AdawgDaFAB
Member
AFAIK, you just get more musou attacks. You get those as you progress through the game / level up, but your base moveset never changes.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 |OT| Kenny Got Fingered
- Thread starter FrostuTheNinja
- Start date
GrayFoxPL
Member
This is awful.
Getting new moves with Jagi and doing better and crazier combos was the best thing ever.
You have failed me Koei.
Samurai_Heart
Member
FTFY =P
FrostuTheNinja
Member
I've never had a problem pulling it off during swaths of enemies or intimate encounters. I know some enemies have a smaller input windows than others. Maybe that's messing up your groove?
It hasn't really been discussed but the level system is pretty cool. There are 5 seperate experience gauges; Life, Aura, Attack, Defense and Technique. You gain Life experience by killing enemies with normal attacks. Aura for killing enemies with specials. Attack is raised after strong kills. Defense when you take down enemies while your life gauge is green. And Technique experience for high combo counts. Leveling the technique stat is handy because it makes blocking and dodging more effective. It also increases the combo window time along with shocking enemies.
Wait, what? All these times, I've been needlessly trying to block enemies' attacks because I thought that's how to raise defense. :-< It's only logical that way.
FrostuTheNinja
Member
Yeah, my technique level was higher than everything else, so I loaded up the tutorial stuff in the pause menu to see what I was missing. That's where I got all that info.
It's mostly just damage modifiers. I'm at a point where single weak attacks are wiping out the grunts and a single combo will take out armored commanders.
PepsimanVsJoe
Member
About to sit down and write my review.
=(
Now that I think about it, this is a really poor sequel. Most of my initial enjoyment came from the fact that everyone has almost all of their moves right away.
I actually don't mind dumping the Meridian chart, because it was a grind. The scroll-system is great for building up new characters. Being able to transfer bonuses to unused characters should be a staple of the Musou genre. Problem is that's all the scrolls have going for them. It's not like other Musou titles where you find all these neat abilities to customize your character(like the Orochi and Gundam titles). Sure there are a few abilities to play around with, but they're locked to whatever stat orbs you have, and thus far none of them are really worth messing around with. It's like whatever team that did this game didn't take enough consideration into creating a next level for the cast of the game. They don't get any insane never-before-seen powers that make high-level play really interesting. In Warriors Orochi 3 you got all these ridiculous weapon mods that could one-shot chaos-level generals, in Basara there were dozens of items to customize every minute attribute of your character, and so on. There's really none of that in this game. One-hour Kenshiro is practically the exact same as ten-hour Kenshiro.
Also while I thought most of the level-designs in the first game were stupid, at least somebody tried(and failed). This game does nothing except throw peewee grunts that get one-shotted by the dozens. It's like...c'mon guys. I know the average Hokuto No Ken episode involves hundreds of bandits getting peaced out, but it doesn't make for a very compelling game. The bosses are all a major step backwards as well. Dodge-mashing was cool at first but it ruins the challenge for almost every fight.
Dream mode also sucks, more on that later.
Paying full-price for this game was a truly awful idea. I was on the fence when this game was released and I probably should have stayed there. The thing is, the site I write for isn't established enough to get anything. So in order to provide content, we usually have to buy the games.
After paying that kind of money of course I'm going to say it's better than the first, that it's truly awesome, and so on and etc. But once it all settled in all I can think now is how much of a fucking piece of shit the game is. Maybe my actual opinion lies somewhere in the middle, and my mood is just swinging from one side to the other because of buyer's remorse. Either way, I'm not happy with this game.
=(
Now that I think about it, this is a really poor sequel. Most of my initial enjoyment came from the fact that everyone has almost all of their moves right away.
