Kengo
System:
Playstation 2
Publisher: Crave Entertainment
Developer: Lightweight
Released: 2000
Genre: Fighting
Capabilities: Dual Shock 2 Analog & Feedback Compatible,
Memory Card Compatible
Review Written: May 28, 2001
The Game
Kengo is one of those Bushido Blade type fighting games. Now I’m usually not a big fan of these type of games from Japan, because I really didn’t go all that nuts over Bushido Blade for PSX, now will this game make me change my mind? Let’s get onto the review and find out.
Graphics
Well, these visuals are pretty marvelous. Once you pop in the game you get a really good looking FMV of Japanese Warriors fighting each other. The in game menu is easy to navigate, and you shouldn’t have any problems. The in game graphics are another thing to gaze at. You fight in Dojo’s and they look exactly like the real thing, you got lots of fighters in here, and they look just like real people . You can make out all the little variations on all the fighters, like how one is bald, the clothes, armor, and so on. But the gore in this game (optional of course) is just insanely over exaggerated. Even if you nail them early on, you can see blood gushing out of and part of their body. It’s so insane that it’s funny. Everything else in the graphics is done well, like the animation, and frame rates all seem to be on top notch.
Sound
I don’t know if I should actually give this a rating. Because all the voices in here are Japanese (thank god there is subtitles in the story mode), but I really get tired of hearing those voices, you hear the same thing over and over, that I swear I now know what is Japanese for “Victory” and “Failure.” Besides the Japanese voices, the sound effects are proper and get the job done, from all the sword slashing, to body’s falling dead on the ground, you’ll know it when you hear it.
Game play
Ok this game is just 1-on-1 tournament fighting, much like in Bushido Blade, but with a life bar. You pick from one of 20 or so fighters, and pick a Dojo to fight in. You can only fight with swords (as opposed to Sledgehammers, Katana’s, and so on in Bushido Blade), and as you hit each other, your life bar goes down. If you happen to nail a fatal blow, your foe will start bleeding insanely, and the term, “Danger Zone,” will pop up on your life bar, where you will now slowly lose life throughout the duel. You also have some sort of, say, Hyper Combo Meter, in here, where if you either chant from a distance, or take damage, it’ll slowly grow until it’s on fire. When it is, press triangle to make the screen all blurry, then keep on hitting square, and your character will release some awesome looking sword slashing, which is most likely fatal if connecting. You can make these duels to whoever wins a certain amount of fights first, wins.
You don’t got many modes however. You only got Single Player, where you get tutored into the game mechanics, and start fighting your way through the ranks of the Japanese warriors, unlocking more to be used in other modes of play. The next mode is Tournament play, where you keep on fighting people until you die, with each foe getting harder in difficulty. You get ranked in the top 10 high scores for the mode if you kill a certain amount of people. And the final mode is Vs. Mode, where you and a friend duke it out against each other. I know it’s not much for game modes, and I was disappointed for the lack of them.
Replay Value
Well, you’ll be spending a great deal of time playing single player unlocking the 10 or so hidden character to be used in Vs. mode, and the tournament mode is a refreshing variation in single player gaming. And the Vs. mode is their so you can play with your friends, but even though this may sound like a lot, it just isn’t enough to keep me attached to this game for more than a matter of days.
In Brief
+: Superb visuals, Lots of Characters to Unlock
-: Only 3 modes of play, Those Japanese voices sure are annoying
The Final Ratings Rundown
Graphics: 8.5
Sound: 3.8
Game play: 5.3
Replay Value: 3.2
Overall: 5.2
Rounded to fit GameFAQs Score: 5
Comments
To tell you the truth, I really didn’t like this game that much, it does have some high points like spectacular graphics, and a solid fighting engine, but the lack of modes and other bells and whistles is what made this game not enjoyable. I don’t even recommend buying this game to anybody, and only a rental to the Bushido fans. Even though this is the only Bushido fighting game on the PS2 in North America as of now to my knowledge, I strongly suggest not to buy it, and if you have to own a Bushido fighting game, I recommend the Bushido Blade 1 & 2 for original PSX.