I happened to stumble upon this on a japanese ROM section at a website. The first time I played it, I wondered what the hell I was supposed to do. After a couple of tries, I finally figured out the game engine and was treated to some nice graphics and action, all done with some rather simple manuevers. Anyways, time for the meat and potatoes of this unusual game.
Gameplay-This is of course a fighting game, and you might expect it to be another SF clone again. This game is a far cry from it based on the fact that it is a fighting game based on cinematics and simple moves rather than jumping, blocking, 360's, etc. You can choose from 4 different modes, notably the story and tournament mode. The others are simply 1p vs. CPU and 1p vs. 2p. The options are decent, allowing you to tweak the game to a certain extent. However, its all in japanese, so if your japanese is nonexistent or very little, you might have to play around with the menus a bit before you get started. There are about 20 characters to choose from, each with almost TOTALLY UNIQUE moves for each one. Anyways, you pick and choose and you start the battle in a view where you see both sides while a red bar charges on the screen. It affects your hit rate and can be raised by holding a certain direction until it fills. Press the appropriate highlited button of your choice and you will see the attack cinemas. The stamina and dizzy meters also add some difficulty and strategy to the game since they affect execution of moves and defense. The gameplay is quite innovative and I have yet to see any other fighters outside this series to use this formula. Thumbs up.
GFX and sound-Since this game was based off the anime of the same name, the graphics are usually expected to be better than usual. This has been done, and all of the cinemas and animations move fluid, fast, and actually look somewhat like a fight in the real anime. Artwork is neatly done, and the typical fighting game staples (fireballs, flashes, explosions)are present. Sounds are decent, and voices are in japanese, and there are plenty.
Funfactor-The best part of the game is its simplicity, which allows you to play a laid-back style of fight. Just press and watch. The dialogue in the bar at the middle also adds some fun, provided you can read jap. The large number of characters also lets you find which one you like best too. This game is quite amusing to watch and is even better to play.
Replay-Since there is tons of stuff to be found coupled with the different game engine, I found myself playing it a lot at first, and then every once in a while. Its a great game that may never collect dust depending on how much you like it.
Overall-This game was somewhat innovative with its new fighting system and the cinematics made it look like a mini-anime. Here is a rare game that you should snarf up if you can find it.-Joel-
Score:8
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