Released: 19980305 Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Developer: Hudson Soft Genre: Fighting

Review by: Mike

Hudson? Hudson making a good fighting
game? No way, you say. It's true, Bloody Roar is
actually quite good. It's hard for any fighter to
stand out among Bushido Blade, Tekken, and
Soul Blade. Bloody Roar probably isn't a title
you'd choose over those three, but can definitely
stand on its own merits. It's a fun, flashy game
that almost anyone can get into quickly and
easily.

Visually speaking, Bloody Roar boasts a lot
of flash, with huge effects, light bursts and trails.
Bright, vibrant colors fill the screen. Only
downside to all this, the actual quality of the
graphics. The entire look of Bloody Roar isn't as
smooth as, let's say, Soul Blade. Characters
aren't made up of enough polygons, giving them a
blocky, bulky look...similar to Tekken. Despite all
that, BR's visuals are a nice change, and well
done.

But unlike some PSX titles, Bloody Roar's
gameplay lives up to the graphics. There's
nothing revolutionary about the fighting system,
just your basic punch/kick combos. Tap a couple
buttons in the correct order and voila. Beginners will be able to pull of simpler
combos with no sweat, while more advanced players can try 15+ hitters.
Almost anyone, even first-timers, can learn to play BR well.

A very neat addition, one that defines BR, is the beast ability. Press the
beast button, and your character with transform into his/her animal (wolf, tiger,
lion, fox, rabbit for example). Using this, more combos and moves are
available. Without this option, many gamers, including me, probably wouldn't
have given this game a glance. It would've been your basic,
overdone-and-overkilled 3D Fighter. Thank god for creativity.

I do have some BR peeves though. My first turn-off was character
selection. The characters are unappealing (odd-looking), and storyline is
nonexistent (not that it matters anyway, right?). Soundtrack and overall quality
of the menus just doesn't live up to Soul Blade or Tekken. When you look at
Bloody Roar, then at Soul Blade, you see two totally different games. But
when you play and judge Bloody Roar on its own, it does quite well.

All 'n all, Bloody Roar is a solid fighter. It does what most fighters should
do, look good and play well. While it doesn't add anything new to the genre,
it's fun title to play. Entertainment is what its all about, right?

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