"So...Whatcha gonna do?"

User Rating: 8 | Jade Cocoon 2 PS2
"So...Whatcha gonna do?" That's a question often heard in this game, but my question to you really is "Whatcha gonna do?" Jade Cocoon 2 is considerably different from its predecessor [Released in 1998] and personally I find the changes to be refreshing. I know that some of you would like to accuse this game of being a Pokemon rip-off, and I disagree with you! (In the best way of course.) I think you should put your thoughts of Pokemon aside and give it a go. I'll try to review this one briefly.

In Jade Cocoon 2, you play a boy with dreams to become a cocoon master, or a beast hunter. His name is Kahu, and he is accompanied by a relatively sassy fairy called Nico. To give you a little feel for the story, Kahu is an optimist who is facing the conflict of turning into kalma, or in dummy-terms: Kahu is becoming a monster. To lift the curse he is forced to collect the 4 forest orbs throughout the first half of the game. Levant from the first game informs you that he will continue to practice his lute to lure the kalma out of your protagonist once you gather them, and that you will have to battle him.

You start out being able to use 2 beasts, but you can place more beasts in your formation by going to the Arena and taking the "Advancement Tests". The advancement tests consist of 3 rounds of battles, once you defeat all three opponents, you will receive a new beast amulet to carry beasts in. Beast formations are fairly easy to understand so I won't waste your time by writing too much about them.

Moving on, there are a few ways that you can gather beasts. You can do the jobs offered by other beast hunters on the board in the lounge and sometimes receive eggs as rewards, defeat random encounters with other beast hunters and collect their medals, buy the basics from the store, or you can go through the forests and defeat beasts guarding eggs, and collect them that way. They evolve and grow as you use them, and there are many different types of beasts to pick from, and it's best to play them while keeping your formation in mind. "Whatcha gonna do?"
Primary beast types: Alco, Bug, Drac, Gara, Ku, Leif, Mau, Na, Og, Slimy.
Note: The stat growth changes as your beasts grow and evolve.

However, Jade Cocoon 2 is about more than just gathering the beasts, you get to raise them too. When your beast reaches level 15, you'll get the option "Merge" in the Room of Life. The Room of Life is also, conveniently, where you turn in your collected kalma, which are the little cocoons you gather in the forest that give your beast abilities, both passive (Spirit Up 3, Strength Up 2, etc) and elemental (Active abilities). Be careful though, not all elements are compatible with one another, and this will affect your evolution gauge.

So... "Whatcha gonna do?" ;)