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Battle Arena Toshinden 2

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Battle Arena Toshinden 2
North American arcade flyer
Developer(s)
Tamsoft
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Shintarō Nakaoka
Producer(s)Nobuyuki Okude
Programmer(s)Hiroaki Furukawa
Composer(s)Yasuhiro Nakano
EngineHyper Solid
Platform(s)Arcade, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Windows 95
ReleaseArcade
  • JP: November 24, 1995[2]
  • WW: December 1995[1]
PlayStation
Windows
  • NA: March 1996[6]
  • WW: c. 1996
Saturn (Toshinden URA)
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemSony ZN-1

Battle Arena Toshinden 2, or Toshinden 2 (闘神伝2) in Japan, is a 1995 fighting video game co-produced by Tamsoft and Takara. Unlike the original Battle Arena Toshinden which was only for home systems, this sequel was originally a coin-operated arcade game for the Sony ZN-1 hardware, released in November 1995 and distributed by Capcom[10] before its port to PlayStation shortly afterwards. It was also ported to Windows.

Toshinden 2 featured changes in mechanics for faster gameplay and introduced the Overdrive meter.[13] New starting characters Chaos and Tracy were added, while the former boss Gaia is demoted, having lost his armor.[14] Critical reception to the game was mainly positive, although critics noted that both the gameplay and graphics made too little advancement over the original game.[15] An updated PlayStation version subtitled Plus was released in Japan featuring tweaks and graphical improvements. Battle Arena Toshinden URA (full title Ultimate Revenge Attack) is a Sega Saturn specific sequel to Toshinden S / Remix,[16] with new characters, a new story, and other exclusive content and tweaks compared to Battle Arena Toshinden 2.

Gameplay

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Screenshot on PlayStation of Eiji vs. Tracy; the game introduced new Overdrive gauges

The core gameplay remains unchanged from the original Battle Arena Toshinden, but the game does include a simple combo system and an 'Overdrive' gauge.[14] The 3D movement was also altered to create slightly better balance in battle; differentiating from the first game, dodge rolling will no longer make the character temporarily immune to the opponent's attack (in the first game, it was possible for a character to dodge straight through even the most deadly attacks). The ability to attack opponents on the ground has also been added.[13] As in the first game, a player falling out of the ring will result in a ring out, only this time, if both players fall out of the ring at the same time, the one who falls out last will be declared the winner.

Plot

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Battle Arena Toshinden 2

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Following the discovery of his treachery, Gaia has been branded a traitor and marked for death by Uranus and Master, the other leaders of the Secret Society, who hold another Battle Arena Toshinden tournament in order to lure him out so that he can be swiftly eliminated by them and their loyal forces. In a complete state of personal desperation, Gaia turns to the previous tournament's fighters for help in having to overthrow his former allies, unaware that the entire situation is a deadly trap/scheme orchestrated by Uranus as she personally seeks to eliminate all who stands in her ambitious way of overthrowing Master and taking the Secret Society for herself.

As in the previous tournament, Eiji Shinjo advances to the finals and manages to defeat both Uranus and Master in battle, and even though he is still unable to locate his long-lost older brother Sho, a series of clues are left behind that may lead Eiji to Sho from within the near future. With the deaths of both Uranus and Master, it seems that the Secret Society has been crushed once and for all. However, unbeknownst to the participants, the tournament has secretly been observed through the eyes of the mysterious Vermilion, an agent for the Secret Society's long-time rival criminal group, the Organization, who start to put their own plan for the fighters in motion.

Toshinden URA

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Sometime after the events of the first Toshinden game, a police scientist named Ronron creates an android fighter intended for law enforcement, its name being the Replicant. To make the android as strong as possible, its fighting abilities are patterned off the world's greatest fighter, Sho Shinjo. The prototype is later stolen just before it can be fully completed. Within time, someone begins murdering famous fighters around the world in a surprising yet shocking manner. With no evidence as to who is behind these murders, the Toshinden fighters grow suspicious of each other. Meanwhile, a mysterious man, known only as Ripper, is seeking Sho Shinjo as his sister (believed to have been Cupido) has disappeared without a trace and Ripper himself believes that Sho may have killed her from within the past. Every lead Ripper finds takes him to the scene of one of these mysterious murders, leading to him becoming the prime suspect in a shrouded conspiracy that seems to be surrounding him and the rest of the Toshinden fighters.

