Why does it seem that when people want to make a game based on an anime series they decide to make a fighting game? You've got you're DragonBall Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, Inuyasha and now Rave Master is now part of the list. However sometimes the anime games don't turn out great, so how's Rave Master. Well first and foremost like any licensed game you need to be a fan of the series. 9 out of 10 times these games were made to appeal to the fans they aren't made to draw in new ones. Really it has to do with the storylines which unless you watched the show can't really follow within the game. Anyways I'm getting off track, so how is the game? Well let's start with the graphics, which are alright to say the least. They aren't overly great, but they aren't terrible either. The environments are based on areas in the found within the show which have some nice detail to them, but you are stuck in a boxed in arena and can't go into the nice detail. As for audio the music is easy on the ears and doesn't get annoying. Also you do get the voices from the series in the game however they mostly only speak before and after fights. The cut scenes in the game are picture stills and text blocks, no actual scenes from the show will be found in the game. Now as for the gameplay, well you get a story mode for the single player game where you can play as five different characters, however most of the stories don't actually follow the series. The game however is still fun to play. The game is in the style of a Super Smash Bros. or Power Stone game and although it's not as good as those games I still enjoyed myself. You can pick up several weapons that appear in the environment as well as both shadow and rave stones which for those who don't watch the series they're basically power up items. The combination fo weapons and power ups allow you to pull off flashy special moves that will deal out some serious damage to your opponents and teammates as you can have up to 4 people playing at once. In the end, Rave Master isn't going to be a revolution in gaming, but hey if you need a party game it might be worth picking up.
