Yuu Yuu Hakusho

"Wow it's over already??"

This little game was the first gameboy offering we got for Yu Yu Hakusho - sadly, it isn't a very strong title.

The game is a fighter of sorts. I say of sorts because it does not have the standard down to forward + punch = fireball rule. You basically walk around a small stage, avoiding your enemies attacks. Sound fun? It's ok, I suppose. You can do the standard punch or kick, and if you hold down on one of the buttons, you'll unleash your super attack. With some practice though, you can destroy everyone in the whole game with Yusuke or Kurama's jump kicks.

There are 2 modes, 1 is for Genkai's tournament; in this mode, you can choose from Yusuke or Kuwabara. The other is for the Suzuku story line; you can choose between all four of the main heroes: Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama. After beating an enemy, you see Yusuke on a map screen, and he'll walk up to a little building where your next opponent is. After every two enemies, there is a hut where Botan is. In Botan's hut, there are various mini-games, and no two of Botan's bonus rounds are the same. Some of the bonus games include paper-rock-scissors and a door guessing game. After you've beaten 6 enemies, you've beaten that quest. That's all there is to the game, really. There is also a versus mode, where you can choose any of the four heroes and fight any of the other three. It also allows to select from any of the stages in the game to fight in, but this mode really is the same as the story mode, just with new faces to fight.

The graphics to this game are fair. There isn't much detail to the fighters, but enough is there that you can tell the difference between them easily enough. The stages you fight in are not much better, as they are somewhat blan as well. The sound is about as good as a gameboy game can get. The music is a bit on the annoying side....and there are not that many tracks.

Overall, this is a pretty weak title. I was finished with the game before I realized it. Even on hard mode, it was no different. In closing, only buy this game if you are a Yu Yu Hakusho diehard like myself.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 11/03/02, Updated 11/03/02