Rumor: focus group discusses possible Heavenly Sword 2 info
by Nick Doerr 
{ Mar 5th 2008 at 2:45PM }
- Heavenly Sword 2 will take place 10 years after the events in Heavenly Sword.
- The main character will be a male with martial arts background.
- The main character will be Kai, but she will be a more mature woman.
- The game will require you to master different martial arts styles before retrieving the heavenly sword.
- The game will, instead of button mashing, have controls that utilize an analog stick to go through weapons.
- The game will have downloadable weapons, characters, and enemies to customize your experience.
- The game will be more interactive with the environment.
- The game will have you on a storyline with replayable missions, as opposed to an open world.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
flynn110 @ Mar 5th 2008 2:57PM
don't get me wrong, i like dowloadable content. but does anyone else feel like sometimes dlc just allows the publisher to make more money off their game by making certain aspects of the game available as dlc when t could have been available at retail release? heavenly sword is already planning their dlc...why not just include it in the release? oh, because you want me to pay $75 for the game instead of 60? hrmmm
emaxximus @ Mar 5th 2008 3:21PM
I feel the same way. This DLC thing is going to become a curse. NFS Pro Street will cost you $80+ for the whole game, not even including the charging for cheat codes. PAIN will cost you $14, and you still will only have 1 freaking level. Its only gonna get worse.
Dahk @ Mar 5th 2008 3:28PM
Yeah that could be very true. Publishers are always money hogging anyway, cuz its in their nature to be like that lol.
They already hate multiplayer content, because they don't get additional revenue from it - at least not from the PSN. So it costs to develop it AND it costs to support yet. The only thing they can hope for would be more people buying the product.
Kodros @ Mar 5th 2008 3:32PM
Because at some point, you have to stop adding stuff to the game so you can ship it. They can't ignore their budget because it would be cool to stick a few more character models in there.
DLC always has to be planned. You need to add the hooks into the code so that it can be modified at a later point.
linebeginstoblur @ Mar 5th 2008 3:49PM
@Kodros
Does DLC really always have to be planned? I'd have thought that it could be implemented in a game after a patch or something.
Kodros @ Mar 5th 2008 4:29PM
Well for patches on the PC, you can replace the executable or dll files. I'm not 100% sure how that works on a console though. If those files are copied over and saved as game data, then yes, you could patch it to allow DLC. In that case, ignore my "always must be planned" comment because I was wrong.
drdre74 @ Mar 5th 2008 3:28PM
after beating the game i thought Kai would make a great main character. Her fighting style would be crazy with the swords. I'm thinking like the drunken kung fu style. JUmping all over the place. That would be so ill.
Xoonaka @ Mar 5th 2008 3:03PM
Personally the Kai missions were the most fun for me. The only competition for them came from those where Nariko took up the cannons to take out Catapults. Those I replay all the time, so I would love to get a sequel based more around Kai. Perhaps a sequel where you have to defeat the sword wielder rather then take it up yourself.
John @ Mar 5th 2008 8:53PM
Wait... let me get this straight. You actually LIKED the cannon scene? Granted, it was gorgeous (as was the whole game) but that's the part I hated. Why not put in an Okami-esque interlude instead of that aiming cannons thing?
Dehshizknight @ Mar 5th 2008 3:18PM
Dang, Nariko was one of my favorite characters of this generation (next to Nathan Drake, Nathan Hale, Solid Snake, and Ratchet. LOL!).
Ranus Studios @ Mar 5th 2008 3:18PM
WHAT'S WRONG WITH BEING WEIRD?! I call hate.
I kid. Heavenly Sword seemed okay. A sequel would probably be pretty quality as well.
ComicShaman @ Mar 5th 2008 3:23PM
"Just so Kai isn't so ... weird."
Bah, I say! I loved Kai's weirdness. Even when she ate a worm. Her sections were also very fun to play.
All this is pretty much conceptual/rumor stuff and too vague to really be worth anything, but I'm pleased to hear they're working on a sequel. I loved Heavenly Sword and would be very eager to see more of it.
Nate @ Mar 5th 2008 3:29PM
I'd love to see Kai as a main character. She was definitely the highlight of the first game. I'd HATE to see a pure analog stick system though. I tried.. what was that rapper fighting game? ... anyway... i tried the demo of that and it was AWFUL. Changing it to analogs doesn't make it not button mashing, it just makes it annoying.
