IGN: Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Cobi's Journey Review

November 1, 2001 - Any game that involves collecting monsters is going to draw comparisons to the all-holy Pokemon. It's unavoidable. So let's dismiss the assumption that Enix's Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 is a Pokemon clone. It is not. If anything, it's a merging of Pokemon and Monster Rancher. If you want to collect every monster imaginable, you're gonna need to put some of your fave beasts out to stud and breed whole new species.

Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 is actually two games in one. The first half of the game is a very classical Japanese RPG. The kingdom's in trouble and it's up to you, the unsuspecting hero, to save the day. The second half is all about finding new monsters, building them up, breeding them, and repeating the process to infinity with the hopes of finding every last species.

Features

Over 300 types of monsters to nab
Link cable support for two player battles and trading
Battery back-up
Only for Game Boy Color

There are two separate games you can buy, Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Cobi's Journey or Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Tara's Adventure. Both titles are nearly identical. The same quest, the same results. But each title has unique monsters and magic keys. To reach all of the many lands of Dragon Warrior Monsters 2, you'll have to breed monsters and swap keys with a buddy playing the other game.

Cobi and Tara are friendly siblings whose family has just opened a monster ranch on the tiny island of GreatLog. Their peaceful lives are soon disrupted when the irresponsible Prince Kameha and his monster sidekick, Warubou, accidentally destroy the GreatLog's navel plug (yes, you read that right). As often happens when an island's navel plug is destroyed, GreatLog begins to sink. Warubou acts as a temporary plug, but it is up to you as either Cobi or Tara to journey to five different worlds in search of a replacement plug.

From here the RPG is pretty standard. Travel around fighting random monsters and talking to various people in the town. All this leads you to a Boss encounter where you finally retrieve the potential plug replacement. You can only take three monsters with you on each journey, the rest are left at your father's ranch. Choose wisely.

Enix has done a nice job balancing this game. Monsters become increasingly difficult to defeat as you progress through the game, but never so much that it gets frustrating. Random monster encounters are never so common that they become annoying. On average, you'll hit one encounter on each screen. Battles aren't yours to fight, but are left for your monsters. The wilder a monster is, the less likely they are to follow orders in combat. Give them love (and boatloads of food) and they will become more obedient. Each monster is capable of learning skills that are of great help come combat time. All of the bosses are tough, but none are impossible to beat.

The bulk of the game comes after the RPG is finished. Once the credits roll, you're free to search for magic keys that will unlock a myriad of worlds to explore, monsters to nab, and items to find. Breeding is the key to finishing both the RPG and finding all of the available monsters. Each monster will be either male or female. Choose a mom and a dad who are both 10th level or above and take them to Professor Monster at the Starry Shrine. Now it's time to dim the lights, put on some soothing Barry White, and let nature take its course. Apparently, Enix isn't too hot on parental values because before your newborn can hatch, mom and dad split, never to be seen again. And I mean never. Left behind is their powerful and unique offspring.

With the link cable you can hook up with friends and battle your monsters, swap keys and monsters, or even breed two monsters together. The monsters that come from breeding with your buddy's crew are some of the best you can get. Breeding new creatures, exploring the many new worlds of Dragon Warrior Monsters 2, and dealing some smack-down to your friends adds a lot of depth to an already solid RPG.

Closing Comments
Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 is a step up from the original thanks to more monsters and the need to link up with a friend in order to truly finish the game. The RPG takes anywhere from 8-12 hours, but it's the monster ranching that makes the game a winner. It would have been nice if Cobi and Tara had two separate RPG's, but like the Stones said, you can't always get what you want. If you like Monster Rancher, this is the game for you. No, it's not as good or as addictive as Pokemon, but it is a great game nonetheless.

IGN Ratings for Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Cobi's Journey (GBC)