Characters

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All previous characters (PlayStation version) return[17] in Toshinden 2, which include (and followed by their weapon of use):

The new characters are:[17][14]

  • Chaos, one of the executives of the Secret Society and uses a scythe
  • Tracy, an American policewoman with two tonfas
  • Uranus (sub-boss), an 'angel of death' who uses a suzaku bow
  • Master (final boss), psychic leader of the Secret Society with a broadsword
  • Vermilion (hidden final boss), a mysterious gunfighter who uses a shotgun

Toshinden URA contains four exclusive characters: Ripper, Ronron, Replicant and Wolf, that replace four of the original version's characters: Gaia, Chaos, Uranus, and Master.

Development and release

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Detailed backgrounds were created in the game but it came at a cost: the backgrounds are layers of 2D parallex scrolling (like Tekken 2) instead of the more 3D backgrounds that the original Battle Arena Toshinden had. This was at least quoted for a previewed version of the game.[14]

Takara expected an arcade-first release in October or November 1995.[18] Capcom picked up the game exclusively for its arcade release,[10] making it their first 3D fighter before Star Gladiator and Street Fighter EX, both of which were developed in-house on the same hardware as Battle Arena Toshinden 2.

Though based on the original version of Battle Arena Toshinden 2, Battle Arena Toshinden URA has altered gameplay, making it feel notably different. It also has all new arenas, a new story, a different CG intro, new rendered cinemas, and four exclusive new characters (Ripper, Ronron, Replicant and Wolf) that replace four of the original version's characters (Gaia, Chaos, Uranus and Master).[16] Though within the game "URA" is an acronym, the word "Ura" also has combat connotations in Japanese.[19]

Toshinden 2 was ported to the PC by American developer Kinesoft.[20] It is a Windows port of the PlayStation version with arcade graphical fidelity, the ability to play the game in higher resolutions and some additional options, such as the ability to remap all the controls (the PlayStation version only allows the remapping of the shoulder buttons). Unlike the original PlayStation version, it also saves unlocked characters, settings and results, but the introductory movie was removed.

Book bonus disc

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Like the first Toshinden game, Toshinden 2 had an official strategy guide book released which came with a bonus CD-ROM for PlayStation. This disc contains a demo of computer vs computer battles and also the character Eiji in a school uniform outfit, Ellis in a sailor skirt, Sofia in a translucent form, and with Ellis acting as the voice referee. The disc can be swapped with the full game to implement them.[21][22]

Soundtrack

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Yasuhiro Nakano and Fumio Tanabe composed the soundtrack, with Yasuhiro Itoh credited for the opening theme. The music in the PlayStation version is enhanced and differs from the arcade version's sound. The official soundtrack CD album, consisting of the enhanced tracks, was released by Sony Records on April 21, 1996.[23] An album with arranged tracks, Power to the Techno Groove, was released by NEC Avenue on November 21, 1996. The arrangers were Dota Ando, Yoshiyuki Ito, Naoyuki Horiko, Kiyoshi Yoshikawa, and Hiroshi Iizuka.[24]

Reception

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Commercial performance

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In Japan, Game Machine [ja] magazine listed Battle Arena Toshinden 2 on their February 1, 1996 issue as being the tenth most successful arcade game of the month.[41]

On the PlayStation, the game sold 435,712 units in Japan.[42] In the United States, it sold 133,491 units,[43] for a total of 569,203 units sold in Japan and the United States.

Battle Arena Toshinden URA for the Saturn sold 13,432 units during its first week in Japan.[42] This adds up to a combined total of at least 582,635 units sold for home consoles in Japan and the United States.

Reviews

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In reviews for Battle Arena Toshinden 2, critics generally commented that the game is good but shows little improvement over its predecessor and fails to measure up to marketplace competitors like Virtua Fighter 2 and Tekken 2.