In real time melee based action games there's really no way to avoid button mashing... if you want to make it more interesting, put a lot more contextual elements into the moves. If two guys are next to you, maybe XXY does something different than if three guys, or if you're standing in water, or on higher ground...
It'll still be button mashing, but at least it won't be the exact same move over and over.
Can we get more story in the next one? This one promised a lot of story, but really, the story was all in the anime leading up to the game. It was still cool, but not really a lot of plot, just a lot of fighting bad guys.
AshStampede @ Mar 5th 2008 3:43PM
I absolutly loved everything about the game, especially Kai. The shoot out on the bridge is my fav. actully that whole mission with kai and nariko. I definitly dont want a sequel with nariko, she is dead. Tell a story about the sword, thus a new hero/heroine and NO prequels arent cool, I mean who cares about big boss, its solid all the way. You dont want to play as mario's dad...
Simstim @ Mar 5th 2008 4:03PM
Kai was the best part of Heavenly Sword. My favorite little fruitcake.
Jerses @ Mar 5th 2008 5:37PM
Nariko is ugly...i can imagine kai with big breast and less makeup, total hit
Hyams @ Mar 5th 2008 7:03PM
Why would Kai get breast implants? Cos she sure isn't getting any bigger - she's already mature (ie. she's like between 16 and 20 ... it's hard to tell exactly).
Jerses @ Mar 5th 2008 5:43PM
Just like DMC :P i think the button smashing make you look cool in front of casual gamers o_______O but in reality you´re just pushing the same button. Maybe they should make like a guitar heroe heavenly sword lol
Hyams @ Mar 5th 2008 7:29PM
If you're button mashing in DMC, you're playing it wrong. (And certainly won't get a good stylish score.)
Jerses @ Mar 5th 2008 7:35PM
I posted wrong. This was a reply for nate. sorry
"if you want to make it more interesting, put a lot more contextual elements into the moves. If two guys are next to you, maybe XXY does something different than if three guys, or if you're standing in water, or on higher ground..."
Hyams @ Mar 5th 2008 7:02PM
I demand more Kai.
Kabapu @ Mar 5th 2008 10:19PM
Agreed. Kai was awesome.
Shibuya Bum @ Mar 5th 2008 7:47PM
I demand more twing-twang!
And that the Heavenly Sword OST be put up on iTunes like Lair, Warhawk and Uncharted.
sicklesdawg @ Mar 5th 2008 11:41PM
Kai is not ~*weird*~ She's awesome WAY better than all these Space marines so called bad ass!
Consolcwby @ Mar 5th 2008 11:43PM
=S Focus groups... I fricken HATE focus groups! They are harbingers of the destruction of art!
On a more serious note, Quoted: **The main character will be a male with martial arts background.
The main character will be Kai, but she will be a more mature woman. **
O_o Huh?... Is this suggesting Kai had a sex change and ditched her bow?... I loved Kai - if the devs had any balls, they'd ditch the focus groups, stick with Kai, and have her become the next Heavenly Warrior - or better! One of those 'bad guys'. =) I love me some Kai and those 'bad guys'! Infinately more interesting!
sicklesdawg @ Mar 5th 2008 11:44PM
She's Far better than all these space marines! I mean isnt Dark sector a marine too?
*rest case
maskedrose @ Mar 7th 2008 10:36PM
I WANT KAI THE WAY SHE IS!!
God Of Destruction @ Mar 13th 2008 10:10PM
Come-on people, lets not screw this game over.
Just my opinion on game possibilities:
1. The time placement should be between 5 or 10 years so yeah, no arguments.
2. I think there should be an important male character but he shouldn't be the main character.
3. Now, I like Kai as much as the next HS-gamer but she shouldn't be the main character. Don't get me wrong, I want more twing-twang too. I think that Kai should be a more mature woman but still be her old self and play a more important role in HS2.
4. It all depends on where the story is coming from and where its going. If its a search for the sword or you learn new moves when you have the sword then yes. Other then that, then the answer differs.
5. I just don’t want the analog stick to mess with the games combat.
6. I think there should be certain downloadable weapons and other content/features for things achieved in the game but other weapons, characters, and enemies should just be gained as you play. Agree with customization all the way.
7. Environment interaction – sick!
8. Re-playable missions – good idea but I still like an open world.