Somehow, we just never see a lot of news on the Bleach games. There never seem to be many screenshots or videos -- probably since the games for the DS and Wii have been out for so long in Japan already -- that the glowing reviews for Bleach: The Blade of Fate just seemed to come out of nowhere. Treasure's effort is being hailed as a rival to the import classic Jump Super Stars, and as for English-language DS fighters, apparently, there is no comparison. Fan of the anime/manga or not, if you like fighters, it sounds like this may be one you don't want to miss.IGN -- 85%: Despite a few dropped matches and a little Wi-Fi slowdown, IGN reviewers struggled to find anything negative. "Treasure lives up to its reputation in delivering system-pushing presentation ... Bleach is hands-down the best fighter on the system. We aren't fans of the anime, we've only seen a few episodes in preparation for the game's coverage, but Bleach still won us over, as it plays extremely well, has tons of options, and pulls off some seriously impressive 2D work on DS. The sheer amount of extravagant attacks and system-filling combos should be enough to win over fans of the anime, but the core gameplay is where Bleach wins over the rest of us, delivering a stronger fighting mechanic than nearly any pocket battler out there."
Modojo -- 80%: Modojo checked out the Japanese import earlier this year and found a solid experience. "The character's fighting styles differ substantially and give the game a real flair that other fighters often lack. The fighting has tournament level depth, and advanced players could spend hours working on juggling air combos, jump and guard cancels, and super attacks ... Overall, Bleach: Souten ni Kakeru Unmei succeeds where most other handheld fighting titles fail. It offers an inspiring, deep combat system, a replay value extended greatly by the games connection features, and a wonderful experience for anyone already enamored by the anime or manga."
NintendoWorldReport -- 80%: Despite some issues with the card system, they found the Japanese import worth playing. "... Bleach DS features a card system that pretty much breaks the game in multiplayer. In single player it's harmless and even seems "cool" at times. However, level four cards are hard to earn, and this where the system completely unbalances multiplayer games. It's no longer a game of raw fighting skill, but a game of who has the best cards and can stack them in his favor ... Despite the detrimental card system, Treasure has put together a pretty solid title that can appeal to fighting game fans as well as Bleach fans."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-09-2007 @ 1:50PM
Fullmetal Salchemist said...
I've had the Japanese version for a while now. It's a really good game, and the second best fighting game on the system (part 2 is better).
It's too bad the anime sucks.
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10-09-2007 @ 2:06PM
Orville the Unfathomable Time Walrus said...
The anime does NOT suck. Just because everyone has become too pretentious to enjoy shounen-style action anymore doesn't mean it at all lacks merit. I'm proud to say that not only do I love Bleach, but I hate pretty much everything that is currently popular, i.e. the influx of garbage like moe and dating-sim adaptations. I'll take my giant swords over your shy, blank-eyed pre-teen girls any day of the week, thanks.
I'm glad to see it getting good reviews, and my copy should arrive from Amazon in the next couple of days. I'll buy the Wii counterpart, Shattered Blade, after Christmas.
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10-09-2007 @ 4:53PM
Onomah said...
THANK YOU MISTER WALRUS! I've been thinking roughly the same thing for about a week.
This really surprises me. Video game adaptations of popular manga or anime...Heck any kind of video game adaptation of anything ever kind of sucks with like one exception for every hundred thousand crappy game. Anything reasonably playable would be pretty remarkable in my book.
Also this has Giant Swords. Giant Swords for the win, as they say
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10-09-2007 @ 6:28PM
Mr Khan said...
Chalk up another fan of the anime
Its odd, it does look generic on the surface, but the show is essentially a soap opera (with all the intra-Soul Society intrigue) packaged by warriors with giant swords
Plus, its a very traditional anime in its characterizations and animation style. And its made by the same people who do Naruto (not precisely, but same studios, TV Tokyo, Studio Pierrot)
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10-10-2007 @ 12:28AM
Deuz Augustine said...
Shut up! You're not allowed to dislike something that I enjoy! Just shut up!
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10-10-2007 @ 1:40AM
GlueFaceBear said...
Part of me wants to buy it just to see if they fixed any of the balance issues, or just tossed in some english text...
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