Waku Waku 7

"Don't let the title fool you, there is only one Waku Waku!"

Waku Waku 7 : The Search for the 7 colored balls ! Does that ring a bell ?

Most of you must certainly know Dragon Ball Z and its real plot, putting aside all the violent battles and constant powering-up that made it so popular. Originally, DBZ's plot only involved the 7 Crystal Balls which, once put together, would grant you 3 wishes. The first episodes first saw Goku going on to search for the 7 Dragon Balls with Bulma although they seemed to have strayed off Toriyama's ideas now.

And as most of you again probably already know, countless DBZ beat-em-ups were created for the NES, SNES, PSX and maybe a few other consoles which I haven't played. The games were never ported to the Arcade - I have always wondered why ! Today, I have stopped wondering - the game didn't make it through mainly because another company had stolen the idea of DBZ and had already created a kick-ass fighter for the Arcade before the game got ported to the Neo-Geo by SNK. And that company goes by the sweet name of SunSoft.

Sorry, mister ! You see, I'm strong !

Similar to DBZ, Waku Waku 7's plot revolves around 7 balls which will grant your most far-fetched wishes. Here too, I have wondered how the game came to get its title. The 7 is pretty obvious - but Waku Waku ? Or should it be Wacky Wacky 7 ? Possibly, because this game might very well be the wackiest beat-em-up ever created.

I guess you already know what the plot is in this fighter. The search for the balls and each character has his own personal motives. Interestingly enough, the main cast comprises only of 7 characters with each one holding a differently-colored ball. You need to defeat them all, including a shadow of your character, before coming up against one of the weirdest bosses ever created and getting your ass kicked about for one minute (only if you're good - otherwise, it's 30 seconds or less!).

Seven selectable characters : Rai, Slash, Tesse, Politank-Z, Mauru, Dandy-J and Arina. There is also a bonus character who's extremely funny and who goes by the name of Bonus Kun (a crazy parody of Ryu) and the boss, Fernandez. But where most games have only managed to come up with clichés to make up an uninteresting cast, SunSoft goes completely berserk and provides us with the craziest characters ever in most cases.

As an example, Mauru is a big friendly monster carrying a girl on her side. And while every other character thinks that Mauru has kidnapped the girl, little do they know how good Mauru is towards the girl. Politank-Z is, just as the name implies, a tank - but thinking it's just a normal tank at that ? None of that ! Politank-Z is a two-part machine and the lower part is controlled by…a dog ! What about its winning pose where the dog will show you its ass and wiggle its tail as you ?!

And I haven't even mentioned Bonus Kun and Fernandez, the cheap boss. Bonus Kun is a punchbag and wins right away the award for the funniest character ever - even Shingo Yabuki comes nowhere close. He's a complete parody of Capcom's main character, Ryu, and really makes fun of him with his tasteless remarks and his vanity. Fernandez seems to come from a world of its own. A big black blob, yet very quick, with unseen moves which will make you laugh all the tears of your body…

The in-game quotes are yet another proof of the game's humor. Some of those dwelve into life and will make you think while others are hilarious like Politank-Z's infamous ''I've found a girl frying, no, a flying girl ! I have to catch and warn her !''. Simply magnificent ! If a game must get a reward for its quotes, then it surely has to be Waku Waku 7.

I'll strike down a huge animal with only one blow…Then, I'll be a true fighter !

Waku Waku 7 is packed with features and innovations to make it stand out from the normal beat-em-ups. In addition to the normal moves, each character also has ES Moves which are twice as powerful as their normal counterparts and which cost 1 Level of Super. Add to it the DokiDoki which are other moves where your characters flash like a rainbow and the WakuWaku which can be considered as the game's desperation moves.

Finally, we come to the game's most interesting feature : The HaraHara (stay tuned for my FAQ) ! The HaraHara are extremely powerful moves that have an insane start-up time and are extremely powerful. Some HaraHara animations will make you drool at the screen and ask for more as you become familiar with each character. And you need to have discovered all the subtleties of the HaraHara before proclaiming that you are a true master of the game.

For a very old game which never actually came out of the ''gutter'' (where the MvC titles now lie - no peace upon you !), Waku Waku 7 boasts splendid graphics. From all of Politank's animations to Slash's backgrounds, everything is just so clearly drawn and detailed - and Arina is hot with that sexy outfit. Rai's bicycle, the fountain in Tesse's stage, Arina's weird friends and all the stages really show how much time the programmers indulged in the graphics, seeking to give the game a unique presentation.

All the characters, regardless of their importance in the plot, benefit from a smooth animation and some of the moves are simply amazing. Words can't possibly describe the feeling Waku Waku 7 conveys to the player as he tries to tackle the extremely fast Slash after dealing with an annoying Mauru who has the fastest HaraHara move in the game.

While the backgrounds may seem devoid of details in a couple of cases, the animation always makes up for this. Anyway, you really won't have time to stare at the backgrounds because the game is really quick and never gives you any time to sit back and enjoy how it benefits from superb graphics.

I can get an automata at which automat ?

Waku Waku 7 also has some pretty enjoyable music and an exceptionally clear voice-acting. The themes are maybe somewhat cartoony but fit in wonderfully with the game's atmosphere and thus make it more enjoyable. Be warned hence that there aren't anything as rock and techno themes here ! Instead, the background music is entertaining and backs up each character suitably. Slash's music is without doubt the finest of them all as it brings an eerie aura which even makes the player shudder (or it might be because Slash is so cheap with his teleport moves…).

For a game which came out unexpectedly, credit goes to the developers for seeking the help of accomplished actors to add more depth to the already fantastic characters. Rai's DokiDoki and HaraHara onomatopoeia are fabulous and the same can be observed with the rest of the cast. Fernandez is actually done by a bunch of kids and this just makes him even more comical with his weird moves.

A tight and responsive control awaits you in Waku Waku 7 such that you'll lose no time to grasp all the game basics. The different moves are easy to pull provided you are not a complete jerk and with time, the ultra-damaging combos will flow in without warning.

As you play the game, you'll be able to learn all the techniques and will become familiar at using all the moves to ensure you win. This may not be obvious the first times you play the game but things get easier with practice. Just don't give up !

Hard fight against a monster ! The best and the brightest are gathered in our machine !

The limited cast is a slight problem though because once you've beaten the game a couple of times with all the characters and seen the endings, there's truthfully nothing that will make you come back to the game. If you're a true beat-em-up fan, you will continue playing just for the pleasure of beating people up but the others will surely get bored.

However, the game still benefits from an astonishing gameplay and is, above all, very fun. One can't help but laugh the first times upon discovering Waku Waku 7. There are 4 levels of play on this home version and beating the game with the less powerful characters at Hard seems to be downright impossible.

Still, it is quite an achievement to bring such a solid gameplay while the cast is so limited. Of course, it's another story in versus matches and that is where Waku Waku 7 simply shines. I have never played such a funny game and the characters' enthusiasm is so contagious that you'll keep on playing it for days on end as you try to become good with each character.

Such a gem of a title is a must-have for all Neo-Geo fans as it is one of the best games available on the system. While not up to the standards of the references that are The King of Fighters and Samurai Shodown, Waku Waku 7 is a nice title on its own and you'll never regret buying it. Should you be lucky enough to see it somewhere, go for it !!

Innovations : 10
Graphics : 8
Music/sound : 8
Control : 8
Gameplay : 9
Fun-factor : 9
Replay value : 6
Difficulty : variable
Overall : 7

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/07/01, Updated 11/09/02