The best, most addictive arcade game out there to date.
So before I jump into a real review, I have to point out the physical surface that this game is played on. It is a card game, where you lay cards on a surface and slide them to move corresponding units on the screen. There are two buttons, one card special, and one special tactic. The rest plays out like an RTS, where you and a comp (or player sitting next to you) square off in an arena in an attempt to crash the other player's gate. The cards are bought at the arcade where the game is, and you get a card after every series of games you've played. A series is either 3 games, or until you loose. You also get a card that saves information on it, so you play a story mode that gets increasingly harder. Now, don't expect to just jump in right away without speaking any Japanese at all. It will take some getting used to, you'll probably loose a few matches because you don't know what you're doing, but once you realize how to play, and what card specials are, you'll have a blast. It also helps that people don't know what the machine is and just put in credits without a save card or deck, so you can usually mooch off of them for a while. The graphics aren't bad to look at, though they're not current gen, they're very close. The novelty of it makes it awesome to say the least, but it's really a fun game. If you ever get the chance to play it, do it, you won't be dissapointed.
So let's break it down:
Graphics: 10 - Hey, it came out in 2005, great graphics for it's time, and they still hold up nicely compared to other arcade games.
Sound: 10 - The music is enjoyable battle music, and the sound effects feel like they belong. Nothing wrong here.
Gameplay: 10 - The most fun I've ever had at an arcade. It makes you feel like you're a part of the game. It may be a bit hard to figure out just what is going on, but after you do, you'll be having a ton of fun.
Final thoughts: Hey, what else can I say? It's probably the best game in an arcade I've played to date, and if you ever get the chance, play it for a while, you'll figure it out, and have a blast.