thanks for the nice review
:)
Rival Schools tv Review
Story & Characters
The main story for Rival Schools is short and sweet. High school students from several high schools in Japan (and students visiting from an American school) join forces after a series of mysterious attacks are launched against their schools, to thwart the Justice High School's principal and his son, the men responsible for ordering the attacks. Each character has his or her own specific reason for joining the fighting team, but the goal is the same. In this respect, the storyline is fresher than something gamers would see anywhere else. Character sub-plots make this game an interesting topic of analysis (such as the very odd way several of the characters are related to one another, even if they hate each other and are fighting), but the story is pretty cut-and-dry. The events that happen within the game create a decent storyline for this title. That is to say, the story is not so boring as to drive you not to care, but it lacks the depth that its predecessor, Street Fighter, had to offer. All in all, you have a decently fresh, satisfactory storyline that makes for the cult classic Rival Schools can be considered to be. With the exception of introducing a new character, the plot for Project: Justice (the sequel to Rival Schools) is more of the same.
Rating:
Art
The artwork and graphics for both Rival Schools and Project: Justice is absolutely atrocious. Despite being released well after the start of the EX series, and when the Playstation 1's 3D graphics had cleaned up a great deal, Rival Schools employs 3D polygonal artwork for both character design and backgrounds. Granted, the character model is better than, say, Starfox, where everything began as a polygon, or Final Fantasy VII, but the design is still just a collection of animated polygons, done during a time where a much cleaner 3D game could have been made. What's worse is Project: Justice, the Dreamcast sequel to Rival Schools, which uses slightly upgraded PS1 graphics for backgrounds, and boasted character designs the PS1 should have used in the first place.
Rating:
Sound
The soundtrack to Rival School and Project: Justice boasts a selection of generic music with tunes one does not get stuck in their head. This also works for them, as none of the tunes are enough to drive a player to turn their speakers down. Unfortunately, though, you'll be turning your speakers down for the voiceovers. Character yells for special attacks aren't exactly the kind you ignore after a while, as they do get annoying after some time. What's worse, however, is when you are asked to continue, and the tag-team partner of the character who took the last KO is urging them to wake up and continue the fight. With many characters, such as Sakura and Hinata, this can get very aggravating, so don't fall asleep at the controller for this, or you'll regret it. On top of that is the narrator's attempt to render English (all other voices are done in Japanese). His accent is so thick, that a few of his words and phrases are a bit incoherent ("KO" sounds like "touchdown"). This is definitely a game you play to your favorite CD.
Rating:
Presentation
As horrible as the artwork and sound is in Rival Schools, this game does prove to its audience that graphics do not make the game. This is one book you definitely don't want to judge by its cover. Rival Schools offers a solid fighting game using the Street Fighter engine, but lacking the high-paced, frenzied action of the later Street Fighter games and Capcom cross-over games. In many respects, Rival Schools has the feel of a Street Fighter spin-off (with Sakura in the cast to cement that point to an extent), and fans of the Street Fighter series will enjoy Rival Schools just as much as the mother series, and some may even enjoy the more relaxed fighting style of Rival Schools better than the lightning-fast, ten-second match fighting system found in Street Fighter. Rival Schools most certainly brings a game almost exactly like its sister series, but with the ability to draw in a more diverse crowd of gamer, and gives those looking for a quick fix of fun opportunity to play around in the many different sports mini-games found on the Rival Schools evolution disc. Rival Schools is the perfect game for those who don't enjoy the rapid-rate combat found in Street Fighter, but appreciate the fighting engine, characters, and campy storyline it has to offer.
Rating:
Final Verdict
6.3333 (average)
Reviewed by MightyLuBu, Nov 10, 2004
Comments
-
back07 Sep 24, 2012
-
UberDog Mar 23, 2015
Interesting and simple review, good job.
page 1 of 1 2 total items
Only members can post replies, please register.