Jade Cocoon 2

"A very innovative and fun RPG with a lot of depth."

Presentation: 7/10
Nothing flashy or anything. Simple to use menus and pretty good cell shaded intro. Nothing fancy.

Story: 7/10
You are Kahu, a young boy who seeks to become a beast hunter. While training for a beast hunter license, our young hero get's infected with a parasitic Kalma (certain beasts who wishes to replace humans). Now you must find certain forest orbs to extinguish the parasite within or you will be devoured.
Ok, the story isn't that original or exciting, but the depth of the RPG is what draws you into the game.

Gameplay: 9/10
This RPG takes a very unique approach to battling and raising your monsters. Yeah I know, it sounds a little like Pokemon, but trust me, I think you'll like it. The combat system involves a grid circle composed of elements corresponding the type of monster you have. Battles are not random, and characters or monsters appear on screen. So if you don't want to fight them, you can avoid them. The worlds are a bit small, consisting of forests and your own hometown.

Graphics: 7/10
The backgrounds to the forests get a bit repetitive, however. Characters are colorful and original, however there are not as many characters as you would like. Special effects are pretty good, but nothing special. Character movement and expressions are pretty simple, so no complex animation here. The graphics are decent enough to get you going, with some pretty nice cell-shaded cutscenes with the fairy.

Sound: 8/10
The sounds in this game aren't as lively as others. The music repeats itself often, but the music doesn't set the mood that much. Sounds in the forests are pretty unique, but you'll hear them one too many times. The voice acting in this game is pretty decent, not too annoying that you'd shut off the ps2 almost instantly. Kahu sounds exactly as I'd imagine he'd sound, a young kid. There isn't that much voice acting in this game.

Monster traning system:
Ok, I think this is what you wanted to hear. Training monsters is not as simple as leveling them up (they can only be maxed up to level 20). YOu have to merge them with other monsters to gain new abilities and strengths. Depending how you mix them may make them strong in one area, but weak in another area. Try out different combinations, there's a lot of strategy to this game that makes the combinations endless! This is the heart of the game. Fans of the first may be a little disappointed with the new system, because the monsters don't look any different after you merge them. For your character to be stronger, you have to take a beast amulet test that puts you against other trainers. Pass the test, and not only will your character be stronger, but you can fit more monsters on your grid.

Overall: 8/10

Buy or Rent: Rent first.
Players who are new to this type of RPG may not enjoy it at first, so try to rent and if you enjoy this type of game, buy it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/10/02, Updated 07/10/02