Battle Arena Toshinden

"Welcome to the poor man's GB paradise"

Toys 'R' Us had this one in the $10 Game Boy Game bin, and I, being the cheap piece of scum that I am, had the pleasure to browse through it. All I can say is, ''I gotta go back tomorrow and scrounge some more.'' Believe me, you don't know how many great games are hidden in those large bins. And so I shall begin my review of what may be the GameBoy's best fighter, Battle Arena Toshinden.

Graphics: 9/10. I've played one or two of the Mortal Kombat games for Nintendo's handheld, and I was annoyed by how large the fighters were. I mean, though the characters were crisp-looking, everything they did looked goofy because they took up the whole screen. It was especially funny when they jumped. BAT boasts smaller character who, while may not be as detailed as Mortal Kombat's, sport neato animations and aren't overly pixellated. The backgrounds all look great, although some can look just a little too blocky.

Sound: 5/10. It's GameBoy, what do you want? The sounds effects are all crystal clear and appropriate, from the whooshing of a sword to the thump of a punch. However, the music is rather forgettable and is never really noticeable in the game.

Story: 6/10. You get a small cutscene at the beginning of each game. It's nothing much, just standard fighting game stuff.

Replay: 8/10. There is, of course, multiplayer, which is neglected too much in GameBoy games nowadays. The one player game offers a good challenge, but there is the same reward after beating it on each difficulty. I still like to come back to the game every now and then. I will beat it someday.

Gameplay: 10/10. The gameplay is perfect for a fighting game. It's easy to use some of the weaker specials, but you're going to have to work if you want to become a true master of the moves. Control is tight and simple (given that it's a GameBoy game,) so you can pick up and play. This game takes the usual fighter formula and kicks it up a small notch. If you're a fighting junkie, then pick this one up as soon as you can.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/26/00, Updated 06/26/00