I actually don't mind dumping the Meridian chart, because it was a grind. The scroll-system is great for building up new characters. Being able to transfer bonuses to unused characters should be a staple of the Musou genre. Problem is that's all the scrolls have going for them. It's not like other Musou titles where you find all these neat abilities to customize your character(like the Orochi and Gundam titles). Sure there are a few abilities to play around with, but they're locked to whatever stat orbs you have, and thus far none of them are really worth messing around with. It's like whatever team that did this game didn't take enough consideration into creating a next level for the cast of the game. They don't get any insane never-before-seen powers that make high-level play really interesting. In Warriors Orochi 3 you got all these ridiculous weapon mods that could one-shot chaos-level generals, in Basara there were dozens of items to customize every minute attribute of your character, and so on. There's really none of that in this game. One-hour Kenshiro is practically the exact same as ten-hour Kenshiro.
Also while I thought most of the level-designs in the first game were stupid, at least somebody tried(and failed). This game does nothing except throw peewee grunts that get one-shotted by the dozens. It's like...c'mon guys. I know the average Hokuto No Ken episode involves hundreds of bandits getting peaced out, but it doesn't make for a very compelling game. The bosses are all a major step backwards as well. Dodge-mashing was cool at first but it ruins the challenge for almost every fight.
Dream mode also sucks, more on that later.
Paying full-price for this game was a truly awful idea. I was on the fence when this game was released and I probably should have stayed there. The thing is, the site I write for isn't established enough to get anything. So in order to provide content, we usually have to buy the games.
After paying that kind of money of course I'm going to say it's better than the first, that it's truly awesome, and so on and etc. But once it all settled in all I can think now is how much of a fucking piece of shit the game is. Maybe my actual opinion lies somewhere in the middle, and my mood is just swinging from one side to the other because of buyer's remorse. Either way, I'm not happy with this game.
SteelBallRun
Neo Member
How many episodes is Legend Mode exactly? I hear something like 22-25 and I'm 9 episodes in but its only up to Rei's stuff.
denshuu
Member
100% in agreement that this game is pretty disappointing. I heard it would play a little bit more similarly to Dynasty Warriors games, but it's still mostly just Ken's Rage with more enemies on screen and larger hitboxes for your attacks. Which is a good thing, just not enough to make it a great Warriors game. Which shouldn't be all that hard to do.
0% in agreement that the first game was in any way shape or form a good game. Ken's Rage 1 might be the worst game Omega Force has ever produced. The only thing I can say the first game did better than this one was a sense of character progression, what with moves unlocking as you level up. The problem in Ken's Rage 1 was, though, that the process of unlocking moves was boring as sin. Nothing is fun about mindlessly mashing out Jagi's C2 for mission after mission until you get his other one combo that's actually viable. Especially in a game where your character's moves target one or two enemies and your mission is to kill hundreds of them.
tl;dr, it's an improvement over a terrible game, but still not a good game. On the plus side, Ken's Land of Shura costume looks pretty great.
Edit: And I just realized that I Platinumed Ken's Rage 1 for some reason. I must have hated myself that weekend.
0% in agreement that the first game was in any way shape or form a good game. Ken's Rage 1 might be the worst game Omega Force has ever produced. The only thing I can say the first game did better than this one was a sense of character progression, what with moves unlocking as you level up. The problem in Ken's Rage 1 was, though, that the process of unlocking moves was boring as sin. Nothing is fun about mindlessly mashing out Jagi's C2 for mission after mission until you get his other one combo that's actually viable. Especially in a game where your character's moves target one or two enemies and your mission is to kill hundreds of them.
tl;dr, it's an improvement over a terrible game, but still not a good game. On the plus side, Ken's Land of Shura costume looks pretty great.
Edit: And I just realized that I Platinumed Ken's Rage 1 for some reason. I must have hated myself that weekend.
FrostuTheNinja
Member
I haven't been really following Ken's Rage 2, but yes I would agree with you that I wasn't very impressed with the first game and it's mechanics (like the ones you listed) in the first place and I'm also a huge Warriors/Musou fan.
I probably got 5 or 6 hours into it before quitting.
GrayFoxPL
Member
FrostuTheNinja
Member
Just started playing as
in story mode. I honestly think this is the first adaptation I've played where everything is largely coherent and gels very well. In most other games based off of pre existing properties, the story is stilted and fractured. Not here and for that, I am extremely grateful to Omega Force.
