Known for their Dynasty Warrior games, Omega Force and Tecmo Koei released today a new Vita exclusive title that allows up to four players to co-op against hordes of demons. Reminiscent of Soul Sacrifice and Monster Hunter, Toukiden – The Age of Demons is a co-op based action RPG whereby players, either by themselves with AI assistance, or with their friends via PSN or Ad-Hoc, take on demon slaying missions, earning XP and loot along the way. Switching between Online, Ad-Hoc, and single player modes is smooth and it encourages players to mix up their playing style. The good thing is that no matter what mode you’re in, your efforts (XP, looted items, etc) stick with you.
The adventure begins with a character creation screen that’s not as exhaustively detailed as some of the console-based RPGs, but you’ll still get to name your character, select your gender, and choose from a variety of faces and hairstyles. Following that, you find yourself at the base camp, which is a small village whose name I forgot to take note of. You have a room here where you can change equipment, save your game, read letters you have received from NPCs, send your pet on item gathering missions, and also join or start a multiplayer session. Just outside your room is a desk area where you can pick up new missions or quests, as well as check on the status of quests and complete them, too. I rather liked that I could go to one convenient spot to view, accept, decline, and complete quests rather than having to run about the village finding them and then returning to the quest originator.
The village does have several key locations, so there is ample reason to “make your rounds” in between every mission, or at least every two or three missions. There is a typical merchant who will buy and sell materials and weaponry, another can upgrade your Mitama (more on that later), and there is Tatara, a jack of all trades who can upgrade or create new weapons and armor (head, torso, arms, legs) for you, provided you have the materials. There are several dozen, at least, different items to find and barter with, and their rarity is marked with a number between one (common) and ten (ultra rare). These items include simple things like soil, bones of oni (demons), damaged weapons, plants, ancient coins, a variety of fangs, and all sorts of other things. Carrying capacity and item management was never a problem, and there is very little management required on your part, which I thought was a good design decision so that you can focus on more important things like the story and combat.
Speaking of the story, and the characters for that matter, they’re actually more compelling than I expected. As a brief synopsis, you are a new recruit sent from the Holy Mount counsel. You arrive in this small village in the Midlands, which is on the frontlines of the last region that hasn’t been completely overrun and obliterated by the demons. Just eight years prior, a rift opened up and demons poured out of it, into the human world. For many thousands of years, the Slayers, the outfit that you are now a part of, has secretly kept humanity safe. Never before The Awakening have the Slayers ever faced the volume and tenacity of the demons that are now about to wipeout the last remnants of humanity. It’s up to you and several NPCs to join forces to repel them. Alternatively, you can play with up to three players online in lobbies that you can either create or search for. Password-restricted lobbies are supported, and you can also search for random games that start at least at a certain Chapter-Stage (i.e., like 2-3). Other search criteria allow you to specify what sort of goal or mood the other players should be in, such as if this is a more “competitive” co-op session, or a Haku (the currency used to upgrade Mitama and items) grind-session or what have you. Note that the highest mission that can be selected for multiplayer is restricted by the lowest mission unlocked amongst all four players. Thus, a player who has only reached say the sixth mission can’t expect to join in on a game with players who are beyond that point.
All that said, I spent the vast majority of my time playing through the single player mode. It’s not due to the inability to find other players to team up with, although granted this game just came out today so finding sessions over the weekend and again today wasn’t always easy. Further, online play worked well from a technical standpoint, with load times and framerates practically identical to that of single player, which is to say there were no problems. You can perform Gestures to communicate, but, it’s more or less a free for all, and players can actually go separate ways through designated paths, too. I found multiplayer to be fine, it would be more fun if I were playing with friends. Fortunately, the single player mode was rewarding and enjoyable enough for me. It’s structured and paced well (especially considering this is a portable game), and the friendly AI are a true aid, not an annoying liability, in combat. Even though you can’t give them orders (makes sense, as your character is the “rookie), they almost always make the best decision, and I like that they will purify demons (more on that later) for you, too.
