"Funny anime, funny game?"

Introduction
As you may know (unless you are here by mistake), this game is based on a old (but quite funny) japanese cartoon called Yaiba, in which a boy has a sword in which he inputs magical balls and they grant him specials powers, which he will have to use in order to fight his arch-rival.

Gameplay
Well, this can be considered mainly as a party game, since there are many levels and they are mainly splited up in 3 different sections. First, you will be able to play some levels in a way that resembles platforms games, and in those levels you will be able to use the magical balls that you already collected, which will surely be able to help you. Also, there will be some levels in which Yaiba (yeah, you will control him) will be in top of one of his animal friends and needs to dodge projectiles which are thrown at him, which is a really easy task since you are given big tips, and I mean you can see the ''shadows'' from the points where they will fall in... Finally, there are some levels which are just to press a certain button (or sequence) really quickly, in order to cause a certain event. Those levels are the main problem of this game, since they are the ones that may keep people who don't know japanese away from this game, since... it may seem unbelievable, but they will not know what key(s) to press.

Story
Exactly the same story as the anime... You will start by trying to meet with the old man Musashi Miyamoto and getting a mythic sword. Then, the plot gets wider until you face your rival, and then... some surprises!

Graphics/Sound
Well, considering the console for which the game was made, the graphics were quite good... As for the sound, it isn't good, it's too boring and repetitive, the only nice thing is that you can hear the opening music from the series at the main title screen of the game!

Play Time/Replayability
The game is somehow hard to finish, but once you do it there isn't anything else to do, except for trying to beat your own scores. Also, I must say that this game is almost impossible to finish without knowledge of japanese language.

Final Recommendation
First of all, if you don't know japanese language, stay away from this game. Also, if you were a fan of the anime (like I am ^__^ ) you gotta play it!

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 03/04/04