Zatchbell: Mamodo Fury
I had the chance to check out a volume of the show over on the DVD side of things here at DVD Talk but to be honest it just wasn't my style. I give every anime its fair shake and approach every game based upon these franchises with an open mind. For me personally Zatch Bell! is just a little too "out there" on the weird scale but surprisingly enough the gaming side of the concept proves to be mildly interesting.
Bandai-Namco's proven dominance in the field of anime related fighting games hasn't gone unnoticed by the anime community. In fact you'd have to be blind when going through a game store in order to miss the abundant variety of titles gracing the shelves. For better or worse though, each of these titles appeals strictly to fans of the show, which naturally limits the game's development budget. Something like Zatch Bell! Mamodo Fury just isn't going to have the same production values as, say, Soul Calibur.
Gameplay:
When Zatch Bell! Mamodo Battles came out I didn't quite know what to expect when I first picked up the game. What I got was a decent side to side 3D fighting adventure that had a decent value the form of pick-up-and-play capacity. The gameplay was a little too simplistic for any lasting appeal but as a weekend rental it served a decent amount of entertainment for anime fans looking for a good time. The follow-up game, Mamodo Fury, sadly doesn't do anything to improve upon the original.
In Mamodo Fury the side to side fighting arena has been replaced by an over the shoulder third person view. This may not sound like such a bad thing but when you take into consideration that the camera is fixed on your opponent all the time things get to be very problematic. Due to the nature of the camera several stages in the game and many of these battles become borderline unplayable. You'll often find yourself running towards the camera and into a direction where you have no what lies ahead of you. This means you'll frequently be caught in pitfalls and suffer cheap attacks; all because you can't adjust the camera.
This gets even worse when you take the locking system into account. There are some stages where you have to chase a character around to get up close and personal with them but doing so becomes impossible thanks to the camera. What's worse is the lock-on feature causes your fighter to stop dead in his tracks to hone in on the enemy. Considering that stage obstructions often get in the way of your attack this becomes a pointless exercise.
The first Zatch Bell! game didn't offer any amount of depth in regards to the fighting system. Unfortunately the sequel suffers the same fate. Each character has a charge meter that appears when you press the square button. But holding it for a set duration of time and releasing it at the right moment you'll do a certain kind of attack. In most cases you're just better off pressing the button once for damage but there are some defensive and more involved strikes that come into play later in the game. Of course the chances of you actually getting the time to charge for an attack such as that are slim to none considering that if you take damage or move you lose your charge.
Aside from these quirks you can jump and dash just like any fighting game out there. You also have the ability to swap between characters but don't confuse that ability for something as useful as Marvel vs. Capcom 2's system. You share an energy bar and the difference between characters is minimal at best because each attack is essentially the same.
When you first start the game the only thing you can do is play the Story Mode as Zatch Bell. The game forces you to play through its mediocrity in order to unlock more modes and characters. I don't know if this is a reward or some sick twisted form of torture because quite honestly, I didn't find it enjoyable in the least. You have to play through the Story just to even get to the Versus Mode which is just kind of lame. If the gameplay had more depth and the camera didn't completely kill the experience this may not have seemed like such a chore.
On the plus side, the Story Mode does try to shake things up a bit to keep things fresh. Instead of just starting every round with the intent to bludgeon your opponent you're sometimes forced to survive for a certain amount of time or knock the spell book out of your foe's hands. The variety isn't enough to keep things from getting monotonous after half an hour or so, but it's enough to elevate the gameplay beyond simple fighting gameplay. Even if you are a diehard fan of the anime this game just does nothing for the franchise.
Graphics:
Woefully generic is probably the best way to describe the visual nature of Mamodo Fury. The game sheds the 2D look from the anime and dons a 3D coat of paint to fit into the look of the game. The characters are identifiable to their animated counterparts but in all honesty they are rather ugly when you get right down to it. The environments don't fair much better with limited textures and a lot of obstructions. Everything in the game just has a lackluster sheen to it and in retrospect looks worse than the original Zatch Bell! game.
Audio:
The aesthetics for Mamodo Fury just keeps leaving something to be desired. Sound is another low point with repetitive and irritating voiceovers, muffled sound effects and obnoxious music. Many bits seem to be ripped straight from the show but with the way the game presents itself it's almost as if it was done so in an unprofessional manner. The content isn't quite up to snuff and the quality is significantly worse.
Conclusion:
When I had the chance to spend some time the One Piece Grand sequel I found myself pleasantly surprised that the creator's tried making the experience a little more robust. Going into the sequel for the Zatch Bell! Mamodo game I encountered something completely different. The original game was simplistic and drab, yet enjoyable enough to play through a few times; this game, however, is not.
The gameplay suffers from a handicapped camera system, shoddy fighting mechanics and a downright less-than-mediocre presentation. The only gamer that will enjoy this title is the one that sleeps in their Zatch Bell! tighty whities. Unless that's you just chalk this one up as a skipper.