Bleach: Soul Resurreccion

I’d label myself a “casual” anime fan. Dragon Ball Z had me glued to my television for countless hours, Rurouni Kenshin still elicits an emotional response from me, and yes, I even went through a Naruto phase. I haven’t kept up with any series as of late, but I do find myself scrolling down the anime list on Netflix looking for something new to keep my attention. Bleach was one of the few fleeting interests I had during my couch potato heyday, so the latest title from SCE Japan and NIS based on the series piqued my interest. Actually, what really attracted me was the fact that this wasn’t a fighting game like so many other video game adaptations of popular Japanese products. An action title in the vein of Dynasty Warriors (keep reading), Soul Resurreccion breaks away from the expected and settles into territory dominated by a single franchise. In most regards, it’s a success, as the beautiful art style and intelligently segmented map design make this a smooth experience. Still, the essence is that of Dynasty Warriors, so repetition of both combat and fodder for your sword doesn’t take long to make an appearance. It’s simple and blunt, but sometimes all we really need for entertainment are throngs of hostiles and a big red arrow pointing toward the next objective.

If you’re not a fan of the Bleach series, disregard the story here. In fact, even if you do follow the anime or manga, you may not be too impressed with the storytelling in Soul Resurreccion. Each chapter is preceded with scrolling text narrated by a man who sounds much more excited than he should be about the situation. He tells tall tales of Soul Reapers, Ichigo’s struggles, and this dick named Aizen, but you’ll mostly just get lost in the numerous polysyllabic terms and ridiculous Japanese names that clutter each paragraph. The most generic one-liners abound during the combat portion – you’ll hear such gems as “this is the end!” and “full power!” – and there’s always a small cutscene to introduce the level’s boss. This formula is rarely broken within the 14 chapter campaign, but if you honestly just want to kill hordes of enemies without a cause, the story won’t do too much to get in your way.

My favorite mini-game in Bleach? Guess That Gender!

Each level also has an analogous structure. You start fighting a few waves of simple enemies, proceed to closed areas where certain monsters act as the key out, and end with a final boss that shares your skill set. It’s a little disappointing there isn’t a great deal of variety, but keeping a more linear, segmented arrangement was a smart move. The open and at times aimless traversal in Dynasty Warriors is replaced with a more guided approach that grades your efforts on efficiency and not just how many enemies defeated. Chapters may not last very long, but with so many missions available, the length is actually beneficial as it reduces tedium.

With so many enemies constantly coming your way, it’s a good thing that the combat is so solid. If you’d like to just bash your way through each level, you can just tap the square button for the standard attack and probably find some success – but there’s much more to it than that. There’s a ranged attack that can be easily added to any combo, and a finishing move that dishes out a huge plate of ass-kicking. Both of these attacks drain a meter that slowly recharges over time, so it’s best to intersperse special moves with basic attacks. After building up a large enough combo and disposing of dozens of enemies, you can “ignite” and enter a rage mode. Bigger damage is the obvious perk, but a final special attack that deactivates the mode is the true appeal here. The short scene before execution makes it feel like a little unique event, and the fact that it drains close to half of any bosses’ health doesn’t suck either.

The instrument that really makes this a harmonious number is the dash ability. By holding R2, characters can infinitely dart from one location to the next in style. It’s a simple addition, but does such a fantastic job of keeping an even tempo in the combat that I don’t think I can play a game in this genre without it again (not that I have any intent on revisiting Koei’s exploits). There’s no awkward downtime in-between battle, making Bleach feel more like a fighting game similar to Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi. The over 20 character roster also gives it a fighter vibe, and it’s amusing to test out each colorful personality at least once (even if they do all have a similar play style).

Sometimes I just dash around the map aimlessly. I appreciate it that much.

It’s fun to find your favorite fighter, but once the choice it made, it’s best to stick with it. Soul Points, which can be used to buff up stats, are presented at the end of each level based on how well you perform. This may seem standard, but it’s not exactly your average leveling system – it’s a sphere grid. Yes, Final Fantasy X’s fantastic upgrade structure makes its long awaited return in Soul Resurreccion, and it has definitely been too long since our last encounter. It’s a massive map where you must unlock certain boosts (HP, strength, and defense) in order to travel further down the line. Every new character unlocked only widens its already impressive scope, so it’s wise to concentrate on building up a single character at a time as the Soul Points earned are exclusive to the character that you completed the level with.

If you really, really want to fill out that entire leveling grid in an attempt to prove that you’re the Bleach-est of them all, there’s a great deal more content beyond the story mode where you can continue to build Soul Points. In Mission mode, you have the option of choosing any character to complete over 25 different scenarios. The first few are simple and don’t see much variation from the story chapters, but the difficulty increases in interesting ways the farther you go. Instead of just doubling the number of enemies on screen or increasing their damage to unfair extremes, the game may take away your ability to dash for the entirety of the mission or add a time limit. Three boss characters waiting to deliver brilliant clichés, instead of just one, is also a surprise that helps keep the missions from growing old. This mode, along with the Soul Attack missions that focus on completion time and online leaderboards, give the player plenty to do after the final story chapter.

Relying too heavily on ranged attacks, while tempting, isn't the best strategy.

Being based on an animated program, it’s difficult to not compare what the game does visually with the source material. In terms of character appearance and animation, the similarities are impressive. The action, both during combat and in cutscenes, looks exactly as it would on an actual Bleach episode. The environments, on the other hand, fall flat. Bland textures and repetitive structures abound, acting as a strong contrast to the detailed character models. It’s boring looking at the same background over and over again, and it’s disappointing that a little more variety couldn’t at least be added to the Mission mode.

Soul Resurreccion may not boldly go where no action game has gone before, but it’s still an enjoyable alternative to a tired franchise. The story falls flat, with a bigger focus on ridiculous character names rather than actual character personality, but the satisfying combat is what most gamers will show up for anyway. Even if you’re not a Bleach fanatic, there’s enough content and character progression to keep that old school hack-n-slash fan inside us all satisfied. It just may be your time to visit the Soul Society.

Josiah Renaudin

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