Developer: Tecmo Koei
Publisher: Tecmo Koei
Platforms: PS Vita, PlayStation 4
Tested on: PS Vita
Toukiden: Kiwami – Review
Toukiden: Kiwami (translation: Legend of the Demon Slayers Extreme) is the sequel to Toukiden: The Age of Demons, which earning the title of bestselling PS Vita game in japan back in 2013 when it was first released. But new players don’t worry! The first eight chapters are dedicated to bringing everyone back up to speed.
Story
Eight years prior to the start of the game, an event later named ‘The Awakening’ happened. A great demon arose from the underworld, bringing a time of great distress to the fantasy world of Nakatsu Kuni. Ever since then this world has suffered relentless attacks from the demons known as Oni. The last remains of the human race fled to various villages scattered across the land. Our protagonist is a member the Slayers, a group shrouded in secrecy that has been protecting mankind for the past 1000 years, and now is its last line of defense against the Oni. At first a stranger sent to the village of Utakata to fight against these monsters, it becomes hard to not form a connection with the villagers. If that wasn’t enough even more unknown Oni start appearing, putting additional pressure on the already crumbling defenses.
Graphics
Toukiden: Kiwami has been released for both Playstation 4 and PS Vita, which makes it easy to assume that the PS Vita version is a toned down version of the console game. Although some adjustments must have been made, it’s hard to not be impressed. For a game on a handheld system Toukiden: Kiwami looks amazingly close to the PS4 version, and even as far as games go it’s not an overstatement to say it really is one of the overall better looking ones. Most Vita owners probably have some realistic expectations of how good a game can look on (let’s face it) limited hardware. Toukiden: Kiwami manages to surpass that and delivers an unparalleled visual experience, making no compromises.
The design is solid as well, with massive amounts of, equipable items, levels and NPCs (party members and villagers alike). A lot of thought has been put in the creation of these characters, and it really pays off as the characters manage to convey a great deal of personality. The oversized weapons look great and unique, fit for the task of taking on hordes of small and gigantic demons. The ) cutscenes are of stunning quality as well, and would not be out of place in a full blown movie. That last one might not be so far-fetched, as a tab titled ‘movie’ on the official website leads to a for now empty page with a teasing ‘Coming soon’ sign.
Sound
The overall soundtrack fits right in with the medieval hunter genre, tranquil in town, ominous and exciting in missions. At times it does sound a slight bit compressed, but that is to be expected with so much content compressed to 8 GB of memory. The Japanese voice acting on the other hand is impeccable, both in quality and variety.
Gameplay
The main game hub is the city of Utakata, in which you can find the command center. Here you can take on main quests or track and complete side missions given by NPCs. After choosing a quest you can (usually) chose who to bring along, each member of your party being fulfilling their own role. The zones in which you’ll be fighting are called ‘ages’ and consist of many smaller areas all linked together. Although this involves some loading screens they are surprisingly short and after a while almost unnoticeable. Depending on your chosen weapon (ranging from swords and clubs to rifles and gauntlets) you have different abilities to bring down the Oni.
Aside from the smaller Oni underlings there is a great variety of larger and tougher Oni which pose a greater challenge. By slicing of body parts you can gradually bring down their health. Aside from the items scattered throughout the area, you can also ‘purify’ fallen Oni or bodyparts for items which in turn might be required for sidequests or crafting new weapons and armor.
Aside from the usual health and stamina meter, and combos Toukiden: Kiwami is different in the sense that you don’t level up your character. Instead you gather and level ‘Mitama’, the souls of fallen heroes from Japanese history. These have their own abilities across 10 categories like attack, speed and deceit, and levelling them unlocks better boosts. Equipping your weapon with one or more of these you’ll be able to get their benefits and different move sets corresponding to the Mitama’s category.
There is a massively satisfying overkill move accessed by slowly filling up the weapon gauge to unleash your weapon’s strongest attack. While immensely powerful, it takes a really long time to fill up, and is easy to miss when not paying enough attention. When successful though, you are guaranteed to do some massive damage while being treated to an over-the-top animation filling up most of the screen. New to Toukiden: Kiwami is United Destroyer, an even more powerful move charged by fighting closely together with your allies.
Sounds a bit overwhelming? No need to worry! One of the NPC’s will offer to train you in pretty much every aspect of the game, doing a great job of explaining all the different concepts and moves for every class. The game’s official website does a great job of compiling and illustrating the game’s features in an attractive package as well.
In the central hub where you’ll reside between missions, there’s plenty to do. The blacksmith will craft and upgrade weapons and armor for you. The shop will sell and buy a variety of items depending on how much spend there. The shrine maiden can level up your Mitama at a price limited by your progress in the game. There is also a bathing area named ‘Pool of Purity’, but you might want to check the notice board to make sure you don’t bathe on days reserved for the other gender. Your party members will wander throughout the town as well, always ready for some small talk.
Describing everything that is Toukiden: Kiwami would take many more pages. And that is kind of the point. The shear amount of content is one of the greatest features, with for example of three hundred different Mitama to collect and level. Furthermore there are heaps of different weapons, each with their own stats, effects and unique models across multiple categories. The same goes for armor, items to collect for missions, Oni and so much more. Even if you manage to go through all the content Toukiden: Kiwami has to offer, there are endless missions and special challenges to complete, not to mention the multiple collection awards, extensive Lore or just replayability of the chapters. All this can be experienced solo with great AI, or over local or internet multiplayer, with crossplatform play and porting of savegames included! Hosting a multiplayer lobby is easy and offers plenty of settings to adjust, and in a multiplayer session communicating is done through predefined text messages and actions. The fact that there is that many of them can make it a bit tough to find the right one at first, but greatly aides in communicating with your team.
Conclusion
Toukiden: Kiwami ticks all the boxes. The graphics surpass what the PS Vita should be capable off, with an attractive and diverse cast in an amazing atmospheric setting. The storytelling is gripping (in no small part due to the believable character’s personalities and voice acting) with so much backstory it rivals some literature. The mechanics work flawlessly with either competent AI or real players, providing endless combinations, tactics and eye candy and thus replayability. Couple this with the humongous amount of content, and it’s easy to realize what a gem Toukiden: Kiwami really is.
No Comments