So...what do we have here?

Japanese Game Box Front

Lupin The III

Lupin…now he's a slick character with a history. Lupin the 3rd is a really old anime that stems back to the mid-to-late 60's (1967 according to the box…making this year his 40th. 1967-2007). The show had quite a following, with lots of promotional goods and publicity, so it's no surprise that they made a number of videogames out of the franchise. The series took MANY years to appear on U.S. TVs (It will ocassionally air late at night on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network) and gained enough popularity to get the U.S. a game on the PS2. This is one of several Lupin games to not reach U.S. shores, and it's one of the hardest to track down, not to mention a bit pricey.

The game has some pretty nice music. Cool jazz tunes accompany Lupin in his exploits and give off the hip cool feeling that Lupin always had in the cartoon whenever he had to pull a heist. While the music is cool and portrays Lupin as his slick, stylish self, the sound effects are standard fare. To add to this, the graphics are admittedly very average. The game has decent enough anime cutscenes and the characters you may or may not know and love are easily distinguishable. However, the overall presentation is very simple, if not primitive in its entirety. Also, I hope you enjoy lots of mazes and quite a bit of repetitive scenery, because LtT has them both in spades.

The gameplay tries to incorporate what Lupin is known for; His ability to blend with a scene and his ability to use stealth. The game is less about action, and more about using your gadgets to get around and solving puzzles. It gets the job done, though certain maneuvers feel a little iffy, like his ability to grapple onto ceilings and swing. The game also pits you against some fairly cheap scenarios at times like trap rooms and getting ambushed by robots, only to kill them with Lupin's pea shooter of a pistol and generic melee attacks. Speaking of traps, Lupin can easily die from falling from certain heights, and the game makes sure to hide certain pits causing his untimely demise. All in all, Lupin the 3rd is a half decent game to play on a quiet day, but due to its scarcity, it goes for a lot more than most are willing to pay.

- Written by Vyse the determined -