Yeah, the level design can be weak, dodge is OP and I would've rather had an evolution of the Meridian system, but I'll be damned if I'm not genuinely enjoying every minute. I, for one, am very glad Omega Force didn't just throw the FotNS universe into a cookie cutter mold of another Musou title. The game stands just fine on its own.
Anyway, back to it!
Bat
Yeah, the level design can be weak, dodge is OP and I would've rather had an evolution of the Meridian system, but I'll be damned if I'm not genuinely enjoying every minute. I, for one, am very glad Omega Force didn't just throw the FotNS universe into a cookie cutter mold of another Musou title. The game stands just fine on its own.
Anyway, back to it!
The first game wasn't amazing, but I enjoyed it for what it tried to do. I was pretty excited that this would follow so much more of the story but that ended up actually making the legend mode a massive chore to play, I got up to the like the 5th and final Raoh fight, and decided Dream Mode/Coin grinding in Pirate Warriors and Conquest Mode/Trust grinding in DW7 looked a lot more attractive.
Seriously got sick of fighting Raoh before the final battle (plus I couldn't defeat him).
Seriously got sick of fighting Raoh before the final battle (plus I couldn't defeat him).
FrostuTheNinja
Member
That last Raoh fight was my first game over. My biggest complaint about the cutscenes are the absolute ridiculous number of load screens.
Yea the load screens between them are awful. I also don't like how they're not pausable, especially since they can tend to be quite long.
FrostuTheNinja
Member
Hah! That happened to me earlier tonight. My wife called me into the kitchen and I just reflex tapped start. Came back a minute or so later to Kenshiro getting pummeled by thugs.
I've had a couple of times where I had to do something while a cutscene was going and came back to the game over screen haha. What's even worse is that "events" aren't skipable at all.
Especially annoying since Pirate Warriors let you pause and skip pretty much every cutscene.
SteelBallRun
Neo Member
How I viewed Ken's Rage 1
Bad Musou game, Souther is OP as shit, but the Legend Mode was a great Hokuto no Ken experience.
Bad Musou game, Souther is OP as shit, but the Legend Mode was a great Hokuto no Ken experience.
NoirVisage
Banned
My thoughts exactly!! Fist of the North star was my first "Japanimation" as it was called, so playing through the well fleshed out Legend mode was a treat..Dream mode is good more so the Challenge missions which are like what Ifs. Shachi..is a monster..killing so much with him!!Just started playing asin story mode. I honestly think this is the first adaptation I've played where everything is largely coherent and gels very well. In most other games based off of pre existing properties, the story is stilted and fractured. Not here and for that, I am extremely grateful to Omega Force.Bat
Yeah, the level design can be weak, dodge is OP and I would've rather had an evolution of the Meridian system, but I'll be damned if I'm not genuinely enjoying every minute. I, for one, am very glad Omega Force didn't just throw the FotNS universe into a cookie cutter mold of another Musou title. The game stands just fine on its own.
Anyway, back to it!
FrostuTheNinja
Member
Holy moly, I haven't heard "Japanimation" since my earlier days of going the Suncoast video to see if they had new Guyver tapes.
Good to hear that you're enjoying the game despite some niggling issues. And yes, The challenge missions are pretty darn fun. I just figured out a trick the other night with base capturing in the standard Dream Mode. Kill all the grunts at a base, summon the commander, then head over to another base. You can generally get all the enemies from all the bases that way. Makes Dream Mode more of a murderfest.
Count Dookkake
Member
.
FrostuTheNinja
Member
Hahhhaha! Great stuff right there. If you don't mind me yanking that from you, that's exactly what I'm going to tell people about it.
I still haven't broken down and downloaded the game. I know it's madness. Mainly, I was doing 100% on Ni no Kuni, but now Rising is coming out soon. I'd like to devote a lot of time to the game since I got the platinum for the first game.
I remember those days where we didn't know it was called anime. One of the first animes (the movie) I bought on VHS. It wasn't until a lot of years later that I saw the whole series via ASS'(AnimeSkyScraper) fansubs.
