As someone who loves anime but doesn’t really have the free time to watch a whole bunch of it, I find playing anime based video games to be a good middle ground. Over the years I’ve been introduced to dozens of badass anime universes through the power of gaming, from Fairy Tail to One Punch Man and everything in-between. Well it’s time to add yet another new anime to the bucket list thanks to a new fun 3D arena fighter that has introduced me to a wonderful new world, Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2. Try saying that without taking a breath first.
If like me you’re not familiar with Demon Slayer, it follows the adventures of Tanjiro Kamado. This young teen lives his life in the mountains with his family, until demons come and slaughter all of them except his younger sister Nezuko. Nezuko has been left partially transformed into a demon herself, and to try and save her (and to fight those that stole so much from him) Tanjiro joins the Demon Slayer Corps. There he’ll train how to use “water breathing” sword techniques and eventually be sent out to behead demons that are blighting the land.
That’s the introduction to Demon Slayer anyway, but as this is a sequel the game actually starts midway through the story of the anime. The hefty campaign mode of The Hinokami Chronicles 2 goes through the Entertainment District Arc, the Swordsmith Village Arc and the Hashira Training Arc, which long time Tanjiro and company fans will already be familiar with.
If like this guy, you go into this game completely blind, there’s both an introductory cutscene which explains a bit of what’s going on and a dedicated story catch up mode. This was a godsend for me, giving a very brief overview of the previous events of the first game and anime, with a few fights to take on too. After that you’ll be fully prepared for the actual campaign, which offers a heck of a lot more than just cutscenes and battles.
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 has a seriously fleshed out story mode, which includes things like exploring environments, gathering collectibles and even side quests. You’ll also get to use the unique powers of the characters you’re playing as in story mode too. For example Inosuke (the boar headed warrior) can listen for noises with expert hearing, whereas Zenitsu has actual rhythm game segments when he is required to play the Shamisen. All this adds up to make you feel like you’re playing the entirety of this adventure instead of just a series of fighting game matches, which I personally really appreciated.
We should probably talk about the actual arena combat of The Hinokami Chronicles 2, which as someone who isn’t really into hardcore fighting games I really enjoyed. There aren’t tons of combos and complex inputs to think about when fighting a fellow Demon Slayer or Demon, and instead winning fights generally involves trying to keep attacks landing by sprinkling in dashes and flashy special attacks, and blocking and dodging when required. Especially in story mode you’ll end up having to avoid lots of circles indicating incoming attacks, and with elemental blasts flying all over the place the major boss battles feel particularly epic.
It’s as an overall single player experience that the game really shines, because against real opponents the combat does just feel a touch simple. That being said with over forty characters to play as it can be fun to pick your favourites and battle with your friends, unleashing powerful finishers or tag attacks and watching the visual spectacle.
As far as I can tell a lot of how the combat flows and overall features of Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 were also present in the first game, but plenty has been added for the sequel. There’s the gear system which allows you to equip a selection of passive buffs to your fighter whether you’re playing single or multiplayer, which will grant power boosts or extra defence in specific circumstances. It’s a clever way to get you to think about your own combat style, and it’s well worth unlocking as many gear options as possible to play around with.
The amount of collectibles and unlockables in The Hinokami Chronicles 2 is frankly absurd, and you’ll get them for doing absolutely everything. Collectibles just lie on the floor in every environment you’re allowed to explore, you’ll get them for being graded with each specific rank in a battle, and each character can be levelled up to unlock even more bits and bobs. Character voice lines, player card icons, individual characters and much much more can all be obtained by playing the game however you want, and if you aimed to unlock everything it would take you months.
At first I was somewhat overwhelmed by the idea of levelling up a roster of over forty different fighters, but then I discovered Training Paths. For hours I thought this was the menu option that led to an arena to practice combos and the like, but it’s actually a tournament you can compete in against the Hashira (who are basically legendary Demon Slayers of different elements) with branching paths and optional objectives. These come in a variety of difficulties, and keep you on your toes by challenging you with various tasks as you fight, like not tagging in your partner or taking too much damage. As well as being fun it’s an awesome way to test out new characters or grind levels on your favourites, and I spent many rainy afternoons competing in “just one more” Training Path.
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 has a lot more to offer than most humble arena fighting games, and outside of the slightly too simple combat there aren’t many issues I’d complain about. Some will likely struggle with how cutscene heavy it is I suppose, but when you’re playing a game based on a beloved anime you have to expect a lot of story.
It is worth mentioning that the game does have a few limitations on the Switch. I personally played it on the Switch 2, but the game doesn’t have a dedicated version for the new console to take advantage of its power. It runs well enough without frame rate issues or anything of that ilk, but you will notice some blurry character models and overall inferior graphics than would be ideal.
I had a great time playing Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 and learning all about this massively popular anime franchise via an awesome arena fighter. Its simple but flashy combat likely won’t be something you play online for months, but as a single player experience it has so much to offer with lots of variety and some seriously compelling game modes that are hard to put down.
