REVIEW: Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle


Title	Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle
Developer	Koei Tecmo
Publisher	Koei Tecmo
Release Date	July 4th, 2019
Genre	Action
Platform	Switch, PC, PlayStation 4
Age Rating	Mature
Official Website

The last Attack on Titan game I played was way back in 2016, so when I got a chance to jump on Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle I did so immediately. I had a blast with the first game and loved how it cut out some of the more boring parts of the anime and got straight to the action. This is an upgraded version of Attack on Titan 2 that released last year. Since I didn’t get a chance to check out the vanilla version, I got to experience this more fleshed out version right off the bat. Let’s jump into this and see if current owners will want to snag the upgrade DLC, or if folks that held off on the first release should snag it now.

The story here follows the Attack on Titan anime all the way from the first season up to the recently released first part of the third season. What makes this unique is you get to play through the story of the first couple seasons as your own created character. This certainly adds a unique perspective to this already wild story that is Attack on Titan. In the game’s Character Episode mode you will relive all the crazy battles of Season 3 through the eyes of some of the characters involved. This really gives you a new take on how some of these characters view the events taking place.

Just like the first time round, I love the pacing found in the game’s storytelling. It hits on all the key points so you completely understand everything, and cuts out a lot of the fat. Playing the game as your own created character and interacting with all the characters in the game really immerses you in this world. When one of your allies falls you really feel it, since you have spent time with them in other events and got to know more about them. Character Episode mode is fantastic as well. Seeing the story from different points of view and playing out some of the battles from their view point added more depth to this tale overall. Honestly if you’re going to adapt an anime story to a game and follow it closely, this is how is should be done. Others should learn from this example.

Most of the music in the game is taken straight from the anime. This is great since Attack on Titan has one of the best soundtracks you will find in any anime. The game is voiced in Japanese, and the original Japanese actors return to reprise their roles. There is no English dub, and while this is not an issue for me personally, I’m sure there are some that would’ve loved to have this option.

Since we’ve covered the base game already I will just be discussing the new additions to the Final Battle version of the game. You can check out that review if you want to know more about the gameplay. This version adds some new playable characters from season 3. They include Kenny, Zeke, Nifa, Floch and Caven. You may have already guessed from the new character that the Anti Personnel Omni Directional equipment has been added as well. This will allow you to shoot down titans rather than cut them down with a blade. Having human on human battles with this gear is very interesting as well. This gear can be swapped on the fly during a mission at supply bases.

The last mode added to Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle was Territory Recovery Mode. This mode allows you to pick your favorite character and form a squad to retake the area outside of the walls. You move from one place to another on the map completing missions to retake the land. You will be able to recruit other characters as you go along. This leads to combinations of characters you’d never be able to have together in the canon story. It’s very interesting to see some of the events that can only happen in this game due to this. You will also earn points for every mission you complete to expand your base. These expansions will give you stat boosts, allow you to have more units and other various effects.

Attack on Titan 2 was already a pretty massive game and this Final Battle version only sweetens the pot with tons of new content. You could easily spend 50 or more hours unlocking and exploring everything this game has to offer. If you haven’t picked up the base game I feel this one is well worth the $59.99 price tag. You can upgrade the base version to the Final Battle version for $39.99. I think for the amount of new content here it would be well worth it. The Nintendo Switch version of the game does have some slowdown when lots of Titans and characters are on screen moving at the same time. I didn’t encounter this too often, but on a couple of missions it is very noticeable. I wish they had added a few new mission types to the game as well, just to add a bit of variety. Those are really the only two complaints I can find with this outstanding title. Fans of Attack on Titan, buy this game today. You’ll be very happy you snagged it up. If you aren’t a fan of the series or found the anime’s pacing too slow, you should pick this up as well. I was not a fan of this until I played the first game back in 2016 and I’m very glad I decided to give it a chance.