In the past 10 years the anime-licensed games have transformed significantly! What was once a breeding ground for sub-par titles that only licensed to sell extra copies has become one of the most popular and well-known games in the industry! This paradigm shift was because of one studio that set out to push the boundaries of what licensed games could do by bringing a stunning adaptation of the Shonen Jump franchise, Naruto. For the better part of 10 years CyberConnect2’s Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series immediately impressed with beautiful graphics and passion for the original material which resulted in a game series that sold an astounding 15 million copies in six installments! The challenge of capturing the same magic of the series isn’t an straightforward task, however Demon Slayer Mobile Games: The Hinokami Chronicles is the spiritual successor that fans like me are waiting for.
Demon Slayer The Hinokami Chronicles is a 3D arena combat game created by CyberConnect2 and was published by SEGA. Based on the manga written by Koyoharu Gotouge the series has been one of Shonen’s most popular series. The anime adaptation was created by UFOTOTAL, the highest-grossing animation film as of 2021, and in the near future, a console video game created by a famous developer, it’s obvious this Demon Slayer mobile games is a major hit within the anime world! There’s no doubt that the odds are in favor of Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chroniclesto be a great time, but can the game’s console debut meet this incredibly high bar?
Table of Contents
Story
Demon Slayer Mobile Games the Hinokami Chronicles retells the events of The Tanjiro Kamado, Unwavering Resolve Arc up down to Mugen Train arc. You are in control of Tanjiro Kamado, who’s world is transformed when he learns that the entire family of his was killed by the demon. The only survivor is his sister Nezuko but he later learns that while Nezuko’s life was spared and she survived, she became an undead. With newfound resolve, Tanjiro aspires to become the Demon Slayer to not only eliminate the demon who killed his family, but also seek out a way of turning Nezuko back to a human.
I’ll admit that I’m not the greatest player of Demon Slayer mobile games. It’s not to say that the story is bad , but it’s not an original Shonen setup with a resolute protagonist and a mission to inspire them throughout the entire series. It’s not a bad effort though I’ve read similar stories many times before. In the end the reason that Demon Slayer mobile games stand out and why I think it’s very popular is its varied cast of characters. They are enjoyable to play, whether it be Zenitsu suffering from severe panic attacks over seemingly insignificant matters, Inosuke being a parody of other shonen heroes who only think of fighting, Shinobu’s never-ending positive demeanor up to the point of being quite disturbing the list goes on! This also extends to the numerous characters Tanjiro has to fight and who often come with a believable backstory to explain why they behave in the manner they do.
Sadly, the weakest among the heroes is Tanjiro. I didn’t really dislike him, but he’s just not all that fascinating. His distinctive traits include being a shrewd sense of smell, a tough head that’s frequently used to headbutt people and… that’s all. As you’d expect, his determination to never give up and has a strong heart however, these characteristics are a dime dozen for protagonists in this genre. What makes him stand out is the fact that his motive is a noble one, and he puts others before himself, even at the point of sympathizing with the demons which he fights. It really helps us support him and his growth! And before you ask, yes. Nezuko is adorable, and despite the fact that she barely says anything she’s the emotional heart of the story. I was hoping for her to return to her normal.
The question that is now posed is: does Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chroniclesserve as a excellent way to learn about it for the very first time? The answer is complicated. The most important events in the story are included in the game’s narrative, though it’s not a complete version of the story. Though I do like the fact that the game provides an option to play scenes not covered in the game , using something called Memory Fragments. Where this sort of fumbles is due to some of them becoming unlocked much later during the game, which means scenes in the early stages of the story get locked off until you reach a later moment in the game’s story. It’s not a good idea. Regardless, the game is an excellent way to learn a condensed version of the Demon Slayer mobile gamesstory!
Gameplay – Story Mode
Every arc of Demon Slayer Mobile Games: The Hinokami Chroniclesis separated into chapters. In order to be able to finish the game, players must complete all eight chapters. It’s recommended that you do so, as it’s the fastest way to unlock all characters and stages you’ll use in the game’s combat mode. It’s unfortunate, then, that the quality of the story mode isn’t exactly consistent. In Tanjiro’s search to save his sister you’ll see him exploring different environments, leaping across rooftops, and sliding under shrubbery. It’s interesting, right? Unfortunately, these exploration segments are among the weakest elements of the campaign. Those interactive elements I just discussed can only be completed at specific locations. This was an odd choice, given how agile the characters that you’ll be controlling in the cutscenes. The problem is that your character’s movements are at a frustratingly slow pace without any way to increase your movement speed. There are side-questions you may tackle however calling them side quests is rather generous. They all comprise of communicating with specific individuals or interacting with objects, all of which are marked in your map, taking away any enjoyment from completely exploring every place.
