"Finally, a ds platform-fighter"

Alright, my first review. Let's begin.
When I got my ds, I started to notice the many game genres being used. But as time went on, I began to look for a platform fighter. Nothing good was released in America until finally an import was made, Bleach: Blade of Fate. Being a fan of the anime, and hearing it was a fighter, I was immediately excited. I had it reserved almost right away and proceeded to wait. Then finally the moment arrived when it came out. I picked it up almost instantly after it went on shelves. The case was shiny and looked really cool. I went home, grabbed my fully charged DS, and proceeded to open the box. I slipped the game in and began to play. Since it came out, Bleach: Blade of Fate has yet to be removed from my ds. I am still impressed with it. But enough intro, lets begin the review

Graphics
Needless to say, the graphics are pretty good. The character sprites are nice, with lots of good detail added in. The attacks look great and are appropriate in terms of detail and such. The backgrounds are alright, nothing too fancy. Al in al, the graphics are wonderful.

Sound
This game sounds great. Each character has his or her own unique voice that's easy to hear. The music is fun to listen to. Each stage has its own music that's appropriate to the mood. The only complaint I have is the battle shouts can get somewhat repetitive if you spam the same move over and over. Other than that it's a game that should be played with the sound on.

Story
The story follows the anime pretty well. There is a story mode that explains what's going on, as well as a separate story mode for every character. These are fun to play through and help you understand each character very well. The fights you go through are about the same as the ones in the anime. It's a good story all together.

Gameplay
Alright, to the heart of the matter. The gameplay is amazing. The controls are weak attack(Y), medium attack(X), and heavy attack (A), which have to be combo in that order. This means no more button mashing. There is also an ability called flash step (B). Basically, it is a short teleport from one spot to another. This uses one bar from your spirit power gauge that refills over time. This ability can be used in all eight directions. It adds a bit of evasion to the game. You can also guard(R) and when there are three or more players you can line change (L) into the front or back plane. The touch screen is used to activate cards from a deck you build. These cards do things from healing you, lowering the opponents attack, preventing the opponent from attacking, forcing the opponent to jump, and many more. These are useful in some ways, but only when necessary. From the touch screen you can also activate your specials. Don't worry, there are still button combos that can be preformed, but this helps people to be able to use moves from the get-go. Alright, on to the specials. There are two types- Special attacks and Super attacks. Special attacks are your bread and butter. They can be used on three level of power, depending on which attack button is pressed to activate it. When it is used with heavy attack, it uses one bar from your spirit power gauge. These can be used with combos and such. Then there are Super attacks. They use one or three bars of your spirit pressure gauge, which refills as you attack and are hit. The attacks that use one bar are very powerful and may even be a powered up version of a Special attack. The attacks that use all three bars are very powerful indeed. For the fans of the show, these attacks for some characters are their Bankai. It's the most power version of the character's weapon. These will be felt whether or not the opponent is blocking. Then there are two other defensive techniques, Damage cancel and Guard cancel. Damage cancel takes one bar of spirit pressure gauge and essentially stops your opponent from attacking in the middle of a combo. The guard cancel takes one bar of spirit power and allows you to flash step or attack in the middle of a combo you are guarding against. This is all of the abilities in a nut shell. They are easy to learn, difficult to master. There are several game modes you can play including story, versus, arcade, and other unlockables. Each character is unique in how they attack and move, but some characters are just jokes (That means you Kon) All in all, the Gameplay is solid.

Online
This is where it gets really fun. You can battle friends, random fight for fun, or you can even play in ranked matches. There can sometimes be a lot of lag, and some people can be amazingly cheap, but it is worth it.

In closing, Bleach: Blade of Fate is a great game. It even has loads of unlockables that will keep you going for a while. And with Wi-fi play, there are always people to fight. One of the best

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/07/07

Game Release: Bleach: The Blade of Fate (US, 10/09/07)