Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective

"Join Yusuke and friends on his quest of boredom!!"

Yu Yu Hakusho is a popular anime in america, and Atari decided to capitalize and make a game off it. BIG MISTAKE, I watch the show, and consider myself to know some of the basic plot and characters, but I am far from being a hardcore yu yu hakusho buy everysingle item with the name on it type of guy. You start off as Yusuke, this kid with a bad attitude, and is known for getting trouble in school and picking fights. The basic plot follows the show, but they didn't pull it off right; like they did in the anime.

Gameplay - This is kind of an action/rpg type of game. If you've played DBZ legacy of goku one or two, you would know what to expect. This game is unbelievably boring, because most of the time the missions you are just wandering around town trying to ''follow'' the compass. The compass does more harm than good, because sometimes it would just point you to a wall or building, then you realize you have to walk alllll the way around, just to get to your objective. Some of the objectives don't even make sense, like ''Find your homework you dropped'', and of course the homoework is in the most illogical places(behind a dumpster in a corner of building etc)
The fighting system is somewhat overused, with basic A for punch, hit A 3 times for your basic combo etc. The enemies Yusuke/Kuwabara/whoever fight are illogical either, like random fatkids in blue suits run up and start attacking you. Gameplay is boring, so don't expect anything to razzle dazzle wow you.
SCORE: 4/10

Story - The game's plot is based around the anime series ''Yu Yu Hakusho'', and is horribly put together. I have yet to beat the game(probably never will due to the funfacter at it's lowest), so I can't really tell where it's end(probably before dark tournament I would believe)
The game begins with Yusuke off to school, where he gets ''killed'' and is sent to another world. Watch the show, because the game doesn't really explain it well. Not much to say here, other than that the story is revolved around the anime, but horribly executed.
SCORE: 5/10

Visual Effects/Sound - Is this the Gumby show? No.. Seriously, all the game designs and models look like clay, with no detail whatsoever. Everyonce in a while, you might get ''treated'' to a scene from the anime, although not very often. It is obvious, that the designers for this game were rushed, and inexperienced at making models for games.
I wish the game was beautifully drawn like the anime, but horribly dissapointed, just like the rest of this game.
Sound is pretty basic, corny cheesy videogame music, that gets horribly repetitive.
SCORE: 4/10

Playing/Replaying - No idea... This game is too boring, that I just haven't bothered to play it.

Final Comments Rent/Buy - Any Yu Yu Hakusho fan will be horribly dissapointed by this game. Gameplay is boring, the story leaves something much to be desired, and below average graphics/sound. The ultimate formula for a bad game. It seems there is a curse, for any good anime that's made into a game is doomed from the beginning. There might be a few good ones(.hack), but that's about it.
This game is pretty boring, and I do not recommend anyong rent/buy this game(Does anyone even know a place where they rent gba games?). I would only suggest that you buy this game, if you are a true die hard Yu Yu Hakusho fan, and if you are not: Avoid and stay away from this game at all times.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 12/08/03