It doesn’t help that the story is often poorly paced too, with you often having to watch a truckload of cutscenes, along with already explained adventure portions before you end up fighting any monsters. However, the moments when you’re forced to unsheath your sword lead to some of the most enjoyable parts of the adventure! This is especially true in the great boss fights in the game! All of these fights add a unique element to make the fight more exciting regardless of whether you are making use of your move options to avoid big fights or taking on more than one boss simultaneously. The fights come to an exquisitely-crafted interactive cutscene with CyberConnect2’s now-famous quick-time events. It’s a tiny point here, but as good as these final sections of boss fights are, I was disappointed to learn that some of these quick-time sequences require just one or two button presses that is quite different from CyberConnect2’s previous titles.
Outside of the main story There are also special monsters to battle as you finish each chapter. While completely optional I found them to be very enjoyable because of their complexity and unique mechanics for example, the one that inflicts poison while attacking! A good thing, considering the majority of the single-player campaigns is simple. There is a very small chance of dying since attacks are often communicated to players and are possible to avoid if timed well. The game gets more challenging towards the end, though this difficulty issue will not hinder the fun boss encounters.
Gameplay – Combat System
The primary reason to play Demon Slayer Mobile Game the Hinokami Chroniclesis being able to play your favorite characters in a thrilling fighting game. I’m thrilled to report that the combat system that the game provides is easily one of its strengths! CyberConnect2 was not known for creating balanced combat systems and it took them a number of years of their Naruto Storm series to fix the broken mechanisms they introduced, for instance. All of this was fruitful though, as the mechanics and combat in Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles are the best that the studio has ever created!
Players pick two characters each, one of which acts as a backup to extend combos , or help you from an opponent’s combo. Battles are held in a 3D arena, with combatants able to move around the arena. The majority of movement is done using sidesteps and ground dashes. Ground dashes have properties that homify, as do your assistance, however, in the event that an opponent takes an sidestep, it’ll take away the homing property. In addition, your second chosen character assist you and assist you, but you’ll also have the ability to switch places with them, allowing players to increase combos or make previously unreliable moves more effective. As for blocking attacks, there is one option to consider, you could additionally push block to provide an extra space between you and your opponent, or by using good timing, parry your opponent’s attack, leaving them wide open for the possibility of a combo. On top of that you’ll have a blue gauge used for special attacks and a super gauge which can be used to create your most powerful attack or enhance your speed and attack in a short amount of time.
Beyond the basic fighting options there’s more intricate mechanics to play with. At any moment, you could rewind an attack string by sidestepping, jumping, or dashing by spending 1 bar of the blue-colored meter. This is the same meter used for special attacks and being able to store a maximum of 5 bars, you have to think strategically about how you make use of it. When you land the combo you want to, based on the initial attack you select it will be accompanied by a small colored wheel that is displayed on the side of your combo meter. It determines the length of time you can strike your opponent until they will stop being damaged. If your gauge’s gauge’s value is green, that is the most common way to are able to successfully tackle your opponent, you can perform a very lengthy combination. If your gauge’s color is red, which is common when attacking an enemy from above The amount of time that you can hurt the opponent is significantly reduced. When all this is put together and it produces one of the most fun combat games I’ve played over the several years! It’s simple to learn to play, though there is enough depth to satiate those who seek it. I could certainly imagine myself playing Demon Slayer Mobile Games: Hinokami Chronicles. Hinokami Chroniclesfor quite some time!
The system isn’t perfect, however it has two issues that detract from the effectiveness of the system. The first concern is the roster of characters. At launch, there are 12 characters that you can choose from, with 6 of them being offered an alternative version that has more comical ultimate attack. It’s not uncommon to see a fighting game have a small roster however, since some of the characters available have very similar special moves between each other which leads me to think it was meant to have a more extensive starting roster, but it was forced to launch now. This theory is strengthened with the anime adaptation of Demon Slayer Mobile Games starting its anticipated second season a week before the game’s launch. However, we’ve been told it will get 6 DLC characters at no cost and this means that the lack of characters will not be a problem much time.
The second issue is a bigger issue and could negatively impact the game’s performance if it’s not resolved. On the PlayStation 4 version I’ve experienced and it has been regularly stated by gamers that there is noticeable delays in inputs when entering moves during battle. It’s not just a matter of playing online, since this also occurs when playing the game locally. It means that the player’s response time is severely hindered and in a game that requires precise timing to parry, how such a problem got past testing is baffling! There are reports of this delay being present in different versions of the game like that of the PlayStation 5 and PC are contradictory, it’s assumed that the current generation of hardware doesn’t have this delay in input. It is our only hope that this issue of delay will be fixed on this version of the game. PlayStation four version of the game, although that’s not the case.
