Bleached InuYasha Galaxy

I'll keep up a running dialogue on how I am doing with this, but so far, it's been rather disappointing. The art and original storyline are actually the HIGH points of the game so far for me, and were the most knocked aspects in the reviews. I'll try to do this without giving anything away as well, so if you want abit more detail about something, PM me or talk to me in game.

Basically, you play as one of two main characters (male or female) who end up going back to the feudal era (big surprise there). You almost immediately meet up with the Inu gang, which to start with consists of Inuyasha, Kagome and Shippo (with appearances for dialogue by Kaede).

Good times, LONG INTRO. My gods I almost shut the game off after the first half hour. Yes, you read that right - over HALF AN HOUR OF INTRODUCTION. Your main character doesn't even learn to do anything spiffy until about an hour and a half into the game, while your other characters are learning special abilities they use in the show, such as Inuyasha's Iron Reaver Soul Stealer.

As far as gameplay goes, it's not bad, but it's SOOO close to Final Fantasy in game play that it's almost boring. The demons (at least thus far) are push-overs - doing approx. 6-15 damage per hit while your characters have anywhere from 50-160 HP and are doing anywhere from 20- (get this) upwards of 300 damage per hit (guess who can do 300 almost right off the bat? ). Basically, it's been storyline up to this point (or so I'm hoping...).

Art work - as I said, one of the more maligned areas during initial reviews. Not bad overall, but the 'special effects' during combat could definately have used a bit more work. Specials like I.R.S.S. come off as normal attacks, while others have some minor glitz to them (but I will refrain from naming them for now ). The 3-D rendering is done spectacularly however - and the biggest complaint I had heard - that the characters were too 'cute', being kinda chibi'd out - really doesn't bother me all that much, as it make the 3-d all that much better. I'd rather have smooth round heads than blocky, more 'defined' heads (see early Tomb Raider if you don't understand what I mean).

To Be Continued......

I doubt I will enjoy the graphics, but I should like the gameplay.

Close to FF? You mean RPG. The game is an RPG. Yeah.

Yeah. Like I said, I'm not really going to enjoy the chibi graphics. I was planning on buying this, but Best Buy doesn't seem to carry it.

No, I mean close to Final Fantasy as far as the mechanics of fighting, skills, etc. work. The other parts of the game (like the map screen) remind me a bit more of, say, Super Mario 3 than Final Fantasy, but that's more because there are set locations on the map than anything else.

I do NOT recommend playing FFX for any length of time before playing this game, to say the least.

As for finding it in a store, I found it at Software, Etc., EBGames, and FYE, so I'd suggest trying stores that cater more towards gamers - IE they also carry used games. When in doubt, there's always Amazon.com and sites of that ilk on the 'net. [edit] I got my copy new for $40 plus tax at Software, Etc. - cheaper because I have their discount card of course - so plan on dropping around that for new, probably between$30-40 used currently.

The reason I look for it at Best Buy is because I work there, and get a discount. How much is the game now? $50?

Depends on where you get it. Here's a link that'll tell you all you need to know about the game: http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/data/919487.html

I said I'd keep this updated, so here goes:

Glitch found! -> Never, EVER, use the 'run away' option during battle or Shippo's 'flee' tech. Both can crash the game, forcing you to reload your last save. And with this game, your last save is usually on the world map before you enter an area, so it tends to be painful to crash.

STILL, it's been a lot of fun seeing everyone pick up new tech. Inuyasha has his wind scar, Sango has her Hiraikotsu and chain (kusari-gama) attack, etc. Special effects still lacking.

Co-op attacks kick butt the first time you see them, as they come with a little mini-movie, but they grow old rather quickly (unless of course you're the kind of person who finds watching a rerun the 80th time exciting...).

I'll buy it in a few weeks when a new version is released that hopefully fixes that bug. Odd how that bug wasn't in the Japanese version.

Just saw the game in Best Buy. I'll buy it after Xmas.