Okay, Tecmo Koei… I’ll cut you a tiny break today. I thought you guys would post that Toukiden: The Age of Demons launch trailer FIRST, but it was a gameplay basics trailer you ran instead. That made me jump the gun earlier and figure you were all playing your own game so much today that you’d not have time to run more trailers (or anything else for that matter). Oops. Oh well, but it’s GOOD for you because I get to do TWO posts about this really fun game you’ve published. Which is at the end of the day, good for you as well as Omega Force, correct?
Okay, the town and pre-mission setup portions of Omega Force’s rather demon heavy new action game aren’t all that complex, but it’s important to know what to to and who to see both before and after those easy to super challenging missions you’ll ruin around in either solo or with friends. Choosing your look is important, of course. Will you play as a male or female? What kind of hairstyle will you wear and how will you sound? Choose wisely! As for the base gameplay in town, should you sell off some of those monstrous materials you’ve collected, turn them into better gear that will help out you and your team or just foolishly discard stuff (which you had to do in the demo, as the inventory was VERY limited)? I say the second option is the best bet, as the difference between a starter weapon and one that’s enhanced is pretty significant.
With Toukiden: The Age of Demons dropping into stores and onto PSN on February 11, here’s a final look at the game in action. As usual, veteran developer Omega Force is at the top of their game here with another impressive action game for the Vita (and yes, PS3). It’s also important to know that while we’re not getting the incredible-looking PSP version of Toukiden in North America, the fact that they were able to get the same game and what looks like the same story content done for that “old” handheld in Japan is somewhat remarkable. Anyway, based on the demo alone, this one looks like it’s going to be a great home as well as handheld game with offline and online play that should keep those who pick it up quite busy dispatching plenty of demons from minor minions to supreme, hard to take down bosses that require time and tactics to take down.
I do hope the game does as well as it did in Japan, but that’s all up to Vita owners here to get off their butts and give the demo a whirl, then go buy the game as soon as they can rather than wait too long and let this one languish in relative obscurity. We’ll see, as usual…
Surprise, surprise. Toukiden: Age of Demons had two of them for me I found out after posting my demo impressions. Oops. One was there are a bunch of separate missions you can play online via ad-hoc, over PSN or (wait for it)… OFFLINE with up to 3 AI fighters (woo hoo!). Two, the demo is actually longer than I expected with two chapters and a cliffhanger right before a what looked like a tough boss battle. There’s also a series of weapons training missions that let you practice with each weapon (the bow isn’t as annoying as I thought!) and these are recommended, as you can swap weapons out between missions.
There’s a bunch of other stuff (such as weapons and armor can be strengthened and some can be combined), but I’ll save that for the review.
Okay, that’s it for now – Back to dinking around with more games. Back in a bit. Or tomorrow, most likely…
After spending some time with Tecmo Koei’s Toukiden: Age of Demons, I can see why the game was the top selling PlayStation Vita game for 2013 in Japan. The combination of Monster Hunter and Dynasty Warriors plus veteran developer Omega Force’s expertise in creating some gorgeous visuals should help knock this one up the charts in North America and Europe when it launches in February. The demo does a solid job of getting you into the fantasy version of feudal Japan cooked up by the dev team, and the action is more deliberately paced and at times a good deal more tactical than the more free for all Musou style of play many are accustomed to. This is all a good thing, as the game should draw in a few players who want something deeper than the standard (but still fun) chase and chop action some are expecting… Continue reading →
Well, that’s a relief. Tecmo Koei’s recently announced demo for Toukiden: The Age of Demons has made its appearance know on PSN today without that usual “where is it” fuss that happens when SCEA takes its time to update the store. According to my Vita, I have about 38 minutes to go before I can jump in and see what’s what… but that 38 minutes was 11 minutes when the download started about seven minutes ago.
Yeah, it’s not really a huge thing to gripe about in the grand scheme of things. But this is one reason why a nice segment of us poor gamers without access to the best connections will be screwed if there’s an always online presence required when it’s beyond clear that not every spot in this land of plenty is ready, willing or able to handle so many people trying to access content at or around the same times. Ah well, this demo should be fun, but I won’t actually get to PLAY it until I get home in a few hours.
As someone mad in lust with much of Omega Force’s output over the years, I’m more than pleased that the veteran developer has whipped up this great-looking PlayStation Vita exclusive and it’s making its way to North America (February 11) and Europe (February 14) soon. I like the separate anime and CG promotional videos for this, the gameplay looks thrilling and while some are making Dynasty Warriors and Monster Hunter comparisons (yes, there are some similar elements), I see more of a Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll influence here:
THAT game was one of my favorites from 2010 and if Toukiden manages to iron out the issues it had while providing even more action, it’ll be a must-buy title for Vita owners. I’m going to grab it no matter what because I trust Omega Force to keep me entertained until the wee hours bumping off assorted demons and avoiding doom every step of the way. Anyway, I’ll hold of writing more on Toukiden until I get some hands-on time. I don’t think a demo will drop on PSN for this, so I may just buy the game outright if I don’t get a review code. I wont’ note here that the Japanese version of the game is cross play with the PSP version of Toukiden (!!!) simply because the chances of that coming out here are slim to none. Boo, but I’d gather it wouldn’t sell in the numbers it needs to break even. That said, I have three PSP’s here, so I’d buy this game once for both handhelds.
Anyone saying the Vita is “dead’ needs to actually own one and look at the current library (yes, outside your comfort zone there are some GREAT game experiences) as well as the ridiculous value PlayStation Plus adds to the handheld that makes it a keeper. And don’t even get me going about the ability to play PS4 games on the thing…
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