If there's one thing I learned about the Japanese gaming scene while visiting Japan, and it's something I expected all along, it's that fighters and shooters - two genres more or less completely dead in the States - are thriving there. One of the most popular new games in the game centers overseas was a loli-infested cutesy fighter called "Arcana Heart 2", which contained the most complicated battle system I'd EVER SEEN to this date in a 2D 1 on 1 fighting game. Every time I even attempted to play this game, I got my butt kicked -- HARD -- and I consider myself to be at least competent when it comes to fighting games. The precursor to that game, Arcana Heart, was released a year before on the PS2 in Japan. It came out this week here in the States courtesy of Atlus (thanks guys), and of course I couldn't pass on the opportunity to pick up the domestic version and actually spend some time digging in and learning how to play without getting my gaijin butt kicked by loli maids wielding buster swords controlled by gothy 17-ish Japanese otaku in the game centers... but I digress...
Like its sequel, Arcana Heart's looks can be very, very deceiving. It's an incredibly balanced, incredibly deep fighter with a lot of options and little room for mistakes.
But what's going to turn most "stereotypical" hardcore gamers off, is undoubtedly the look of the game. The box art alone pretty much guarantees about 5 copies of this game are going to be sold. All 11 fighters in the game are girls, and all are age 17 or under. Each one is an anime "moe" stereotype: you have the "demon girl", the "schoolgirl", the "maid", the "shrine maiden", the "ancient samurai chick", the "annoying brainy girl", the "annoying half-animal-half girl ninja", etc... Pretty much every stereotype from Chobits to Love Hina is accounted for in this game, so if those kinds of characters and graphics are your thing, you'll like what the game has to offer. The story itself is rather thin, and doesn't provide a lot of substance. Sound is in its original Japanese, so if you like cutesy JPop and anime voiceovers, you'll like what there is on display here. The graphics themselves are decently drawn and rendered to a quality that's near Guilty Gear in presentation, but lack of a 480p option hurts for those who don't have access to a PS3. However, it's still one of the prettier 2D games on the system. Graphics and sound are 100% arcade authentic, so it's hard to complain unless you don't like the style.
The complexity of the fighting system when compared to something like Guilty Gear (which is complex enough on its own) comes from two different elements: the Homing button and character duality - both of which are explained below. The Homing button is the cornerstone of chaining combos together in Arcana Heart, and allows the player to quickly zero in on an opponent from across the arena with a quick dash. The use of the Homing button also allows a player to perform Guard Cancels, Homing Cancels (think Roman Cancels in Guilty Gear) and special moves related to which Arcana is selected for a given character.
Which reminds me...the Arcana. The Arcana is the extra layer of complexity, the "character duality" I spoke about above. Although there are only 11 main fighters in the game, you are required to pick 1 of 11 different Arcana (elemental beasts) to link with your main fighter. Each Arcana, in turn, has its own set of special moves and super moves that can be performed with joystick motions in combination with the Homing button. Pressing all the attack buttons together will put your character into a special state that gives them special powers (such as boosted attack, defense, health regeneration, super meter regeneration, etc. depending on which arcana is selected) for a limited period of time. During that time, a super-special Arcana summon attack can be performed called an Arcana Break that can inflict MASSIVE damage on an opponent if it hits (this is similar to a Guilty Gear instant kill move). This combination of techniques pretty much makes up the core gameplay of Arcana Heart. It tends to be more difficult than most fighters, since you have to memorize two movelists: one for a fighter, and one for an Arcana.
(I told you it was complex)!
The PS2 version has very few extras, and contains a bare-bones story mode, versus mode, arcade mode, gallery, and options menu. A nice feature is the balancing added to the Japanese arcade release of Arcana Heart FULL! (released a few months after the original) is included on the disc and users are free to choose which version of each character they'd like to use. The only unlocks available are in the gallery, and after seeing the additional fighters and Arcana available in the currently Japanese arcade-only sequel Arcana Heart 2, this game feels a bit...lacking. However, that being said, it's still the most complex fighter on the market, despite its cute exterior, and will develop a larger hardcore tournament following in the States now that it has an official domestic release.
Rating System: Who needs stars and numbers? I'm all about the otaku emoticons!
*-* = Amazing
^-^ = Good
-_- = Fair
T_T = Poor
Graphics: ^-^
Do you like loli? Do you like fighting games? Do you like loli in fighting games? Seriously though, the graphics are pretty much on par with Guilty Gear, minus the 480p option. The only thing that I have to warn about is if you don't like the cutesy art style...well, you probably won't be buying this anyway. For the rest of you - the game looks like an interactive anime. There you go.
Sound: -_-
Cutesy anime-ish fighting game voices and sugary soundtrack. Pretty much par for the course here. But the singer of the main theme kind of....sucks :( Bummer.
Not a lot to unlock, but the fighting system is VERY complex, so there's a lot to learn. Mastering a single character and Arcana combination will take a long time, mastering multiple will take even longer. This is not a game you can learn in a single sitting, and some fighting purists may be turned off by the peculiar pacing of the game. It isn't as smooth as something like Guilty Gear, in that the movements of the characters are more deliberate, slower, and easier to punish mistakes (I believe this was a purposeful design decision to force use of the Homing button).
Downloadable Content: N/A
PS2 game. No DLC planned.
Fun Factor: -_-
A complex 2D fighter. If you have the patience, you can have a lot of fun here. Lack of online play stings, but it's PS2, what do you expect. Now, EXAMU, put the sequel on PS3!
Overall: ^-^
BREAK DOWN!
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