Third times a charm? Not quite.... Toshinden 3 packs some nostalgia value
for fans of the first 2 installments, but it's certainly not the best. BAT3
has tons of characters, yes, but most of which borrow fighting styles from the core characters.
There are a few enjoyable character designs & special moves... and some of the gun totting characters
offer some interesting play styles. Overall, it's a game worth trying, but the
lasting appeal just isn't there. ~TFG
Webmaster
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STORY:
Unknown to the participants, while the
previous "tournament" was occurring, they were being watched by
another sinister group simply known as the "Organization". The
Organization intended to summon their dark god to earth in order to wreak havoc.
In order to do this they needed a pure-hearted boy
to use as a vessel and the blood of strong fighters. For
the former they targeted a boy named David. For
the latter, they chose the Toshinden fighters. The Organization trained
assassins in the Toshinden fighters' fighting styles. Led by their leader Abel,
they set out to try and capture the Toshinden fighters.
REVIEW:
The third
installment to the series adds a ton of new characters, making for a 32
character strong roster. New
gameplay features include stages with walls & ceilings, promoting new combo
possibilities and giving the title some originality points. Fights by default are 1 round with no time
limit, also a unique
layout for a fighting game.
Gotta love that font.
As a whole, the gameplay still
feels like the same old 3D engine that anyone who played the first 2 games
would expect. Each character has their typical special moves, super moves, combo strings, and even some taunts.
To me, the most unappealing aspect of Toshinden 3's gameplay is the fact that
the super moves of Toshinden 3
were incredibly easy to pull off. In a nutshell, Toshinden 3 wasn't
nearly as technical as other fighters at the time. "As a console fighting game" it
wasn't terrible, and even brought some nostalgia factor to those that enjoyed
the first two titles.
Michael Jackson is in this
game
Worth mentioning, Toshinden
3 featured a (laughable) graphics selection mode... the game is 30 frames
per second by default, which makes the blocky backgrounds & characters
look semi-halfway-decent, if that... but the frame rate (and gameplay) is noticeably
more sluggish on that setting. Or you can switch it to 60 frames per
second and make the graphics look even worse, but at least can play it at a respectable.
In either case, graphically, the original Toshinden
actually looks better in some ways... how is that even possible? Takara made it possible.
The North American and European releases of
Toshinden 3 featured several differences to the original Japanese
release. For one, blocking high or low was
made automatic in the US & EU releases (pressing back would block both block
high & low attacks). In the Japanese version one had to press back and down
to block low attacks. This small different has a dramatic impact on character
balance, arguably breaking the game. When
hit by a reversal attack in the Japanese version of the game, how far your
character flies is determined by his or her weight. In the US & EU versions,
all characters fly the full length of the arena.
), Playmates
(
), SCEE (
)
)
.
In either case, graphically, the original Toshinden
actually looks better in some ways... how is that even possible? Takara made it possible.