Shaman King: Legacy of the Spirits, Soaring Hawk

"Very faithful to the series"

Story

Alright, I'll admit before anything else, this isn't the best game out there..

however, I enjoyed this more than most the GBA games I played purely because of the flow of the story. I've seen the series and I have to say that the game follows the same lines and structure to a point. Its deeply reminiscent of the plot of the anime, its just like viewing the entire series again in a matter of hours, and for that reason, I recommend it for those who are big fans of the series...

Gameplay

For those looking for an innovative game with a unique experience would not find this appealing.. as with many games adapted from a series, the ideas have probably come from many existing successful titles. In this case, the gameplay is very similar to pokemon games, however, still not as interactive. Nevertheless, it shouldn't be dismissed outright. The centre of the gameplay exists as the many different spirits you are able to catch and train throughout the game. however, in context to keeping with the story from the series, you start off with a very strong spirit that seems to make the gameplay imbalanced... No major challenges here, so if you're looking for a quick run through of the story, then this would be perfect... Otherwise its usually not worth exploring te extras on the other spirits. However, the fusion ability, where you combine spirits is interesting and adds an unexpected amount of diversity to the spirits you can obtain. For those who like collecting games like this, there are obviously better choices for games, but again, being a fan of this title really helps.

Sound/ Graphics

Nothing too diverse or notable in this area, you won't find graphics better than anything else on GBA, on the other hand, its not lacking either.. some designs of the spirits which you use are quite impressive and give a sense of achievement in collecting and training the really flashy ones.
Sound changes according to the different situation and area of the plot you are discovering. At times repetitive, but not too much.

Overall, I would give this a 7/10 just out of personal preference, however, for those that aren't fans of the series would probably not give this a second thought, and the game is not diverse enough to appeal to a wider variety of gamers, thus it only achieves a 5. Nevertheless, a must buy for shaman king fans.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 09/13/06