Ichigo Kurosaki
Rukia Kuchiki
Uryu Ishida
Orihime Inoue
Yasutora Sado
Abarai Renji

The sequel adds four more fighters

Byakuya Kuchiki
Gin Ichimaru
Toushiro Hitsugaya
Kisuke Urahara

for a total of ten fighters at the outset of the game.

Bleach 2 features a standard 1-on-1 fighting where players choose a fighter from the aforementioned 10 possible combatants. There's also a 13th Corps Team Division mode where one fights through the ranks of top shinigami captains and lieutenants. The shinigami use Soul Cutter sword attacks as well as Kido or magic spells to topple foes. Before each battle, the camera pans around the surroundings to give an idea of where the encounter is taking place. Chain combos are available where a sword slash is followed by more sword slashes or a punch and a kick. Chain them close enough together and the game will keep track of how many hits have been dealt. For those who need a little help with which combos are available to a character, press the "START" button and then highlight "Combo List" to view the special attacks. Guarding in the game is automatic - stand still and your onscreen champion will guard against all oncoming physical blows except for powerful magic attacks.

Similar to the original Bleach: Heat the Soul, the animation quality is of high caliber with super-sharp cel-shaded graphics representing all of the fighters in the game. With everything moving in fluid motion, Bleach 2 fulfills the fantasy of playing an animated episode of Bleach. Sort of.

For added atmosphere, Sony recruited the voice cast from the animation series to participate in giving each fighter their proper vocals.

A Card Mode may be checked out where 217 character trading cards are purchased over the course of playing the game and then viewed in a gallery.

View the back cover and screenshots.

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.