Kidou Tenshi Angelic Layer

"A very good game if you're an anime fan"

Described as a ''fighting/raising RPG,'' the Angelic Layer game for GBA is one of those games which is going to appeal mainly to anime fans ... which is probably one of several factors which will mean it never gets picked up for translation and commercial release in America. Still, if you like playing imported Japanese games, you may want to pick this one up; it takes a little getting used to but it's pretty good.

A bit of background: This game is based fairly directly on the recent anime TV series Kidou Tenshi Angelic Layer (the first two words translate as ''Mobile Angel''). The TV series is, in turn, based on one of CLAMP's most recent manga series, simply entitled Angelic Layer. If you're an anime fan, you've probably heard of CLAMP before - they're the team of manga artists responsible for such popular titles as X/1999, Magic Knight Rayearth, and Card Captor Sakura.
Angelic Layer in all its forms is primarily about a young girl named Suzuhara Misaki (or if you insist on the Western name order, ''Misaki Suzuhara''), who's come to Tokyo to enroll in middle school at a private K-12 academy, namely Eriol Gakuen. However, no sooner is Misaki out of Tokyo Station than she finds a crowd watching an Angelic Layer match on a giant TV screen, and soon Misaki herself is getting caught up in the exciting world of Angelic Layer, a fighting game played by high-tech dolls controlled by the thoughts of their Deus or player.

When I first came across a reference to Angelic Layer for GBA (a preview blurb in an Animate circular), the game was described as a ''fighting/raising RPG''. Ever since I saw that, I was half-expecting that the Angel battles (Angelic Fights, to adapt the proper phrase) would be handled by a Street Fighter-esque combat engine; however, this turned out not to be the case. Instead, the battle portions are handled in a manner which fits Angelic Layer quite well - and as important as the Angelic Fights are in the storyline, this merits some special description.
The Angelic Layer RPG's combat engine is probably one of the few completely unique systems out there: a hybrid of turn-based, strategic elements, and something called the ''Rhythm Combination'' system, which requires you to enter keystrokes (D-pad and buttons) in a set sequence and with exact timing in order to execute the attacks you've selected. There's very little margin for error; if you're off with a single button press, the attack you're on won't come out at all. The good thing about this system is that it emphasizes precision rather than the straight reflexes required by so many fighting games, so players who aren't into fighting games stand a chance of doing well. ^.^

The story basically follows the anime, although there may be a couple of variations; a couple of things have happened which I don't strictly remember from the anime (which I haven't seen all of by any means) or the manga (which has its differences from the anime to begin with, or vice versa); the battles from the anime are smoothly woven into the storyline, without random encounters. Overall, it's a very faithful adaptation of the series, removing some of the restraints imposed by a TV series structure. However, this means that the more you know about the canonical story, the fewer surprises there will be along the way; this can be either good or bad depending on your tastes.
However, there are two separate story modes. ''Advanced Story'' is the retelling of the anime, with Misaki and Hikaru; once you've cleared the Advanced Story, ''My Angel Story'' becomes available, letting you build your own Angel with parameters to your liking. I haven't gotten that far yet, so I can't say much about it ... n.n;

The gameplay system generally is okay, although it could be improved in some respects. In ''exploration'' mode, your movements are restricted to the four diagonals; you can set the D-pad to function at a 45 degree rotation or to match the diagonals exactly. Still, it's easy enough to get used to with some practice. The ''Rhythm Combination'' battle system also takes some getting used to, particularly if you're not fluent in Japanese - the language barrier may not keep you from playing through most of the game, but there are times when basic literacy in Japanese is going to be very important.

Audio and video are decent to good; screenshots and voice clips from the anime are used to add flair to the game. (At least four versions of Misaki's ''Naa?'' exclamation can be heard to indicate different emotional states, for example. :) The basic music and sprites aren't quite as good as they could be, but they serve their purposes: the characters are recognizable, the music fits the circumstances you hear it in, and there's very little to actually complain about.

Replayability: If you can handle getting all the way through Advanced Story, you're practically guaranteed to want to play through My Angel Story just to see how you can do with your own Angel design. It's not really kept a secret, either; the manual states when discussing the story modes that you have to clear Advanced Story before you can access My Angel Story, while the option for the latter is clearly visible as you toggle through the choices on the main menu screen (albeit grayed out).
However, be advised that there is only one save slot. I currently have no idea how much data there is that could need to be stored in the battery-backed save memory space; until I get to My Angel Story mode, it's impossible to tell how much space is set aside for storing Angel data; the parameters and items reflected in Advanced Story mode may represent all or most of that space, or only a fraction of it.

Overall:
If you're already a fan of Angelic Layer, this game is probably a very good buy ... but you need to be able to read at least some Japanese; the more you understand of the in-game text the more you'll enjoy playing through.
If you aren't a fan of anime generally (or Angelic Layer in particular) or if you don't know any Japanese at all, you'd probably be better off - I hate to encourage this - trying it out via ROM and emulator than trying to pay to get it through an importer.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/21/01, Updated 12/21/01