The first of what originally was the Capcom five but turned into four has been released. And I will admit that I had very little interest in this game but decided to try it out because it looked decent. Little did I know how much I would end up liking the game. After I finally decided to stop playing WWE Wrestlemania XIX I put this in my Gamecube. As it was loading my expectations were low and I figured I would just play it for a little and then go back to playing WMXIX. But once the game started that changed and I ended up playing this for the rest of the night.
Gameplay: I have seen so many complaints from other sites about the controls and all I have been able to think was are they even playing the same game I have been playing. The controls are the kind of controls you can master within seconds. Not the kind that you will be struggling with. As for them being unresponsive I have played through the game three times and not once have I had a problem with that. There is not much depth in the controls. Most of the time you will just run and hit A. However, that is because this is an arcade style game. This is not a third person game with a lot of depth or massive levels. If you go in expecting that then you will not like the game. So go into this game expecting an arcade game which is what it is and the controls won't be a problem. If you don't want a simple arcade kind of game then this is not the game for you.
The games levels are made up of multiple rooms. You go into the room and then exit it which gives you points for every room depending on how well you cleared it. For instance if you don't get hit you will get bonus points added to your score. Not all rooms are the same. In most of the rooms you will have to fight the enemies and then leave the room. Most of them have an unlocked door so you are free to leave them without killing all the enemies. But what is the fun in that? However, some of the levels will have a locked door forcing you to kill all the enemies in the room before it unlocks. Other rooms will have lasers which you need to avoid by either jumping or crawling under them. Those rooms will have enemies or sometimes they will have no enemies. Some of the rooms will have a red sphere which is a shop. Here you can buy things like continues, new suits and upgrade the suits you have. Like the laser rooms these rooms will also have enemies sometimes but not all the time. In the trial missions you will also see blue spheres in rooms which will end the level. But that does not mean you should exit through them since they have multiple exits and the more rooms you clear means you will get a better rank. And finally there is the boss rooms. These will either be a boss or a task you need to complete like blowing up a generator. So now that I have explained what you will do in the rooms I will go to another complaint I have seen. Which is the rooms don't change much. And yes those complaints are valid. The indoor levels are mostly corridors that don't change much and there will be times where they are exactly the same other than different enemies or things like that. But again this is an arcade style game and not a game which needs huge levels that are always different. These corridors seem limited but for this type of game it works. There will be some outdoor levels as well which are a lot different than the indoor ones and more of them could have added a little more to the game but I am not complaining because I still had fun.
So now you know about the rooms but what about the actual gameplay? Well like I said the gameplay is arcade influenced. The game uses a target lock and when you start shooting you don't move. Now that sounds bad but it works. While you are locked onto an enemy you can shoot it with a and when it shoots back spin from the attacks with the triggers. You can also use an energy drive which is a simple command followed by a. It is best to use the dpad when doing an energy drive. Once you stop shooting you are free to move around as you wish. Most of the time you will be fighting multiple enemies which is where the combo system comes in. When you kill an enemy a timer starts and if you kill another enemy before it hits zero then you continue the combo. If you are like me this is where you will have the most fun because you will always want to get the best combo you can get. If you get good enough then you will be rewarded with nice amounts of money. Which you will need because things in the shop are not cheap and there is a lot you will need to buy. When you are not fighting enemies you can run, jump, crawl or still shoot at nothing if you want. You will mostly use the jump and crawl buttons for the lasers. These laser sections require good timing because there will be times where you have to jump over one and immediately duck under another one. There will also be times where you need to have perfect timing when a laser turns off. For instance there will be times where there are lasers that are too low to crawl under. However, the jump is to far to get over when they are all on so you have to wait for one to turn off. If you hesitate too long it will turn back on. If you didn't jump you will be waiting or if you did then you will land on it. There are also stages that have a platform element where you will need to jump up ledges to get to the door. None of these are very hard but sometimes you will miss and need to jump back up. Finally there are the boss battles or completing tasks. Sometimes you will just need to destroy a generator in a room with some enemies. However, sometimes it will be protected by a force field which will open for a short time. There will also be enemies behind it so it is best to target them since they can shoot back. Once it closes you wait for it to open again and repeat your strategy. As for the boss battles this is where the games does have depth. You will need to figure out the best way to do damage to the boss and the best way to avoid an attack. Unlike the normal enemies, that won't always be as simple as spinning left or right. Also most bosses will have more than one form so you will need to figure out the best way to destroy each form. This is where you will get killed the most but it is also where you will have the most fun. Also, as I mentioned earlier, there are trial missions. These follow the same basic formula as the normal game. But instead of a pretty straightforward mission you will have to figure your own way out. If you don't get a high enough rank, then the next trial mission will not unlock so it is best to explore all the rooms. There is also one stage that features something that none of the other stages have but it is a possible spoiler so I will let you find out about that one by yourself.
The story is lacking and I know you are sick of hearing this but this is arcade influenced. You have a brief conversation before most levels which is very similar to the codec found in metal gear solid. These conversations will usually just tell you your mission. Until the end of the game the story won't even be a factor. But in the last couple of levels the story is more of a factor featuring some cutscenes and conversations that are more than just telling you the mission.
That pretty much sums up the gameplay and it will be the factor of you liking the game or not. If you don't like the simple arcade inspired gameplay then you will not like the game. But if you like it then you will find this game very enjoyable like I did. It is a pick up and play game so just pick up the controller and have fun.
Graphics: Is this game the best looking game on Gamecube? No it is not. Is it awful? Again no it is not. The games indoor levels are about what you would expect to see in a Dreamcast game. They have very little detail other than some of the outdoor levels which have more detail in the background. The game also suffers from jagged edges. But what the levels lack, the characters and bosses don't. Vanessa is one of my favorite character designs in recent games. Before the game came out I made some graphics for it simply because I liked her character design. And while renders are cool what about her game model? Well you won't find a huge polygon count like in most next gen games but it is still good and much better than the levels. The enemies are influenced by your common mech designs found in anime giving the game an anime feel. I would say the bosses have the most detail in the game especially when most of them have multiple forms. Overall the character design is great and the in game character models are not the best but still good. Finally the special effects are good and bad. For instance the explosions look good but things like lasers are just your common red line. Overall this graphics will fail to amaze you in any way. But the average graphics are saved by some great character design.
Sound: Not much to say here. The music in the game should have been better considering she is dancing all the time. However, it isn't bad and really doesn't matter in my opinion since the music doesn't do anything to change gameplay. The other sounds are your typical explosion and shooting sounds. Finally there is some voice acting near the end of the game in the cutscenes. Which is well done and if they would have used voice acting in the conversations then this score would be better than it is.
Closing Thoughts: While this review might seem negative it isn't. This is one of my favorite Gamecube games because the gameplay is fun and addictive. The sound and graphics are not great but they are good enough and the gameplay is the most important factor. If all you care about is how good a game looks then this isn't for you. But if you want a fun game at least rent this. I know I am not regretting my purchase and I am still playing this despite beating it three times.
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