Rival Schools

"Did it really need to include 2 discs? Oh well it's still great."

Hey kids do you like the arcade game Rival Schools? Hmmmm yeah I thought so well its now on the Playstation so you don't need to waste any more quarters but wait a second why does the Playstation version have 2 discs instead of one that's something that I though would never be possible in an arcade to home translation but let's see why. Well one disc is the arcade disc and the other is the evolution disc so what's the difference well the arcade one as you guessed it is more toward the arcade version with the optional story mode for the five schools,a training mode,and a movie mode where you can watch endings(Good and bad). The evolution disc does not have the optional story mode or training mode but it does have many extra modes like Cooperation,mini games to unlock like goal scoring with Roberto,and every time you beat the game you get an edit characters and they are characters with random moves from the other fighters(This was to make up for the fact that the school life mode from the Japanese mode did not make it to the U.S version and it was somewhat like the create a wrestler option in WWF Warzone/Attitude but here you could create your own student and go through the school year with him or her). I don't know why Capcom didn't just merge the two discs into one I mean it would have been easier to do and also its just not fair that the evolution disc has more features then the arcade disc(At certain times I switch between the two that way I don't abandon the arcade disc). Well the game is still great though even with that minor flaw. So get on down to my review or I have to mark you down for tardiness.

Graphics
They look the same like the arcade version and Natsu still looks like Janet from Three's Company and Kyoko still looks like the Baronees from G.I Joe. There is this weird thing in the PSX version where at certain times Hideo's glasses would all of a sudden have a black covering over the lens making him look like he is either wearing sunglasses or he is blind. The backgrounds look swell but they are cut down from the arcade version so they repeat often(Take the Justice High School stage for example at times you will see it twice in the background even though there is only one Justice High School). Well the graphics look alright but not anything spectacular but they will do.

Gameplay
Let me explain the gameplay for those that are unfamiliar with this game. You pick two people and the first person you pick fights first and when the match is over you can decide if you want to stick with your first guy or bring out the second fighter instead. There are also double team supers and with two levels on your super meter and when you press both punch and kick buttons of the same strength you will do something like a double fireball(One of my personal favorites)or both fighters end up doing a double back breaker on your foe. The gameplay is great and with some of the extra modes in the evolution disc it gives the game a boost(I find most of my kicks in the arcade mode but those are not too bad either) but the arcade version does not have as many modes as the evolution disc which may seem like the arcade disc gets ignored but since I switch between the two at times its not that big of a deal for me. Well the gameplay is great.

Sound
The voices all sound great if a little too Japanese(Like take Roy's voice for example it says in his bio that he hates Japan and all yet he spouts out some Japanese sayings and most of his so called English is very broken). Well the music is great and it is some of the best I have heard in a Capcom fighter and the sound effects are good too since they are not just simple hitting sound effects and they also include the sound of a fireball coming or this neat sound effect whenever someone does a counter. They did a nice job on the sound but next time Capcom hire some English voice actors for the Americans okay.

Control
It is two punches and two kick which is more like the control in SNK fighting games but its not that bad unless you have gotten so used to the regular Street Fighter 6 button control setup that you would scream if they changed it to four button(That scenario is unlikely but you never know today). The special moves require your usual commands of down,down forward,forward and the other stuff like that(I don't think too many of the characters here happen to have Guile type charge moves) so it is not much of a problem for beginners and the like.

Replay
It is higher then ever thanks to some extra modes and the added edit characters which make playing this game some more a no brainer. Also two player mode is done great(As always) and let us not forget the mini games which are a nice distraction from the main game.

Final Word
Another well done fighting game from the people that revolutionized the genre. The Playstation port would have been better if it was just one disc but hey that's just me talking. Street Fighter fans should really try this game if they haven't yet and also fighting game fans in general. This really is a great fighting game if not the best fighting game. If you didn't play Rival Schools yet then do so NOW.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/10/01, Updated 05/10/01