Bloody Roar (video game)

Bloody Roar (ブラッディロア) known as Bloody Roar: Hyper Beast Duel in Europe and Japan, is an arcade fighting video game developed by Raizing and published by Hudson Soft. It was later adapted for the PlayStation by Hudson Soft and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. The arcade version was released in July 1997 and was titled Beastorizer in North America. The PlayStation version was released in Japan on November 6, 1997, in North America (under the title Bloody Roar) and in Europe in March 1998.

Bloody Roar is the first game in the Bloody Roar video game series and was followed by four sequels on multiple platforms. The game's story centers on a group of warriors known as "zoanthropes", who have the power to transform into half-human half-animal "Beasts", and the Tylon Corporation, an underground organization that seeks to use zoanthropes as mind-controlled weapons. The game received generally positive reviews from critics for its originality and graphics, while the audio received mixed opinions. The game's success resulted in its re-release for The Best range on October 14, 1999. The game was re-released on the PlayStation Network in North America on August 20, 2009.

Gameplay
At the beginning of each stage, both players have a set amount of energy that is used to activate "Beast form", which causes the character to change into a Beast. Players may transform at any time after the letter "B" appears in the "Beast Indicator" below the players' life energy indicators. The Beast Indicator appears blue when storing the energy needed for transforming. When the Beast Indicator is fully charged, the word "BEAST" appears, and the player can activate Beast form by pressing a certain button. During Beast form, the amount of fighting moves available to the character increases, the character becomes heavier, 3% of the character's life energy recovers and the character's jumping ability increases. While in Beast form, the Beast Indicator turns yellow. The yellow area decreases according to damage sustained by the character. The yellow area does not recharge during the current round. When the yellow area completely depletes, the Beast form will negate when the character is hit by an effective technique from the opponent.

Story and characters
Yūgo Ōgami is a young wolf zoanthrope on a quest to uncover the circumstances of his father's death. His father, Yūji Ōgami (大神勇二), was a mercenary said to have died in combat in a South American country. Yūgo also seeks the mercenary Gadou, the sole survivor of Yūji's combat unit. Yūgo and Gadou eventually meet in a secret Tyron Corporation laboratory, where Gadou reveals that Yūji was a zoanthrope who fought against the Tyron Corporation's mind control experiments and conversion process. Yūgo then promises his father that he will destroy their enemies with the powers that he inherited from him.

Alan Gadou is a French lion zoanthrope, a professional mercenary and military genius who took part in a mission with his best friend and Yūgo's father, Yūji, years ago. On that day, his union of armies was crushed by a combined force of superior zoanthropes and a hostile army that appeared out of nowhere. Gadou was seriously injured in the battle and lost his sight in one eye. Afterward, he went off to search for Yūji and discover the identity of the enemy. At the end of the game, he destroys the Tyron Corporation, finally exacting revenge for Yūji. After Gadou's arrest, police discover the Tyron Corporation's secret lab and accumulate enough evidence against the Tyron Corporation to drop charges against Gadou. Afterward, desiring the thrill of battle, Gadou returns to the battlefield and promises Yūji that they will meet again in the heavens.

Bakuryū, real name Ryuzo Kato is a mole zoanthrope and a self-styled master of the traditional ninja arts. His personal details are veiled in secrecy and his existence is a mystery. An expert in assassination, he was enlisted in an infamous underground organization and put in charge of sabotage and the abduction of zoanthropes for experimentation. After the events of the story, Bakuryū's molecules destabilize, causing his body to completely decompose. As a result, the scientists of the Tyron Corporation decide to concentrate their efforts on a new conversion process.

Mitsuko Nonomura is a wild sow zoanthrope and everyday housewife with a massive body and generous nature. After her daughter (who is also a zoanthrope) was abducted, she went on a quest to find her, the only clue being the kidnapper's steely eyes and insanely sardonic grin. At the end of the game, she discovers her daughter Uriko and brings her home, where they lead a peaceful life.

Jin Long is a Chinese tiger zoanthrope who curses his fate and zoanthrope blood. When he was a child, his mother and younger sister died one after the other. Neglected by his workaholic father, Long ran away from his home. Afterward, his great skills in the martial arts and zoanthrope powers brought him recognition, and he was enlisted by an underground assassination unit. After the events of the story, Long seals himself away from the world due to his zoanthrope blood.

