Feature: Toki Tori 2 Top 5 - What's New In The Sequel

Toki Tori 2, the sequel to one of WiiWare's best-known titles, arrives on the Wii U eShop on 20th December. This sequel features significant changes from the structure and gameplay of the original release, while the included level editor may give extra life to the experience for any budding game designers with their hands on a Wii U.

Ahead of the title's launch, we've invited the game's developer, Two Tribes, to share information on the new game and itself. Over the next few weeks we'll learn more about what makes Toki Tori 2 tick, as well as gain greater insight into the development studio itself. In this first feature provided by the company we're given a summary of five key differences between the sequel and the original; check back for the next feature at the same time next week.

Toki Tori is still the same somewhat naive yellow chicken as when we first came up with him over a decade ago. But the game around him is almost completely different. After all that time, we decided it was time for a true sequel, for which we left no stone unturned. Here are the top 5 new things in Toki Tori 2.

1. Whistle and stomp

In Toki Tori 1, you solved puzzles with the tools we gave you, like bridges, ice guns and warps. This was partly due to the technical limitations of the platforms we built the game on: the Game Boy Color, and going even further back, the MSX. For Toki Tori 2, we scrapped the tools. Now you can only whistle and stomp… to affect the flora and fauna in the environment. Surprise: because there are so many different creatures and obstacles, your range of actions is much greater than before.

2. Living, breathing world

Toki Tori 1 was a linear progression of levels: you solved them one by one, even if you could skip hard levels with the Joker card from the Wii version onwards. This is totally different in the sequel. The game takes place in a living, breathing world full of wonderful creatures, with no artificial barriers. Actually, the game is made up of 'slices' of an island, so you can actually travel in three dimensions. If you see a city in the distance, chances are you can go there.

3. Pick your puzzles

There were a lot of puzzle levels in Toki Tori 1, and they got harder over time. This meant that a significant amount of players got frustrated at some point, sometimes before seeing all the environments and tools. For Toki Tori 2, we're taking a different approach. The world is wide-open, with an 'easy path' that everyone should be able to tackle. More adventurous players can try to solve the harder puzzles along the way. They just might find something special!

4. Save the island!

From screenshots and trailers, Toki Tori 2 may look like a gentle walk through the forest, but a lot more is going on. One of our goals was to make a game that has a real setting and backstory, unlike the first game. Our silly chicken is an unlikely hero, but he's a hero alright! He actually has to save his island, and all the creatures that live on it. But first, he has to find out what's behind the black substance bubbling up from the ground. Well, let's not spoil too much…

5. No eggs
Finally, bad news for all you egg lovers out there: there are no eggs in Toki Tori 2 at all! None! Or maybe … ?