To the left:the 1st game. To the right:the 2nd game
This game series is one of my Top 5.And among the 2D fighters I know and play(This,Blazblue CT and Guilty Gear ACplus),this is,it was and will always be my favourite
Some people I know were turned off by the All-female cast,but me,being who I am,I actually approve of this!
I mean,it's new!Neither Guilty Gear or Blazblue(the former being almost legendary) have that!
And you gotta love the moe!
The gameplay,as expected from a 2D fighter,might be quite difficult for the newbies but after a few hours of practice,you'll get the hang of it.And you can configure your buttons if you're having trouble.
This game's gameplay and speed is very similar to Guilty Gear/Blazblue and combos can be made that easily too(well,if you mastered the game).However,this series has a big emphasis on aerial,vertical fights as the stages are huge vertically.You can also hunt down your foes with the Homing Bar.
In the first game,there are 11 characters(almost twice as much in the 2nd;3 new characters in the 3rd game) but you got to combine them with 11 spirits named Arcana(there always are as much Arcana as characters) for..121 combinations!!?
Each Arcana modify your characters' gameplay more or less and adds many moves.
Personally,my strongest combo is Mei-Fang/Tempestas.
Also,the game is more balanced than both it's rivals,in my opinion.
The graphics are about Guilty Gear AC's level(and quite frankly,inferior to Blazblue,who came after both).The game only gets better with the sequels and the character's artist change after each game(my favourite character arts are the one from the 3rd game,of course)
The game's story is fairly simple compared to (again) Blazblue and you got through the story very quickly...However...HOWEVER!!!
Good luck with the final boss
The game's only weaknesses for me are:
-Being a PS2 game,it lacks online play.Gosh,finding local competition is hard!In fact,I usually play with only the one,same person.
-Lack of extra modes(like Blazblue's brilliant Litchi omake,or Guilty Gear's challenging Mission mode).I mean,there are only Story,Arcade,Training,Extra and Options.*This only concerns the 1st game.I didn't explore the sequel enough.
-Possibly,the music.While the music isn't bad,when you compare it to the rivals Guilty Gear and Blazblue(Especially Blazblue)....Though,I can say for sure that it gets much,much better with the 3rd game.This only concerns the 1st game.
So,yeah,that game's one of my favourite.Unlike 99.9% of the people out there,I loved the sequel about as much(I didn't find it ''laggy'' at all!)
and I'm faithfully waiting for the 3rd game to have a console release(preferably on Xbox360)
Rating
First game:8/10
Second game:9/10(as long as new characters and Arcana are concerned)
Third games:?/10(I would almost give it a 10,for the gameplay videos I saw and the Critical Hearts)
The 3rd game's official trailer!
Some Critical Hearts;the special attacks the girls get in the sequels.Awesome!