The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly had a more positive reaction than most, praising the graphics and the new character Vermillion, while remarking that the game is not as good as Virtua Fighter 2.[27] A reviewer for Next Generation similarly said that though Battle Arena Toshinden 2 addresses many of the complaints made about the original game and has impressive light-sourcing effects, backgrounds, and overdrive super moves, it still fails to measure up to Virtua Fighter 2: "The depth of gameplay and complexity of the strategy isn't there, and the speed and smoothness of VF2 far outweighs Toshinden 2's light-sourcing and moving backgrounds. ... The initial 'wow' of the first Toshinden ... is gone and what's left is a fighting game that isn't deep, fast, or balanced enough to compete with the best."[15] The magazine's later review of the arcade version was still less enthusiastic. The reviewer contended that the Toshinden series is not well-suited to the arcade environment, and criticized the fact that the arcade version is near-identical to the PlayStation version, since standards are higher in arcades.[34]

Hyper magazine, by contrast, selected as its pick of the month and said, "Although already a favorite on the PlayStation, releasing the long-awaited second game in the arcades seems to give the game extra credibility points." They reported that among interviewed players, "the general consensus seemed to be that the arcade version IS better, i.e. smoother graphic flow, better gameplay, you know, it just feels better."[33] Game On! USA praised the "smoothed out and speeded up" gameplay compared to the first game.[17]

Maximum's Rich Leadbetter argued that the changes from the original game, particularly the new characters Chaos and Vermillion, made the game better, but also felt that they were insufficient, particularly in light of the graphical advances PlayStation games had made since the original Toshinden was released. He added that compared to smoother 60 frames per second gameplay offered by rivals, Toshinden 2 looked "jerky". He concluded by advising PlayStation owners to wait for Tekken 2 instead.[37] GamePro similarly described the game as "more of the same." While the reviewer stated the graphics are better than the first game, he derided the game's lack of intelligent fighting technique, particularly that combos are very limited and the fights essentially boil down to trading special attacks.[44] IGN stated that the game's animations were not very smooth and the camera made gameplay challenging. Final comments on the game stated that although the game wasn't necessarily bad, it wasn't exactly outstanding either.[13]

Patrick Baggatta of Game Players felt that the backgrounds were "fantastic" and specified Duke's, Rungo's and Sofia's stages as examples. He further thought that the character designs were "pretty damn nice", and also gave praise to the new bosses, noting Master's "lightning-fast attacks" and labeling Uranus as one of the "most attractive" characters graphically in any fighting game. While calling it a good game, he wrote that the game "still suffers to some degree from choppy animations and occasionally sluggish controls" found in the original Toshinden.[40] Another of the magazine's editors, Mike, wrote: "Toshinden was never in the league of a Street Fighter or Virtua Fighter in terms of gameplay. It was more like a Mortal Kombat. The second one doesn't manage to wow like the first and, even though gameplay elements were added, it just isn't balanced or deep enough to rank with the classics. That doesn't mean BAT 2 is not an excellent fighting game,".[40]

Intelligent Gamer's Fusion's Jer Horwitz reviewed the PC version of the game. He noted that the faster play and new moves made the game fun, and further praised character designs and for having "The best 3-D artwork attempted on a home game to date". He called the music "excellent" just as the first game but was critical of how it restarts every round and hence can't be enjoyed as it should. Also criticised were "camera problems" and "low-quality background art", both as downgrades compared to the original Toshinden.[39]