I remember those days where we didn't know it was called anime. One of the first animes (the movie) I bought on VHS. It wasn't until a lot of years later that I saw the whole series via ASS'(AnimeSkyScraper) fansubs.
ShadowgeistX
Member
It's only really a problem if I don't do the taunt first. If they're all grouped and such then the prompt seems to come up more often. Otherwise the scattered ones don't do it often enough at all. Of course, when they're grouped together I'm more tempted to just use earth splitting dragon hand lol.
I haven't played it in a couple days but I hope to slog through legend mode and I HOPE dream mode is much better/entertaining.
My opinion still remains that Ken's Rage 1 was so much better.
Samurai_Heart
Member
Preorder bonus varied from retailers, US I believe only from GameStop for 360 anyway.
The Wii U version as it was download only has the preorder dlc up for download free for 2 weeks since the release.
NoirVisage
Banned
I do that but sometimes my army manages to take him down!Holy moly, I haven't heard "Japanimation" since my earlier days of going the Suncoast video to see if they had new Guyver tapes.
Good to hear that you're enjoying the game despite some niggling issues. And yes, The challenge missions are pretty darn fun. I just figured out a trick the other night with base capturing in the standard Dream Mode. Kill all the grunts at a base, summon the commander, then head over to another base. You can generally get all the enemies from all the bases that way. Makes Dream Mode more of a murderfest.
Awww man, I used to get some real classics at Suncoast, Genocyber, ALL the Trigun tapes..those things are still in a box, Vhs was already dead when i bought'em
Dunno about the rest of Europe but the UK had preorder dlc but only at GAME.
edit: it also comes with the PSN version, but that was £50 so effffffff that. Ended up being cheaper to go outside and grab it at a store.
Smiles and Cries
Member
I'm not really good at this game at all... I don't feel like a badass playing it as I do playing NG3 on Wii U
maybe I just don't understand the controls
maybe I just don't understand the controls
NoirVisage
Banned
arrange your scrolls to get the perks for starting with a full aura guage and one extra ..find a combo that kills the most people at a time and spam it, you'll level up with time and kill things easier, you also want to watch the aura color on defenders and boss characters, when it turns red spam your signature move or dash away, if you're playing legend mode keep at it, when it clicks its kinda zen, and applies to other characters in dream mode.
/ramble
FrostuTheNinja
Member
Man, diving into Dream Mode after I beat Legend Mode is going to be tough. I don't know who I want to play as first!
And that's not even including who I haven't unlocked yet. Choices, choices...
This gaaaaaaame!
Bat? Ein? Ryuga? Juza?
This gaaaaaaame!
SchleimanTank
Member
So I was getting some pretty mixed messages from this thread. Some people saying the 1st game is bad, some saying the 2nd one is worse.
So I said F it, and decided to just get both. Here we go!
So I said F it, and decided to just get both. Here we go!
Count Dookkake
Member
.
Count Dookkake
Member
.
SchleimanTank
Member
Online is great, if you can find anyone to play with.
It seems to take a long time to unlock characters for dream mode, that might be a reason. I've played legend mode to the point I feel I need a break from the game but I've only unlocked 2 dream mode characters (badguys only). It's a bit disappointing.
Not sure if anyone here is interested, but I have the event I host every Friday evening.
It's called Friday Fists Of Fury for Fist Of The North Star 2 Ken's Rage Wii U Version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgiUSkdxUT0
Here is a video showing last week event. Not too good of a turn out, but still I'm going to keep trying to build the Online Wii U Communtiy.
Well anyway it's tonight at 7pm CST. Starting out with a 4 vs 4 5 Mission dream match. Then I will make a smaller room if there are no players. Also once the match is over I will reopen it for another round. I record the event, and upload to Youtube. So if you interested please come by and join us tonight, and every friday.
Just look for a room hosted by JodeciDeionThWon
Thank you for your time!
