Bleach: Soul Resurreccion Reviewed!

It seems like only yesterday that I played the demo for Bleach: Soul Ignition, and cringed at nearly every aspect of it. Now that it hit stateside,(and named Soul Resurreccion in the US,) I let my inner fanboy take over and decided to give the game a second chance. Fans have been waiting for a good Bleach game to come out on consoles, but is Soul Resurreccion the game we've all been asking for? Find out right here!

First of all, Soul Resurreccion isn't a fighting game like most people would expect. Instead, NIS brought us a hack n' slash action game very similar to Dynasty Warriors or Sengoku Basara, and in that genre, Bleach holds its own very well. A lot of gamers look down on those games and don't give them a second look. But there's also a large amount that absolutely love them, and if you're one of those gamers, then Soul Resurreccion just might be a gift from Soul Society.


The presentation and menus are very well designed in Bleach. They all look very good with nice animations, and easy to navigate. Another nice feature is the lack of a mandatory installation. There's also a TON of stuff to do and unlock in the game. There are 21 total playable characters, and a handful of different gameplay modes to use them in. They all add a bit of variety to the otherwise bland repetition of farming souls (experience points) to max out your favorite characters. If you plan on going for the Platinum in this game, be prepared to devote some hardcore hours. That being said, leveling up characters is extremely addictive with the level up system they've implemented. Very similar to Final Fantasy X's sphere grid, (almost to the point of copy and paste) aquiring souls to build up your characters' stats and learning new abilities will keep players interested for many, many hours. That's usually a good thing for a game to do.


The graphics in Bleach are a bit of a mixed bag. The main character models look good, and have fluid animations for all their super attacks. Some of the enemies look a somewhat uninspired, however. The environments look decent, and most of them are recognizable from episodes of the anime, but they tend to be recycled a little too much. They do get the job done, however, since the story from the anime doesn't exactly have a wide variety of backdrops to choose from. The maps are mostly straightforward corridors with very few branching paths. The music also leaves a little to be desired. It's a very easily forgotten soundtrack, with generic rock rhythms. It just ends up being background noise as you hack your way through the stages. A nice feature is the option to pick between english or japanese dialogue. I think it's safe to say most fans don't care for the english dub.



With this type of game, what really matters (aside from all the awesome Bleach characters and fan service) is the gameplay, and Soul Resurreccion delivers on that. You plow through each level trying to keep your Slash meter up as high as possible, then come to a boss fight at the end. The better you are at combos, the more Ignition you'll build up to unleash more devastating attacks, and better rankings for your missions. Simple concept, but mindless fun is still fun. Controls are responsive, and combos and movement feel as fast as you'd expect in the Bleach universe. Expect to get A LOT of use out of your Square button with this game. Along with your primary combo attacks, you have access to different variations of spirit pressure attacks, and ignition (super mode). As you level up, you'll learn combo cancels, triple jump, counter attacks, etc. NIS did a very good job adding depth to the combat, even if most players will tend to lean on spamming one button throughout the entire experience. Either way, the option to mix things up is there for you.



My only complaints with Bleach: Soul Resurreccion really go hand in hand. The story mode leaves quite a lot of details out. No real mention of the Vizards, or half of the fights that happened in the town before the major battles started. With the addition of a few more story missions, along with the characters that would need to be included in those missions, Soul Resurreccion could have had a very solid story mode experience. Instead, it ends up being the weakest part of the game. NIS is notorious for major support for their games when it comes to downloadable content, so time will tell on that. Overall, Bleach: Soul Resurreccion is an enjoyable game for something to pass the time and has the potential to keep gamers interested for endless hours. It may not be for everybody, but it's definitely worth a try, especially for fans of the series. BANKAI!