Overall 9.2 Graphics 8 Sound 7 Addictive 7 Story 8 Depth 6 Difficulty 4
8.5
He may be a kid,but he is no tool! MitsuriZX
Zatch Bell : Electric Arena is your typical fighting game with a twist : you control two characters at the same time,the Mamodo's user and the Mamodo. Just in case you don't know,Mamodos are beings from another world that look like puppets,and they must be controlled by someone's spell book,or else they will not unleash their true power. Those spell books,if they take enough damage,they will burst up into flames,and the mamodo will die.
The story is about your character receiving a Mamodo called Zatch from your father,which was intended to help you get better at school,but then,a few things happen,and you find yourself controlling your Mamodo and fighting for the title of Mamodo King,in a war where 100 Mamodos are battling it out to see who's the best. But let's get to gameplay,shall we?
For the most time,you'll be controliing both your Mamodo and the Mamodo's user,which means that if you move forward,both will move forward. From here you can attack with B and unleash special attacks with R. By pressing L,you can give your Mamodo freedom of movement,which will allow the Mamodo's user to attack directly if he so wishes.
Here's the catch : you can only win the fight by attacking the Mamodo's user,attacking the opposing Mamodo will not damage the opponent. Sure,you may be able to temporarily disable a Mamodo by hitting it enough times,but the Mamodo's user may still be able to get away with it,so this game requires logical thinking. Think of the Mamodo as the shield and the sword of the user,you must use them in a creative way to defeat your opponent.
Sometimes,pressing L can be dangereous,but what if you can rack up a lot of damage? Also,special attacks activated with R can pierce your opponent's defenses,but he can do the same to you. There is a fair amount of characters to unlock in this game,and you can play mini-games to unlock extra content in the game. As far as the game goes,it's just a crazy fighter with mini-games and a dramatic story.
The graphics are above average,in fact,they're quite good. They could have used some 2.5D effects like in Castlevania Aria of Sorrow,that would look cool on this game. The soundtrack is nothing special,really,sometimes it gets your blood pumping,and sometimes it doesn't. That's just how games based on animes are.
Overall,the game is a pretty cool fighter,there are other Zatch Bell games on the GBA,and they're a little better than this one,however,they were only released in Japan. I don't really see the point of having to know japanese in a fighting game...oh wait,"Shaman King Spirit of Shaman"..."bad memories"...yeah,i guess you have to know japanese to play some games. Anyway,i'd recommend this game for anyone who is looking for a different fighting game. And when i mean different,i mean chess disguised as a fighting game.
Graphics 8 Sound 7 Addictive 7 Story 8 Depth 6 Difficulty 4
Review Rating: 4/5
Submitted: 01-06-13
Updated: 01-24-13
Review Replies: 4
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