Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament. Not exactly a self-explanatory title, which is why I’m here. Okay, let’s face the facts for a second here. Yoshihiro Togashi’s adventurous new anime, cleverly termed Yu Yu Hakusho, shot into insane popularity quite rapidly after its release and has spawned a highly successful English dub as well. But the games—my word, the games. Let’s just say they haven’t always been the most satisfying adaptations ever. We’re being nice here, mind you. But now comes the game to break the mold—an action-packed one-on-one fighter for the Yu Yu Hakusho fan (who happens to own a PS2). And I for one think it’s great. Just . . . great. Still, there have been mixed responses to the child of Atari’s months of hard work. I now will offer to you my opinions on it. So let’s hop right in, shall we? Story: No scoring here because the storyline is taken directly from the Dark Tournament arc of the anime. Allow me to elaborate. Yu Yu Hakusho follows the life and otherwise of a young man named Yusuke Urameshi. The biggest, baddest punk at Sarayashiki Junior High, 14-year-old Yusuke is the best scrapper around and has become a sort of boogeyman for his classmates. Except for his mother Atsuko and his childhood friend Keiko, Yusuke is alone. But one day, he does something no one would expect. Diving in front of an unattentive driver, Yusuke sacrifices his life to save that of a little boy, reappearing seconds later as a ghost. Because of his selfless deed, he gets a chance to meet the ruler of Spirit World and possibly earn his life back, taking on the position of official Spirit Detective in the process. Long story short, he does, and after an intense training session by the legendary psychic old hag Genkai, Yusuke is confronted by a man he thought he defeated (in his most recent Spirit Detective mission). The man, Toguro, turns out to be far stronger than Yusuke ever expected, and orders him to enter a demonic fighting contest—the Dark Tournament—or else lose his friends to the depths of hell, where Toguro promises to send them. Yusuke has no choice. He enters the tournament along with four of his toughest rivals-turned-allies (Kuwabara, Hiei, Kurama, and a mysterious Masked Fighter), and prepares for the fights of his life. Graphics: 8. The graphics are similar to those incorporated into Dragonball Z: Budokai 2, that is to say cel-shaded characters, with smooth animation and minimal detail. Perhaps in the manner of detail the models are slightly inferior to those of DBZ Budokai 2, but not by much. The various arenas and stages where you'll battle are well-designed and add extra points for coolness. Not only that, they're destructible--block a projectile attack, and it'll ricochet into the distance and destroy something in the background. Neat, right? Too bad it doesn't affect your combat in any way. Sound: 10. I love how they brought back all the excellent voice talent from the show, as YYH is still one of the wittiest and highest-quality dubs out there. The characters aren't exactly talkative during the fights, but they do call out their various attack names as they're performed. The music is great for intense, rock-'em-sock-'em bouts, but at times you'll want something that goes a little better with the wince-inducing cracks and thuds that ring out when you connect with a kick or a punch. Lyrics would be nice. The sound effects are top-notch-- grunts, screams, hums, cheers, and even commentary from a cute fox-tailed demon girl named Koto. My ears are still vibrating pleasantly from all the input. Gameplay: 8. Okay, here we go. The gameplay is nothing to sneeze at, but it's difficult to get good enough at it to survive. As you'll see in the Training mode, a few button combination presses can result in powerful, unbreakable comboes that'll send your opponent flying. Each character has unique moves borrowed directly from the show-- Yusuke retains his Spirit Gun, Kurama his Death Plant, and with the right moves Hiei can even unleash the fearsome Dragon of the Darkness Flame. The special techs are easy to perform. The problem is, the combos aren't! You'll find yourself frequently pausing to check your handy Move List, and this kind of interrupts the fighting atmosphere. Unless you have an excellent memory, keep your finger on that Start button. There are an ample number of fighting modes to sink your teeth into, including the Dark Tournament (Story Mode), Skirmish (a single one-on-one or tag-team fight), Training, Survival, and more. Not only that, but there are tons of juicy unlockables for you to find. They were even so kind as to include a cool Token Game to offer a lull between matches, played with tokens obtained after said matches. It's a bit like Sphere Break in FFX-2, actually. Just a bit. Keep in mind, the fighting styles are true. If not for all the special abilities and Spirit Moves, these would all be actual martial arts techniques. As it is, only most of them are legitimate martial arts techniques. That should be enough, right? Value: What? I guess this means if it's worth the price. Well, I'd say if you're a YYH fan, buy it. If you're not, rent. Reviewer's Tilt: Oh boy, heh. I have to admit I'm a huge fan of the show, which is why I bought the game. But I'm trying to be unbiased here, so I gave a score that I honestly think the game deserved. 'Kay? Well, that's it. Hope I've enlightened you at least a little, and I hope you get a chance to enjoy this sweet fighter. If you want to know anything more, you'll know how to find me. Au revoir!
Other Helpful Reviews for Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament
Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament is the first Yu Yu Hakusho game that went to the Playstation 2. Basically, the game is just fight after fight with cutscenes from the actual show that help bring the storyline along. Grap... Read Full Review
I used to be a Yu Yu Hakasho fan(after they canceled on Cartoon Network.... Ba Humgbug). The game itself was okay for a fan with lots of characters, the storyline reflects on the show alot. But for a fighting game, it wa... Read Full Review