Gameplay – Online
Being someone who’s spent a number of years playing the games of CyberConnect2 online I’m very acquainted with how their games play out, and unfortunately, the results aren’t always what you expect. Over the years, they’ve constantly improved the online options for players, like creating lobbies and tournaments as well as a spectator mode. But when Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 was released in 2016, a lot of the options that were available to players were missing. It was impossible to set up lobbies with more than four people, and spectating matches could not anymore be used. This was corrected within the “Road to Boruto” expansion, which came out a year later and you’d think the studio learned from their mistakes and decided not to cut back on online options for their sequels, right? It’s not so… we’ll just say they somehow found the way to make online play more limited!
There are only two ways to play online: ranked matches that demonstrate your supremacy in games’ ranking systems, and custom matches which allows you to change options and invite a friend to join in… That’s it. I’ve met a lot of amazing people by playing CyberConnect2’s games online due to the previous fighting game titles offering online lobbies and spectator options. In removing these options and offering us the basic options that the community of Demon Slayer Mobile Games the Hinokami Chroniclesis really going to be hurt in the long over the long term! For example, there will be no option to organize tournaments online which could ultimately harm the competitive nature of the game. Similar to the problem with input delay on PlayStation 4, we can only hope that these options are added to the game down the road.
Speaking of that delay in input, let’s talk about how the netcode of this game works. The game is based on a delay netcode, which has caused quite a few fans of fighting games to sigh in unison. Essentially, depending on the connection of opponents, players will either enjoy a good fight or play a game with an enormous delay in input. When you add in the game’s present input delay issue on the PlayStation 4 version, you might experience an astonishment amount of input delays when fighting online! I’ve played many online games with other players in my area and while I got used with it over time, all can engage in this manner.
Presentation
If there’s one area that CyberConnect2 consistently impresses, it’s the presentation of their games. Demon Slayer Mobile Games: The Hinokami Chroniclesis no exception. The game is stunning! Cel shaders have changed significantly in the past two decades and some of the most effective uses of this visual style have blurred the line of 2D Animation in 3D. I frequently had to lift my jaw off the ground because of how accurately the shots and characters were reconstructed from the anime adaptation and, in a few instances the game has surpassed it! If you think about it, I’m comparing CyberConnect2’s efforts against ufotable’s, one of the most acclaimed animation studios in the field of anime, that speaks volumes! I often had to make myself aware that the game was not an 2D animated game because of how the art style of the anime was transformed into a 3D environment! The animation in all its forms, whether an entertaining story or an epic attack that has amazing production values it was awe-inspiring! There are some flaws, but although the worlds you’ll experience in the story mode are all distinct and packed with details I did notice some moments of texture popping-in. It’s a minor issue when you consider how amazing the game looks when it’s in motion!
The loading times were fairly decent, including on PlayStation 4. It took about 10 to 15 seconds, regardless if it was a story mode cutscene or a multiplayer match so major props to the performance improvement on older platforms! The game is played at a steady 30 frames a second. While some people will scoff at this, particularly considering it being a combat game, I thought that it added an cinematic vibe and made it more in line with the original material!
The sound is also a major feature! It’s not just that the game incorporate some of the tracks from the cult anime soundtrack The original compositions used for the game perfectly match the overall tone and I never got tired of hearing the same battle music while playing with my friends online for over 20 matches in the same row! It’s a first for a licensed anime title the game also got the dual audio track, which includes both English as well as Japanese voice actors available right out of the box. Although I initially was watching the anime in its native Japanese language, the English voice cast does a solid job and featuring Bryce Papenbrook as Inosuke being the clear standout for me! It’s no difficult to convey the character’s constant unpredictable energy and I believe Byrce has absolutely done a great job with his performance! Although I’m going to highlight Zach Aguilar’s portrayal in the protagonist of the show, Tanjiro. While he’s doing a decent job overall, whenever he had to shout or express strong emotions, such as anger or crying, the tone and delivery do not match with the rest of his acting. It was to the point at which, the moment these events occurred, he almost sounded like that he was playing a totally distinct character. This was extremely distracting!
Verdict
It’s fair to say that I’m with you. I’m between two worlds in a difficult spot by Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles. It’s a 3D combat game by one of my most favorite game studios with a popular anime franchise behind it. I was sold from beginning of its announcement at the beginning of March in 2020! The fact that it was released in the hands of one of my top games companies SEGA was not a bad thing. matters either! I’ll admitthat I had a great time having fun playing it although I’m not the biggest fan of Demon Slayer mobile games in comparison to Naruto However, there are some glaring issues that hold it back from the top of the line. The absence of online options and the slow input speed and the slow-paced plot deter me from giving a solid recommendation, but I know more than anyone else that there is a market for a game that is similar to this.
