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Jade Cocoon 2
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Graphics & Sound:
Graphics have had an overhaul since the first game, but I can't say I like everything about the change. Things that were most memorable in Jade Cocoon from the beginning were battle animations, the actions of your captured and bred creatures in battle, and lush pre-rendered backgrounds that were well lit and beautiful. Oh, and the character design, which drew heavily from anime and manga. So, for the second installment, some major changes were made. The environments you'll explore now are fully 3D, and overall I'd say this is preferable to the pre-rendered art for load times and also in that it allows more freedom for the designers to produce a truly interactive, living and breathing world. The lighting effects you'll find in Jade Cocoon 2 are breathtaking, from particle effects to pulsating objects and a strange spotlight effect in some cut-scenes that really steals the show. You'll know what I mean when you see it. So, the time spent on art and design hasn't been lost, but some gamers will be surprised at how 'young' Jade Cocoon feels now. It's as if Genki made a quick reversal from the first game's more adult, environmental and spiritual theme to one that mines more pop themes and almost a mall-rat feeling at times. A perfect example is the choice of younger characters in funky clothes and dialog that comes across with a very hip edge. Sure, it will likely bring a completely new group to appreciate Jade Cocoon, which is fine, but those who played the first Jade Cocoon and are coming expecting more of the same may be disappointed. The amount of excellent voice talent deserves special mention, and you'll like being able to interact with so many characters, each with a capable voice part and often humorous accents and turns of phrase. More variety in character design spills over into the costumes, the way battles play out and the game interface itself. So, for my book we may have lost a few things, but certainly we've gained a few in return. |
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Gameplay:
For those who enjoyed the first game and probably saw it as being a bit like the PlayStation's answer to Pokemon, Jade Cocoon was a fun experience, handicapped by a story that went nowhere fast and an interface that often felt downright clunky. Things just seemed to drag, and the post-battle action involved a lot of walking and some seriously involved monster breeding. The breeding ideas were way beyond any of the games like Pokemon, Monster Rancher or Digimon ( Digimon probably wasn't even on the scene at the time), but with complexity comes potential to alienate gamers looking for pure fun and something easy to pick up and put down. Don't let the sweet exterior fool you on Jade Cocoon 2 because there's still plenty of depth. The same basic ideas of the original were used to build this second game, which unfortunately means it inherited many of the faults in the original Jade Cocoon, but some good changes will hopefully get this one out to a larger audience and garner some more mainstream praise on what really is a good game. Otherwise, it will be ironic that a game all about breeding will be doomed to inherit some of the weaker features of its predecessor. Jade Cocoon 2 takes place some time after the first game, and the hero of Jade Cocoon who we played as a boy is now a man. He and his wife sit watch over a land abandoned by the Nagi, the people who mastered the arts of binding beasts and using them in combat. For some reason, the beasts in the forest have become disturbed and are on the attack, and a misfortune has overtaken the people of the land. Our new hero will need to take up where Levant left off and build his strength so as to be able to combat the evil force in this land. The new character helps avoid too much of a rut in gameplay, but I'm not spoiling anything by telling you that Jade Cocoon 2 still plays as a long series of battles, punctuated by talking and exploring, breeding and combining monsters for battle. Most of what has improved is cosmetic, with some additional characters that really help add depth, and a totally different approach to battle strategy that sustains more interest and will inevitably make or break Jade Cocoon as a 'genre' entry. Breeding and battling monsters can take several different forms, and some people get off enough on breeding and combining various strains of monsters that the fighting is almost a sidebar. Monster Rancher is a perfect example. And, in a game like Monster Rancher, there is barely a real objective for you other than to gain credibility and experience and breed bigger and better monsters. Pokemon is similar, and gamers know the 'storyline' was mostly something added for the T.V. show and movie. Battling is much more the focus in a Pokemon world, and Digimon might fall somewhere in between. Jade Cocoon did a great job of creating interesting battles and also featured very deep breeding, but the glue between breeding and battling was quite weak. From the beginning of Jade Cocoon 2 we know there's more interest in pulling gamers in and trying to build characters that aren't just names, pretty faces and snappy dialog. There is a strong story underneath the action, and each new character plays his or her role. People may find that the characters themselves are young and silly, which means older gamers who liked the depth of the first game will be turned off. The good news is that Jade Cocoon 2 doesn't take itself too seriously, and wants to be new and different. The bad news is that from a 'mood' perspective, most of what I liked in the first game is gone. The levity and spiritual focus has become a more simple push to beat the bad guys, work as a mercenary to gain experience (haven't heard that one before) and create or capture cool monsters to battle with. |
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Difficulty:
One gripe I had with the first game was a very meandering style of play that often left one too caught up in the details to really plan a group of monsters that would result in consistent battle wins. There was an issue of each monster having to fight in sequence, which was limiting. That's been fixed here, and monsters now appear on a lazy-susan device you can manipulate for each turn to get the most out of your monsters' abilities and win the battle. The strategies are more clear, and the objective is to build a solid team for any one particular area, based on elemental strengths. Breeding strong monsters was a pretty complicated task before, but Jade Cocoon 2 makes things more simple. At certain points, you're given the option to combine monsters with seed beasts, instead of just being able to throw any old monster together with another one. Still, the strategy involved is complex, since unwise combinations will actually weaken a good beast. But, the more simplified system will either be exactly what you wanted or leave you wanting the slightly deeper interface of the first game. For me, it's an improvement.
