... Released in 2002 from Genki, does Jade Cocoon 2 have the right balance of the above to make it such a classic in RPG gaming history?
Set in the same world as the original Jade Cocoon (PSX 1998) but decades later, JC 2 pits you as a 'Beast Hunter' named Kahu, who idolises the ancient times ... Read review
...in 2002 from Genki, does Jade Cocoon 2 have the right balance of the above to make it such a classic in RPG gaming history?
Set in the same world as the original Jade Cocoon (PSX 1998) but decades later, JC 2 pits you as a 'Beast Hunter' named Kahu, who idolises the ancient times of Cocoon Masters. He desperately wants to pass his exam to gain a license but complications occur where unexplainably he gets a curse put on him by Nico, ... ...be honest that's exactly what Jade Cocoon 2 is, an average RPG at best. The storyline evolves ever so slowly and doesn't in the least bit interest you or grab your attention as you play. The main problem with this is perhaps the patronizing dialogue which at times explains itself into so much detail you'd think its audience would be a five year old child. Words are simplified to such an extent you feel like you want to read out aloud and wait for ... more
The true essence of an RPG, in my own opinion, is cut down into certain qualities such as character progression, storyline addiction and Gameplay execution and over the decades a certain few has lived up to my expectations. Released in 2002 from Genki, does Jade Cocoon 2 have the right balance of the above to make it such a classic in RPG gaming history?
Set in the same world as the original Jade Cocoon (PSX 1998) but decades later, JC 2 pits you as a 'Beast Hunter' named Kahu, who idolises the ancient times of Cocoon Masters. He desperately wants to pass his exam to gain a license but complications occur where unexplainably he gets a curse put on him by Nico, a Forest fairy. To stop the evil rising up inside of him, Kahu and Nico set off to travel to the Elemental forests to retrieve each of the orbs needed to cure him.
As the story … slowly … progresses, it stops being about the individual life of Kahu but that of the entire world and with his group of raised beasts, Nico and himself must put a stop to all the evil in order to save the world.
The story description may sound familiar enough with most other average RPG's and to be honest that's exactly what Jade Cocoon 2 is, an average RPG at best. The storyline evolves ever so slowly and doesn't in the least bit interest you or grab your attention as you play. The main problem with this is perhaps the patronizing dialogue which at times explains itself into so much detail you'd think its audience would be a five year old child. Words are simplified to such an extent you feel like you want to read out aloud and wait for the teacher to give you a gold star and to be honest each response is over acted and quite predictable that hardly any enjoyment comes out of it.
The story progression doesn't progress too much and with the exclusion of playable characters, you tend to feel at a distance with the main character. He instantly annoys you like a little irritable child and you just can't get rid of him.
Jade Cocoon fans will be happy however to see the main protagonist from the original make a lengthy appearance in the Temple. However sadly you cannot play as Levant.
As with many RPG games, Jade Cocoon 2 has stuck with the unoriginal cartoon style of aesthetics. I do think however that the character design does work well with the style of Gameplay and all the characters including NPC's as well as all the monsters are detailed in 3D something many games in 2002 failed to do. But overall the game just doesn't provide any ounce of atmosphere, scenery design with each of the worlds you visit is repetitive and familiar creating an unoriginal and flawed style.
Lack of lighting doesn't help the game and objects often look vague and disappointing. The cartoon style really does provide a feel that is childish and underdeveloped. The monsters don't fair to well either with a design system that looks familiar to Pokemon or Digimon.
The animation in the game works sufficiently enough but again it just isn't detailed enough. Though characters move ok, the monsters look almost rigid and unstylish. When executing their move limited animation is provided meaning many of the moves simply look the same just with a different colour attack to differentiate the element type.
Its quite annoying to be frank, I expected much more detail as many critics hailed it the PS2 version of Pokemon, but so far Jade Cocoon 2 offers nothing that's worth a blink never mind a full look.
On the back cover one of its main 'drawing' points is that it has full voice over, which on the whole it does which is quite adventurous for a game of sufficient budget compared to the FF games. The only thing that lets the game down really is surprisingly the voice overs. Juvenile and theatrical style responses are aggravating and tiresome because of the lack of emotion. It's all very happy even in the most 'dire' of circumstances; it just reminds you of an episode of Blue Peter.
