Name: Bleach: The Blade of Fate
Release Date: October 2007
Rating: Teen
Developer: Treasure
Publisher: Sega
Platform: Nintendo DS

Overview
“The Blade of Fate” is the first Nintendo DS game based on the popular anime series, Bleach. Thanks to the rising popularity of the franchise in the US, we got a chance to get a hands-on experience of the US release of “The Blade of Fate”.

For those who are not familiar with Bleach (Warning: This contains small spoilers!), the story centers around a 15 year old boy, Ichigo Kurosaki, who can see ghosts. One day, he meets a Shinigami (or “Soul Reaper” in the English dub), Rukia Kuchiki. Both Ichigo and Rukia team up to fight Hollows (”undead” fiends), keeping the world of the living safe from harm. Rukia hails from Soul Society, a place where deceased people go as their final resting place. It is neither Heaven or Hell. One day, Rukia is forced to return to the Soul Society, by her adoptive brother, Byakuya Kuchiki, and her long time friend, Renji Abarai. Ichigo comes to the rescue, only to be defeated by Byakuya. Now, Ichigo and his friends, Chad, Uryu, Orihime and Yoruichi, with the help of Kisuke “Hat-’n-Clogs” Urahara, must rescue Rukia from being executed!

Gameplay: 4/5
The gameplay of “The Blade of Fate” is fluid. It’s easy to jump around and pull off abilities. The touch screen is a plus for the card system. At first glance, the card system was a turn off for me. After playing through a few levels, I started to get the hang of it. The cards are used for buffs for your character and debuffs for your opponent. You have the choice to pull off abilities with the cards or a button combination. There are a couple of characters that requires a bit of skill to play. The first character I choose to get the feel of the game was Byakuya Kuchiki. He relies on Shunpo to get around. Without it, he is very slow. I was able to get a hang of him after a few hours. His Bankai is powerful, and can easily be spammed to defeat the enemy without extensive effort. This game also has Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection capabilities. I played a game once in this mode. It’s very laggy, and impossible to execute Bankai more than once. During this mode–using Byakuya–I was able to pull off a couple of special moves, putting a small dent in my opponent. The opponent finished me off with no problem by spamming Bankai a few times with 85% health.

Audio: 5/5
The audio quality is the same as any other hand-held game. Being on the Nintendo DS is better than it could have been on the Gameboy Advance. The opening theme for the game, HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR’s “Ichirin no Hana” sounds clear as a bell. Most of the in-game music is from the anime, and a few original tunes for the mode selection and what-not. If you’re familiar with the anime, the music from the show will add to the adventure, as if you were Ichigo himself! The voices in the game uses the English voice actors from the anime. The voices are crisp and clear, although they tend to get muffled out from the background music. For those who are fans of the Japanese dub, you are out of luck. Unlike the Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi games, you cannot select the English or Japanese voices. If you perfer the Japanese Seiyuu, you must get the Japanese version of Blade of Fate.

Graphics: 4/5
The graphics are typical for a hand-held game, though the character motions are eye-catching (provided you don’t strain your eyes looking at the tiny sprites), and the characters’ emotions aren’t static, like in the old days of hand-held games. You can see them close their eyes, you can see them opening their mouths (though they don’t move in real time). The environment is lively, such as Nanao–Squad 8 Captain Shunsui Kyoraku’s Lieutenant–throwing flower petals for the Captain from the court balcony in the background, and the gathering crowd cheering on Ganju in the Rukongai district.

Replay Value: 4/5
The story mode is addicting. The game may seem short after beating it through the first time with Ichigo, but after unlocking the next scenario, you get more options, and a chance to see a characters personality up-close, along with “what-if” stories. For example: Renji’s relationship with Rukia, and a “what-if” involving Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Jushiro Ukitake. This game is worth playing through again after beating all 20 stages and unlock all the characters.

Overall: 5/5
I really enjoyed playing “The Blade of Fate”. It’s in the same style as Dragonball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2, but better story following and rewards for completing a chapter. The whole game is addicting, since it’s published by Sega. In my 16 years of playing video games, I alway found Sega’s games to be very, VERY addicting. This takes the cake, especially a Bleach game. If you’re looking for a game based on Bleach to play, then this is for you–especially If you’re waiting for another game for the DS, going on a road-trip, or a fan of [hand-held] fighting games.

• Purchase Bleach: The Blade of Fate