Tobal No. 2

Sony Playstation (Japan)

Dual Shock and Analog Compatible

1-2 players

Dreary of never to be released great in the land of the rising sun Tobal 2 is now in my greedy little hands!! Ha Ha Ha! With all kidding aside the game was labeled "Best 3-D fighter" by several people just to piss off American gamers because they would never play it. I am here to clear up a few rumors and set the record straight once and for all.

My first impression of the game was that it was a bit on the sluggish side just like the first one was. It suffers from control issues and some, not many, but some problems in the response time. This is the first and only fighting game that I would recommend playing with the dual-analog joysticks. If you dont, you are bound to get smacked down bad! The game relies heavily on couter attacks and grappling. This isnt a bad thing but it does make the learning curve super-high!

The graphics are definitely top-notch. Running at a smooth and steady 60 frames per second the game looks absolutely astonishing! I can still say that it may be the best looking fighter on the PS, except maybe next to Ehrgeiz. The character animation is great and the backgrounds could have looked better, but it doesnt effect the gameplay and that is the most important thing.

The music is great traditional Japanese fighting game music. I personally love it and think American games should start learning how to make a great soundtrack for a game. The CGI is beautiful, maybe the most beautiful work done by Square to date..(except Final Fantasy VIII...oooh drool) The intro is breath-taking at first then kind of goes down-hill so to speak but none-the-less great.

After all is said and done this game is a great addition to my collection of fighters. I can not, however say it is the best. I am not going to lie to make anyone jealous of me being able to play it, but you know Square was probably smart in not importing it. I say this because Tobal No. 2 is only for the most die-hard of fighting game fans. Only they would be able to appreciate all of its amazing virtues. Just look at Dead or Alive, it is probably the best 3-D fighter on the PS and yet nobody bought it because it wasnt easy to master like say Tekken or Mortal Kombat. This is a great game and if you get a chance go on and play it, but remember what I have said and as always happy hunting!

Graphics--8.5

Sound--9.0

Control--7.5

Replay--8.0

OVERALL--8.0

This game is a good import, but still falls shy of being "the best".

ZeroTolerance