Ikohn4ever
CAGiversary!
- Feedback
- 5 (100%)
Treasure fans have a reason to reload the Mountain Dew and Doritos tank once again, as the developer responsible for such classic games as Radiant Silvergun and Gunstar Heroes has put out its best little brawler (and by "little," we mean "on the Nintendo DS") in years. Bleach DS: Souten Ni Kakeru Unmei is a one to four-player fighting game and -- don't run away -- card game.
Before you start to panic, understand that the card element is used to enhance the fighting, and not devolve the game into some arcane Yu-Gi-Oh!-style mess that we've all come to know and fear. If anything, the game plays a lot like Treasure's own Saturn classic, Guardian Heroes (or YuYu Hakusho if you want to go back that far), which is to say it handles like a Street Fighter II-lite. While the animation quality isn't nearly as smooth as in something like Street Fighter III, it is on par with games like Samurai Shodown, especially given the weapon-based focus. While the total number of frames of animation might be a little lacking, the responsiveness and speed of the controls and action is phenomenal.
With Y, X and A representing quick, medium and strong attacks, and B for dashing, the block button has been assigned to the R-trigger while the ability to jump into and out of the foreground is attached the the L-trigger. The majority of the special moves are easily performed, and with matches being a single fight to the death (no "rounds" by default, with the game favoring longer single battles), the action is enhanced by each user's customized deck of cards on the bottom screen. It's not some convoluted, difficult-to-comprehend card system; quite the contrary actually. Think of them as power-ups for the player, and power-downs for your enemies. Each card basically has some particular trait, whether it's speed up, power up, defense up, or pretty much the opposite to use against opposing players (or the CPU). Once you've sorted your deck and take it into battle, the fighting takes place on the top screen, while two of your deck choices rest on the touch screen. When you want to use a card, all you have to do is touch the large icon on the bottom screen and presto, special effect get!
While the default deck covers the bases, additional cards can be unlocked by playing through the game's different modes. By beating the game in arcade mode, you also gain points that can be used to unlock background music, other Omake items, or to level up the strength of your card deck.
[click the image to check out all Bleach DS screens]
What's even more impressive about Bleach on DS is the wireless functionality, which offers both wireless and online gameplay for two to four players. When we tested it, the game took a few minutes to load into everyone's individual DS (only one game card necessary), but once it was in, matches were fast and furious. Occasionally, Bleach suffers from the facing-the-wrong way syndrome that Guilty Gear Isuka does (given that there are more than two fighters on the screen), but at least you don't have to manually flip your character's position here. With four players all jumping into and out of the foreground, but mostly just going head to head, it's surprising how fast the action maintains itself, with little delay or latency. We haven't put it through its paces online yet, but in close proximity with other friends, Bleach is an absolute riot.
Additionally, all of the manga's popular Soul Reapers are here: Ichigo Kurosaki, Renji Abarai, Chad Yasutora, Orihime Inoue, Uryu Ishida (the Quincy), Kuchiki Byakuya, Momo Hinamori, Toushiro Hitsugaya, Ichimarugin, Kurotsuchimayuri, Kyoraku Syunsui, Kaname Tosen, Zaraki Kenpachi and the bomb-tossing Ganju Shiba. Plenty of hidden characters can be unlocked, like Hollow Ichigo, Rukia Kuchiki (everyone's favorite!), and Ichigo doppelganger Kon. The music is as loud and rocking as it is in the anime, and unlike the lackluster Bleach offerings found on PSP (published by Bandai), Treasure/SEGA's Bleach DS: Souten Ni Kakeru Unmei is top-quality and kick ass. However, like many of Treasure's best efforts, this one seems destined to stay in Japan. When we contacted SEGA of America, we were told that the publisher had no plans to bring this one to the States, despite a healthy fan base here. But with Bleach's popularity growing, and with the manga now up to volume 11 in North America, perhaps we'll eventually see this game come Stateside. But for now, despite the healthy amount of Japanese menus, Bleach fans champing at the bit would do well to import this title.
from 1up.com
i might have to do some importin
Before you start to panic, understand that the card element is used to enhance the fighting, and not devolve the game into some arcane Yu-Gi-Oh!-style mess that we've all come to know and fear. If anything, the game plays a lot like Treasure's own Saturn classic, Guardian Heroes (or YuYu Hakusho if you want to go back that far), which is to say it handles like a Street Fighter II-lite. While the animation quality isn't nearly as smooth as in something like Street Fighter III, it is on par with games like Samurai Shodown, especially given the weapon-based focus. While the total number of frames of animation might be a little lacking, the responsiveness and speed of the controls and action is phenomenal.
With Y, X and A representing quick, medium and strong attacks, and B for dashing, the block button has been assigned to the R-trigger while the ability to jump into and out of the foreground is attached the the L-trigger. The majority of the special moves are easily performed, and with matches being a single fight to the death (no "rounds" by default, with the game favoring longer single battles), the action is enhanced by each user's customized deck of cards on the bottom screen. It's not some convoluted, difficult-to-comprehend card system; quite the contrary actually. Think of them as power-ups for the player, and power-downs for your enemies. Each card basically has some particular trait, whether it's speed up, power up, defense up, or pretty much the opposite to use against opposing players (or the CPU). Once you've sorted your deck and take it into battle, the fighting takes place on the top screen, while two of your deck choices rest on the touch screen. When you want to use a card, all you have to do is touch the large icon on the bottom screen and presto, special effect get!
While the default deck covers the bases, additional cards can be unlocked by playing through the game's different modes. By beating the game in arcade mode, you also gain points that can be used to unlock background music, other Omake items, or to level up the strength of your card deck.
[click the image to check out all Bleach DS screens]
What's even more impressive about Bleach on DS is the wireless functionality, which offers both wireless and online gameplay for two to four players. When we tested it, the game took a few minutes to load into everyone's individual DS (only one game card necessary), but once it was in, matches were fast and furious. Occasionally, Bleach suffers from the facing-the-wrong way syndrome that Guilty Gear Isuka does (given that there are more than two fighters on the screen), but at least you don't have to manually flip your character's position here. With four players all jumping into and out of the foreground, but mostly just going head to head, it's surprising how fast the action maintains itself, with little delay or latency. We haven't put it through its paces online yet, but in close proximity with other friends, Bleach is an absolute riot.
Additionally, all of the manga's popular Soul Reapers are here: Ichigo Kurosaki, Renji Abarai, Chad Yasutora, Orihime Inoue, Uryu Ishida (the Quincy), Kuchiki Byakuya, Momo Hinamori, Toushiro Hitsugaya, Ichimarugin, Kurotsuchimayuri, Kyoraku Syunsui, Kaname Tosen, Zaraki Kenpachi and the bomb-tossing Ganju Shiba. Plenty of hidden characters can be unlocked, like Hollow Ichigo, Rukia Kuchiki (everyone's favorite!), and Ichigo doppelganger Kon. The music is as loud and rocking as it is in the anime, and unlike the lackluster Bleach offerings found on PSP (published by Bandai), Treasure/SEGA's Bleach DS: Souten Ni Kakeru Unmei is top-quality and kick ass. However, like many of Treasure's best efforts, this one seems destined to stay in Japan. When we contacted SEGA of America, we were told that the publisher had no plans to bring this one to the States, despite a healthy fan base here. But with Bleach's popularity growing, and with the manga now up to volume 11 in North America, perhaps we'll eventually see this game come Stateside. But for now, despite the healthy amount of Japanese menus, Bleach fans champing at the bit would do well to import this title.
from 1up.com
i might have to do some importin
