Rave Master Review - GC

It's hard to believe that fighting games were once the dominant genre throughout the '90s, especially given the current climate. Now fighting games are about as popular as Steven Seagal movies, with only a handful of companies releasing sequels to such tried-and-true franchises as Mortal Kombat, Tekken, and Virtua Fighter. Original fighting games, which may very well be an oxymoron, are even harder to come by these days, making one wonder if the genre has been knocked on its posterior a few too many times. Konami has decided to throw caution to the wind with its own attempt at knuckle-cracking combat, a four-player simultaneous fighting game based on the Japanese manga and anime, Rave Master, airing on the Cartoon Network here in the States.

A Reason to Fight

Fighting games are not known for their intricate stories, and even though Rave Master tries its best to convey a sense of drama in between bouts, the dialogue is as snappy as a wet noodle. The main story mode has players choosing one of five characters from the animated series (Elie, Musica, Haru, Suda, and Go) and then progressing through a series of chapters, which is apparently a fancier word for fights. Basically, a chapter involves traveling to an area, striking up a conversation with the local residents, and then preparing to fight as the dialogue turns sour. After winning the match, you’ll saunter off to the next locale and confront another character or group of characters from the series.

Getting Stoned

Rave Master would be an invigorating take on the fighting genre if Capcom never created the arcade game and subsequent Dreamcast port, Power Stone. Both games feature an overhead viewpoint and similar play style, which involves running around closed-off arenas to collect power-ups in between the sword swinging and fist-flying fun. Power-ups in Rave Master are color-coded orbs called shadow stones and rave stones, which dictate the type of powers you can wield. Blue stones are defensive in nature, potentially increasing your life recovery or defensive power, while red stones can add range or neat effects like explosions or flames whenever you strike an enemy. Yellow stones are special attacks that typically involve slowing an enemy down with projectiles or traps.

Feeling Groovy

These orbs randomly appear in the arena for players to quickly snag using the Z button. Since characters can only equip up to three stones at once, and only one of each type, fights can quickly go back and forth depending on which stones are in possession. Furthermore, players can knock orbs and even weapons away from their rivals with repeated blows, so there’s always a chance to mount a comeback even when the odds are against you. The analog stick solely controls movement, while jumps, blocks, and attacks are all mapped to individual buttons. Players are free to switch weapons after breaking open crates that periodically appear in the arena, but the character’s original weapon must be equipped in order to perform special moves called groove attacks.

“Power” Outage

While Rave Master earns points for the ability to block attacks, something that Power Stone doesn’t have, it doesn’t offer the same degree of interactivity. The environments in a 3D fighting game, where you're allowed some freedom of movement, are just as important as the characters. Rave Master’s nine environments are diverse in appearance (including a stage where you fight inside a disco) but are extremely limited in scope. You don’t have multiple tiers or levels to scale, for instance, nor are there objects to interact with apart from collecting orbs or smashing crates. This is disappointing for a game released in 2005.

Rave Review?

The environments aren’t the only problem with Rave Master. Movement is a tad sluggish, as if the characters were fighting against a current or a brisk wind. Intricate combos are not needed to excel, so button mashers and twitch gamers will win more than their fair share of matches, which may annoy certain players. And the game’s single-player mode can’t hold a candle to Namco’s Soul Calibur II, with a story mode that can be easily completed within hours. Of course, fighting games are played for multiplayer action, which is Rave Groove’s strongest point.

A Smashing Good Time?

Rave Master won’t make GameCube owners forget about Super Smash Bros. Melee, but it’s a worthy alternative if you think characters with spiked hair and furrowed brows are cool, feel there aren’t enough fighting games that let you change into smoke, or don’t mind a special move that causes you to dance like John Travolta.