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Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Fighting
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 08 Mar 05
User Rating
9.9 (53 votes) -
- The anime series translated into a decent game, with plenty of cool weapons and awesome abilities thrown in for good measure.
Overview
It is honestly not very often in this day and age to get a game on any console to come out without really hearing about it in one way or another. Today I have a perfect example of a video game that I personally just heard about (right before the game shipped) and a game very few of you I would guess have heard of, it's Konami's very own Rave Master and it's now available for your Nintendo Gamecube. Is this going to be the 2005 Sleeper Hit of the Year? You're going to have to read our full review to find out!
Gameplay
To be honest going into this review I had no idea what the heck Rave Master was, but after a little research I found out a little bit about what this game was all about. For those of you who were like me the whole "Rave Master" thing is actually a TV anime series. To make it nice and easy for all of you who don't know the anime series, it is about a young boy's journey to try and collect all of the Rave Stones. The game itself doesn't really contain much for a story so that's just a little back-story to give more reason for playing the game.
Rave Master consists of a few game modes, which include the pretty typical action style layout of Versus, Free Mode, and Story Mode. The first two modes are of course rather self-explanatory, but we can go over them anyways. The versus mode makes it possible for you to go up against up to three of your friends or some friends and some computer controlled characters. Other then that the free mode is the same sort of thing except this mode has you up against all computer opponents.
Now to the story mode, which is where you will find the majority of the games gameplay in. You of course get to choose from a set number of characters and get to hear a little (not a whole lot) about your character and then you are launched into a rather short story mode. In the story mode you get to take fights against all sorts of different things, following a linear path to the end. If you are a fan of the Rave Master TV show you will definitely appreciate this a lot more then the rest of us would as you would understand a lot more about some of the paths you take in the game.
Also in the game is a scenario editor, which really involves probably the best portions of Rave Master. It is here that you get to create your own story mode, and although this is sort of a gimmick kind of mode it still gives you reason to complete the story mode.
The actual gameplay itself is sort of like a four person last man standing, in which you just do everything you can to stay alive. The actual concept behind the mode is actually one that I really do enjoy. I am not a huge fan of one on one fighting games, although I do enjoy them I don't feel overly crazy about them. But the idea of having four people in one arena fighting, now that seems like a good idea to me. Throughout the game you will get different weapons and abilities and you will also be able to use some special moves while fighting. What I did like about the game were the weapons, which of course is carried from the TV series.
With all this being said, I guess what it boils down to is how the game ends up playing and in that respect the game accomplishes what it set out to do. It plays very fast and I think in the long run that helps the game feel less repetitive then it actually is. The actual gameplay in the game is really just pretty average. I mean it's not bad, but it's just not all that great either. One thing that did impress me was the computer AI, which did pose a challenge, but even though they did the game just didn't have enough depth to it to make it a great game.
Graphics
The one thing I have always found interesting about Anime games is that they always seem to have a rather unique sense of style, and Rave Master is no exception. I think that the best depiction of this unique style can be found in the character models, which show quite a bit of detail and also show a great amount of color.
Now with that being said the game isn't a perfect looking game as the environments in which you do your business in are rather bland and don't carry all the life that the character models do. The animation in this game looks like an anime style game and that's not a good or bad thing, it just is what it is. I think the developers could have done more with the fighting sequences though as you just don't seem to get a enough emphasis on any of your special attacks.
Fun Factor
Rave Master is a pretty simplistic game and many people might look at this as a bad thing but I see this as actually what makes the game so fun. This is easily a game that you could have a few friends come over who has no idea what Rave Master is or how to play and learn the ropes in a matter of minutes. The story mode isn't all that exciting but the multiplayer is and its just a shame that the Cube never really got its feet wet with the online play because this is a game that could have definitely been pretty entertaining online. With that being said the game is still very fast paced and a lot of fun to play.
Overall
When you look at Rave Master as a whole, it's just plainly an average action game that offers up some different ideas and a fun experience. I would say if you're a fan of the TV series then this game is an easy pickup, otherwise I would definitely consider the game as a rental title.
- Gameplay
7.0 - Graphics
7.0 - Fun Factor
8.0 - Overall
7.0
