Arcana
Heart

REVIEW:
Arcana Heart
is a 2D fighter featuring
an original all-female cast (each a variation of the moe anime-girl archetype).
After choosing a character the player then chooses an "elemental alignment"
which determines the character's extra special moves. In mid-April
of 2007, a patch was released for the original Arcana Heart called "Arcana Heart FULL".
The patch fixed a variety of issues, toning-down overly-powerful characters
and buffing up weaker ones.
Visually,
Arcana Heart is a good looking traditional 2D fighter. The large 2D
sprites are the star of the show and are complimented with particularly large
hand-drawn backgrounds. Backgrounds are nicely detailed and even have alternate appearances
during certain Arcana moves... a nice touch. 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.
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Hope you like schoolgirls....
Hope you really, really like schoolgirls.
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As far as
gameplay goes, there's a bit of a learning curve... but overall, Arcana Heart
presents a simple
and solid combat system. I certainly haven't
put the time in to "master" 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 or to start
an air combo... It's actually not
as complicated as it sounds.
There are also command attacks and several flashy super moves available for all
characters/ Arcana Heart borrows a few elements
from the Guilty Gear X series, and at times, feels
very much like it due to the fact that all characters can air dash till their hearts
content. Personally, I actually prefer Arcana Heart's dashing and combo system over Guilty Gear's. A lot of attacks also seem to hurt
more than the Guilty Gear series (ouch factor). As far as character designs though, Guilty Gear takes the cake... but I have come to enjoy a few of
Arcana Hearts designs.
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No shortage of
"T&A" here... of course I'm referring to
"Technique" & "Action". ;)
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Arcana Heart is indeed an ALL-FEMALE fighting
game, and to make matters "worse," all the girls are indeed under 18... with the exception
of maybe Mei-Fang (doesn't state her age).
Yes it's pretty hilarious and at the same time, a bit wrong. Arcana Heart may be directed more toward the female fighting
gamers out there and/or towards those individuals who enjoy hentai... it's pretty
obvious actually. The art of this game definitely has a "hentai
overtone" if you ask me.
Alright, I
gotta say it... 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
this game on any sort of regular basis, 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.
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There's no shortage of weird designs... and just wait until the sequels. lol.
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Page Updated: |
November 4th, 2019 |
Developer(s): |
Examu
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Publisher(s): |
AQ Interactive
( ), Atlus
( )
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Designer(s): |
Sakuraitooru |
Platform(s): |
Arcade, PlayStation 2
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Release Date(s): |
Dec.
22nd, 2006 Arcade
Oct. 11th, 2007 PS2
Apr. 8th, 2008 PS2
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Characters: |
Heart
Aino, Saki Tsuzura, Kamui
Tokinomiya,
Konoha, Maori
Kasuga, Mei-Fang, Lilica
Felchenerow, Lieselotte Achenbach,
Yoriko
Yasuzumi, Kira Daidohji, Fiona
Mayfield, Mildred |
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Featured Video:
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Related Games: |
Arcana Heart 2, Arcana
Heart 2: Suggoi!, Arcana
Heart 3, Guilty Gear X, SNK
Gals Fighters, Skullgirls, AquaPazza,
Guilty Gear XX: Slash, Kenichi |
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Gameplay
Engine
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8.0 / 10
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Story
/ Theme
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6.0 / 10
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Overall
Graphics
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8.0 / 10
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Animation
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8.0 / 10
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Music
/ Sound Effects
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6.5 / 10
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Innovation
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7.5 / 10
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Art Direction
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7.0 / 10
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Customization
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7.0 / 10
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Options / Extras
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7.0 / 10
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Intro / Presentation
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6.5 / 10
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Replayability / Fun
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6.0 / 10
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"Ouch" Factor
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7.0 / 10
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Characters
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6.0 / 10
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BOTTOM LINE
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7.2
/
10
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Review based on PS2 version
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Final
Words: |
An all female character roster for a fighting game is quite
bold. At first glance, I pretty
much had no interest in this title due to the "cutesy anime girls
theme," but I had to try it out (buy it), low expectations & all. It does remind me a lot of the
Guilty Gear X series and very surprisingly,
I actually enjoyed Arcana Heart's gameplay system as much if not more
than Guilty Gear's.
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 & cheap boss...
this "crappy/cheap boss syndrome" in every new 2D fighting game really needs to stop.
Arcana Heart isn't a fighting
game I'll ever be serious about (or even close), but there's definitely something
I like about the game. Even if it's not your cup of tea, Arcana Heart is a pretty original and unique 2D fighter that any 2D
fighting game purist should try out at least once.
~TFG
Webmaster |
@FIGHTERS_GEN
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