Overview:
The game consists of these modes:
- Arcade - A mode where you have to beat all 9 stages, just like in the arcade version.
- Story - You can experience each character's story.
- Vs 2P - You can fight against a second player.
- Vs CPU - You can fight against the CPU.
- Survival - A mode where you can see how many people you can beat in succession.
- Practice - You can adjust game parameters to practice.
- Time Attack - See how fast you can clear all 13 stages.
- Gallery - You can view the opening movie or illustrations you've unlocked.
- Online - You can compete in online battles and view your online ranking.
- Options - You can change the settings for the game.
Life in this game is based on HP, so every character will have a different amount. You have a power bar on the bottom that fills up to different levels. When it's full you can pull of 'Super Special Moves'.
Graphics:
The art style is kind of like a graphics novel. Animations are awesome. For in game graphics they are polygon based, but shaded to have rich and detailed anime style graphics. If you've played Princess Crown for Sega Saturn, it kind of has that feel. The characters' emotions as they fight are very Japanese. I find it to be comical and entertaining.
Controls:
Each button can be assigned to any button you want on your controller.
As we all know the 360's controller is not the best suited for fighting games. The controls are OK if you go that route, but to me it still feels awkward due to the d-pad only having 4 real points. I tried out my Soul Calibur arcade stick and it works very well.
The moves are pretty much of the Street Fighter fare. The Hori sticks are pretty well designed for these type of games. The uppercut type of moves are always on point, due to the square nature of the the joystick's points and the clicks. It makes it very easy to tell exactly where you are in your rotations.
The battle system is pretty simple compared to other fighting games out there like Soul Calibur. It's not very combo intensive. So it should be easy for Casual players to jump right in. The pace of the game is kind of slower too.
Here is my favorite move in the game. It deals only 1 HP of damage, but that doesn't matter.
Sound:
The game voices are in Japanese, which I prefer, with subtitles. The only English spoken in this game is by the Announcer. His voice and the way he announces reminds me of Powerstone. Background music is very upbeat. It makes you feel like you are playing a Fairy Tale.
Conclusion:
I have yet to experience an online match. Couldn't find anyone online to play with, I doubt this game sold well.
If you like Street Fighter type of games based in a fantasy world with a Japanese influence, this game is for you. I know that I will have lots of fun playing this game, because it feels like your playing a Fighting game with RPG characters. This is something that I can just pick up after work and have quick and painless fun with.
