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RURONI KENSHIN - MEIGI KEN KAKURU MANTEN
Sony Playstation
1 or 2 Players
Available Now
¥5800
Copyright © Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.
— by Maria Muñoz
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Fans of RUROUNI KENSHIN were pleased to
see the release of a fighting game from Sony Computer
Entertainment. The RUROUNI KENSHIN 3D
fighting game incorporates the seven playable characters into
a mix of anime from the TV series and 3D graphics, making it
great to play.
 The player can
play in 3 different modes: Story Mode, vs. Player Mode,
and vs. Com Mode. In Story Mode, the player fights as Himuchi
Kenshin, a scarred young swordsman with long red hair, looking
for a good fight. Kenshin fights Sagara Sanosuke, a young
warrior with a very large sword. After Kenshin defeats
Sanosuke, the two become a tag team of sorts; the player can
use either hero to defeat the five other warriors in the game,
who also turn up in the television series as well.
Utou Ginee, a
modern-type swordsman, uses his katana to strike at his
enemies with lightning speed. Ginee uses about the same
stance and style as Kenshin, but his sword strikes in a more
erratic, crazed manner.
Hiyotsutoko, a
large and probably very dumb fighter, uses his hands and brute
strength to bring down his enemies. The only way to beat him
is to use hand-to-hand combat, which Sanosuke knows quite
well.
Henniya, the warrior
wearing an oni mask, fights using Wolverine-like claw weapons.
He is quick, agile, and a formidable opponent.
Shikigiyou, another
large muscle-bound fighter, uses his strength and size to his
advantage. His attacks are powerful, yet he is slower than
the others.
Shinomori Aoshi,
Kenshin's arch-rival, uses a katana. He is just as quick
as Kenshin and just as deadly.
One of the treats
of this game is the number of anime sequences between fights
and at the beginning. The player gets to view about 5 minutes
of the first RUROUNI KENSHIN episode when he starts to play in
Story Mode. Also, the opening animation and music are just
great. The ending credits song isn't bad either and has a
great dance beat.
The controls
are simple. L1 and R1 are the rolling forward and rolling
back buttons to dodge opponents' attacks. A guard button is
very rarely used in fighting games because it's so awkward.
The attack buttons, a kick button, and a punch/sword button
constitute the whole simple gameplay of RUROUNI KENSHIN.
It is this simple
gameplay that makes this game too easy to beat and not much of
a challenge to the avid game player. With enough button
mashing, one can defeat an opponent quickly and without much
effort. RUROUNI KENSHIN becomes
tiresome after a while and will be a pushover to the serious
fighting game player.
If the game played
on the 3D aspect more, such as putting in roll buttons as in
TOSHINDEN, it would have been more of a
challenge. If the player beats all the enemies without a
continue, he will receive a hidden character.
All in all, the
RUROUNI KENSHIN PSX fighting game is
good for that die-hard RUROUNI KENSHIN
fan who doesn't play many fighting games in his spare time
(because he would probably see how dissapointing this game is
and immediately want to sell it off after he's solved it in
15 minutes).
Pass it up and
grab BUSHIDO BLADE instead. It'll be
worth the money!
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