Kakuto Chojin

Xbox review by Josh Kramer - Sunday 18th May 2003

Looking to fill the gaping hole in the Xbox's fighting game line-up, Microsoft signed up Japan based Dream Publishing to develop Kakuto Chojin. When the game was released a relatively short while ago, most major game reviewing publications and websites completely tore it apart. The combination of bad press and little to no marketing support from Microsoft resulted in poor sales and the game quickly dropped to bargain price. To add insult to injury, Microsoft recently recalled the title due to some potentially offensive Muslim religious references in one of the songs. While still available in many major stores such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy, most game specialty shops have completely removed the game from shelves. So was this game as bad as the ''expert'' reviewers said and was its untimely demise warranted? In a word: no.



Now I'm not going to sit here and tell you in dramatic fashion that Kakuto Chojin is a stunning game that in no way deserved any of the bashing it received in those ''professional'' reviews. The game does have some issues. BUT... the core gameplay found in Kakuto Chojin is extremely solid. And why wouldn't it be? The developer, Dream Publishing, is comprised of some of the same team members that worked on Tobal No. 1 and Tobal 2, the latter described by many a gaming Otaku as being the best Japanese game to never make it stateside.

The game's story is very typical for a one on one fighting game. You've seen it all before... A fighting tournament is held by a mysterious organization and the top brawlers in the world are the combatants. In this case the tournament is called the Fist of Fire and the mysterious organization is named the Maladinia. After the game is completed with any one of the fighters you are treated to an impressive and highly informative three to four sentences of scrolling text that explains what that particular character did with his/her prize. That last sentence was dripping with sarcasm in case you didn't catch it... Anyway, the point is the story is just as crappy and nonexistent as in any other fighting game on the planet... and that's OK. Did gamers flock to Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter II to experience a touching drama? Of course not, they pumped quarters into those games because the gameplay was enjoyable and responsive.



There are a total of 12 fighters to choose from and one unlockable character. The characters are: Reiji (Bruce Lee clone), Vittoria (Obligatory buxom fighting babe), Vegard (Tae Kwan Do expert that specializes in brutal kicks), J.D. Stone (Exact replica of Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden character in the movie Fight Club), Khan (Fat guy with a mean Kung Fu chop), Sabre (Well rounded Karate expert), Asad (Muay-Thai kick boxer), Ying Kai Li (Obligatory kid fighter), Rena (Stylish brawler who incorporates dance moves with fighting), Crusher Ramirez (Obligatory pro wrestler), Shadow (Demon ninja) and Roxy (Agile Kung-Fu expert). Despite the wide variety of styles seen in the game, the characters are actually very well rounded. In the hands of a skilled player, all fighters are equally dangerous.

Kakuto Chojin includes all the game modes you'd come to expect from a fighting game (Story, Survival, Practice, Versus) and a few you wouldn't (Capture the Crown, Battle Royal). Capture the Crown and Battle Royal are multiplayer game modes aimed at three to four player scuffles. Both game modes are a refreshing change to the usual one on one matches found in most brawlers, but it's often hard to get three friends to play Kakuto Chojin with you when you are infinitely better at the game then they are. It's a shame that a Tobal style dungeon or quest mode wasn't included, because that would add to the game's single player depth significantly.



The controls are very similar to those found in the Tobal series. Holding down the L Trigger allows you to enter ''Free Move'' and run in any direction. The R Trigger is mainly used for blocking and dodging, but can also be combined with other buttons to perform throws and speed boosts. The Y, X and A buttons are used for high, medium and low attacks respectively. The B Button unleashes a special move. All in all, the controls are very receptive to your commands and the button layout is intuitive. Many have criticized the game as having overly simple gameplay, but this is just not the case. If you take the time to scratch below the surface, an extremely deep fighting system will be found. Remarkably long combos (which often are only possible with the use of a speed boost), amazing juggles and other advanced techniques are all waiting to be uncovered by the diligent gamer. It takes quite some time to master just one of the characters, and that's before you unlock the second, Chojin, move set. The Chojin style, which is unlocked after beating the game with any of the characters, offers up more advanced combo and juggling techniques, as well as the potential to inflict more damage. On top of all this, the game features no ''canned'' reactions. So, if you strike someone with a left sweep kick, their legs will be knocked out from underneath them in the right direction (as opposed to a ''canned'' tripping animation). What this all boils down to is all those who called Kakuto Chojin a shallow fighter sincerely need to take a second, longer look at the game.

Graphically, the game offers a heaping helping of absolutely stunning visuals, with a small serving of unrefined elements inexplicably sprinkled throughout. The characters are all meticulously modeled down to every last individual finger and animated with the utmost quality, featuring detailed textures that are nearly unrivaled among fighting video games. Most stages feature dramatic lighting that causes background elements to cast harsh, but beautifully rendered dynamic shadows across the fighters. On the rain soaked ''Top of the World'' stage, bump mapping is used to create impressive reflective textures that make the ground and bodies of the combatants look realistically wet. Another nice touch can be witnessed on the colder stages, where fighters emit misty puffs of condensed breath. Thankfully, the camera in the game never gets in the way of the action, unlike in Microsoft's other brawler, Tao Feng. Unfortunately, the clipping can be very bad in the game. Fighters' limbs will frequently pass through bodies (this is especially apparent during the Matrix-like KO replays) and the characters, when knocked down, oddly seem to be floating a good 3-4 inches off the ground. Other small blemishes in the game's otherwise impressive visuals include: the pitiful blood effects and the one-liners spoken by the fighters, which are spoken (ventriloquist style) without any movement of their mouths.



The music in Kakuto Chojin is mostly techno/trance fair and accents the game quite well. As each match commences, the stage's music track begins as a subtle, background ambiance, then kicks into full-fledged techno as soon as the first unblocked blow is landed. Thus, each match is kicked off with a bit of an adrenaline boost that is lacking in other fighters. The voiceovers in the game are spoken in each of the combatants' native language and, other than the ventriloquism, are high quality. The impact noises in the game sound bizarrely like someone smacking two wooden 2 by 4 boards together, but that does nothing more than add a touch of campy humor to the game. The grunts, thuds and other general sound effects are typical of any fighter, with no major deficiencies to be found.

Overall, Kakuto Chojin is a brawler with a well-conceived fighting engine, but not enough extras. The addition of multi-tiered arenas, destructible environments, a few more characters and a Tobal style quest mode could have made this game an instant classic. As it stands, Kakuto Chojin is one of the better fighters on the Xbox system and a worthy addition to any fighting game fan's library.

Thunderbolt score: seven out of ten

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