Regardless of how you play Toukiden, there is, as you might have expected from Omega Force, a pretty significant amount of repetitive gameplay. It’s especially apparent in the first couple of hours when it seems like even the most basic demon, the imp, takes a lot of hits to bring down. Eventually, missions routinely include two or even three AI to help, and your own weapons and Mitama powers are increased, and things sort of balance out, although boss fights against the large demons are still a fifteen to twenty minute affair. Plus, each mission within a chapter takes place across the same basic area, so even the environments are reused quite a bit. The good thing is, you don’t have to kill every demon, and in fact, you can’t (they respawn if you backtrack at all). Before long, I stopped trying to slay every demon and collect every bit of loot and I just focused on the primary goal. This was one way I was able to keep the woes of repetition at bay. Even still, I found Toukiden a game best played in 1-2 hour spurts, which is a pretty ideal time for a portable title anyway, to keep it fresh.
There are several other interesting gameplay elements I have been meaning to discuss. Let’s start with the Mitama; these are the spirits of previously trapped warriors that you are able to unlock as you advance through the story. Your character is special in that the Mitama seem compelled to speak to him, and provide him their power. You can use Mitama by equipping them to your weapons, generally just one Mitama per weapon. The Mitama are fleshed out well enough, in that they have an avatar, a bio, and a few lines of voiced dialogue. Mitama have certain specialties, such as combat, defense, regeneration, speed, and so on. When equipped, you can use these abilities by pressing R and a face button. Each ability has a limited number of times you can use it per mission, and a varying cooldown timer in between uses, too (there are prayer stones you can find to restock the Mitama powers during a mission, however). Defensive related powers might include covering your character in a Barrier while an offensive power would be like Carnage, which temporarily gives you increased attack stats. Mitama can be upgraded through battlefield use and by spending your currency to upgrade them.
Toukiden allows you to only carry one weapon into battle, but you can choose between six different weapons, including a sword, spear, dual knives, and my favorite, the sickle and chain. The most basic version of all of these are available to you from the start, at no cost, and you can upgrade them or create or purchase new versions within these generic classes that increase damage, or speed, or accuracy, etc. Several elements like Sky, Wind, Fire, and Water are attributed to these weapons too, giving them unique names and abilities. Attacks are still performed primarily with the Square and Triangle buttons (fast/weak and slow/strong attacks essentially), so in terms of combat this is more of a button-masher than a finesse and deep combo-memorizing game. It’s worth trying out each weapon, which you can readily do in brief training missions that are integrated smoothly and are completely optional. The differences in the weapons are notable, such as how the user of knives can do some nice jump attacks, but has limited range compared with say the sickle and chain user. Keep in mind you can change the Mitama equipped to each weapon in between missions.
A few other points I would be mistaken to leave out include the focus meter, purification, and conversations with NPCs. The focus meter is very important; it’s situated below your HP meter. It refills itself, the speed of which depending on a few factors, such as any active Boosts you might have or Mitama that may be helping replenish it. It drains by running (hold R and a direction), using Mitama powers, and by activating the Eyes of Truth. The Eyes are very useful; they reveal hidden objects and prayer stones as well as the HP and Armor meters for the demons. Using the Eyes on a boss demon is especially useful because you can see the state of their individually damaged parts. Initially white, then yellow, then red, these appendages can be targeted. Whenever a part is lost, the demon is especially vulnerable for a short period, but, unless you or someone on your team purifies the damaged part, it will regenerate. Purification can, and really should, be done on any downed demon, and it’s performed simply by holding down R in the proximity of the fallen demon for a few seconds. During this time you cannot move and are vulnerable to attack. Doing so will always release some kind of item, and sometimes even a new Mitama. This timer is much longer for parts of boss caliber demons though, so, if possible, get more people together to increase the speed of which the purification takes place. The same process applies to healing fallen comrades. Fortunately, the AI are very quick to come to your aid, in single or multiplayer, and it’s also good to know that any purification items the AI “get” go directly to you.
Toukiden has a lot going for it where it counts, and that also extends to its presentation. The visuals are very pretty and, like Soul Sacrifice, very colorful, fluid, and detailed. The demons are often the most interesting thing to look at, but the detailed character costumes and weapons are also nice. The soundtrack can be a bit sleep-inducing in the base camp area, which you will spend a significant amount of time, but it otherwise has a good tempo that compliments the on screen events well. Japanese voiceovers are varied and all high quality, while general sound effects hold their own.
To the summary…