Psychic Force 2012

"Psychic Force 2012 is one of those rare fighting game titles released for the Dreamcast that truly shines in all areas."

Psychic Force was a pretty decent fighting game on the Playstation, and Psychic Force 2 wasn’t too shabby either, so simply out of curiosity, I decided to pick up the third game in the series for the Dreamcast titled Psychic Force 2012. Did it live up to the original two games though?

Right off the bat I noticed the precise controls, and awesome looking moves the game had to offer. All the characters were balanced, and each had their own unique set of moves, and represented a certain element. The character battles were held in a big glass box, and were set in a 3-D flying arena. One amazing thing I noticed was how they were able to use really powerful attacks when they charged up enough, and how there was a block bar. I was really happy to see those two features, because I really dislike games where you can use insane moves right off the bat, and games where the opponent takes way to much advantage of that block button.

The graphics in the game were truly amazing, the characters were beautifully designed, and the moves were very detailed. The background detail was also nicely done. The graphics in Psychic Force 2012 are literally perfect. I can’t find a single flaw or glitch in the graphics department. Do not fear though, the game is not all eye candy.

The audio experience this game offers is absolutely wonderful. The music fits the level you are on, and the battle SFX perfectly match your character. Don’t get me wrong, this game is no Grandia II or Final Fantasy, but it does what it is suppose to do with above average scores.

The story lines, what a pity how pathetic some story line have gotten in fighting games, but thank goodness Psychic Force 2012 does not follow that cliché. Each character has two rivals, and their own unique story line. The story lines are told in a Japanese comic style sense. (also known as mengas) I was quite impressed with the creativity some story lines had to offer. After playing games like Marvel vs Capcom 2, Tekken 3, and Virtua Fighter 3, I was relieved to find out that Psychic Force 2012 even had a story, and a good one at that.

One thing that many fighting games are missing these days are a well balanced difficulty system. Some fighting games are either to hard to learn, or just to easy to beat on the highest difficulty, fortunately, Psychic Force 2012 fixes that problem. Not only is the game easy to learn, but is easy to beat, but what about all of the experts out there? Well never fear, because the game is hard enough to give you a good run for your money. This is by far one of the game’s strongest points.

Replayibility in most fighting games are either really low or really high, and Psychic Force 2012 definitely falls into the really high replay-ability category. I often found myself addicted to unlocking all the characters, and trying to view all of the character’s story lines. One thing I loved was the great versus matches the game had. It was really cool to sit down with a bunch of friends and pop this game in. Seeing us play this game was like watching a bunch of mindless zombies.

Why do people buy games? Well to have fun of course, and unless a game has a high fun factor, then the game will surely fail. Let me tell you that Psychic Force 2012 will definitely not let you down in this category. Sure, some games can be addicting, but not fun. (Take Final Fantasy X for example.) However, Psychic Force 2012 is not only addicting, but lots of fun too. The moves looked awesome, and the combo system was really unique. I often lost track of time while playing and even lost many hours of sleep because of that.

Well, it’s time for the section most people skip right to anyway: the scores.

Gameplay 9/10
Graphics 10/10
Sound 10/10
Character Balance 10/10
Challenge 10/10
Fun Factor 9/10
Replay Value 9/10

A score will be given on the pros and cons in the game, this score will be called the Tilt. If there are more pros than the Tilt will be high, if there are more cons, than expect the score to be low. This will help achieve a more accurate final rating.

KO! You Win!
+ A Great Audio Experience
+ Good Gameplay
+ Great Graphics
+ Awesome Moves
+Wonderful Character Balance
+ Great Moves
+ High Fun Factor
+ High Replay Value
+ One Of The Best Anime Fighters Ever Seen

Draw! (Neutrals)
O All Battles Are In The Air
O Unique Combo System
O Unique Block & Special Move System

KO! You Lose!
- Almost To Many Projectiles
- Some Characters Mirror The Design Of Other Characters

Final Tilt Score 9/10

I’m not big on giving games perfect scores, but Psychic Force 2012 truly disserves it. I really loved the unique fighting system and the unique moves. It seems as if Taito used every single bit of the Dreamcast’s power to give gamers a truly wonderful fighting game experience. Psychic Force 2012 also makes use of Anime, and unlike other games, they use it successfully. Psychic Force 2012 is easily one of the best fighting games on the Dreamcast, and that’s really saying something due to the fact that it has to compete with the likes of Capcom, who seems to have gone crazy by putting out tons of fighter’s on Sega’s 128-bit system. So, for a true fighting game experience, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of Psychic Force 2012 today!

Overall Final Grade For Psychic Force 2012 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/11/01, Updated 01/30/03