Arcana Heart - PlayStation 2

This game is really fun if you like 2D fighter games. This is an extremely bold and complex fighter with some flare.Each fighter has their own separate commands, as well as the arcana, to learn. The game becomes even more fun when you discover a good combination for winning battles. This game can tickle your brain better than many 2D battle games I have ever played.Also, elevation and battle combos make this game super fun. You can unleash a combo that will knock your opponent into a vertical backdrop that will change perspective of capability in fighting.This fighter has so many combinations.Arcana Heart has color options and difficulty selection in options.The movement is somewhat solid and the controls are relatively forgiving....so not to throw your controller at the monitor.The game is challenging, yet it is fun.The all female cast may make family and friends wonder...but once the ice is broken..the game is really really fun to play. Don't let the anime basis of female roll play skew your interest in playing. It is a dynamic fighter.There's some mild nudity. Nothing uncommon in most modern fighter games.A shoe may fall off Aino with a powerful finish.Mei-Fang looks similar to Chun Li in Street Fighter 2 with exposed legs.If one can finish Kira Daidohji with a ultimate power force, her water bubble can pop.That is about it. Just remember to read the manual for commands. This is not a game where you can simply "mash" buttons to win a fight. You must memorize button combinations to win battles. Good luck and have fun!

Arcana Hearts is a good fighting game. Superficially, it may seem weird with the all girl cast but do not let that fool you into thinking it has little value.Graphics - 8/10 A bright and colorful game, solid framerate and smooth character motions. Character design is not the best I have seen in a fighting game, but graphically, its as good looking as a guilty gear game, which means it looks way better than any streetfighter game.Audio - 6.5/10 Don't know what you were expecting in this category, music is forgettable, sound effects are well done, I think very few fighting games have good music.Gameplay - 7/10 The speed of the game is a little slower than I expected it to be, I suppose much like Guilty Gear, but the battles themselves are a lot of fun. The character moves vary from limited to expansive for various characters and depending on who you choose to play with the gameplay can get repetitive or remain dynamic. Definitely a lot of innovative features that set it apart from other games, or at least copied from really good ones.Overall - 7/10 Not for everyone, but if you like fighting games with features not found in other games, give this a try.

To keep things from spiraling out of control word count wise, I'll just say that this is a great fighter with a very mature combat engine and wonderful art. The control scheme is not simple, but it is tweaked to make most of the fireball and uppercut type moves easier on the thumbs. You are entering the same kind of movements ie: | \ - + A , but they come off easier and with little frustration. This said any fighter fan worth his salt will be throwing out combos from the impressive move list in no time at all. Also, the stiff AI will draw you into epic back and forth fights that will really grab you. Top this off with a boss that hearkens back to the days of KOF94' and Art of Fighting... tough as nails. Real fighter fans will appreciate that.The other part of the game naturally is the art. The ladies are essentially a review of every anime/moe female stereotype possible. There are maids, animal-girls, serious girls, free-sprited girls, younger girls, gothic girls, demon girls and robot girls. I for one love it. Sure it's exploitative of the male psyche, but I happen to have a male psyche so I don't mind. (mind... get it? HAR!)Put these two together and you have a great package for good money. It's not a Soul Calibur with tons of unlockables, it's for people who like to brawl basically. Also it should be said the story is fun if not terribly good, so if you want great fiction try the library. Even with these small flaws, it's an easy five star production. Why don't you thank Atlus for having the good sense to bring the game to the States and BUY it!

This fighting game has a lot of complexity and depth to it. Your main character has a set of abilities and then you tack on another set of abilities based upon your choice of arcana. While this in itself might be manageable for the casual player the game toss in a load of playing dynamics that remind me of the more recent capcom fighting games. You have special move cancels, aerial combos, ground combos, juggle combos and a load of other dynamics that goes over my play ability.Artistically, it's an anime fighter and everything appears well animated. Character moves and interactions are fairly unique and interesting. I especially like the artistic concept for Kira Daidohji with the water bubble.I'm not so sure this is a good fighting game for a home system while having no internet support. The game requires a high level of dedication to really enjoy the game fully. If you can find multiple people to play the game with who are dedicated to the game, then it can be enjoyable.

This game was really amazing when I first bought it about a year ago. Now, it sits with other games on my shelf to probably never be played again. Why? Because after playing other fighting games like Street Fighter 4 and Blazblue, this game just doesn't seem to hold water. At first, the game's almost customizable combat was amazing, but it gets old kinda quick and ends up being a stale all girl version of Guilty Gear. And trust me, if you've played Guilty Gear, you'll be praying to after a few months of this. Maybe if this was on the Wii, PS3 or Xbox 360, it would be fun. This game begs to have online play. Playing it alone just isn't nearly as fun as playing it with a friend. So maybe, Atlus will listen to my cries and port Arcana Heart 2 on the 360, PS3, and Wii so we can get even more out of this game.