It's called Friday Fists Of Fury for Fist Of The North Star 2 Ken's Rage Wii U Version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgiUSkdxUT0
Here is a video showing last week event. Not too good of a turn out, but still I'm going to keep trying to build the Online Wii U Communtiy.
Well anyway it's tonight at 7pm CST. Starting out with a 4 vs 4 5 Mission dream match. Then I will make a smaller room if there are no players. Also once the match is over I will reopen it for another round. I record the event, and upload to Youtube. So if you interested please come by and join us tonight, and every friday.
Just look for a room hosted by JodeciDeionThWon
Thank you for your time!
FrostuTheNinja
Member
I'm just about done with Legend mode and my clock is around 20 hours. So, yeah it takes some time.
Well, for me, Rising is to blame. I knew it'd be a quick romp that I could slam through and come back to my lovely exploding heads.
And props to TheWon for setting up weekly events on the Wii U! If I had the Wii U version, I would join in.
This past Friday's Fists Of Fury!
Was one person away from having a 4 on 4 match!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcDMikOZeks
Was one person away from having a 4 on 4 match!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcDMikOZeks
FrostuTheNinja
Member
Finished up Legend mode last night and the game clock was at 22 hours. Subtract from that about an hour or so that I messed around online and you have the general completion time. I was honestly not expecting the story mode to be that comprehensive and well told, but it absolutely was.
It's unfortunate so many people wrote this one off but I really believe Koei releasing it at $60 was a massive factor. I really hope Koei can be forward thinking with their next slew of online releases (I'm looking at you DW7 Empires and Pirate Warriors 2) and price them appropriately for digital only releases.
Hopefully more people will join in on the fun when there's a price drop. There's lots of joy to be had and as I've said before, it's not just a carbon copy of other Musou titles. Much like the original, it treats itself as an arcade style brawler first and foremost but with item enhancements and leveling.
To Dream Mode!
It's unfortunate so many people wrote this one off but I really believe Koei releasing it at $60 was a massive factor. I really hope Koei can be forward thinking with their next slew of online releases (I'm looking at you DW7 Empires and Pirate Warriors 2) and price them appropriately for digital only releases.
Hopefully more people will join in on the fun when there's a price drop. There's lots of joy to be had and as I've said before, it's not just a carbon copy of other Musou titles. Much like the original, it treats itself as an arcade style brawler first and foremost but with item enhancements and leveling.
To Dream Mode!
Count Dookkake
Member
.
FrostuTheNinja
Member
Yeah, they came out on PSN yesterday. Was thinkin' about grabbing them. I think it's $4 for all 5. I just wish the extra costumes were a little cheaper.
Yeah the price of the extra costumes is taking the piss a bit 3/costume is a bit excessive
CadetMahoney
Member
so many mixed reviews here. Personally I liked the first and have never touched any other mousou game.
heh
heh
FrostuTheNinja
Member
Best place for high level scrolls are the Challenge stages in Dream Mode. Holy moly! Already gone through a couple of the "Lone Warriors" stories and such. 30 hours in and I'm still having a blast.
Edit: Level cap appears to be 50.
As for recommending the first, it's really hard for me after playing the second. But as I'm sure you've read, in this very thread, there are some cats who prefer the original to the sequel. But for that price, I'd feel silly to give you an outright, "No". My main gripes centered around the frame rate and overall presentation. It also has a very heavy grinding based level system/skill tree system. I enjoyed the hell out of it at release but the new one fixed a lot of "problems" I had.
Have you played the demo? I'm pretty sure it's on XBL. I think that would be a pretty solid example of what it offers.
Edit: Level cap appears to be 50.
As for recommending the first, it's really hard for me after playing the second. But as I'm sure you've read, in this very thread, there are some cats who prefer the original to the sequel. But for that price, I'd feel silly to give you an outright, "No". My main gripes centered around the frame rate and overall presentation. It also has a very heavy grinding based level system/skill tree system. I enjoyed the hell out of it at release but the new one fixed a lot of "problems" I had.
Have you played the demo? I'm pretty sure it's on XBL. I think that would be a pretty solid example of what it offers.