courtesy of ign
Over the last few years the anime invasion has been taking over American television, starting with things like Pokemon and now progressing to battle anime programs like Naruto and Bleach. Over the last year or so Bleach titles have been making their way onto both Nintendo DS and Wii in Japan, bringing the cartoon to life for gamers to enjoy alongside the show itself. Now that the anime has landed in the US - and the success of anime games have skyrocketed - it's time we get our game on as well.
As expected, SEGA has opted to localize the preexisting Bleach titles already in Japan for American release, so while some people were hoping for an all-new effort others will be happy to hear that the same Bleach games you've been hearing about overseas are coming here, and they'll be entirely unchanged. The goal here was to give the worldwide Bleach fanbase the same experience both in and out of the anime, which means you'll be getting Treasure's critically-acclaimed DS fighter as well as the Wii motion brawler we've been covering in previous import features.
Now that we've got the game in-hand - and in a language we can read - we've had a change to really dive deep into the product and give you some hard facts on Bleach's first Wii effort. The game offers a total of 22 fighters, with the starting cast including Ichigo, Ganju, Rangiku, Toshiro, Orihime, Yasutora "Chad" Sado, Yoruichi, Uryu, Sajin, Izuru, Byakuya, Kenpachi, and Renji. As you work through the game's arcade and story mode you'll begin to earn credits that will unlock 73 different extras within the game at the local Urahara shop. Fighters can either participate in said arcade or story modes, practice their techniques in the training mode and tutorials, or go against either a human or computer-controlled opponent in the customizable Vs. mode. All in all there are 11 levels to fight in, each inspired from the show. These include Sokyoku Hill, Squad 3 Barracks, Rukon District (day and night), Seireitei Forest (day and night), Training Ground, and Seireitei Street (day and evening).
We've had hands-on time with both the Japanese and English builds of the game before, and our initial experience with the game thus far has been relatively the same. Bleach may not have the depth of something like Naruto: Clash of Ninja, but it's a step in the right direction for a series that's just beginning, and it uses the Wii-mote more than its anime competitors. Players control their character with the analog stick, block with Z, sprint with C, and attack with vertical, horizontal, and stabbing strokes of the Wii-mote. To attack with critical strikes simply do the same motions with the A button held down, or do "special" attacks in the same way with the B button. To balance things out all attacks take stamina to pull off, so while a 30-hit combo can take place in a matter of seconds you'll need to watch your character's endurance. Random swinging will get you nowhere.
In addition to the basics that we already knew, Bleach shows a bit more depth to us this time around, specifically in the battle actions. First of all, blocking can take place at any time, so just because you're caught off-guard by one quick strike doesn't mean you'll get hit by the next 20 or so strikes that follow. Simply hold Z, take very little damage, and laugh quietly to yourself as you watch your opponent waste all his stamina. To counter that, however, you can always stop your swipe combo, hold A, and to a critical strike. These attacks take a bit of time to do, but can't be blocked in any way, so it's a matter of working in your fast strikes, tricking your opponent into blocking, and then seamlessly delivering a critical to kick the crap out of them. This comes into play in a huge way when you deal with Vs. mode, as you account for real players who know and understand the strategy. We cranked the AI up in arcade mode - and it was fun - but the real challenge came in when fellow Bleach fans here in IGN LA grabbed a controller and got in on the action.
As one fix we'd definitely like to see made for the next game - one that you'll either embrace or shrug off instantly - is the ease in which you can pull off Bankai attacks. As the supers of the Bleach world, these attack states can - and will - be pulled of a ton in Bleach Wii, as you can either manually power up your gauge by shaking the nunchuk, or by simply participating in combat. Eventually your gauge goes gold with flames, you shake the nunchuk, and you're now in your Bankai mode which changes all attacks into uber-powerful offense. The interesting part here is that as far as the American amine series goes some of the characters still haven't shown off their Bankai attacks yet. Hell, we won't spoil anything just yet, but a few of the characters in the game haven't even shown up yet either. It's all part of the seamless experience Bleach is going for.
What's the problem with the Bankai, you ask? It happens all the time, so if you're a fan of gigantic, battle-ending fan service you're going to get you wish. Still, you can expect to see each character's Bankai cut-scene nearly every battle and that - just like Naruto's first game - can get a bit repetitive to watch. It's still fun to pull off the gigantic attacks, and the way the game is designed it's literally a race to escalate yourself to Bankai mode before your opponent does, but some people may get tired of seeing the same animations over and over.
Still, Bleach is already showing that it's a solid first effort for a Wii battle game. The game is extremely fast, has a ton of fan service during battles and in the story mode, and includes what seems to be a ton of extras, though we wish it ran in 16:9 in addition to its 480p support. As far as the story mode goes specifically, players are getting three full versions of story mode, each featuring a different fighter. Right off the bat you'll select Ichigo Kurosaki, Renji Abarai, or Toshiro Hitsugaya and begin a character-specific story line, each featuring a ton of storyboard art and VO from the actual show voice actors. As you'd expect the end result is more one-on-one fighting, but it sets the stage for the battles in a more cinematic manor, and it's great to see that each selected character actually follows his own story, rather than just inserting any member into the role of the hero on some generic quest.
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