Reviews for Toshinden URA

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Battle Arena Toshinden URA met with overwhelmingly negative reviews. Critics remarked that despite the game running in high resolution, the enhanced textures over the PlayStation game cause URA to suffer from a generally muddy and choppy appearance.[28][32][35][38][45] Several reviewers called the new character Ronron one of the worst fighting game characters ever created.[28][35][45] Many critics also began to find serious problems in the basic Toshinden gameplay with this installment. Reviewers complained that the game was riddled with a plethora of game breaking glitches, such as computer controlled opponents running and/or falling out of the ring on their own, poor collision detection in some instances and serious character balancing issues, which were so broken that some characters had certain special attacks that provided instant knockouts even with a full life bar (such as performing Kayin's Scottish Moon while both combatants are in the air or Mondo's Goriki Fujin), resulting in some matches lasting mere seconds, while rendering overdrive and desperation moves pointless. Jeff Gerstmann stated in GameSpot that "Though URA has the most features of any Toshinden release to date, it's still like playing the previous Toshinden games. That is to say, the control is sluggish, the combo system is weak, and the special moves are dull."[32] Dan Hsu similarly wrote in Electronic Gaming Monthly, "I look at these games as a novelty now, because it's more flash than technique. The fighters do not have a lot of moves available, and the ones they do have are pretty boring."[28] A reviewer for Next Generation commented, "Any time you can beat the entire game on the hardest difficulty by mashing on one button - with your eyes closed - there's something very wrong."[35] GamePro found it very similar to the previous Saturn entry in the series, Battle Arena Toshinden Remix, and concluded, "Simply put, URA is just more of a bad thing." They gave it a 3.0 out of 5 or lower in every category, including a 0.5 for funfactor.[45] Lee Nutter noted in Sega Saturn Magazine that the game had been given an unusually high level of PAL optimization, but concluded that the mediocre graphics and lack of depth in the gameplay made it a poor buy, particularly with Fighters Megamix soon to be released in PAL regions.[38]

Toshinden 2 Plus

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Toshinden 2 Plus
闘神伝2プラス
Developer(s)Tamsoft
Publisher(s)
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
  • JP: August 9, 1996
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Toshinden 2 Plus is a version of Battle Arena Toshinden 2 released only in Japan for the PlayStation on The Best range (equivalent to the Greatest Hits and Platinum ranges in North America and Europe). It features enhanced graphics, improved control and tweaked CPU AI. It also makes some balancing tweaks to the characters' attacks. An option to save results, option settings and unlocked characters to a memory card was also added.

This version was re-released on the Japanese PlayStation Store by Tamsoft under license of Takara Tomy for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita on November 22, 2016.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Toshinden 2".
  2. ^ "闘神伝2 (アーケード) - ファミ通.com". Famitsu.com. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  3. ^ "Sony PlayStation Available Software sorted by Release Date @ www.vidgames.com". PlayStation Galleria. Archived from the original on June 11, 1998. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
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  5. ^ "PlayStation Software From Under £30". Daily Record. July 12, 1996. p. 6. Retrieved December 19, 2023. Toshinden 2 for Sony PlayStation//New//£44.99
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  11. ^ "Computer Gaming World Issue 168". July 1998.
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  15. ^ a b c "Sophia-more". Next Generation. No. 16. Imagine Media. April 1996. p. 85.
  16. ^ a b "Battle Arena Toshinden URA: The Battle Rages On...". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 89. Ziff Davis. December 1996. pp. 238–242.
  17. ^ a b c "The war god legend continues". Game On! USA. No. 1. Viz Media. 1996. p. 75.
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  23. ^ "SRCL-3471 | Battle Arena Toshinden 2 Game Soundtrack - VGMdb". vgmdb.net. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
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  29. ^ GameFan, volume 4, issue 3 (March 1996), pages 11 & 26-29
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  36. ^ "Battle Arena Toshinden 2". SuperGamePower [pt]. No. 24. March 1996. pp. 26–27.
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  38. ^ a b c Nutter, Lee (February 1997). "Review: Toshinden URA". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 16. Emap International Limited. pp. 64–65.
  39. ^ a b Intelligent Gamer's Fusion. March 1996. pp. 72–73. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  40. ^ a b c "Unedited Game Players Scans".
  41. ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 511. Amusement Press, Inc. February 1, 1996. p. 21.
  42. ^ a b "Game Search". Game Data Library. Famitsu. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  43. ^ "PlayStation US Sales from 1995-2003". Game Pilgrimage. NPD Group. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
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  45. ^ a b c Major Mike (January 1997). "ProReview: Battle Arena Toshinden URA". GamePro. No. 100. IDG. p. 114.
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