Toukiden: Kiwami (PlayStation 4)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
- Release Date (NA): March 31, 2015
- Release Date (EU): March 27, 2015
- Release Date (JP): August 28, 2014
- Publisher: Tecmo koei
- Developer: Omega Force
- Genres: Action Adventure (Monster Hunter)
- Also For: PlayStation Vita
Game Features:
Review Approach:
GBAtemp was sent a copy of Toukiden: Kiwami for the PS4
A story trailer and some gameplay footage.
Toukiden: Kiwami puts you into the role of a nameless “slayer” dispatched to help the people of a small village defend themselves against an onslaught of demons.
Anybody familiar with the Monster Hunter franchise will immediately recognize several elements of the game. However Toukiden, unlike said franchise, is more about eradicating the enemies you face rather than hunting or capturing them for sport.
Gameplay consists mostly of smaller missions where you are tasked with clearing an area infested with Oni, which occasionally may cause a larger enemy to spawn. Your slayer, depending which type of weapon you wield, has a myriad of attacks at their disposal with which to dispatch enemies. Combat is fast and flashy and ranges from normal slashes and strikes to incredible super attacks that can leave a boss short of a few limbs. Weapons include many things from a “period” feudal setting (sword, knives, gauntlets, spear, bow, chain and sickle) and the new weapons for this entry are a club that you can see in the video at the start, a naginata (a kind of long spear with a slashing blade on the end) and a rifle.
You also never go it alone and whether through online multiplayer or with the assistance of a group AI companions, your Oni slaying is always a team sport. As a matter of fact I found that in this instance the AI was so competent that I actually preferred them over real players. They clear most of the smaller enemies by themselves, harvest materials, revive and throw out heals at just the right time.
Once you are done with the actual combat it is back to the village to use the materials you've gathered to craft new armor and weapons. Each larger Oni has its own set of armor and weapons which can be forged at the village blacksmith. All have different elemental properties; choosing the right one can mean the difference between a quick encounter or a twenty minute slog against a boss. Weapons and armor are not the only tools at your disposal as you also occasionally recover the soul of a deceased hero called a “Mitama”. These Mitama also have a preferred "battle style" and can be socketed into your weapons and give you access to powerful attacks and buffs for your slayer.
Visually the game looks just fine on the PS4. Koei Tecmo have brought over the visual style of the Dynasty/Samurai Warriors games as well as interesting design, designs steeped in Japanese art and folklore on the larger Oni you fight. I experienced almost no framerate issues while playing, save for a few times during combat with a boss when all of the game's particle effects were active at once. The world itself is bright and colorful; you traverse several landscapes with everything from villages devastated from Oni attacks to deserts, jungles and tundras.
The downsides to Toukiden are few but they’re glaring.
- The mission design is extremely limited consisting mostly of clearing zones of enemies, killing a certain number of a specified enemy type or just going to fight a single large Oni.
- When fighting larger bosses the mechanic of cutting off limbs is almost completely nullified immediately. While in other games removing a monster's limbs would hamper its combat ability and gain you an advantage, here the Oni grow them back within mere seconds.
- The game's story is present, however after a few hours you will find yourself quickly scrolling through to get the next bit of action.
- The game could also do with a bit more variety in its musical offerings. When completing tasks this monotonous some excellent music can make a big difference.
Cons aside it was nice to play a game in the “hunting” genre on the big screen in HD. If you are a fan of the visual style that Koei Tecmo offers and a lover of monster hunter, Toukiden: Kiwami might be worth a look.
This review was written by Joshua Allen Thomas. You can get find him at these following places:
@joshthomas45 (twitter)
And he does a weekly podcast that you can tune into here:
Verdict
- Definitive Edition
- Monster Hunter clone in HD on a big screen.
- Doesn't fully live up to Monster Hunter's level of polish.
- Mission design is limited.
- Hacking off a monster's limb doesn't hamper the demon nearly as much as it should.
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