Update: December 23, 2003
ｫｩNCSXｻ Sometime in the 23rd century, fossil fuels have gone the way of the dinosaur and man relies solely on nuclear power supplied by reactors on the moon. A relay satellite system transmits the crackling energy to Earth and civilization's survival hinges on the off-world power source. This exclusive reliance proves to be man's downfall when the system fails and shuts down - cutting power to the majority of humanity. One lone satellite spins around Earth, dutifully transmitting power to Asia where the people revert to a communal existence. To test the mettle of the survivors, an evil megalomaniac hatches plans to destroy the last satellite and sink the final remaining bastion on Earth into darkness. That won't do. Enter J-Pop star Gackt Camui who plays the part of main protagonist Wang-Yu Liu whose mission is to foil the evil plans the satellite destroyer. Opposing him is Koichi Yamadera (the voice of Spike Spiegel - Cowboy Bebop) in the role of Shen-Long Lei who has set plans in motion for the final blackout. Fusing swordplay with a futuristic dystopian scenario to fight within, Bujingai marks Taito's 50th Anniversary celebratory release with design contributions from Toshihiro Kawamoto of Cowboy Bebop fame and Yousuke Kuroda of Trigun renown and Onegai Teacher notoriety. Gackt's Wang-Yu performs mighty sword slashes, whirling dervish attacks and aerial strikes with his ability to jump up and stay aloft for inordinate amounts of time. Artistic flourishes during battle are evident where all movements have an almost elegant fluidity to them. Woo-Ping Yuen and his wire-work crew appears to have inspired the buoyant feel and action in the game. Controls are fairly simple with stylish attacks, jumps, double jumps and short glides where light trails glimmer off Wang-Yu (the gliding looks like a Jehuty in flight). There's also the ability to wall-walk to scale tall towers that would be out of reach for mere humans. Smashing out a succession of attacks is called a combo and a large number of hits may be pulled off with Gackt's spinning attacks when foes are in close proximity. Along with the blade action, magic attacks may also be shot out for local area pyrotechnic light shows. It's all very impressive and Famitsu gave Bujingai a 31/40 in last week's issue which is good enough for Silver. Gackt claims that he's over 400 years old (yes, really) so playing the part of a fighter in 22XX AD might not be that much of a stretch. For those not familiar with Gackt, he's a Japanese idol who tests hundreds of hair hues in videos, concerts and appearances with colors ranging from stark white to coffee-colored tresses. The red 'do in Bujinjai makes him look even more effeminate than usual and he bears some resemblance to Brigitte Nielson's Red Sonja (1985). Androgyny is also big with Gackt and unsuspecting citizens might mistake him for a her. He for a she. Since he's a mega J-Pop star, legions of fans in Japan will pick the game up just to check out his sword fighting technique, listen to the music, memorize his lines and maybe get around to playing the game after paying the proper adulation to the game cover and instruction manual. For those Gackt fans who refuse to purchase Bujingai just because he's in it or because a Japanese PS2 console is not in their futures, there's always the free online Gackt Shopping game where the J-Popster deftly trundles a shopping cart in order to catch falling foodstuff. The rain of meat appears to consist of ham hocks or some other pork mishmash... We don't understand the guns though. Enjoy. Jan Code: 4988611203132 This document is ｩNCSX 2003. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.
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