Waku Waku 7

"Wow! A great fighting game!"

To tell the truth, when I first saw this game, I really never expected it to be so great! I take that back now, this fighter is one of the best I've played!

Gameplay- 8

It is what you'd normally expect in a fighting game. Punch, Kick, Jump, and Duck, but it is done in style! Each character does their own punching, kicking, etc... in their own special (and silly) way. Don't forget, each character does have several special attacks. Out of the several special attacks, there is a very powerful one that really can't be dodged.

The challenge in this game is great as well. The first four rounds start off easy, but after that, it starts to get quite hard. The control in the game is pretty decent as well. I found a few characters harder to control than others, but I suppose it was meant to be that way.

Story- 7

It says that whoever collects the seven Waku Waku balls, the person is granted a wish. Hmm, now where have I heard something like that before? Dragon Ball Z anyone?

Media- 10

Wow, the graphics and sound of games don't matter, I know that, but the graphics and sound in Waku Waku 7 are just excellent! The characters are designed either really cute, or really goofy (PoliceTank-Z being really goofy, Merau being really cute, and so on) The graphics of the game are quite impressive as well. The backgrounds are really colorful and detailed, plus whenever you go through different rounds, the time of day changes, so if you go through 3 rounds, it will be pretty dark outside!

The music is the best I've ever heard in a fighting game! The music has a J-Pop ring to it, and in a few rounds, there are even vocals to it (In Japanese of course)! I think the character's voices are really nice too. The voices really fit the character well, only Merau's cry got a bit obnoxious after a while.

Replay- 7

After all, Waku Waku 7 is a fighting game, and fighting games don't have that great of replay in it (Except for maybe Flying Dragon for N64, but that is another story). Though, the characters are hilarious, you'll want to play the game over and over, wanting to see other fighter's comments to your player and so on. I'm sure that this is a great 2-Player game as well, so there is some replay here!

Is it worth a play?

It definitely is! I wouldn't go wasting 25 quarters on it (But I wouldn't waste 25 quarters on any arcade game at that), but it is definitely worth a play! If you are a fan of either fighting games or anime, you'll enjoy this game without a doubt. That is all I can say!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/14/00, Updated 06/30/02