The fine folks at Siliconera have posted a playtest of Sega and Treasure's Bleach DS: Souten ni Kakeru Unmei, a 2D fighting game based on the hugely popular anime. But really, we should have had your attention at "Treasure". As previous classics like Dynamite Heddy (that final boss still gives us nightmares), Silhouette Mirage and Astro Boy: Omega Factor have proven, Treasure is a developer that just knows how to do 2D games right.The review in question seems to indicate that they haven't yet lost their touch, as the game features a solid fighting engine and relatively smooth online play through Nintendo's Wif-Fi service (it's the first Japanese 3rd-party title to do so). Also worth mentioning is the game's intriguing card system. At any point during the battle, you can select a card from a customizable deck on the bottom screen and temporarily influence the battle above, be it via an instant attack boost or disabling some of your opponent's moves. However, the article makes no mention of how difficult it is to use the touch screen in the midst of battle. We imagine that rapidly pressing face buttons and making selections on the screen at the same time may require an extra limb or two.
Still, it seems unlikely that fans of the show will be disappointed by the large character roster and the beautiful artwork. Siliconera notes that the level of Japanese understanding required to enjoy the game isn't too high and so, given that it doesn't look like the game is getting picked up for US release within the conceivable future, you're best off with importing it. It'll certainly go nicely with that Bleach themed Nintendo DS you stole in a daring heist last month.
[Update: Added another instance of the word "Japanese".]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-01-2006 @ 4:46PM
JodyAnthony said...
I just wish that nintendo would make it so friend codes are the same across all games.
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2-01-2006 @ 4:53PM
unreal mccoy said...
It may be the first Japanese 3rd party game to go WiFi. Tony Hawk is both 3rd party and wifi.
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2-01-2006 @ 4:58PM
Ludwig Kietzmann said...
Yeah, that's what I meant to type. I was just so overtaken by memories of Dynamite Heddy... :)
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2-01-2006 @ 5:26PM
unreal mccoy said...
"...another instance of the word Japanese"? Hey no need for sarcasm...
It makes a big difference on context. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the bloggosphere.
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2-01-2006 @ 6:18PM
hack said...
Bleach DS isn't the first 3rd party to go Wi-Fi. Taito, which developed Lost Magic, was the first 3rd party game in Japan to go Wi-Fi, although I have absolutely no idea what functionality it holds.
In regards to the touch screen and the cards. The cards themselves are really large, especially since only 2 appear on the screen at a time. Its very easy to tap the cards. It barely requires a glance, and since the cards are so big, tapping the wrong card, or missing the card, is never an issue.
A great, solid game.
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2-01-2006 @ 6:40PM
Ludwig Kietzmann said...
Geez, unreal mccoy, take it easy! That comment was a tongue-in-cheek nod at you pointing out an error in the post. No need to take it so seriously. :) Would you rather I just correct the oversight and pretend it didn't exist? That would be lame.
And even if I did want to leave the blogosphere, everyone knows it's impossible. It's a giant sphere with no visible escape hatch - just like the final scene in Lawnmower Man.
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2-01-2006 @ 8:05PM
DynamicStability said...
I've been playing this game for a few days now. Its pretty kick ass. There's like 27 characters or something and they are all pretty well balanced. Hitting the cards is easy, and they help out immensly.
The game is a lot of fun for a few reasons. First, the mechanics are cool, you can hit B to basically teleport across the screen and you can jump like 2 times, so battles can get really high up there. Each player has cool moves, and a few of their specials do big cutscenes before them (enough time for you to mash a card in defense or avoidance).
And the combo system is tight...I was doing 90 hit combos on my first day playing.
Card Translations
http://etk.scener.org/bleachds/eng.html
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2-02-2006 @ 12:45AM
Kimi said...
Yeah, Lost Magic is out for more then two weeks now and has WiFi..
It's WiFi features are just duels and records trading
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2-02-2006 @ 8:42AM
White Rose Duelist said...
Jump Superstars is also a fighting game that uses the touch screen for attacks and character swaps. It can get kind of crowded, since there's a 5x4 grid and you can have anywhere from 3 to 16 pieces on it. But it doesn't take that long to get used to moving your finger off the buttons to tap the touch screen. It's just important to know what's where so you can focus on the action.
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2-07-2006 @ 12:51PM
jj984jj said...
OBJECTION!
#5 is correct, except Lost Magic was developed by Gakaruta Studio, not Taito.
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