Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 - Cobi’s Journey

What an odd picture it conjures up in the head: a Monster Farm. Could you imagine walking onto the pastures and instead of seeing a lovely green expanse filled with livestock, seeing a multitude of various creatures with a variety of temperaments, not to mention claws and fangs, meandering about? I doubt the old pastime of cow-tipping would translate well in the world of Monster Farming. Luckily for us, there’s plenty of fun to be had when we translate it to the gaming world – and Enix has recently given us a double dose in Dragon Warriors Monsters 2 – Cobi’s Journey and Tara’s Adventure.

The first thing you will notice about the format of Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 is the obvious: It’s two separate games. Cobi’s Journey and Tara’s Adventure are basically the same game in structure, each offering it’s own unique monsters and item and also offering the ability to link up with each other to create even more gaming possibilities. If that’s not enough gaming options to get you to bite, there’s a wide range of compatibility for the two titles – giving the original black-and-white Game Boy system owners an equal chance to play as well as Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance owners.

The premise: Well, why do all the work when you can befriend monsters to help you out? As a member of the "monster training" genre, Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 excels at giving you plenty of chances to go out there and tame a huge variety of different monsters with the added bonus of breeding them and creating a virtually infinite number of new types. Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 does all this while working a nice little storyline into your monster "husbandry."

The setting: Tara and Cobi are siblings on a journey to the island of Great Log, where you will begin your journey. When you arrive you will be introduced to the farm, the people of Great Log, and the "bully" of Great Log, Kameha, and his mischievous sidekick Warobou. After a brief introduction to your town and surroundings, you will be sent off on a mission to pick up a pie for your mother, after which a confrontation will succinctly ensues with Kameha and Warobou. If that’s not enough, shortly afterwards, the plug of Great Log’s navel (I know, it sounds strange) will pop out and Warobou will sacrifice himself as a living plug – begging you to find a plug for the navel so the island doesn’t sink.

Now you think that sounds crazy, right, in it’s quirky sort of way? Well try explaining that to the townspeople. No one believes you (due to the rabble rousing that Warobou is associated with) and you soon find yourself alone. This is because you and your sibling must part, and depending on what version you are playing, you must take on the task of the quest for the navel plug, and for monster taming and training, as Cobi or Tara on your own.

It’s not all that hard to start play in Dragon Warrior Monsters 2. You just head on out and get to business. As part of the storyline, you will need to go about the different worlds, via Magic Keys, in order to ultimately acquire the island’s navel plug. Usually you will be sent into an area with a specific quest in mind and/or discover quests within the towns that are placed in each world. Sometimes you will have to use your skills to help the townspeople and other times you may need to help them solve a problem. Each time you help you will earn another item or attain a new goal that will help you progress. Along the way you will travel across wide open expanses where your primary occupation will be, what else, monster taming.

If you are not familiar with this type of game, it’s not too complicated to explain. The goal is to tame the best and most effective monsters possible and also to breed those monsters to create (hopefully) even better ones. Sometimes a monster will willingly "offer" to join you after you defeat it, but most of the time, they require a little coaxing in the form of an item like Beef Jerky. Not only do you need to make your enemies happy to convince them to join you, but you will need to keep your own monsters happy by paying enough attention to them. Your farm will hold up to 30 monsters eventually, and it’s no small task to keep them exercised and loyal to you.

Once you’ve mastered that concept you can move onto monster eggs. You can get help identifying the potential of an egg by taking it to the "egg evaluator" at the Starry Shrine. The egg evaluator will become an essential part of your experience. Next, you will take on breeding. When taming monsters in Dragon Warriors Monsters 2, you will notice that the monsters stats will also include their sex. Breeding also requires you to notice the "attitude" of your monsters. For instance, it isn’t a good idea to try to breed monsters of opposite temperaments.

The fun thing is, with both versions having their own unique monsters, you get some extra value when you link up with a friend who has the alternate version. By doing this, you both get one egg when breeding (one for each instead of only one egg as in single gameplay). You can also take on your friend in a challenge mode, or team up and fight badder bosses together in a team mode. There is also a way to trade magic keys so that you can go to lands that would otherwise be unavailable in your own version. Lastly, there are special items which can ONLY be obtained if you play with a friend at least several times.

In respect to graphical and audio aspects of the game, it’s hard to make a call on these two titles since their format can extend all the way back to the original Game Boy system. This is not to say the graphics are bad as they are pretty good for their compatibility. The sound also falls victim to the same rule. There isn’t a lot of variety, but it’s not really expected.

All in all, there is just simply a lot to do in Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Cobi’s Journey and Tara’s adventure if you are a fan of the monster training titles. Players who aren’t really into the genre will probably not be converted or enjoy the game much once they’ve done all the quests. However, for the avid fan it’s got a lot to offer.

Gameplay: 8
DW: Monsters 2 will be pleasantly long and full of infinite possibilities for the monster training fans. While the plot and setting are very typical for a basic RPG, the plot is worked substantially into the game to appease gamers who may be looking for more than just monster training alone. Multiplayer really adds a nice dimension and value to the titles.

Graphics: 7.5
Hard call. They’re made to go back to Game Boy, so while they might not earth shatter for hi-tech freaks, they are still good for the systems. They look quite a bit like the first DW: Monsters, but spiced up just a bit.

Sound: 6
See above.

Difficulty: 8
This game can be as easy or as hard as you want it to be. If you just want to get through the quests however, you may not find it as difficult as the gamer who wants to create the ultimate monsters of the virtually limitless combinations.

Concept: 7.5
The double format of Tara and Cobi really bring a nice added dimension to the series. Many of the unique features of Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 were brought to life in the original Dragon Warriors Monsters.

Multiplayer: 9
Multiplayer is essential to truly enjoying the full scope of the titles. There is a lot of unique and added gameplay you will miss without taking the opportunity to link up.

Overall: 8
Monster trainers unite! Cobi and Tara have a new adventure for you (and your friends). Enix has built upon the foundation of their first Dragon Warrior: Monsters and gave it even more to keep you working longer!