Inuyasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel

"Rumiko Takahashi Should be Furious!"

I first stumbled upon Inuyasha via Adult Swim, like most of the people I know. As a fan of action anime, it immediately captivated me. So, when this game first came out, I thought it would be a major hit. Based on my favorite anime AND an RPG? Perfect.

Unfortunately, after I wasted $30 on it, I found out it isn't so. I played for an hour, set the thing down, and it has been gathering dust on my shelf for a couple of months now.

GRAPHICS: 8/10

The graphics are actually all right. Of course, they can't be XBOX 360-quality, but they're pretty good for the DS, although I have seen better.

SOUND/MUSIC: 7/10

The sound and music were decent. Of course, like the graphics, I've heard better, but what was I really expecting?

GAMEPLAY: 1/10

This is one of the two things that really killed this game. For starters...it's an RPG....and yet you start with all the powerful moves. I'm something of a nit-picker, and it really bothered me that I would win ever battle by having enough energy to use Wind Scar.

Also, they use energy for special attacks. That's not that abnormal, but the stuff is regenerated....by walking around. You can use one of the many almost instant kill attacks, then hurry on your merry way and probably use it dozens of more times without much restriction.

STORYLINE: 1/10

Now, look, I am not bashing adding original characters. I've even enjoyed some stories that include fan made characters. But that's done tastefully. This one is not.

Your main character is not even in the show. Her name is Janis, she's American for Pete's sake, and she's somehow got the power of a god. The rest of the cast, the ones that we've come to know and love, are really just second banana.

OVERALL RATING: 2/10

The only thing that saved this was standard graphics and sound. That's it. Now I dispense one final word of advice............DON'T BUY THIS GOD-AWFUL GAME!

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 06/18/07