You can block, evade and dash, the latter also doubles as an attack and can be used to cut your way through enemies and destructable objects. You have 13 different chapters to work through, with the goal being simply to work your way from one end of the level to the other, killing all of the enemies and collecting soul points that are used to level up your characters.īasic attacks are mapped to the square button, with special attacks that drain your Spiritual Pressure bar available by tapping the triangle and circle buttons.
GAMEPLAY: Soul Resurreccion is a standard hack and slash actioner, with special attacks, levelling up and huge boss battles, straight out of the same mould as your Devil May Cry or Bayonetta types. The backdrops are very sparse with a distinct lack of detail, but this is very faithful to the source matter even if to outsiders it may seem a bit boring.
There are a shedload of different enemies to contend with, and whether you are familiar with the series or not, it is entertaining to see what kind of malevolent beastie is going to loom into view next. GRAPHICS: Soul Resurrección features some beautifully rendered and animated approximations of the characters designed by creator Tite Kubo. There are also some nice cheesy voice actors involved who contribute shouting, catchphrases and storyline dialogue during the action, to complement the sword clinking, explosions and other top-tier noisiness. The rest of the music is typical squalling guitar rock, which suits the action perfectly.
One of the main bands in this movement is the superbly named Sid, who deliver the theme tune “Ranbu No Melody” to this here title, a pleasingly ace affair that has also been used in the TV series, and was released as a hit single in Japan. Think David Bowie’s more flamboyant character-based 70s glam period, and then add into the mix cosplay, even more make up and off-the-wall Japanese aesthetics and you are about half way there.
Pretty much confined to Nippon, Visual Kei fuses rock, metal and punk music with outlandish, often androgynous dress and make up. SOUND: I may not be an expert in Bleach, but I am familiar with the awesomely mental Japanese musical movement known as Visual Kei. But this matters not, as there is plenty of clout to the gameplay to make the impenetrable and seemingly disjointed tale irrelevant. Unless you are a fan of the subject matter, it is unlikely that the story will hold any gravitas whatsoever, nor will you empathise with the plight of Ichigo and his buddies. Throughout the game, new members of the cast pop up with dialogue, are unlocked as playable characters or are introduced to the action as foes with alarming regularity.
This title does not exactly guide the uninitiated by the hand in introducing them or indeed the bonkers plot, with only a brief introduction before levels explaining the aim of your next mission.
As you can probably imagine from a series that has been going for a decade, the plot is dense and packed full of characters. Soul Resurrección picks up the Bleach story just after Ichigo and his band of merry men have had a blazing row with the Soul Society, the mysterious afterlife realm populated by the souls of the departed. STORY: The main dude in the Bleach universe is carrot-topped samurai warrior Ichigo Kurosaki, who somehow ends up being granted the powers of a Soul Reaper, which condemns him to a life of defending humans from evil spirits and helping to guide lost souls onto the afterlife. It is big business 60 million volumes of the manga have been shifted in Japan alone, and it has spawned a television show, a bunch of movies, a staggering seven rock musicals and of course a plethora of videogames – Soul Resurrección being the latest. Bleach is a long running Japanese manga series, which celebrated its ten year anniversary this year.