Rakugaki Showtime

"Super Wacky Zany Japanese Action Bliss"

Rakugaki Showtime is a Japanese treat from our friends at Treasure. Although it is arguably their least-known game, I believe it to be their best (which is saying quite a bit!).

Gameplay: (10/10)
The gameplay is fun, fast, wacky, intense, and insane... just like you'd expect from Treasure. Well, it doesn't have to be fast, you can adjust the speed if you like, but I happen to prefer the fastest setting for maximum insanity (check the FAQ, as all the options are in Japanese).

Basically, the gameplay consists of a combination of dodge ball and fighting. Your sole task is to take out everybody else on the playing field. For most characters, this is done by throwing objects at them, such as bombs, boulders, ICBMs, homing missiles, and the primary weapon, the smiley face. The smiley face starts out ''happy'' at the beginning of the match up, but increases in anger each time it hits something. Eventually, it becomes so angry it starts flashing. If a character picks up the smiley face at this time, they will perform a super attack which can inflict HUGE damage on enemies. On the other hand, some characters rely more on hand-to-hand fighting instead, inflicting damage with special moves that range from blowing up half the screen to smacking people with their gigantic ass (I'm not kidding!).

The pace is very quick, as most characters can zip across the screen and throw a barrage of objects with little hesitation. Although some strategy is involved, most of the game relies on reflexes and maneuvering. The intense combat almost reminds me of Virtual On, with kids and weird animals instead of mechs. Although the depth is nowhere even close to Virtual On, the gameplay is just as fun, maybe more so!

Challenge: (10/10)
Rakugaki Showtime has adjustable difficulty, but not in the traditional sense. The CPU automatically adjusts the difficulty for you. So if you defeat your enemies very quickly, future rounds will provide more difficult match ups. If you lose twice in a row on any match up, the difficulty will be turned down. There is a nice range in difficulty: easy matches are quite easy, while hard matches provide top-notch hardcore challenges. Although I have unlocked all the characters, I have yet to beat this game on hard without continuing...

Replay Value: (10/10)
I simply can't get enough of this game. The intense action, Japanese charm, and top difficulty keep me coming back, even after I've unlocked every character. This is also a 4-player game, which I'll bet is supposed to be the main focus of the game. My friends aren't the type to play weird Japanese crap, so I don't have the pleasure of playing multiplayer games, but given how much entertainment I've gotten out of the one player mode, I'll bet this is a blast to play with friends. Also, as you unlock more characters, you'll find that many of them have very different styles (some characters can't even pick up objects!). This adds to the replay value as well if you want to try to master the game with as many characters as possible.

Graphics: (8/10):
Many reviewers put graphics at the top of their reviews because they are shallow idiots. Those same people would say the graphics in this game suck. That's because all the characters look like paper cut-outs, colored in with crayons. Think PaRappa done by five-year olds... weird eh? You bet! But the graphics have their own certain charm, and they certainly add to the overall flavor of the game. The backgrounds are very simplistic, sometimes downright ugly, but they match the graphic effect of the characters and objects. Basically, it all looks like a half-assed first grade crayon drawing. And I love it!

Sound: (8/10)
The bouncy music and high-pitched character voices complement the game nicely. Although not particularly catchy, the sounds in this game are very appropriate for the style: weird poppy cartoon stuff. Once again, most people wouldn't care about it either way, but I love it.

Overall: (10/10)
Few games offer this much fun or this much style. Admittedly, it's not for everyone... hell, it's not for most people. But if you like intense, wacky Japanese action, you might get as much enjoyment out of this game as I have... let's just say I wouldn't even own a Playstation if this game didn't exist! I paid a whopping $100 for this game, and I don't regret a cent of it... and I'm not rich or anything (hell, I work at a pizza place!). It's hard to find, but if you have the chance, pick up a copy!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/08/02, Updated 02/08/02