"Ichigo is still awesome, Mayuri is still a freak, and Yamamoto is still...old... oh, and this is an awesome game!!!"

One of the few weaknesses the Nintendo DS has been plagued with is a lack of decent fighting games. And it's common knowledge that games based off of an anime or manga is usually bound to be mediocre at best, and absolutely horrible at worst. There are very few exceptions to this rule. However, I am glad to report that Bleach: The Blade of Fate is not only a game that makes good use of the Bleach license, but also manages to deliver a surprisingly deep, addictive fighting game that is fun for one player, and even more so for 2-4 people.

For those not in the know, Bleach is the story of a 15-year-old high school student by the name of Ichigo Kurosaki. Ichigo is pretty much your average high school guy, except for one tiny little thing... he can see ghosts. And through a series of strange, wacky, and occasionally violent events, he ends up gaining the powers of a shinigami, known as a soul reaper in the English dub. His friend, and the person who gave him his powers, Rukia, is kidnapped and taken back to the Soul Society to be executed for charges not even she knows. And it's up to Ichigo and his friends to break into Soul Society, save Rukia, and defeat anyone that tries to stop them. In short, it's another brief framework based off of the actual Bleach storyline (which is surprisingly deep) to justify you taking a big friggin' sword and beating the sweet bejeezus out of anything that moves. And with that, we move into the first category of this review: Gameplay.

GAMEPLAY:

The gameplay in Bleach DS resembles many one on one fighters like it. You have three different attack buttons for light, medium, and heavy attacks. These can be combined with directions on the control pad and strung together in different combos to increase points and damage to your opponent. During the battle, your character can also use "Flash Steps", allowing them to teleport from one part of the stage to anywhere else, depending on what direction you hold. This is a great technique for sneaking up on your opponent. And because there is a foreground and background to every stage, characters can utilize a line jump to face different opponents, or to get away from the most heated part of the battle for a second. Bear in mind though, using flash steps and line jumps eat up energy in your spirit power gauge, seen at the bottom of the screen on your character's side.

Each character also has a handful of special moves which can either be performed by specific button sequences, or by using the hot buttons on the bottom touch screen. These attacks can be reinforced to make them stronger (at the cost of more spirit power, much like Flash Steps). And finally, each character has anywhere from one to three different super attacks, which can be used once you have built up your spirit pressure gauge (spirit PRESSURE, not power like flash steps and line jumps, don't get confused). The spirit pressure gauge is found right under the health bar at the top. And these supers, like the specials, can either be used through button combos or by pressing their respective hot buttons.

Also, characters can use spirit cards for different effects on the battle, such as increasing their own attack power or spirit pressure, to restricting your opponents' abilities as well. These can be used with the hot buttons on the touch screen.

Whew, I know that seems like a lot to digest, but it's surprisingly easy to pick up and learn the basics quickly. You're thrown into a battle with anywhere from 1-3 opponents, and the winner is the last one standing, or the one with the most health at the end of the time limit. The gameplay is simple enough to understand, and easy to begin learning, but difficult to master completely, a hallmark of a good fighting game. There's plenty of different characters right from the bat and even more to unlock, so you'll no doubt find one among the almost 30 characters to suit your playing style. Some characters are slightly more advantageous than others, and there are a few characters who are more jokes than anything else (sorry Kon fans), but overall, the roster is very balanced and winning is possible with just about everyone.

There are several modes for your enjoyment, including one player arcade, story mode, challenge mode, training and survival modes, as well as multiplayer (which can be taken online, no less). A very solid base to work off of, I applaud Treasure for working hard on this.

10/10

GRAPHICS/PRESENTATION:

Don't let the fact that this game is 2D throw you off in the slightest. All the characters and locales from the Bleach saga are replicated to near picture perfection in this game. Each character has a different personality, and an equally unique weapon at their disposal to match. While the soul reapers have their various zanpakuto at their disposal (zanpakuto being a sword which is a soul reaper's weapon), the other assorted characters have unique tools such as armored fists, bows that fire arrows of light, even demon hair clips. That's right, hair clips. And you know what? They kick butt. And don't be thrown if someone occasionally summons the odd rampaging giant boar.

The super attacks in this game are appropriately over the top and powerful, and do a wonderful job of showcasing a character's abilities. This especially applies for many of the "Bankai" supers that many of the Soul Reapers posses, either transforming themselves or their weapons into bigger, badder, more powerful versions for some truly devastating attacks. You can choose to watch or skip the Bankai animation scenes, in case they get dull. But they never did for me, usually because they came right before I annihilated some poor sap.

The menus in this game are colorful and have plenty of character themselves, the art style used for them follows in the vein of Bleach perfectly. They are easy to navigate and don't get overly wordy or excessive in any way.

Stages are simple enough, not on the level of 3D fighters obviously, but still look beautifully animated and provide a good backdrop for some truly epic fights. I only wish there were more of them, but that is a relatively minor gripe.

Overall, the visual look of this game is clean, colorful, and remains faithful to the Bleach franchise to a t.

10/10

MUSIC/SOUND:

This, for me, was extremely good in some respects, and only so-so in others. The American voice actors lend their voices to all the characters in this game, and there is voice acting out the wazoo during fights. You can even choose a preferred character voice to narrate the menus as you navigate them. Some of the highest points for voice acting, for me, came for the Bankai supers, as characters often share a witty or otherwise awesome one liner to go with it.

The music, however, was one of the weak spots in Bleach DS's armor. While it does fit the active fights you will have well, none of the themes (with the notable exception of the theme for the game introduction, ripped straight from the anime ) are very memorable and will soon fade to the background, where they belong. The music changes when a Bankai is used to an epic and foreboding tune that appropriately shows how incredibly screwed your opponent will soon be.

8/10

REPLAY VALUE:

There are easily 10-12 more fighters to unlock through different missions in the story mode, more spirit cards to unlock in the Urahara Shop, along with plenty of sound tests and artwork to buy as well. And online multiplayer also vastly increases the life of this game. You can also play multiplayer if you have a couple more friends who want to play already handy. Lots to unlock here folks, and a steady, true gameplay system will keep you coming back for more.

10/10

Score Recap:
Gameplay- 10
Graphics/Presentation- 10
Music/Sound- 8
Replay Value- 10

FINAL SCORE- 9/10

In conclusion, Bleach: The Blade of Fate is a truly deep fighting game, and easily the best on the DS to date. Fighting fans and Bleach fans alike are doing themselves and injustice by not picking this game up.

Are you ready? Then heft your zanpakuto, shout "BANKAI!" as loud as you can, and get ready to throw down.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/28/08

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