Rival Schools...  Out of Control!!

 
 

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






Review

           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. 



 
 
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Edit Character Test List
If you want to edit a character, you'll have to beat the following six tests:

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.