Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu

"Great graphics, pokemon-like gameplay but bad learning curve"

I thought that the visuals in Jade Cocoon were impressive. The decidedly jungle background mixed with the surreal music makes the world come alive in the game. For those who are allergic to reading, there's even an option that has all the characters talk(in english...not THAT bad...). The pokemon-style gameplay is also very cool, meaning you're a trainer who has to weaken monsters by yourself or with your own monsters to be able to capture the enemy you're fighting so for those itching for those monster-raising games(pokemon, monster rancher) I consider this one to be one of the best on the PSX.

likes:
Graphics - Like I said the rendered backgrounds are very well done.
Music - Surreal and yet I didn't like the flute music the main character plays EVERYTIME he captures a monster.
Gameplay - I thought pokemon was okay...but this game takes it to the next level with the ability to weaken the enemies yourself and with the ability to combine the monsters you capture into new ones.

dislikes:
Dialogue - Man! You guys thought Final Fantasy was bad...this one takes the cake and I found myself pressing video more often than not to avoid watching it.
Resident Evil-type hidden stuff - You know what I mean, rendered backgrounds and 3-D items never really do mix.
Weak main character - Geez...you're pretty strong in the beginning but you're VERY weak by the time you reach the second "stage" of the game.

Gametips:
Look at the background VERY carefully! You can miss important items just because they blend in so damn well.
Capture any monsters you run across! Those you don't use to combine you can sell them for money$$$
Take time to level up! Both your monsters and the main character need to level up quicker than in most RPGs since the enemies are about 4 levels higher in the next "stage" of the game.
If you run out of cocoons(to capture enemies) have your monsters fight the monsters themselves to gain EXP! This is generally the easier way to level up your monsters, the other involves capturing an enemy with the same level as the monster you want to level up(ie enemy level 7, monster on your team level 7)

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99