Capcom unleashes explosive tag-team fighting action in Rival Schools
- the most innovative 3-D fighter that teams up 14 brand new warriors
united by fate. Vibrant graphics, an intense storyline, outrageous
new
combos and Capcom's signature gameplay make Rival Schools the 3-D
tag-team battle that's completely out of control!
In the ultimate fight for justice, there is no rival!
Explosive 3-D tag-team fighting
14 brand new, outrageous characters
Features 8 modes of gameplay, including League Battle, Tournament,
Edit Mode and more!
2 Discs! The arcade perfect translation, plus the enhanced "Evolution"
Disc
For 1 or 2 players
Often times,
when scores of games come out, some fall through the cracks. Rival Schools
(Shiritsu
Justice Gakuen in the Land of the Rising Sun) came out in the arcades with
little
fanfare
and an even smaller distribution. I myself only played it a couple of times,
shrugged my
shoulders,
and went on to play whatever else was around (most likely 2nd Impact or
a vs.
game).
Now Rival Schools comes home, and frankly, it ain't bad.
If you
judge games on purely looks alone, Rival Schools isn't gonna win any beauty
pageants. Some
characters
are just flat-out U-G-L-Y. Rough polygonal edges, especially on the big
guys, make way for
some fairly
stunning animation, but the average Joe Tekken won't care. Note to player:
Do NOT play RS
while
under the influence of hallucinogenics... the multiple image supers could
very well put you in a
catatonic
state. :) The backgrounds range from Snoresville to Wowsers (the one Discotheque
stage is
rather
unusual to say the least)
Voices
are actually one of the highlights of RS. From Batsu's anime-esque screaming
to Hinata's "lil'
cutie"
voice and Hyo's "Samurai Badass" grunts, Rival Schools' characters have
a unique variety of
personalities
being thrown around. The music, on the other hand, is boring and uninspired.
Some of the
tracks
are just flat out unlistenable.
Rival Schools
is setup in a 2-on-2, no-tag outs style of play, similar to that of XSF:EX
on PSX. The 2nd
character
only comes in during the Team-Up attacks. However, meaning the computer
gives you the
choice
to switch characters after each round.
Gameplay
is a double-edged sword this go around on the Capcom carousel. On one hand,
the
gameplay
is fast and furious, with a lot of opportunities for countering and air-play.
However, too many
times
while playing, I was reminded of why I couldn't play it in the arcade.
Character response time is
stiff,
the "dialing" is tedious and far too powerful (jump-in, short, short, strong,
strong, super does
40-60%
damage), and the learning curve is inexcusably shallow. The "tardy counter"
system, while
interesting
in theory, fails often times in execution because the defender is too many
times rewarded
over the
aggressor. With the tardy counter, any move that is performed with a motion
of the joystick
(which
is just about everything) can be used to interrupt block stun and counter
attack at no cost to the
counter-er.
The Team-Up attacks (done with a ridiculously simple SP + SK) take up two
meters and are
all "if
first hit connects, perform the rest" manuevers. Which attack you do depends
on who's your
partner,
not who you are. They range from boring (Batsu's double fireball nonsense)
to pretty damn cool
(Shoma's
batter-up and Gan's Super Throw) to quite bizarre (Natsu smacking women's
derrieres is
kinda
scary).
In the
end, there are many things I enjoyed about Rival Schools. A decent attempt
at a storyline, fantastic
artwork,
the extra "evolution" disc with mini games and goodies galore, and the
variety of characters all
keep this
game's mediocre gameplay from bothering me so much. Perhaps if they had
a true grappler, I
would've
been less critical. :) Expect to see it stateside sometime in October.
Give it a try... you may
like it.
|
1-800-942-0426
1st Test
a. Walk Forward or Back (tap F or B)
b. Crouch or Jump (tap D or U)
c. Low Punch or High Punch
d. Low Kick or High Kick
e. Compilation
2nd Test
a. Run Forward or Hop Back (tap FF or BB)
b. Side Step Foreground or Background
c. Crouch, Jump, or High Jump (DF)
d. Throw
e. Compilation
3rd Test
a. Falling Save (when falling tap any 2 buttons)
b. Roll (when lying on the ground tap F,B,U, or D)
c. Team Assist (P+K)
d. Compilation
4th Test
a. Air Bash (DF + P/K then U and attack)
b. Rolling Attack (same as roll but press HP/HK button to attack)
c. Teddy Counter (when you blocking, press F + any button)
d. Burning Vigor Attack
e. Compilation
5th Test
a. Turning Side Step (FF + D/U + Sidestep)
b. Anti Throw (press Throw when the opponent is trying to throw you...
Timing)
c. Anti Attack (press any attack when the opponent is trying to attack
you... Timing)
d. Counter - Burning Vigor Attack
e. Compilation
Final Test
a. Compilation 1st Test
b. Compilation 2nd Test
c. Compilation 3rd Test
d. Compilation 4th and 5th Test
e. Compilation - all
f. Attack 30x
Then you'll have CLEAR data.
Fight the Real Boss
When you get to the seventh fight (what would normally be the last
fight) defeat your opponents with a team up super and you
will go on to fight Hyo, the real boss. After beating him you will
also recieve a different ending then you normally would.
Secret Characters
To unlock the secret characters (Hinata with swimsuit, Natsu with school
uniform, Tifanny with school uniform, and Keiko with
pijama), simply beat the story mode with Hinata, Natsu, Tifanny, and
Keiko.