Jade Cocoon 1 was a bit of an underachievement. It set the table with fantastically detailed hand drawn characters, a stirring plot pushed forward by anime scenes, and an interesting combat system. Conversely, once players got past the initial blending of monster breeding with a RPG, the spark that would have made it an excellent adventure was not present. Jade Cocoon II has found that spark and added it to create
Revant and Riketz, the main characters from the first release, are only mentioned in passing in this sequel. They are part of a legacy that occurred over 150 years ago. Instead, we are introduced to Kahu, a young boy whose quest to become a Cocoon Master(now called Beast Hunters) has left him possessed by a deadly demon known as Kalma. Kahu's only hope for defeating this infestation is to find the four orbs that may help to defeat this demon.
Of course, this is only a quick overview of the entire JC2 storyline. The game actually fleshes out this plot, along with explanations of the Wormhole Forest, Beast Amulets and the monster breeding aspects of the game with voice-overs from all of the characters Kahu meets. In keeping with the storybook feeling, Nico (a sexy and saucy fairy) introduces each part of the story like chapters in a novel.
The limiting one on one combat system has been eliminated, as has the "hands on" combat that had Cocoon Masters battling minions. Now, each battle can have up to 8 minions versus 8 other in a group battle. This is accomplished using a new turn based battle system. Minions are kept upon a beast amulet. During battles, the player can rotate the amulet to decide what course of action the minions will perform. This beast amulet has a four "sides", once for each of the primary elements. Which element you have the beasts associated with determines their action. Water aligned beasts will heal while Fire aligned monsters with attack with a slow but powerful move. As simple as it may seem, as the game progresses, it becomes a highly strategic system, with the locations and configuration making attacks and defense play out differently.
No monster breeding RPG would be complete without a variety of Minions to breed and combine. There are 68 different types of Divine Beasts (AKA Minions) and 268 species of Minions. Factor in the 126 species of purified seed Minions that you can gather and use for breeding, and you end up with a staggering 17 billion different "patterns" that can be used to cultivate monsters. As your Minions grow and raise levels, they evolve into larger, more powerful beasts. Merging them with other monsters or eggs can gain them new attacks or defense options. While RPGs are usually solitary experiences, Jade Cocoon II does carry over one of the innovative portions of the first JC, a two-player mode that allows players to have their best Divine Beasts battle it out in the arena.
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