"For an anime game, not bad"

First, let me say, you can't go into this game expecting something like Guilty Gear, a totally refined fighting experience with a complex system and everything. Bleach: Heat the Soul 4 (HtS4) is a game based off an anime series, and how often are those ever any good (the answer: more often than games based off movies... here's looking at you Superman 64). But as an anime game, HtS4 stands up pretty well.

Visuals: 8/10
This game looks nice. From the nicely cel shaded characters to the bright backgrounds, the game just oozes that anime flavor. The characters flow nicely and some of the small things, like clothes flapping around while powering up, are done fairly well. Having last played the first game in the series, where Ichigo's arm would go through his sleeve during one of the victory poses, this game's animation is much nicer. The specials specifically, look very nice with excellent power ups/particles and the such. A few of the arenas are a bit bland, and the scorch marks left from attacks can do wierd things (like continue into thin air past the stage). As long as you're not expecting God of War PSP, graphics HtS4 should look pretty good.

Gameplay: 8/10
As I said before, don't expect a hardcore fighting game. The fighting system is very easy to pick up. X is melee attack, punch/kick. Circle is weapon attack, sword/demon arts. Square is power up and specials. Triangle is jump. Combos are just combinations of X and circle, for the most part, with the occasional directional command or square thrown in. Attacking your opponent or holding square charges your reiatsu meter, up to 9 bars. Many characters have two specials, square+x or square+circle that use up one bar of reiatsu. (Some only have one special, a few have a Bankai or Hollow form that can be released which drains reiatsu.) There are a few other universal moves, such as square+triangle (if it hits, you get a few moments to wail on the opponent) or back+circle (a grab attack).
Play-wise, most characters feel pretty different than one another, although combos can be the same between several characters.

Audio: 9/10
The audio in the game is nice. The cast of the show has stepped up to voice the game so it sounds authentic. The soundtrack is pretty nice, although fairly quiet in the default setting. Neither the soundtrack nor the sound effects really screams "OMG awesome" but they don't detract from gameplay. The announcer is kinda annoying in an "Engrish" sort of way, but it can be changed.

Content: 8/10
Play-asia says that the game has 70+ fighters, but that's a bit high. There are about 50 fighters, and maybe 20 partner characters (probably where they got 70 from). Although the 50 characters includes multiples of some characters. Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Chad (Sado), Hitsuguya (ice-dragon captain) are some of the characters that have multiple forms. Some of these forms are significantly different (Bankai Ichigo vs. Reg Ichigo) but others like Orihime and Chad don't change much between forms. Kinda sad, as I would have rather seen some of the partner characters as full characters to replace them.
There's also a plethora of gallery, sounds, and movies to unlock if you so desire.

Understandability: 7/10
This is an import game so understanding it is important. Don't worry too much tho, the menus are all in English and the manual includes a English portion which is helpful. All that's left are missions and trivia. Fortunately there's an FAQ that helps with the missions, or just playing around you can usually figure out the match's special rules. The trivia portion isn't too important, unless you really really need the exp in the one mode.

Overall:
Bleach: Heat the Soul 4 is pretty darn good, for a game based on an anime. It matches the show pretty well and will be a fun game to pick up for any fan of the series.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/31/07