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RIVAL SCHOOLS
United by Fate
Copyright © 1998 Capcom
PlayStation, 1 or 2 Players
Fighting
$49.95
—by Charles McCarter
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RIVAL SCHOOLS is the domestic release of
JUSTICE GAKUEN, another in a long
line of fighting games from Capcom. However, this one is in 3D and
features an all-new cast of characters, so it's not just another "sequel."
The story is simple, as they always are: something is happening in high
schools all over the world. Students are disappearing and the adults can't
get to the bottom of it. As a result, the students decide to take matters
into their own hands. Let the fighting begin.
The player chooses a main character and a "sub" character. This second
character can be called on to perform a special tag-team move. Also, at
the end of the round, the player has the option to switch to his
sub-character to fight the next round. Special moves are most often a
double-team attack, but sometimes they raise life or the power gauge,
depending on the character.
Most of the characters are high school students, and all of them seem to
have some sort of specialty. Natsu, for example, is a volleyball player,
while Roberto's game is soccer, Roy plays football and Tiffany is a
cheerleader. Their attacks all involve their sport in some way. It
certainly makes for a unique set of special attacks. One nice touch was
the inclusion of STREET FIGHTER's Sakura in this game. After all, she is a
high school student.
Some of the characters are easier to use than others, but that's part of
the challenge. Batsu is a good all-around fighter, while some of the more
specialized characters take some getting used to. Each character has
strengths and weaknesses. For example, Roy is very strong but rather slow,
and Kyoko, the school nurse, has very strong kick attacks.
There are only four buttons here, instead of the usual six; they are: light
and strong punch and light and strong kick. Each character has special
moves and at least two supers, and of course there is the tag-team move.
But much of the game is centered upon aerial hits. The best type of combo
in this game is to launch your opponent into the air and then immediately
follow up with an aerial assault, which will do maximum damage.
Throws are another important part of this game, and they do a fair amount
of damage. Doing them is a little tricky, however, as it involves pressing
multiple buttons at the right time, but it is a skill that is necessary in
one is to survive.
This game comes with a second disc containing the "Evolution" version of
the game. The original release was something of a "grow your own fighter"
game, where in true RPG format you made choices and those choices
determined your fighter's strength and weaknesses. However, this seems to
have been too much for Capcom (or maybe they thought it wouldn't sell), so
the US Evolution version is merely another straight fighting game. There
are a couple of extras on this disc as well, including some hidden (and
some not hidden) mini sports games that are entertaining.
The art for the 3D is nicely done, except during the character's winning
pose. When the camera zooms in to do a close up of the face, it seems a
little fuzzy and kind of blocky. A minor complaint, but it is noticeable.
Whereas in Japan, RIVAL SCHOOLS was
a different kind of game, the US
release is still essentially a straightforward fighting game. Not that
that's bad, but it would have been nice to see RIVAL SCHOOLS in its
entirety. It's a good fighting game, but it's just not that different from
everything else that's available at the moment.
Rating: *** out of 4 |
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