Many have been saying that Toshinden 2 is just an "okay" game, suffering
from crappy gameplay, albeit with some spiffy graphics.  I can see their
point, I guess, but if you take TSD 2 on its own, not comparing it to the
superior gameplay of VF2 or Tekken2, it really is a fun game.  The control
is better than in the first one, there are lots of new special attacks,
some great new characters, and the challenge level has been raised . . .
no longer can you just roll-attack-roll-attack and beat every opponent!

Where the game really shines is, of course, in the visuals.  They are
STUNNING, worthy of the arcade-pefect port this is.  From the awesome
lighting effects in Sophia's disco stage, to the swirling mists of Mondo's
moonlit arena, to the crashing waves of Gaia's island . . . down to the
fine details of Tracy's windblown blue hair and Uranus's feathery wings .
. . Gaaa!!!!  It's a graphical feast unmatched on the PSX to date.  If
this is what "second generation" looks like, I want more!  This game seems
to push the poor PSX to the max . . . at times, the onscreen status bars
flicker on and off, as if the weight of all the effects is consuming too
much of the machine's resources to display them.  However, there's no
significant slowdown in the game itself . .. quite a triumph.

The new characters threaten to easily outshine the old ones . . .Chaos is
the most amusing psycho character in a fighter next to Adon, and the way
he skitters around like a bug and babbles to himself is hilarious.  Tracy
is a sexy tonfa-wielding cop whose unzippered cutoffs seem perpetually
about to slide off of her, but never do : (   She's a nasty fighter and a
pain to beat when under CPU control.  Uranus is an unholy angel, a huge
winged character who flutters around the arena with awesome grace, and who
wields a mean energy bow.  Master, the main boss, is an effeminate
teenaged guy who throws knives bigger than himself at you.

Two secret characters are also included.  Sho is back, looking regal in
Roman-like garb.  His background is just his old one, now in black and
white.  The coolest character, though, as you probably already know, is
Vermillion ("Verm").  This bone-thin, black-cloaked visage of evil carries
both a shotgun and a flintlock pistol, both of which have unlimited range
. .. It's such an obvious joke, yet still so amusing that they finally did
this in a game . .. All these pretentious martial artists, and in comes a
skinny guy with guns to blow them away!  Good thing he's not a regular
character, as he's WAY too unbalanced, at least for the CPU game . . . His
background is awesome, a haunted forest with tons of parallax and
half-seen evil shapes in the shadows . . .

By the way, all the characters do speak in Japanese.  Playmates did not
change a single voice, so purists will be pleased.  Even the endings are
narrated in Nihongo, with English text scrolling as the narrator speaks. 
Very cool.  To those who bitch about everything not being in English . . .
just go back to your American MK games, okay?  IMHO, the Japanese adds a
lot to the other-worldly feel of the game.  And its not like you can't
understand what's going on . . .

Overall, this game has really impressed me, at least with its graphics. 
The game play may lack subtleties, but it's still a blast.  Fast, chaotic
fun, and the best eye candy on PSX to date.  What more could you ask from
the sequel to TSD?

- Djutmose