Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale

"A thrilling fighting game!"

I'll make this short and sweet, as the American version of the game needs a review instead of the more difficult to understand Japanese version, so here it is.

Inuyasha is a fighting game based on the Japanese hit Anime, and Manga, created by Rumiko Takahashi of Ranma 1/2 fame, which can also be purchased and views in America, as this franchise slowly becomes a hit.

Naturally, a game was in order, and it was recently released in Japan, and quickly (you can tell) translated to English.

Now, onto the review.

Graphics - 8/10

This isn't fancy pants 3D, but the pixilated 2D sprites for characters and such are very well done, with many frames, including individual throws for specific characters.

The attacks are also well done, very much like ones from the show, with full-screen anime images of the characters in the backgrounds as they use their special attacks. Speaking of backgrounds, the locales of the game are also nicely drawn, including a fairly nice 'kiddy', or 'chibi' map for story mode.

Sound / Music - 6/10

The music is average, supposing to sound like it's from Feudal Japan, with no tracks in the game actually from the shows. They suit the game well enough, though no song is actually memorable.

As for sound, however, it's incredible for a game of its type, there was no translation on Bandai's part for that, keeping it perfect down to the all of the original Japanese voice actors, shouting out the names of their attacks, various sounds, and the between-the-battle text.

Gameplay - 9/10

This is where it all shines, easy controls, responsive, lots and LOTS of characters to unlock through a jewel shard collecting system, from earning bits of a jewel for using the right attacks on people in story mode, lots of replayability, multiplayer, especially with a friend, and it's nice to just say you have something from this great show.

However, this does not receive a 10 for one problem, the translation and cheesy story mode. I know some Japanese, and what they say in the game is NOT what they were supposed to say, but they still keep it on par with the show and character behavior, though, well, it's hard to describe what a cheesy translation is, but if you know anime, you probably understand what I mean.

When you get to unlockables, there's a big amount of character images you can unlock in a gallery, sound test, you can even change what the characters say in battle, with many preset sound effects and voices, including some pretty funny ones. It'll keep fans of the show busy for a long time.

Overall - 8/10

Not much more to summarize, except noting that this game is going to be in my Playstation for a very long time, it's also at a value of a price, twenty dollars, any fan of the show should not pass this game up.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/12/03, Updated 04/12/03