Bleach: Shattered Blade

Thanks to the Cartoon Network anime lineup, Shonen Jump’s Bleach has struck a cord with North American viewers and becoming the cable network’s highest rated show. Bleach’s story revolves around 15-year old Ichigo Kurosaki who becomes involved with a girl who just so happens to be a Soul Reaper (an otherworldly warrior sent to fight lost souls known as Hollows) and becomes a Soul Reaper himself. This tale of acceptance of responsibility and loyal friendship leads Ichigo, the Soul Reaper Rukia and Ichigo’s closest friends to the Soul Reaper’s world where their destinies become clear. Sega brings us the first game for the animated series with a fighting game called Bleach: Shattered Blade for the Nintendo Wii.

Shattered Blade takes place after the events that lead Ichigo, his strong and silent friend Chad, buxom babe Orihime and archer Uryu to the Soul Society to save Rukia so fans of the animated series of manga who know how things ended will be happy to see that the events seen in the story mode continue the story. Here, Ichigo and his friends are still in the Soul Society when Ichigo hears that the portal to the world of the living is closing and the only way to keep it open is to gather the shards of the Sokyuku - the executioner’s blade that was meant to execute Rukia. So begins the quest for the shattered blade that takes Ichigo and a number of other familiar faces going up against each another to meet up with a mystery foe who is just itching to reveal himself.

Episode Mode, the game’s story mode, starts with the choice to play Ichigo’s story, Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya’s story or Renji Abarai’s own story (you can unlock new character storylines along the way). Each character has his or her own reasons for looking for the scattered shards and, like most fighting games, while the individual stories are particularly deep, each story feels true to the show thanks to the fact that the stories were crafted by the show’s creator, Tite Kubo. While it’s great to be playing through an original Bleach story, there are some head-scratching inconsistencies. Sure, the game recalls memorable moments from the series but it also, without much of an explanation, hold questionable bouts between friends. If you know the show or the manga then you’ll find Ichigo going up against the weak yet strong-willed Orihime way too bizarre and untrue to the show. What will make sense are rematches that will put a smile on any hardcore fans’ face like Ichigo versus Kenpachi or Renji battling Captain Kuchiki.

While many of the bouts in the game’s story mode are badly put together, finishing each storyline in Episode Mode unlocks a bulk of the goodies you can use in other game modes as well as earn you points to use to unlock character profiles, gallery art and different tunes. Most importantly, you get to unlock more characters (32 in total to be exact) that show up often in each character’s individual story. Captain Hitsugaya, for example, leads to unlocking Momo, a character that shows up in his story arc and is closely linked to him in the anime series. Finishing Renji’s storyline opens up Rukia Kuchiki so you can use her in the game’s other mode like Arcade and Training Mode.

Arcade Mode is your basic arcade-styled game mode that allows you to fight through the lineup of characters much like any other fighting game. There’s two rounds per match and you’ll be going up against any of the characters you manage to unlock in Episode Mode. Training allows you to hone your skills, learning each character’s own stylish moves and abilities that are unique to each character. The game also includes a Versus Mode that allows you to play against a friend. Uruhara Shop is the place to be when you want to spend your points to unlock all the usual art gallery, sound and character profile goodies. If you were expecting some other extra modes like, say, a Survival Mode, you are out of luck, Chuck.

Still, the heart of the game is it’s unique control scheme that separates this fighting game from any other fighting game out there. You see, instead of pushing the A button to slash, you flick the Wii Remote the way you would an actual sword or, in the world of Bleach, your Zanpaku-to. Unlike the sword fighting segments in Red Steel, Shattered Blade’s controls are actually quite responsive, allowing you to perform upward slashes, forward stabs and sweeping chops. Using the Nunchuk attachment you move your character as well as pull off some blocks and flash steps. Shake the Nunchuk when you fill the Bankai Gauge, your character can reach Bankai and unleash his or her own extra special attacks.

The problem with Shattered Blade (aside from a lack of more game modes or an online multiplayer option) is the difficulty setting that moves from easy to hard to way-too-easy. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense that a brawler like Chad can beat Renji (who wields a sword) or the fact that Uruyu can get ripped apart from a medical team member like Hanatro.

Shattered Blade also looks pretty good, sporting a cel-shading look that attempts to capture the art of the anime and the manga. It does a solid job during the action while the real art comes in the form of actual artwork from the show. My biggest complain comes in the form of the backgrounds that look so stale compared to the colorful characters and the special attack moves that look flashy on screen. Fans will get a kick out of watching character specific special moves come to life … like watching Captain Kuchiki’s Zanpaku-to blade scatter in a blaze of flower pedals.

The game’s music feels faithful to the show despite the fact that the show’s main theme is missing and some familiar tunes are no-shows as well. This is too bad, really, since the anime has some of the best music but what is featured here isn’t bad at all. Still, the good news is that the majority the anime’s cast is present and accounted for and it’s great to hear them narrate their own story. During battles, some of what the characters say is repeated often but you’ll hear characters make comments to opponents they know well.

Bleach: Shattered Blade for the Nintendo Wii is like a single-bladed sword that might feel right in your hands but just doesn’t cut as deeply as those double-bladed swords with all the bells and whistles that come with it. Still, despite a somewhat weak story mode and the lack of more game modes, this is a game that will please Bleach fans and those who have been waiting for a decent fighting game for the Wii. Yes, it’s no Soul Calibur but it’s a step in the right direction.

Gameplay: 7.5
While the swordplay lacks some finesse, the responsive controls make for some solid fighting action that gets pretty intense at times. Bleach fans will be scratching their heads at some of the fights that pits friends like Uryu with Orihime but, then again, will cheer to replay some of the show’s epic battles.

Graphics: 7.9
The cel-shaded graphics actually look pretty good despite the fact that the backgrounds can look a bit too plain. Still, fans of the show will instantly recognize many of the locales and all the characters look just like they do on the show and manga.

Sound: 8.0
As far as the soundtrack is concerned, it feels like some of the tunes found on the anime but fans will feel a bit let down by the fact that the Orange Range opening theme song isn’t included. At least the voice acting cast from the show handle the voice acting chores in the game.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Even in the game’s medium difficulty setting, Shattered Blade is too easy at times. At least the AI improves when you go up against powerhouses like the near psychotic Kenpachi and Rukia’s silent but deadly brother. The inconsistent difficulty level might turn off the more experienced gamer, though.

Concept: 7.5
Episode mode tells a new tale that takes place after the series finale of the anime series and features all the recognizable main cast along with an impressive number of Soul Reapers. The Wii controls work nicely but the game could have done with some extra game modes as well as online multiplayer.

Multiplayer: 7.0
You can challenge a friend in Versus Mode and there are plenty of characters to pick from but online multiplayer would have been great.

Overall: 7.5
Shattered Blade might not be the most perfect fighting game available on the Wii but it isn’t a bad one either and it’s certainly one Bleach fans will definitely enjoy. While the game’s story mode doesn’t make a big impression, the solid fighting mechanics and controls make this a fighting game that’s well worth a look.