Tobal 2
Encyclopedia
is a 3D
fighting game developed by Dream Factory and released by Square
in Japan
in 1997
. It is the sequel
to Tobal No. 1
. Unlike the latter, Tobal 2 was not released in North America
or PAL
territories. The game was re-released in 2007 under Square Enix's "Legendary Hits" label.
The game features an extensive 200 playable characters
and includes a greatly expanded Quest Mode compared to its predecessor.
The game currently holds the records for the largest character roster in a fighting game with a grand total of 200 playable characters to choose from, as well as a greatly expanded Quest Mode compared to its predecessor.
and blocking system offers the player a variety of offensive and defensive maneuvers. A new unblockable fireball attack has been added for each character. Tobal 2 was released on the same day as Sony's Dual Analog Controller
in Japan, noted as the first game compatible with the peripheral. Graphically, the game features Gouraud shaded
and higher-resolution character models compared to Tobal No. 1, but still runs at 60 frames per second.
The "Quest Mode" from Tobal No. 1 makes a return in Tobal 2. The game contains six dungeons (Practice Dungeon, Pyramid, Desert Spaceship, Molmoran Mine, Castle and Final Dungeon) to conquer. Unlike the dungeon-enclosed Quest Mode of the original, this incarnation also offers a fully explorable town that allows the player to eat, sleep, and shop. In each floor of the dungeons, the player will battle against a variety of monsters. When defeated, the monsters will drop either food, stones, potions, money or weapons. As the player progresses through the game, the character gains experience for each body part or type of attack (the most important being each arm, each leg, throwing and guard). The higher the level of the characters arms and legs and throw, the more damage an attack using that part will yield. Similarly, the higher the guard level, attacks on the character will yield less damage. Both attack and defence levels can be increased/decreased by potions and stones. Guard experience can also be accumulated by eating food when the stamina bar is (nearly) full.
By defeating monsters in the Quest Mode, the player has the option of capturing the monsters for use in the versus fighting mode, making the number of playable characters a maximum of 200. Some monsters are unique, such as the chocobo
, but many of them are just palette swaps with attributes raised for higher level monsters. Monsters can be captured by throwing a purple stone at them when they are nearly defeated. The progress of the Game can be saved using the church buildings in the town, and the character (consisting of additional data such as max hit points and attack/defence levels) can be used in the arcade and versus mode.
And others...
Tobal 2 was to be released in North America
but the release was cancelled. According to a Square official, the game was not localized due to the disappointing sales of Tobal No. 1, and the assumption that most of the people who did buy it only did so for the included playable demo of Final Fantasy VII
. Originally, it was thrown around that various third-party companies expressed interest in releasing the game but Square would not license the game to other companies. However, according to a feature in the February 2006 issue of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, Square representatives claimed that the game was never released because the PlayStation's limited memory prevented the English dialogue from fitting in the game's text boxes. A fan translation was completed little more than 3 years prior to the Square's official statement
The Tobal 2 Original Sound Track was scored by Takayuki Nakamura
, who also composed for the fighting games Virtua Fighter and Dream Factory's Ehrgeiz
. Like the soundtrack for the game's predecessor, it includes a fusion of many different styles such as jazz
, funk
, and rock and roll
. When asked in an interview concerning the soundtrack who he was most influenced by, Nakamura stated "...the music styles of Chick Corea
, Herbie Hancock
and Jeff Beck
." The 20 track CD
was released by DigiCube
on April 21, 1997 in Japan.
gave Tobal 2 an 8.1/10, finding that it is superior to Tobal No. 1 in every aspect and makes for "a great diversion from the norm." However, the website admits that it has no chance of competing with more popular fighting series such as Tekken and Mortal Kombat
.
Tobal 2 sold over 318,000 copies in Japan in 1997, making it the 31st best selling game of the year. In 2000, Tobal 2 was ranked number 50 on Weekly Famitsu
' s 100 best PlayStation games of all time.
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
fighting game developed by Dream Factory and released by Square
Square (company)
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1997
1997 in video gaming
-Events:*October 4 — Gunpei Yokoi dies after a double car accident.*November – Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association launched.*3rd annual E3...
. It is the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Tobal No. 1
Tobal No. 1
is a fighting game for the PlayStation developed by DreamFactory and published by Square in 1996. The game was DreamFactory's first release, as well as Square's first release on the CD-based console....
. Unlike the latter, Tobal 2 was not released in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
or PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
territories. The game was re-released in 2007 under Square Enix's "Legendary Hits" label.
The game features an extensive 200 playable characters
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
and includes a greatly expanded Quest Mode compared to its predecessor.
The game currently holds the records for the largest character roster in a fighting game with a grand total of 200 playable characters to choose from, as well as a greatly expanded Quest Mode compared to its predecessor.