Given that the actors names are not even credited it makes you wonder why? The only character that perhaps provides any scrap of alertness is that of Nico the Fairy simply because of her witty responses and her heavy use of sarcasm with at times humoured me.
It's at this point it really makes you think what audience Jade Cocoon 2 is appealing to. With its simplistic storyline and dumbed down approach to things you'd assume it would be a younger gamer but with Nico's dialogue which at times is quite provocative you'd assume otherwise.
Obvious sound effects such as foot steps and menu selection is average also with dulled down sound bytes which obviously makes you aware of there unimportance. The lack of real background music is annoying also because the irritating sound effects that replace it are boring. For example in the Wind Forests howling can be heard as if to impersonate wind sounds and gurgling noises in the Fire Forests just make you switch off.
As any RPG fan will tell you, Gameplay is a huge part of any role playing game with extra detail on tactics and character manipulation. Jade Cocoon 2 doesn't fair too badly with this as it does make you think about where you place each monster on its circular battle ground. A maximum of 8 monsters can be played all with different elemental requirements.
It may sound silly but the best way to describe this game is a multi genre attempt at mixing other styles from Pokemon, Digimon, Yu Gi Oh and Grandia all into one concoction. Not like the style of the original Digimon World on PSX to an extent you need to care for your monsters and think about other focuses such as merging and breading to create other more powerful monsters.
As already mentioned the eight monster battle grid allows you to rotate your grid to choose a specific monster type that works better against your enemies and when all of your opponent's monsters are dead your enemy is forced to surrender.
Obviously it goes into more complex detail but on the whole its quite original but on another level monotonous simply because battles rarely change apart from the difficulty of your opponent. Also simply travelling through elemental forests in order is repetitive and not very challenging at all. First of all you start in Wind Forest 1 then travel to Wind Forest 2 and so on until you reach a boss which after that your are transported back to Wind Forest 1 on a harder setting and different lay out.
The way you progress through each level is simplified also with finding a keyspore which opened a portal to another level. Not only is this tiresome but also pointless you will simply get bored at some point or another.
Due to it's simply dialogue and even more abridged storyline I'd be surprised if many RPG fans will stick with this through to end which I might add is very unrewarding. There isn't even any puzzles in the game. No extra features or bonus' await the player for its hard fought attention. The game will probably last you at least twenty hours due to its monster development not because of its indulging storyline and even with the inclusion of a battle arena for multiplayer options I'd doubt many people playing this.
It's not surprising that Jade Cocoon 2 hardly set the gaming industry on fire with its little sales and im shocked to see how many critics over praised this lacklustre game. Patronizing and slow moving, Jade Cocoon 2 is a let down for all RPG fans with its simple nature even though the Gameplay offers some strategically balanced rewards. There are many more RPGs out there that deserve more of your attention simply because JC 2 doesn't have much character progression, a jaded storyline addictive and an average Gameplay execution.
Helpful Hints:
Better Than: Digimon 2 (PSX), Monster Rancher (PSX) Worse Than: Grandia 2 (PS2) - Dragon Quest: The Journey Of The Cursed King (PS2)
Similar Titles: Pokemon Blue (GBC) Grandia 2 (PS2) Monster Rancher (PSX)
Information -
Players - 1 - 2 Online - No Produced by Genki Released by Ubisoft
Advantages: Fair depth to battles, full voice acting, Disadvantages: Interface can be a handful, mundane music, feels generic in design
...Co. shop. As in Jade Cocoon, the game features character designs by Katsuya Kondo. Nico, with her wittiness, is a cool character, but the full voice for the rest of the cast would perhaps appeal to younger gamers. No puzzles, just dungeons. So that the attention is on the breeding, all the monsters - even those kept in the kennel - earn experience. The monsters can be renamed. THUMBS-DOWN: No selecting your monster actions. Interface is fairly fast ... ...over thirty hours to finish Jade Cocoon 2. Sadly I've not had the opportunity to check out the 2 player Special Arena Mode. The game can feel generic in design, and similarly with it's predecessor it's hard to feel any affinity for the monsters. So it's not the best of the BeastHunters, but if you have someone whom is into monster battling as well as monster breeding, only then would it be worth taking a look. ...
scream4bruce 18.02.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Jade Cocoon 2 (PS2)
