Cat Quest II

Return to the enchanting world of Felingard in Cat Quest II where the stakes have never been higher. Play as both the cat and dog king who are trying to reclaim their respective thrones. Even more weapons, spells and equipment aid you on your path to glory with just as many dungeons and challenges to explore as well. Boasting an open world, 2.5D experience, Cat Quest II captures the magic of the first one all while holding many surprises and ideas of its own.

Cat Quest II never takes itself too seriously. Two ancient kings are prophesied to return and need to work together to reform the Kingsblade. The Kingsblade used to be a point of contention between the warring cats and dogs, but now it’s the only chance at fending off the evil terrorizing both kingdoms. Having played the first game, I can tell you that this is an entirely different story with only mere callbacks to the first. While the introduction sounds as if it has a more serious tone, the rest of the game unfolds to be a pun lover’s wet dream. Purrfectly pawesome puns are scattered throughout the game in every way imaginable; towns, dialogue, dungeons, etc. It not subtle by any means, but it doesn’t have to be. The humour aids Cat Quest II in standing out, not that it had problems doing that in the first place.

Random? Yes. At times, hilarious? Quite.

Kitty’s got claws

Combat is one of the main design points of the game. While the last game more often got repetitive, Cat Quest II has somewhat fixed this problem. There are several types of weapons and magic for both kings to utilize. Getting up close and personal while wildly swinging your weapon at enemies works just as well as hanging back and hitting them with fireballs; this is more or less unchanged first game. Things are a bit different this time around however, as you can easily switch between the two kings and customize them as you see fit. It’s a welcomed feature that drastically increases the enjoyment had throughout the game. Enemy attacks have a red indicator (shown in the picture below) to telegraph when an attack will hit you. It’s a little like Dark Souls as you can roll out of the way, but that’s where the similarities end. The game is anything but hard.

Dragons are a big part of the last game. I’m glad they returned!

Enemies most furrocious

Though the world is nothing like Skyrim or Breath of the Wild, Cat Quest II’s minimalistic open-world design works surprisingly well. There are a ton of extra caves and high-level areas to explore. Many side quests bring you to these areas to explore, so you always feel like you have something to accomplish everywhere you travel. NPC’s can be a little outlandish and even crazy, but I enjoyed these NPCs the most. Often they give you quests, but occasionally the townsfolk give you helpful hints and information – if they’re not trying to kill you. I didn’t come across many if any, reskinned enemies. Each one had different attack patterns and magic usages; the bosses, in particular, were quite entertaining. There just wasn’t that big of a variety, as the world isn’t as large as most open-world games. It’s a perfect size for the game, but there are some drawbacks to having things a bit smaller overall.

While you have no direct control over leveling up your characters, they can be equipped with several different items. Weapons, hats & armor, and magic all can be equipped at your whim. There isn’t a vast array of choices as Cat Quest II does something a little different. If you were to get a duplicate of any item, instead the item in your possession is leveled up and given better ability scores. It makes for a much simpler and cleaner inventory. Most equipment can be obtained via sidequests and dungeon crawling, the same with magic. The quest system is a little lacking, as only one extra quest other than the main may be chosen at a time. If you’re not doing a side quest, you’re doing the main quest. End of story.

Quests are a great resource for EXP and money.

Final Thoughts

Overall Cat Quest II is a vast improvement over the first. A lot of the graphics seem unchanged, although the game feels much smoother than the original. The UI is much cleaner, something that I enjoy seeing. Switching between characters or playing alongside someone else is fantastically fun and the lighthearted tone is perfect for any age. The only real issue I had was with the quest system. I just wanted the ability to pick up as many side quests as I wanted. Then again, I’m greedy, so this may not bother most people. Exploration is key in open-world experiences, so I can see why only one quest at a time was the design choice.

It has a little something for everyone. The story is not long by usual RPG standards, but it doesn’t have to be. What it says in 5 hours is more than enough to justify giving it a try. The combat stays fun now that outfitting two characters differently can drastically change up your playstyle. Quicky characters and hidden secrets kept me hooked until the very end. Cat Quest II is pawsitivley worth every and is a purrfect couch co-op experience. If you decide to pick up this wonderfully charming RPG and you will not be disappointed!

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Tay on the Nintendo Switch. Game provided by PQube.