Update: July 19, 2006
«©NCSX» Heroes and villains from anime strongholds duke it out on 2D battlefields where frantic action is the order of the day. Fighters from Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, and Naruto run, jump, and attack in fast-paced battles evocative of Smash Brothers and perhaps Jump Superstars. At the outset of the game, the following characters are available: DBZ | Gohan, Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta
NARUTO | Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke
ONE PIECE | Chopper, Luffy, Sanji, Zoro In addition to conventional attacks, all of the fighters deal special blasts and offensive skills to gain an edge against rivals. Battle Stadium features levels that may be 1-on-1, 1-vs-2, or 1-vs-3. For example, in one battle, you may face off against Vegeta only. In the next battle, Sakura, Luffy, and Goku are all in the fray. Following that, a mission based battle may be presented with the winning condition listed before the start of the fight. Some missions have straightforward objectives such as winning the match but others force conditions including jumping a number of times, using a super attack to finish the bout, guarding for a stated number of times, and so on. Completing a mission rewards the player with 15 coins to use in the slot machine game after defeating the first boss. Similar to the Gamecube version which arrived earlier in the week, up to four players may join in on the action (multi-tap sold separately). Game modes include Survival Mode, Story Mode, and a battle modifier where match elements are toggled from numerous conditions. View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website.
NCS PS2 Version-Specific Game Notes
» The save data file is a mere 65KB» The intro is the same exact one as the Gamecube version. The loading times are as speedy as the Gamecube version and each match snaps on screen quickly after selecting a game mode. The graphics are also on par with the GC version and the character winning animations appear slightly sharper on the PS2. We did notice one difference: before a match when the camera is stepping on the aisle towards the Battle Stadium, the steps take about half a second longer than the GC version. Other than that, both versions are pretty much identical. » CONTROLS
Square / Attack. Hit three times for a chain.
X-Button / Jump. Press again for a double jump.
O-Button / Cinema special attack (same as X in GC version)
TRIANGLE / Projectile or Special (same as Y in GC version)
D-pad or L-Analog / Movement
R1-Trigger / Grab and throw
L2-Trigger or R2-Trigger / Guard
NCS Game Notes & Spoilers
» In the intro to the game, the camera pans in on the backs of Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke who are sitting at a food stand and about to eat steaming bowls of noodles. Each ninja expresses pleasure at the food as the camera moves across their faces with Sakura clasping both hands together in abject pleasure. Just when they're about to dig in and enjoy the noodles, a prehensile arm reaches across the screen and snatches all three bowls away. Naruto's face expresses red-eyed rage at the loss of his meal. The bandit is the dastardly Luffy who empties the contents into his gaping maw. The food flies downwards and goes down as a big bulge in his throat. In the next scene, the members of One Piece stand and make a cheering move as if they were victorious at stealing food. Naruto crew also raise their arms in a Bronx cheer - there's a rumbling sound and the noodle stand explodes. When the smoke clears, Goku is seen looking satisfied as dozens of empty bowls are stacked up around him. That's DBZ crew's cue to do their Bronx cheer move. The intro continues with assorted scenes of the main characters clowning around, fighting, and posing. Some examples: The One Piece Jolly Roger ship is shown sailing with Nami at the top looking through a spyglass and multiple Narutos face off against a steeled Goku who seems ready for the challenge. The intro ends with a dust-filled battle as fighters from all three anime franchises clash.» On the title screen, a Japanese fellow states quite emphatically, "Bad-o Stad-e-yum Dee Oh Enn." The logo is pictured 3/4 height above a walkway that's illuminated by roving spotlights that pan up and down. On either side of the walkway is a seated crowd who are not cheering or anything. They look very sedate as yellow and blue lights flash over the crowd intermittently. » There's a beanstalk level called Giant Jack where broad leaves serve as standing platforms as well as clouds which may be stepped upon. In the background, an airship with oars may be seen flying around. This level is tricky because there are only small areas to step upon when you're fighting three motley fighters who have inordinate powers. The camera will pan up and down and your job is to keep up with the camera. For example, when it starts panning up, jump upwards to stay level with the camera. When it starts going down, jump down. If you're not quick or agile enough, you'll get knocked out of the stage for a few seconds. You'll then reappear in the foreground, aching to get back into the brawl. A targeting cursor may be moved around the screen to position where you want to land. Press the A button to jump back into the fray. » Another stage is at Capsule headquarters. Every once in a while, a big exclamation sign and a siren sounds off which warns of impending