Arcana Heart
(LAST UPDATE: 8/20/08)

.

Profile

General: Arcana Heart is a 2D arcade fighting game featuring an original all-female cast (each a variation of the moe Anime-Girl archetype). After choosing a character the player chooses an "elemental alignment" which determines the character's extra special moves. In mid-April of 2007, a patch was released for Arcana Heart called "Arcana Heart FULL". The patch fixed a variety of issues, toning-down overly-powerful characters and "buffing up" weaker characters.

..

   Graphically, Arcana Heart is a very good looking game. The "anime-like" animation isn't the smoothest we've seen in a 2D fighting game, but it's smooth where it counts for the most part. Some of the girls' stances look awkward at times, and have some sort of strange "shrinking" effect in certain places; but the sprites, while in action, look awesome most of the time! And to re-iterate, only "some" of the stances look awkward; others (most) look great! Stages are really huge (for 2D) and have really "open" feel to them. Backgrounds are nicely detailed and even have alternate appearances during certain special moves, a nice touch. The sound effects are satisfying for the most part, and a lot of the music is quite catchy, honestly.

..

   As far as gameplay goes; there's a bit of a learning curve; but overall, it's a simply and solid combat system... and it's fun too. I certainly haven't "mastered" the system like I have in other games, but I do see potential. Characters have your basic weak, medium, and strong attacks; and one button is used for dashing in various directions; to start an air combo; or use "extra" special moves... It's actually not as complicated as it sounds.  There are of course, alternate priority attacks, tons of special moves; and flashy super moves! Arcana Heart does seem to borrow a few elements from the Guilty Gear X series, and at times, feels very much like Sammy's 2D fighting series, due to the fact that anyone can air dash back and forward. Personally, I prefer Arcana Heart's air combo system over Guilty Gear's... A lot of the moves also seem to hurt more than the Guilty Gear series... To me at least. As far as character designs though, Guilty Gear takes the cake... but I have come to enjoy a few of Arcana Hearts designs. 

..

   It's bad enough that this is an ALL FEMALE fighting game... Hey, don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with girl fighters; but male characters actually would have been welcomed here. Then again, it might be "wrong" to see male characters beating up on teenage/pre-teen girls...  Yup, all the girls of Arcana Heart are indeed "underage"... With the exception of maybe Mei-Fang (doesn't state her age), none of them are even close to 18. It's hilarious, and at the same time; a bit wrong. I actually think Arcana Heart may be directed more toward the female fighting gamers out there, or towards those who enjoy hentai... It's pretty obvious actually. The art of this game definitely has a "hentai tone."

.

   It might be hard to find someone to play Arcana Heart with if you're a "cool guy" like me. Your friends might think you're a bit weird (or perverted) for playing it, but overall; it's not a bad 2D fighting game by any means. Great animation & graphics, fun & solid gameplay, and yet another fine example that 2D fighting games are far from dead. Arcana Heart 2 released in Japanese arcades in early 2008!

Manufacturer: Examu, AQ/Atlus
Platforms: Arcade, Playstation 2
Release: 2006 (Japan), 2007 (Japan PS2), April 8th 2008 (US PS2)
Characters: Heart Aino, Saki Tsuzura, Kamui Tokinomiya, Konoha, Maori Kasuga, Mei-Fang, Lilica Felchenerow, Lieselotte Achenbach, Yoriko Yasuzumi, Kira Daidohji, Fiona Mayfield, Mildred Avalon
Related Games: Arcana Heart 2
 
Gameplay Engine
8.5 / 10
Story / Theme
6 / 10
Overall Graphics
8.5 / 10
Animation
8 / 10
Music / Sound Effects
9 / 10
Innovation / Creativity
8 / 10
Customization / Options
 7.5 / 10
Intro / Presentation
6.5 / 10
Replayability / Fun
 7.5 / 10
"Ouch" Factor
9 / 10
Characters
 6.5 / 10
Overall Score
8 / 10

Closing Comment: An all female character roster for a fighting game is quite bold for a fighting game in this day & age. At first glance I pretty much had no interest in this game due to the "cutesy anime girls theme," but I had to try it out (buy it), low expectations and all. Well, it does remind me a lot of the Guilty Gear X series, and surprisingly, I actually like the gameplay better than the Guilty Gear X series! There are a few things, however, that I don't like about the gameplay; the first one being that I "suddenly" cant use certain attacks, and I also don't like how easy it is to break out of an air combo. Ohh and what a crappy and cheap boss...  This "crappy/cheap boss syndrome" in new fighting games really needs to stop.

   I've been playing the game on and off, of course I haven't come close to mastering the system yet; or even mastering a single character... but I'm learning, on my own. Unfortunately, I can't find anyone to play this game with. Jet3000 tried it for 5 minutes and said "He's done with this game." *sigh* I guess when compared to other "favorite" 2D fighters, of course I'd still prefer playing my Street Fighter III: Third Strike or Marvel VS Capcom 2... Arcana Heart is likely not a fighting game I'll ever get "serious" about, but there's definitely something I like about this game. I do see potential for the series to grow. ~F.Yagami, Webmaster of TFG