Great Nostalgia though very repetative!
Well, it looks like Capcom has once again pull out a crossover card. This time they are taking on the SRPG department. Is it just another fanboy service or does the game truly live up to the hype? Let's find out in the review!
Gameplay:
It's pretty much a standard SRPG with your favorite Capcom and Namco characters in the starring role. There are the standard commands movement, attack, magic, and defend. However, Capcom and Namco throw in a little twist in your standard SRPG combat system. When choosing to attack an enemy you go into a 2-D side scrolling screen. In this view you have the option of using 5 different moves that are assigned to the character. Using these 5 different moves you can string together combos and build up the enemies stun gauge, your super meter, or other various bonuses. This is a great addition to the monotony of move and attack found in most SRPGs. On the defending side of things when an enemy moves and strikes, the same 2-D view is used however; you are given a pattern in which you must time correctly on the D-pad. Now I suppose this is better than nothing… but Capcom could have done a little more innovation in this area. After your get the hang of defending, (this will be the 2nd or 3rd attack in the game by the enemy) you will probably get bored and wish the defending part of the battle would just hurry up. That aside the battle system is decent and a breath of fresh air. One other complaint about the gameplay is that battles take forever to finish. The attack + defend stages of battle drag on forever and it can become very monotonous once you've been through about 25 stages (which is only halfway through the game!). You will usually spend around 1-2 hours on each stage in the game (46 stages total). This can easily tally up to 50-60 + hours of gameplay. Now generally this is standard for RPGs however, in Capcom X Namco you are doing the same thing over and over again! There is no change in pace or format. There are also huge chunks of story in the beginning and end of the stages which can be a pain to sit through compared to the 1-2 hour battle stage time. Capcom X Namco has a fresh battle system but is monotonous none the less.
Graphics:
The graphics are 2-D. It consists of Capcom and Namco character sprites on a grid (stage) with anime styled cut scenes. The sprites are very nice to look at surprisingly. Capcom and Namco did very detailed work on the characters on the grid. You can tell the time the companies did on the high-resolution sprites when you zoom in on the stage map. The stages maps are usually generic however; there are a lot of inspiring levels. Some of the stages are fast and can range from 1 or 2 stories in height. While some say the graphics look dated. I enjoy 2-D and since this is a 2-D game, I would have to say the graphics are done quite nice and fit the PS2 great.
Music & Sound:
The music is the sweet spot of this title. Prepare for a wave of nostalgia when you get to listen to the assortment of character's theme songs from the Capcom and Namco worlds. Due to the hours of gameplay required to get through this title, you will be glad to hear the glistening sounds of old school fun. Each character's theme song is here and plays every time their turn comes up for battle. You will be humming these tunes as soon as you turn off the PS2. The sounds are great as well. The title is heavily voice acted and done quite nicely at that. Each character has its original screams, shouts, and special sayings. The cut scenes are also for the most part fully voice acted. Music and Sound is top notch in this title. Way to go Capcom & Namco!
Replay Value:
There is a small replay value here. Once you finish the title I doubt you will ever really pick it up until a long time. There is a more difficult mode that you can unlock by beating the title which I could see myself taking a shot at once the game has been on my shelf for awhile.
Import Friendly:
Since I doubt the game will be making it to the states. The only way you will be getting your grubby hands on this title is through importing. Like most titles and RPGs for that matter the menus, items, and most character names are in Katakana. You will miss out entirely on the story behind the game but it is extremely linear to make it to the end.
Final Score 6.5