danger - a vehicle flies through the highway that's located in the middle of the screen. Woe to anyone who's standing on the road at that inopportune time. » An enjoyable level for multiple players is the forest platform level where one of Orochimaru's snakes appear from the left side of the screen. The screen scrolls slowly to the right and the snake will attack every once in a while. If you're in the direction of its strike, you will take damage. Later in the level, a log suspended on ropes will swing through the level and knock anyone who's slow enough to be caught in the way. » A funny attack that Kakashi mobilizes is one where he sics dogs at an opponent. If there are two opponents in the path of Kakashi's wrath, a pair of dogs will rush onto each fighter. You'll see two hungry mongrels latched onto the hapless targets legs as barking sounds are heard in the background. When the dogs are on a fighter, he's momentarily immobilized which opens him up to additional damage from your fighter or other fighters. Press DOWN + TRIANGLE to sic the dogs on opponents. » The first boss character is Cell who is blazing fast and attacks with pink laser fire from his fingers. » When Cell is defeated, an entertaining end-game intro plays where the One Piece characters clang beer mugs together and everyone's having a good time. There's one scene where a bunch of dishes are in the background as the result of the major feasting. In the end, everyone raises their arms and creates a massive ball of energy in the sky and the words "WE ARE NO.1!!" appear. The credits soon follow. » After the credits are finished, there's a slot machine game where you win Shonen Jump prizes which unlock various characters, modes, or levels in the game. Pull down on the joypad to start the spinning and press the A button to stop the three spinners in sequence. Matches may be made horizontally or diagonally. Each pull of the slot machine's arm requires 3 coins to play. Since most players will have 15 coins after beating Cell, you have 5 attempts to pull the lever and hope for the best. In our attempts, we unlocked the following:
** Gallery Mode - View 3D cel-shaded characters such as Luffy and Kakashi along with a little profile of the fighter. Rotate them by swishing the R-Analog left and right. To make them big or smaller, push up and down on the L-Analog. Pressing the R1-trigger centers the character back to its original orientation.
** Hard Gameplay Mode - The HARD difficulty option is added to the game in addition to EASY and NORMAL. » Pressing the controller in a direction + the SQUARE or TRIANGLE button will result in different moves and special attacks. To view all of the attacks that are available to a fighter, press the START button during a match and then highlight and click on the second option. Follow the arrows and button combinations to see what everything does. There are 18 moves and special attacks for each fighter in addition to combination attacks. For example, by pressing a direction + the Y button, Kakashi can dart around the screen and perform lightning quick strikes in straight lines. » When Usopp is swinging or hanging from a ledge, he makes the Tarzan yell. » When you grab a weapon and want to get rid of it, press the R1-trigger to throw it away. » When throwing someone with the R1-Trigger, the body can't be used as a projectile to harm other players. It sort of bounces around like a marshmallow. A harmless marshmallow. » When someone's ringed out, there's an explosion that sounds off to mark his departure. After that, he is shown in the foreground and ready to fly back into the battle. » In the options menu, players may select mono/stereo, adjust BGM and SE volumes, etc. » On one stage, there's a little witch who floats around on a bubble in the background. She'll shoot out bolts of lightning to attack whomever's closest to her wickedness. » Burst Mode powers up the character. » Sanji can do a constant handstand + helicopter kick move if you push down on the d-pad and continually press the TRIANGLE button. This move has the ability to clears the entire level of bruisers. If you go underneath someone who's been popped up, Sanzi's helicopter kicks will juggle them constantly. » In the 2-on-2 team game mode, you can change the color of the characters by pressing the L and R buttons. There are four different colors for each character. » As fighters battle on a stage, various power-ups and bonuses may be picked up. Some examples of the bonuses: Speed up - The speed of the action is ramped higher
Slow down - Character moves slower
Big character - Fighter becomes twice as big
Small character - Fighter scales down in size
Ball & Chain - Attached to the ankle of a fighter, lowers mobility
Green slingshot - shoot rapid fire buckshot at opponents. and many, many more. All of the bonuses are described and explained in the manual. » All in all, a fun party game for multiple players. The controls are solid and there's enough variety in the moves to keep gamers playing and experimenting with attacks. The use of the slot machine to unlock variables, modes, and characters is entirely random which has the potential of extending the time and play investment needed to discover everything. That is, until someone unlocks everything and uploads a save data file for use with the PS2 Memory Adapter. Jan Code: 4582224491254 This document is ©NCSX 2006. 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.
|
