Arcana Heart

"I didn't know knee high socks looked so good on me."

2D fighting games aren't as popular as they used to be, at least not in America, but it does have a certain following. A charm that modern day 3D fighting games can't seem to match. Arcana Heart on the PS2 is the latest 2D fighting game shipped fresh out of Japan and brought to American shores. The game is published by Atlus, the company best known for it's Shin Megami Tensei, and Trauma Center games. The big twist in this game, is that all the fighters are female, and if that weren't enough, all 11 fighters have a total of 11 different arcana they can choose from, which means there are a total of over 100 different fighting style combinations based on the character and arcana you chose to use. Yes the all female fighter thing is certainly just a gimmick, but if you can get over the kiddy looking graphics and voice acting, underneath is a great fighting game, and one of the most fresh 2D fighters I've played in awhile.

When you first pop the disc in your PS2, like any fighting game, the first thing on your mind will probably be facing off with friends. Well, your friends are going to have to be a little open for this one. This game, like a lot of fighters, pretty much boils down to the 2p versus mode, and unless you have friends who are going to want to play this game with you, there isn't really much of a reason to buy it, it's that simple. However, if you do have some friends who are willing to jump into the knee high socks of a 14 year old school girl, then you're in for one heck of a good time.

The game is very bright and colorful, are the characters are very well designed in all their anime cliched glory. You get a peppy school girl, a hot, but cold female looking robot, a samurai girl, a ninja dog girl (?), and a girl in a bathing suit swimming in the middle of a giant blob...yeah. The first time you pop the game in, you're most likely going to chose a character that has the (ahem) asthetics that appeal to you. But after playing through every character, it won't be a surprise if your favorite is someone completly different. We've played every character in this game several times over, and they all have a very unique charm, and as far as we can tell, everyone seems to be very well balanced.

Anyone who has played a 2D fighter before will feel at home here, with a lot of the same button and direction combinations from famous ones like Street Fighter. The face buttons are split up into three main attack buttons, and one special button. The square, triangle, and circle button (A, B, C) are weak, medium, and strong attacks respectivley, and the X button acts as a arcana use button and a homing button. If you hold down X without pressing a direction, your character will rocket towards your enemy wherever they are on screen. You can dash three times in succesion, as long as the meter at the bottom of the screen is filled to max. This is a great move, because the levels are hugely vertical, and you can send your oponnent flying very high into the air, and then dash after them, attacking them further resulting in some great aerial combat. The first time you knock someone flying, you are going to laugh, and I probably wouldn't doubt that you're going to laugh everytime after that to.

Anyway, as you fight, another small meter at the bottom of the screen fills, and once full, adds a number to the side of your dash meter. This represents your special moves, and they have quite a few different uses. For one thing, each character has two special attacks that they can perform as long as they have at least one number here. These powerful moves lead to heavy damage, and long combos. Another use, is when you activate your arcana. When you activate your arcana, it fills your dash gauge, and temporarily makes you invincible while it's activating, so if you're stuck in an enemy combo, you can activate it to get out (however you only get one activation per round). In this state, your character will have increased damage, special side abilities will activate based on the arcana chosen at the start of the match, and you can also use your arcanas special move, which summons the giant beast into a huge attack, causing massive damage if you are able to land the move. The drawback is that this mode trains any special move counts you have racked up, however the more you have, the longer the mode will stay activated.

So the game does have quite a few interesting draws, however it still doesn't avoid all the pitfalls that plague other fighting games. For one thing, the single player mode is almost non-existent. There is only a story and arcade mode, which are both equally boring. Arcade mode is probably the better of the two, just because it's a simple, beat everyone in the game mode, where as story let's you pick and chose each opponent, with a side punishment added on at the end, where you face one of the hardest bosses I've ever faced in a fighting game.

Another problem is it's a hard game to simply jump into. You and your friends will have to take some time to learn the button combos, otherwise, on the surface it appears to be nothing more than a button masher. The combos are pretty simple, but not overly so, so some of the better moves are harder to pull off than a simple punch. A good player will be able to do a great string of moves, racking up huge combos, though you'll need a lot of practice to do so.

One disapoinment is the lack of unlockable material. All the characters are unlocked from the get go, and there isn't any bonus material, save an art gallery that doesn't really have anything too interesting in it anyway. This only further serves the problem that solo play is pointless.

The other problem is simply mental. You have to have enough balls to play an all girl fighting game, which can be surprisingly hard for some people to do, despite how good the game is. The game is pretty classy, and doesn't offend women in the same way Rumble Roses did, however the choice of all girls is obviously just a fan service thing. I don't really mind this, since in fighters I normally played as the women anyway, since as a whole they were generally faster, but before you consider a purchase, make sure your friends are cool about playing the game with you.

I would have much rather seen this game come out on a system like the 360 where you would be able to play other people online, so you always had competition, what's here does work well. The game is really cool, fast paced, though a little cutsey, and the arcana combinations keep each fighter fresh. Overall the game is awesome, just make sure you have friends who will come along for the ride. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to fight a witch girl, with a girl dressed as a maid who wields a giant sword.

GRAPHICS: 8/10- Very bright, colorful, and crisp graphics keep the game looking silky smooth.

SOUND: 8/10- Like the graphics, the music can be pretty whimsical, but fit's the game design. The fighters voices have thankfully retained their Japanese actors.

CONTROL: 9/10- May start off as a button masher, but those who take the time to learn the moves will easily win every time. The dash system is awesome, and the combos are easy to in put, while at the same time being complicated enough to require some effort.

GAMEPLAY: 8/10- Versus mode is frantic and fun, including some overly vertical level designs. It's too bad that solo made is next to worthless.

OVERALL: 8/10

REPLAY VALUE: Moderate

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/24/08

Game Release: Arcana Heart (US, 04/10/08)