Rival Schools

"Best underplayed fighter ever?"

This is how good this game is: I rented it from Blockbuster Video for 4 days and nights and still bought it about 2 weeks later. It's that good.

You basically select two characters. You cannot ''tag out'' during a match, like MvsC2, but you can after the first round. The combos and air combos(!) are pretty basic as long as you have some fighting game experience.

The replay value is very high. I consistently play it to this day even though i've had it for a very long time (I played it yesterday). I can't say that with many games. The gameplay and graphics are great, although not up to par with today's standards. The sound is fine as far as I can tell and the voices are nice and clear. The team-up moves are cool and the endings (well, the good endings, at least) are good enough to make this a great rental game. The team-up moves alone are worth a one-night rental.

Unless you love fighting games (and all games) like me, then you'll want to buy it. The ''evolution'' disc has several play modes, including 4 minigames, and even a lesson mode to refine your skills. The characters are likable and the Japanese voices are a nice extra. Also, you can unlock several hidden characters who have combined moves of different characters.

My only complaint is when playing the computer, burning vigors (super moves) are usually useless because of team ups. Also, some modes were cut from the American version: Edit mode (this even appears on the back of the American box) and School Life (I have to go to school, I don't miss this mode).

I think this game is horribly underplayed though. Look at the number of reviews for it! I don't know any casual gamers at my school who have heard of this game and only a couple of hardcore gamers have. So, for my sake, please at least go rent this game. You won't regret it.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/28/00, Updated 08/28/00