Jade Cocoon 2

Jade Cocoon 2 was the sillier and witty followup to the original, with a more strict definition of dungeon crawling. A couple of new features/changes were simply part of the usual bag of improvements sequels bring, the best of which is found in their overhauled battle system. The 'BeastAmulet' system basically applied the monster fusion/capture of Jade Cocoon to a largely teambuilding focused paradigm - making it more complex and build-dependent yet also more restrictive in a way, as monster roles and skills are now mostly reduced to their elemental type. Monsters now act more like augments to traditional RPG battle skills than separate party members, while changes to elements & capturing removed the last traces of Pokemon influence. The party customization is responsible for most of the intrigue. Alas, the monotonous, plodding pace of combat ruins its potential, especially considering the amount of dungeons and battles tackled here compared to their first effort.