WEBVTT 00:00:01.740 --> 00:00:06.830 Believe it or not, but Toki Tori 2 was one of the most daring and ingeniously designed 00:00:06.830 --> 00:00:08.900 puzzle games of 2013. 00:00:08.900 --> 00:00:13.540 I say that because it's a Metroidvania game where you aren't stopped by doors you can't 00:00:13.540 --> 00:00:17.930 open or blocks you can't break. The only thing stopping you from breaking off the main road 00:00:17.930 --> 00:00:22.189 to forge your own path is just basic knowledge of how the game works. 00:00:22.189 --> 00:00:26.550 Before I get to that, let me define a Metroidvania. 00:00:26.550 --> 00:00:30.919 Back in the day, most games were split into levels, and they followed one after the other, 00:00:30.919 --> 00:00:35.340 in order. Then games like Metroid came along, squished all the levels together into one 00:00:35.340 --> 00:00:38.660 contiguous world map, and jumbled up the order. 00:00:38.660 --> 00:00:42.340 This means that during your adventure you might come across a door that you can't access 00:00:42.340 --> 00:00:46.340 yet, until you unlock a new item that will let you through, so you now have to retrace 00:00:46.340 --> 00:00:49.400 your steps to get back to that obstacle and bypass it. 00:00:49.400 --> 00:00:53.770 There are now loads of these games, including Metroid and Castlevania of course as well 00:00:53.770 --> 00:00:58.110 as Shantae and Shadow Complex and Strider and Guacamelee and more. 00:00:58.110 --> 00:01:02.370 But they all generally do the same thing. Bits of the world are completely inaccessible 00:01:02.370 --> 00:01:07.429 until you get the next power up, meaning these games aren't truly about exploration at all. 00:01:07.429 --> 00:01:10.770 You're still on a predetermined path. Only, there's a lot more backtracking. 00:01:10.770 --> 00:01:14.890 So, enter Toki Tori 2 - a game which does something quite different. 00:01:14.890 --> 00:01:20.450 You only have two abilities in this game - you can tweet and you can stomp. And that's it. 00:01:20.450 --> 00:01:25.369 You never get any more powers or items. You do learn some songs that let you respawn, 00:01:25.369 --> 00:01:29.359 jump to the map screen, take a picture, or view your location, but they don't actually 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:31.609 unlock any new areas. 00:01:31.609 --> 00:01:36.590 Instead of abilities, the game has a complicated ecosystem of creatures that all act and interact 00:01:36.590 --> 00:01:40.819 in different ways, and you advance by manipulating these critters. You might tweet to move this 00:01:40.819 --> 00:01:45.139 platform near to you or use fireflies to disable these masks. 00:01:45.139 --> 00:01:49.729 The main pathway, as much as there is one, introduces you to these concepts slowly, and 00:01:49.729 --> 00:01:53.999 doesn't let you advance until you've got it. So in this very early section we have to learn 00:01:53.999 --> 00:01:58.979 about making bubbles to ride up to this next area. Along the way, checkpoints linger just 00:01:58.979 --> 00:02:00.979 out of view so you know where you should be going. 00:02:00.979 --> 00:02:06.069 But, at any time, you can break off from this path, even if the majority of first time players 00:02:06.069 --> 00:02:08.009 don't even realise that they can. 00:02:08.009 --> 00:02:12.030 Take this very early area. We came in from the left, and it seems like all we can do 00:02:12.030 --> 00:02:12.960 is move to the right. 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:19.440 Then again we could lure this bird over here to get up to here, then use this water to 00:02:19.440 --> 00:02:24.880 grow this grass so we sneak past the other birds, then use this little animal friend 00:02:24.880 --> 00:02:27.210 to clear the gap. 00:02:27.210 --> 00:02:31.510 But you probably won't because you don't officially learn about luring birds until this part of 00:02:31.510 --> 00:02:36.810 the game, or growing grass until you do this puzzle, or using those repeater bugs until 00:02:36.810 --> 00:02:39.170 you get to this section. 00:02:39.170 --> 00:02:43.400 If you manage to do get up here and wander off to the left, you've reached a part of 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:48.030 the game that most players won't actually access until much later on. It's sequence 00:02:48.030 --> 00:02:52.370 breaking - you know, the way that industrious players use cheats and glitches to bypass 00:02:52.370 --> 00:02:54.030 bits of level - but made official 00:02:54.030 --> 00:02:59.390 Here's another example. In this section, we fall down and our only option is to go left. 00:02:59.390 --> 00:03:03.660 The stairs on the right are too steep and we can't jump, remember. But, we later learn 00:03:03.660 --> 00:03:08.090 about herding fireflies, so when we eventually come back to this area we'll know to bring 00:03:08.090 --> 00:03:12.450 these little guys down with us to wake up this sleepy purple monster, who we'll feed 00:03:12.450 --> 00:03:15.500 to the frog, who gives us a bubble to get up here. 00:03:15.500 --> 00:03:19.370 And in this section, these electric critters are in our way. Later on in the game we'll 00:03:19.370 --> 00:03:23.590 get taught how to disable them by stomping while wet. But maybe you'll figure that out 00:03:23.590 --> 00:03:27.710 before you're supposed to and then start to explore the game on your own terms 00:03:27.710 --> 00:03:32.760 That's kind of the magic of Toki Tori 2. Exploration in this game feels real and organic because 00:03:32.760 --> 00:03:37.220 you can discover your own path at any time, and your options are never limited by your 00:03:37.220 --> 00:03:41.230 abilities. If you can't advance, it's only because you can't work out what you're supposed 00:03:41.230 --> 00:03:42.580 to do. 00:03:42.580 --> 00:03:46.380 The main path eventually brings you to this area, where you find that the main goal in 00:03:46.380 --> 00:03:51.100 this game is to lure these five frogs to these warp holes. And you can do that in any order 00:03:51.100 --> 00:03:55.020 you like which again, reinforces the sense of discovery and exploration. 00:03:55.020 --> 00:03:59.040 Likewise, one other goal in the game sees you collecting these shards to activate these 00:03:59.040 --> 00:04:04.100 stones to open this gate. And you can collect them however you like. It's always up to you. 00:04:04.100 --> 00:04:08.650 Now I don't think that every game, or even every Metroidvania, should try this. It's 00:04:08.650 --> 00:04:12.860 a ballsy move, because if you don't tune it just right players can break the order all 00:04:12.860 --> 00:04:16.690 over the place, miss vital bits of knowledge, and get lost or stuck or fed up. 00:04:16.690 --> 00:04:20.120 But it's just nice to be trusted with the way you plot out your adventure for once. 00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:25.020 So many games these days hold your hand with helpful companions, endless tutorials, and 00:04:25.020 --> 00:04:27.400 big compasses that point you in the right direction. 00:04:27.400 --> 00:04:32.360 Toki Tori 2 has no tutorials, no words at all actually outside its logo, and it respects 00:04:32.360 --> 00:04:36.509 your intelligence in a very satisfying way. This one has gone overlooked but I think it 00:04:36.509 --> 00:04:42.039 deserves more attention. Don't be fooled by its cutesy exterior - this PC and Wii U puzzler 00:04:42.039 --> 00:04:45.199 is wicked smart, and also devilishly tricky at times.