Fans may like this, others probably won't dig it.

PAL Game Front

Studio 3 Poster

Subaru

I wanted to like this game...I really did. I have always had a thing for the Toshinden games before Toshinden 4 (Toshinden Subaru)...maybe because those Toshinden games had ways of holding my interest. I loved the original Toshinden when it first came out, liked the Game Boy game a lot, liked Toshinden 2 because of cool characters like Tracy and the new Gaia, and liked the 60FPS mode of Toshinden 3. T4 gives me mixed vibes. Is it because the U.S didn't get a release and it instead saw a PAL and Japanese release? Not really...the only thing that hurts me about that is that the game will only play in black and white on a regular television because I don't have a PAL system (at least for me). That's okay though, since I can use the emulator and my games to produce good color screenshots. I just feel the game is lacking originality and that spark that made Toshinden cool. The basic story is that a fourth tournament has begun and it revolves around the gathering of four holy weapons (Byakko, Suzaku, Seiryuu and Genbu) that can be used to save the world or destroy it. Each character has their own reasons for entering the tournament and while the story of this game is better than past Toshinden games, the story still remains (at least to me) uninteresting.

The graphics in this game are generally worse than that of even the original Toshinden...and it moves at a slightly slower framerate. If I were a graphics nut, I'd say something like: "Slow 3D fighters are a thing of the past!" and leave it at that. The 3D battle arenas of the original are replaced with sloppy backdrops and somewhat uninspired characters. To be honest though, it's not ALL bad. Some of the characters are pretty neat. Puella (the girl in the top right pic), the older Naru, and Subaru himself are pretty cool...even if Subaru has a pink scarf thing. Seeing Puella makes me yearn to see Ellis enter the tournament again...that girl could fight! The special effects would be cool too...if the majority of the attacks didn't show an obvious lack of animation or lack of developer interest. I'd say about half the attacks are worth looking at and the rest are utter garbage. The music is a mixed bag and some tracks are questionably CD quality. The character voices are fair. Many of them are just recycled from the previous Toshinden games. They didn't bother me too much, but they could have tried to be a little more original.

The gameplay is standard fare. You have a practice mode, versus mode, time attack mode, etc. The story mode is done in teams and the main story that you will follow is dependant on who leads that team. The game has a few unlockables, though I didn't find them too interesting. The game controls fair enough. One thing I do like is just how simplified the controls are. Ultimate attacks can be easily pulled off now with the R1 and R2 buttons. The game also has a relatively neat combo chain system. Characters also have three super attacks (Sans Eiji, who has four). However, the game is simplified in a way that makes the game lack the challenge I seek. After about two hours, I had already experienced just how shallow the game was. Way too easy, and I'm not too thrilled about the new stages where pieces of the floor disappear.

Even with the various new methods of offense and defense like stun attacks, weapon repels, attack reversals, and others, the game just doesn't seem to do anything for me. I guess I have been playing more complex fighting games for a while which makes it feel so drab. It is mostly easy to overcome the new offense and defense present in T4. It doesn't really do anything I haven't seen before either and it just comes off as very typical...though they did put some cooler extras (artwork, minigames,etc.). Extras usually don't define how great a game is though. However, The extras DO help and the game is playable...I guess the game is okay...the only reason being because it's a budget title. If the game wasn't a budget title, I'd say to ignore it altogether. Still, there are definitely better fighters for the Playstation.

- Written by Vyse the determined -