Genki, after recently confirming Jade Cocoon II for North American release, has now revealed a slew of information on the game's battle system. A complete redesign has apparently taken place, as the single-character battles of the original games will now make way for multiple characters in each fight. In another twist, the winning condition of each conflict will now depend upon the opponent; if the opponent is a monster(minion), capturing or defeating them all is the objective. If the opponent is a cocoon master, however, he or she must be attacked until their shield points are reduced to zero.

A number of other changes were also introduced as well. As a cocoon master, it is not possible to directly participate in battle; during fights, different battle formations must be used to command minions in battle. The monsters can then perform a variety of attacks, use curative items, or run away. Perhaps not wanting to convert the game entirely to a tactical RPG, Genki limited the number of formations to four: wind, fire, water, and earth are the possible configurations, with each being limited in composition to monsters with compatible elemental attributes. Thus, some strategy is required, which should inject some challenge into what had previously been a rather uninspiring battle system.

All these changes will certainly make a huge difference in how the game compares to the original Jade Cocoon. Jade Cocoon II is now on track for a release on August 30th in Japan, with a suggested retail price of 6800 yen, or approximately $55 US. The game's North American release is unknown as yet, although UbiSoft has confirmed they will localize it.