Alice Tsukagami is a rabbit zoanthrope who was kidnapped as a child by a secret research institution that conspired to use zoanthropes as weapons. After being subjected to physical experimentation, her latent powers were awakened, after which she was used as a test subject and given battle training. However, she managed to escape the institution before being brainwashed, earning herself the freedom she had long sought. While hiding herself to regain her composure, she began to worry about a girl that Alice befriended in the institution. Because the girl sacrificed herself by distracting Alice's pursuers during her escape, Alice decided to come out of hiding and fight against the institution. After the events of the story, Alice is adopted by her aunt Mitsuko and lives a peaceful life as a part of her family.

Gregory Jones (Greg for short) is an American gorilla zoanthrope who, in his youth, fulfilled his hope of running away to join a circus. Having a great talent for handling animals, he later took charge of the circus after the ringmaster retired. But with the rapid changes in the entertainment industry, the circus eventually went bankrupt and its members parted ways. After the events of the story, Greg tries to talk Yūgo into joining his circus and becoming their new star performer in an attempt to avert the circus's closure, but is eventually convinced into being the star himself.

Hans Taubemann (nicknamed Fox) is an English fox zoanthrope with a warped mind and heightened aesthetic sense. He is obsessed with beauty and despises ugly things, boasting of his good looks and publicly declaring all else ugly. Abandoned as a child and raised in the slums, he grew up into a well-known scoundrel. He earned the nickname of Fox from his wariness and cruelty in beating up even the very weakest. He works for the Organization in the same unit as Bakuryū and engages in such activities as kidnapping and murder. After the events of the story, Fox kills another civilian, but is shocked to discover that it is his own mother.

Development
Bloody Roar was originally released as an arcade game titled Beastorizer in America, and was shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo under the title. The visual design of the game was created by Mitsuakira Tatsuta (who also designed the characters of the game) and Shinsuke Yamakawa. The arcade soundtrack was composed by Atsuhiro Motoyama, Kenichi Koyano, Manabu Namiki, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Masaharu Iwata and Tomoko Miyagi, and published in 1997 by Wonder Spirits. The soundtrack of the PlayStation version was composed by Takayuki Negishi, who also would compose Bloody Roar 3. Bloody Roar was re-released on the PlayStation Network in North America on August 20, 2009.

Reception
Bloody Roar received generally positive reviews from critics, and its success resulted in its re-release for The Best range on October 14, 1999. Critics widely praised the easily executed, accessible moves,   the fast pace,   and most particularly the way it freely borrows gameplay elements from past greats of the genre such as the Tekken series and Fighting Vipers. Douglass Perry of IGN called it "a schoolbook example of how to take the best attributes from past fighting games and hone them into one great beat-'em-up", while Next Generation said that it "really excels at combining and even improving on known gameplay paradigms."

The Beast Mode met with approval as adding both depth and distinction to the gameplay. Next Generation and Sushi-X and Crispin Boyer of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) further added that while Bloody Roar has a wide variety of possibilities for over-the-top combos, the comprehensive system of counters and reversals prevent button mashers from overcoming skilled players and gives the game a great deal of depth. Sushi-X and Boyer's co-reviewer Kelly Rickards was one of the few critics to be underwhelmed by the game, arguing that the limited number of action buttons makes it more a game for casual fighting game players than for hardcore enthusiasts. Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot argued that while it is possible to achieve most combos through button mashing, there are plenty of tricks that can only be learned by those who devote time to the game.

Sushi-X said that the game "definitely looks good, but to see these characters engage in flashy combat is even more impressive." Perry said the graphics have "great shadows, detailed textures in both the background and on the characters, and likable but yet bizarre design character design", but added that the characters lack the addictive charm of those in the classic fighting games. Next Generation agreed that the characters are fairly generic. Gerstmann described the PlayStation conversion as "better than its arcade counterpart."

Perry noted that the "high frame rates and a speedy graphic engine enable moves to be executed quickly and without wait." Gerstmann said the game "runs fast and very smoothly. The game's moves are also very dynamic, resulting in a lot of oohs and aahs as a wolf bites a chunk out of his opponent's neck and blood spurts everywhere, splattering on the ground." GamePro somewhat disagreed, saying that while the game generally runs very fast, it has slowdown problems in the ruins stage.

Next Generation stated that "Overall, Bloody Roar has solid gameplay and excellent graphics, even if it doesn't have any sense of style. And we'll take raw gameplay over style on any day." GamePro gave it a 4.5 out of 5 for graphics, 4.0 for sound, and a perfect 5.0 for both fun factor and control, and concluded that even with competition from the upcoming PlayStation port of Tekken 3, Bloody Roar had the potential to be a major sleeper hit.

Bloody Roar received a nomination for "Console Fighting Game of the Year" during the AIAS' inaugural Interactive Achievement Awards.