playstation VITA, PC via Steam
U.S. Release Date: March 21, 2017

So, way back in the beginning of the year I had every intention to do a review of Toukiden Kiwami in some sort of desperate hope to get people excited and pick up Toukiden 2, however my mistake was trying to review a game that was a minimum of a 60 hour commitment, and while that 60 hour commitment was a very worthwhile commitment, it was still a 60 hour commitment.  And while I feel that you should play Toukiden Kiwami, especially if you enjoy the Monster Hunter games, I sadly won't be reviewing that.  Toukien 2 on the other hand, is something I am going to discuss.

The thing I feel that I must clarify, especially when discussing games made by Omega Force, is that I love Dynasty Warriors.  Yes, they're repetitive, yes they campy, but so?  They're fun and they're a good way to unwind and drone after a long day or on a weekend where you feel lazy.  Granted Toukiden 2 isn't much different, however it does take the giant monster killing formula made popular by the Monster Hunter games and adds Omega Forces fast paced combat on top of it, which I feel only adds to the genre in a positive way. While Capcoms slower more methodical approach does have its place, and is very well done in Monster Hunter, Toukiden 2's fast paced platformer-esque craziness is more than welcome because not only is the player quick to respond, but the monsters (or Oni in Toukiden's case) are too.

The game takes place in what I'm guessing to be 19th century Japan, the reason I say this is because an exact date is never given, and due to some story elements makes it difficult to determine exactly, where Oni hunt and attack humans, previously an organization known as "Slayers" hunted them silently from the shadows and protected humanity in secret, however now the Oni have revealed themselves and the Slayers are now out of hiding to protect humanity from their reign of chaos.  You start the game as an elite Slayer who is present and defending an human city during the time known as "The Awakening" when a massive surge of Oni appear to launch an all out attack on humanity.  During the invasion you are sent 10 years forward in time and appear in a small place known as Mahoroba Village where this story takes place.  You must unravel the mysteries around what happened and why you were transported forward in time.  That's all your getting because more would be pretty major spoilers.  Though if you're worried about not having played the first one, while I do highly recommend it, it's not necessary for the story of the game.

For those who are not familiar with these genres of games the idea is that you, the much smaller and more fragile human, and your companions, take the fight to the much larger and more hardy monsters in an effort to beat their pants off and rob them of their bodies to beat even bigger and nastier monters, or all their family, you know, kill the kids with dads head.  Toukiden 2 takes the twist on the game that you're hunting demons and to loot said nasties you must purify their bodies to harvest their resources.  While that seems like a fairly straight forward premise the game throws some curveballs your way in character builds, armor sets, elements and resistances, weapon types, mitama, and the new demon hand. For those who do not know mitama are ancient spirits the player gathers to help them fight the demons, they are sorted into types and have skills based on their type and each has a set of support skills to.  In the first game these were exclusively slotted into weapons, but now in Toukiden 2 you can insert one into your demon hand to gain an additional CD boost, and one into your armor that will grant you a defensive CD.  What is the demon hand you say?  I'm glad you asked.

One of the new additions in Toukiden 2 is the demon hand, in other words its a magical wrist mounted green extendy hand (think those gel slappers) that you can use to close the gap on demons, or tear off body parts.  Its tearing function takes the place of the Unity Gague from the first one and is now an individual gauge based off the players contribution to teamwork.  Once the gauge is full, just activate it and rip them parts off, this is also the easiest way to fully remove a body part and prevent miasma regeneration, and you get bonus loot for it as well.  And if all that wasn't enough the demon hand allows all players to get a height advantage and take combat into the air when a player launches themselves at an Oni.  Overall its a significant improvement in gameplay and a welcome addition.

The game has improved upon itself offering 15 new montsers, mini bosses, hundreds of new armor pieces and weapons, 2 new weapons the whip blade and sword and shield, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.  New vanity items, and open world feel with no loading screens, no more map transitions, and the ability to fast travel from select areas is very nice as well.  Plus you can change equipment without needing to go back to town if you go to one of your bases established in the outworld.  Additionally I would be remiss if I did not mention the fluid quest system, though at times it is difficult to manage and identify where to go.  The game also flaunts a miasma gague that you need to keep an eye on or your character will end up in some serious trouble in the otherworld due to overexposure to the poisonous substance.

Now if all of this does sound interesting to you, but you're still not sold on it, Playstation players can play the multiplayer for free via the Toukiden 2 Free Alliances version of the game, and the best part is if you upgrade to a full copy your saved data will transfer with it so you won't loose progress, which gives an appealing way to get friends into the game as well.

While normally I wouldn't recommend Koei Techmo games to those who haven't played them and don't enjoy good mindless platformers, the depth of monster fighting tactics and plethora of options makes this a must buy for anyone who is a fan of the genre.  With all that being said Toukiden 2 gets 8 Slayers, out of 10.