ERETZVAJU - Last Battle
Now then.... unlike my last review of an import fighting game, I actually play and enjoy this one. The only real limits for this game are: moves - which I will explain better, and number of playable characters - which are 10, but this is also not bad....
I am going to have to give this game a 9.8
For starters, there are only 2 buttons to play this game... attack and block - this does little to limit the game though - what it actually does is gets rid of less necessary attack buttons such as light punch or light kick or run. you use directional movements and your attack button to execute them. Now, you can move all over the playing field and there are no ring outs - no time limit - and powering up requires holding the attack button and filling your life bar to get a power up for specials (the smaller your life bar, the faster you can build power ups). blocking is only effective against general attack - not grabs - and a certain projectile will do a little damage while blocking. Grabs are done as your usual close grab - AND distance grabbing - so you cannot just stand there and block. How it works is that you can execute a distant grab move and it will put you in a stance (you are left open for it) - it sets up a red cylinder around the opponent and it must be held for a moment or it will brake off - then the oppenent is caught in an elaborate grab move that does some fairly big damage. So, you cannot stand around - you must move out of it's way or hit them with a projectile before it takes effect.
This game is extremely VISUAL - an easy way to explain it is that your attacks are much like an RPG - for the best comparison FFVII... the whole game is like that. Story mode shows your characters talking (voice actors) and during battle there are some visual dodges such as you back off from a running attack and it shows you running backwards as the other runs forward swinging at you - or it shows you on your hands and knees shaking your head as you desperately try shooting psychic blasts at the opponent running at you (they dodge them) and hit you knocking you down....
This is the first fighting game I've seen that has characters with strands of hair - during the actual fighting... it is done in strips of 4, it looks pretty cool. There are alot of transparencies and great shading. There is a very high level of facial detail and seamless joints - it is by far the most impressive - sorry to say it makes TEKKEN 3 look old in some respects.
Do not let the character count worry you either - all of the characters are cool. It is not often that I find 10 characters I like in one game. Actually more like 8, since 2 of them are cool, but not to my taste. There are no stupid big lugging ugly characters or silly old men. It is even all the way 5 men, 5 women.
OH, Another thing; The artwork is done by AIC - for many americans, this may not be familiar. AIC is connected with some major anime such as TENCHI MUYO, EL HAZARD, ARMITAGE, mostly the Pioneer titles... so the intro anime is cool and the whole character design and layout is cool. It is rather amazing about this title as I have never heard of YUKES before - it is really high quality work and fun - very challenging as well... what it lacks for in moves, it makes up for in stategy. moves and grabs can be linked - you cannot stand still - you cannot fly wildly at the opponent punching and kicking - and no one with little life is truely handicapped (power up faster) - also, I cannot be 100% if it is intentional, but you have trouble just using the same move over and over and over... what the game does is when you do that - the camera angle helps - let's say you hit the opponent - knock them down, they get up and you do it again and knock them down, do it again? Well, the camera zooms in on the opponent when you hit them - AND THEN - it swoops around and puts you on the reversed side - so if you try to just do the move again, you will have to change your thumb movement - allowing a chance that you will not make it. I thought that was pretty cool.
Over all, I cannot think of a reason not to get the game... it has now become one of my favorites along with Rival Schools. I would surely suggest it before Erhgeiz and would recommend it to anyone looking for a great game. It may not thrill people obsessed with fighters with A LOT of moves, but it offers enough moves (I feel) to please anyone. It has many visual advances to offer as well as a great deal of thought to tactics - not moves.
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