Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles - Nintendo Switch

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Follow the story from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Tanjiro Kamado, Unwavering Resolve Arc—where Tanjiro joins the Demon Slayer Corps— to Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train featuring the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku! Online play is where most of the action is unless you have folks willing to make the trek to your living room, and I’m happy to say that it works well based on my time with it. There can be pretty noticeable delay if you experience a connection slowdown, but for the most part it felt good, even when I was playing someone in California while in New York. There is still some delay even at the best of times, which can cause combos that should work offline to drop online, but a good connection should see you through most matches, whether you choose to throw down casually or go into ranked mode. The limited edition Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles Original Figurine Device Standis the same as the one included with the PlayStation 4 version. Understandably, the areas where The Hinokami Chronicles really shines are the combat and the cast of characters, which are usually the main draw of any fighting game. Combat is fast and flashy and feels very faithful to what I’d expected a Demon Slayer fighting game would feel like, without being too overwhelming.

Hashimoto, Kazuma (October 7, 2021). "Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles Free Update to Add Akaza and Rui". Siliconera . Retrieved October 17, 2021. Choose from a cast of 24 fighters, including not only protagonists like Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado, but demons like Rui (Lower Five of the Twelve Kizuki) and Akaza (Upper Three of the Twelve Kizuki). Pit your favorite characters against each other and enjoy never-before-seen matchups! Romano, Sal (October 14, 2021). "Famitsu Sales: 10/4/21 – 10/10/21 [Update]". Gematsu . Retrieved October 19, 2021. Relive memorable moments from the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba anime through the eyes of its protagonist, Tanjiro Kamado! Romano, Sal (October 13, 2021). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1715". Gematsu . Retrieved May 27, 2022.Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles [a] is a fighting action-adventure game developed by CyberConnect2. Based on the 2019 anime adaptation of Koyoharu Gotouge's manga series, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, the game was released by Aniplex in Japan, and globally by Sega, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in October 2021. It was released for Nintendo Switch in June 2022. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hinokami Keppuutan officially confirmed for PS5, Xbox Series, Xbox One, and PC". Gematsu. February 7, 2021 . Retrieved June 24, 2021.

The game was announced in March 2020. It was to be published by Aniplex for the PlayStation 4; the company previously produced the 2019 anime adaptation. [4] Later that month, first footage was shown, along with the announcement that the game, titled Kimetsu no Yaiba Hinokami Keppūtan, will be developed by CyberConnect2, the company known for developing the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series. [5] Following months of development, the game was re-announced via the issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump to be a multiplatform arena fighting game for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. [6] Ufotable, the animation studio behind the anime series, has produced several key illustrations for the game. Borger, Will (October 13, 2021). "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles Review". IGN . Retrieved October 31, 2021. The Hinokami Chronicles does do a great job of actually telling the story of Demon Slayer, with several key character moments and every important battle intact, but actually playing through the story mode is, for the most part, a drag. Silent_Jay (October 13, 2021). "Test Demon Slayer The Hinokami Chronicles: La meilleure adaptation de manga depuis Dragon Ball FighterZ?"[Demon Slayer The Hinokami Chronicles Review: The best manga adaptation since Dragon Ball FighterZ?]. Jeuxvideo.com (in French) . Retrieved June 22, 2022.Update [Tue 8th Feb, 2022 01:35 GMT]: Good news, demon slayers - the Switch version of Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles has now been confirmed for the west, and will launch the day after the Japanese release on 10th June. Ramsey, Robert (October 13, 2021). "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles Review (PS5)". Push Square . Retrieved October 31, 2021.

Demon Slayer is one of the hottest franchises in the world right now, and a fighting game featuring its memorable cast seemed only natural, and I’ve found that the actual fighting in The Hinokami Chronicles does indeed feel incredibly natural. It’s just that Demon Slayer also has a pretty memorable story, though unlike the fighting and cast of characters, the story aspects of The Hinokami Chronicles, while well-told, really bog it down. The story fights, especially boss battles, are still incredibly enjoyable, but the lengthy cutscenes and snail-paced exploration phases used to deliver the rest of story content feel like an attempt to lengthen the story mode just for the sake of padding out the game.Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hinokami Keppuutan developed by CyberConnect2; debut trailer, screenshots". Gematsu. March 22, 2020 . Retrieved June 24, 2021. Telling a compelling story with those characters through a fighting game, on the other hand, is a pretty complex endeavor. A Journey of a Thousand Cuts Exhilarating Arena Battles – Master the multitude of spectacular skills of a wide roster of characters from the anime and the series’ official spinoff, including Tanjiro and Nezuko, to overcome challengers in head-to-head battle, locally and online.* Face off against demons from the anime series with stunning graphical effects faithfully recreating iconic battle techniques in full 3D! a b "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles coming west on October 15". Gematsu. June 20, 2021 . Retrieved June 24, 2021.

Unfortunately, playing against real people also highlights one of The Hinokami Chronicles’ shortcomings: its small roster. There are only 18 characters at launch, and only 12 of those are entirely unique – Tanjiro, Nezuko, Urokodaki, Makomo, Sabito, Zenitsu, Inosuke, Murata, Tomioka, Kocho, Rengoku, and Hinokami Tanjiro. The remaining six are the Academy versions of Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, Inosuke, Kocho, and Tomioka. That’s unfortunate, especially when the Academy characters are essentially gags that play exactly the same as their normal version apart from having a different Ultimate Art. In the game's announcement trailer, Demon Slayer characters can be seen moving along a game board, rolling dice, and engaging in various mini-games where the characters will have to confront some familiar enemies from the manga, run obstacle courses, draw, play memory games, among other activities, to earn points and defeat other players. The game features a visual aesthetic reminiscent of the drawing style of the Demon Slayer anime. Thrilling Boss Battles – Action and drama reach their peak in specially designed battles against powerful demons that will test Tanjiro’s mettle. Vogel, Mitch (June 13, 2022). "Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles Review (Switch)". Nintendo Life . Retrieved June 22, 2022.Doolan, Liam (February 3, 2022). "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles Launches On Switch This June". Nintendo Life . Retrieved February 3, 2022. If you’re not already a fan of Demon Slayer, and are interested in getting into the franchise for the first time, and either reading a few manga volumes or watching through a few dozen episodes of anime isn’t really your thing, then The Hinokami Chronicles is a fine place to start. The main story beats are all here, just at a slower pace than I feel a fighting game should offer. Alternatively, if you already love Demon Slayer and can look past a few hours of sluggish not-fighting to get to some really fun and flashy combat with your favorite characters, then this is definitely the game for you. Long, fully-voiced, cutscenes take up the majority of the eight-chapter story mode, with the rest being split between two types of gameplay and a few minigames. The first type of gameplay you’ll encounter is the actual fighting. The combat, which takes place in 360-degree arenas, is fast-paced and extremely fun, not to mention visually striking, and the boss battles in particular have a couple extra features thrown in that, for the most part, makes them extremely satisfying to play.