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Game Mechanics:
Jade Cocoon 2 is redesigned substantially for PS2, so many of the cues we saw in the first game for battles, wins and progress are gone. This time, your battles tend to be much more interactive, meaning you'll have to think hard about what beasts you're throwing into the fray, and how you can combine beasts against enemies based on special attacks and elemental strengths. The controls for battle are straightforward, especially since the heart of a battle is a 'fire and forget' process of sending Divine Beast out to attack, cast a spell or heal your party. But, you can carry many more beasts and fight with them cooperatively, which makes for deeper battles. Understanding the elemental system is straightforward, but it's interesting to note that Genki didn't stray far from the 'class' concept of monsters we saw in the original. Even though elementals play a much larger role in the game now, each elemental splits out into a family of monsters that share common characteristics. So, just because you have 2 monsters of Water type, they may have completely different characteristics. As you battle monsters, they'll gain experience, evolve and change, but merging is ultimately what you'll need to do to gain an edge in battle. It's a shame Genki or Ubi Soft didn't make more of an effort to focus on breeding and raising creatures as an in-depth tutorial. The process is fairly cryptic, and casual gamers may give up before Jade Cocoon 2 reveals its secrets. Which is not to say there aren't tutorials like 'tips' that show up and stay in your inventory for browsing. Really, it's a trial-and-error process, and the beauty is that no 2 players will beat the game with the same combination of beasts. The battle method, based on the wheel you keep beasts on, is very complicated, but tutorials show you most everything you'll need to know about different types of beasts and using them to offset elemental attacks and defenses. A good in-game tutorial, no less! There are more NPC types to interact with, so you'll have the chance to meet characters and learn from them during the game, which was a feature sorely lacking originally. The 'flow' of Jade Cocoon 2 is much better, thanks to pacing that has you run through a series of short worlds before challenging a boss, and giving you the opportunity to save at any time between worlds. So, you don't find yourself stranded in the middle of a huge level with items you've collected, leveled-up beasts, and no idea where to go. Heck, you can always press the panic button, but that's never a 'win' for anybody. The process of moving through levels is always the same, to the degree that it gets a little old, but that's still the chink in this franchise's armor. Somehow, the larger quest needs to be more varied if Jade Cocoon or its characters will ever break through the little corner of obscurity they're in and reach territory closer to Pokemon and Digimon. Not that Jade Cocoon is trying to be like these games, but there's a reason we don't have a Jade Cocoon cartoon. This is really an old-school RPG hiding in fancy new 3D clothes that incorporates breeding as its core feature. It's not unlike the first Parasite Eve, which was waffling between RPG and pure Survival Horror action. It seems most developers quit trying to have their cake and eat it too, and take combo games down to their more central feature. For Jade Cocoon 2 that would be breeding and battling. Although the exploration, item gathering and storytelling is done well, playing through the first 4-5 hours begins to feel like the same level over and over again. And, the story just feels so young and kiddie, going by the premise and tone of the first game. It's more than possible to enjoy building your team and beat the game without too much frustration, but I had really hoped for a more cohesive total product that made battling feel like it was taking me somewhere other than back to the Beast Kennel to drop off, pick up, merge, rename, etc. It's hard to see where the franchise is going, but fans of the beast breeding action in Jade Cocoon should at least try this sort-of sequel. On a side note, Jade Cocoon 2 is part of Ubisoft's Great RPG Giveaway, a 2 for 1 promo. By purchasing any two of either The Legend of Alon D'ar, Grandia II or Jade Cocoon 2, you'll receive the third free. Check it out at The Great RPG Giveaway site.
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-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Paddock |
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