"No, this isn't a game about a laundry!"

At first most people could think that this would be one of those products that only fans of a particular series will like. Despite actually featuring some unusual details, I have to admit that the previous sentence is actually true.

As soon as you start playing you will notice that the main menu seems to feature a whole lot of options, some of which are rather interesting and others which aren't that good. Apart from being able to play with your friends using this single cartridge, the game itself also comes with the ability to play online with people from all over the world, as some other recent games have shown.

Other options in this same main menu will allow you to play a story mode (initially only the one of the main character of the series, but later on it is possible to play with more of them), an arcade mode, a combo practice, a shopping option and even a deck edit. Wait, deck? Yeah, apart from the usual combos you can use in the middle of the battles there are now also some cards which you can use and may cause a lot of different effects in the battles. Those can usually be bought in the store, but others can also be unlocked by performing certain tasks.

Going into the battles themselves, apart from the usual moving keys there is also a small combination which allows you to jump back and forth into the 2 small areas of the scenario, apart from 3 attacking keys and a defensive one. The lower screen is used not only for quickly activating cards (up to 2 at the same time, with the next ones being randomly picked) but also to easily select which special moves you want to use. Those are generally quite powerful and the best ones even require some action from you in order to hit even harder.

Despite seeming like an interesting interface, after a bit you will understand that the main point in the battles is the one of restoring your energy as quickly as possible and then unleash powerful specials against your enemy. Repeat and win. That would be it if there weren't some more surprises in the game, as battles against multiple opponents, for either your side or the opponent one. Those may be 2 vs. 2, 1 vs. 3, 1 vs. 2 and so on, but they turn battles into something more strategic than just unleashing special attacks all the time.

Going back to speak of the characters, you will already have some of them initially available but many others (including some unusual ones...) can be unlocked by performing certain in-game tasks, some of which may be quite complicated and others... not so complicated.

An important note should be given concerning the language of this game, in spite of being a fighting game you will need to end some of the battles in the hero's storyline (and only in his!!) in a particular way to get different results. Apart from this small thing, the language is no problem at all.

The fair replay value will be greatly enjoyed by those people who can play online, but everyone can spend their time unlocking more new things and try to get as much stuff as possible from all the modes. However, don't expect much of the story mode, since the one of the main character is quite big but the one of the other characters usually have less than 4 battles.

In case you are wondering, perhaps the story of the game is based in the actual anime/manga series, but that's something I cannot confirm as I am not a fan of this series.

Concerning graphics, the ones taken from the actual anime series are quite good and as detailed as possible, I don't think they could have done a better work in that area. As for the ones seen in the middle of the battles, they aren't surely perfect or anything special at all, since we've all seen this same quality (or maybe even better one!) on Nintendo's previous console, the GBA.

As for the sound, by hearing it you will perhaps think it to be great but sometimes it won't be all that good, and at such times you will probably turn the sound off for a while.

So, who should get this game? Obviously fans of the series may enjoy it, but there is also a chance that those players who want a different fighting game may like this. Don't get me wrong, the game isn't perfect, but it sure does have some interesting details!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/10/06