Gameplay
The fighting system in Tobal 2 is the same as in the previous game. The player can freely navigate 3D fighting arenas under the condition that he or she faces the opponent. High, medium, and low attacks can be executed using assigned buttons. As in Tobal No. 1, the grapplingGrappling
Grappling refers to techniques, maneuvers, and counters applied to an opponent in order to gain a physical advantage, such as improving relative position, escaping, submitting, or injury to the opponent. Grappling is a general term that covers techniques used in many disciplines, styles and martial...
and blocking system offers the player a variety of offensive and defensive maneuvers. A new unblockable fireball attack has been added for each character. Tobal 2 was released on the same day as Sony's Dual Analog Controller
Dual Analog Controller
The PlayStation Dual Analog Controller was Sony's first attempt at a handheld analog controller for the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the DualShock...
in Japan, noted as the first game compatible with the peripheral. Graphically, the game features Gouraud shaded
Gouraud shading
Gouraud shading, named after Henri Gouraud, is an interpolation method used in computer graphics to produce continuous shading of surfaces represented by polygon meshes...
and higher-resolution character models compared to Tobal No. 1, but still runs at 60 frames per second.
The "Quest Mode" from Tobal No. 1 makes a return in Tobal 2. The game contains six dungeons (Practice Dungeon, Pyramid, Desert Spaceship, Molmoran Mine, Castle and Final Dungeon) to conquer. Unlike the dungeon-enclosed Quest Mode of the original, this incarnation also offers a fully explorable town that allows the player to eat, sleep, and shop. In each floor of the dungeons, the player will battle against a variety of monsters. When defeated, the monsters will drop either food, stones, potions, money or weapons. As the player progresses through the game, the character gains experience for each body part or type of attack (the most important being each arm, each leg, throwing and guard). The higher the level of the characters arms and legs and throw, the more damage an attack using that part will yield. Similarly, the higher the guard level, attacks on the character will yield less damage. Both attack and defence levels can be increased/decreased by potions and stones. Guard experience can also be accumulated by eating food when the stamina bar is (nearly) full.
By defeating monsters in the Quest Mode, the player has the option of capturing the monsters for use in the versus fighting mode, making the number of playable characters a maximum of 200. Some monsters are unique, such as the chocobo
Chocobo
A is a fictional creature from the Final Fantasy video game series. The creature is a large and normally flightless galliforme/ratite bird capable of being ridden and otherwise used by player characters during gameplay...
, but many of them are just palette swaps with attributes raised for higher level monsters. Monsters can be captured by throwing a purple stone at them when they are nearly defeated. The progress of the Game can be saved using the church buildings in the town, and the character (consisting of additional data such as max hit points and attack/defence levels) can be used in the arcade and versus mode.
Story and characters
- Chuji Wu
- Gren Kuts
- Chaco Yutani
- Fei-Pusu
- Hom
- Ill Goga
- Mary Ivonskaya
- Doctor V
- Epon
- Oliems
- Mufu
- Nork
- Empereur Udan
- Mark The Devil
- Mark2
- Ohma
- Ohma2
- Chocobo
- Dog
And others...
Development
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
but the release was cancelled. According to a Square official, the game was not localized due to the disappointing sales of Tobal No. 1, and the assumption that most of the people who did buy it only did so for the included playable demo of Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII
is a role-playing video game developed by Square and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was originally released in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation and was re-released in 1998 for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers and in 2009...
. Originally, it was thrown around that various third-party companies expressed interest in releasing the game but Square would not license the game to other companies. However, according to a feature in the February 2006 issue of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, Square representatives claimed that the game was never released because the PlayStation's limited memory prevented the English dialogue from fitting in the game's text boxes. A fan translation was completed little more than 3 years prior to the Square's official statement
The Tobal 2 Original Sound Track was scored by Takayuki Nakamura
Takayuki Nakamura
is a Japanese video game music composer who has contributed to Virtua Fighter , Tobal 2 , Ehrgeiz and the Lumines series of games. He is the director of Brainstorm Co. Ltd., the publisher of videogame music albums LUMINES remixes winter and L.II remixes...
, who also composed for the fighting games Virtua Fighter and Dream Factory's Ehrgeiz
Ehrgeiz
, fully titled Ehrgeiz: God Bless The Ring, is a 3D fighting game developed by DreamFactory and published by Namco in 1998 for the arcade platform. It was first ported to the PlayStation and published by Square Co...
. Like the soundtrack for the game's predecessor, it includes a fusion of many different styles such as jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, and rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
. When asked in an interview concerning the soundtrack who he was most influenced by, Nakamura stated "...the music styles of Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
and Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
." The 20 track CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
was released by DigiCube
DigiCube
DigiCube Co., Ltd. was a Japanese company established as a subsidiary of software developer Square on February 6, 1996 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The primary purpose of DigiCube was to market and distribute Square products, most notably video games and related merchandise, including toys,...
on April 21, 1997 in Japan.
| Tobal 2 Original Sound Track tracklist |
|---|
Disc 1 (60:50)
|
Reception
Despite its exclusive release in Japan, the game has received relatively high praise among importers. GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
gave Tobal 2 an 8.1/10, finding that it is superior to Tobal No. 1 in every aspect and makes for "a great diversion from the norm." However, the website admits that it has no chance of competing with more popular fighting series such as Tekken and Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (series)
Mortal Kombat, commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The first four renditions and their updates were developed by Midway Games and initially released on arcade machines. The arcade titles were later picked up by Acclaim...
.
Tobal 2 sold over 318,000 copies in Japan in 1997, making it the 31st best selling game of the year. In 2000, Tobal 2 was ranked number 50 on Weekly Famitsu
Famitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
External links
- Tobal 2 at Square-Enix.com
- Tobal 2 unofficial fan site