Bloody Roar 2 (1999)

Gado The Lion and yes, he's every bit as BADASS as he looks.

Created by Japanese developer Eighting/Raizing and published by Hudson Soft, Bloody Roar 2 is a fighting game released for the Playstation in 1999. In the near future, a small number of humans have reached the next level of evolution due to a mutation in their genetic makeup which allows them to transform into werebeasts. A shadowy corporation known as Tylon learns of these people and classify them as zoanthropes. Tylon begins kidnapping these zoanthropes and uses them in experiments to create the next generation of bio-weapons, but a small group of zoanthropes manages to destroy the corporation and attain their freedom. However, in doing so the zoanthropes have revealed their existence to the world at large and the globe is thrown into panic. Violence breaks out between humans and zoanthropes, and world governments struggle to maintain order. At this time the Zoanthrope Liberation Front (ZLF) appears on the scene and promises to fight for zoanthrope equality. In reality however, what they really want is zoanthrope superiority and it doesn't take long before the ZLF starts committing acts of violence against not only humans but zoanthropes who advocate peace or neutrality. Once again, our heroes from the first Bloody Roar must rise up and stop the ZLF once and for all. But against an army of zoanthropes, can they really make a difference?

Yugo The Wolf - Bringer of the New Age

Called Beastorizer in Japan, the first Bloody Roar, while not a record-breaking success, was a sleeper hit. It received little in the way of marketing and was released at a time where Tekken, Dead or Alive, and Soul Blade (Soul Edge in Japan) had gobbled up a large portion of the fighting game market. Yet Bloody Roar still found an audience thanks to its fast-paced combat, transformation gimmick, and for being one of the few fighting games whose story didn't revolve around a fighting tournament. Back in its heyday Bloody Roar had a cult following and Bloody Roar 2 builds upon its predecessor in every way a sequel should.

Uriko has mellowed out since being the first games antagonist.

Nearly every character from the first game returns in some form or another even if at times their move lists go into a new character. Mitsuko and Greg for example, while absent have had their moves integrated into Stun's move list, and Fox's move set went to Jenny. Fan favorites like Yugo, Long, and Gado are among the returning characters but they all have different roles in this game. This game features a younger, faster, shinobi named Bakuryu who shares the codename and beast mode of the original. Some of these characters might sound like palette swaps but they all play a bit differently from their core construction as well as each other. The characters Beast Modes play a larger role in the gameplay this time around as well.

Alice The Rabbit vs Jenny The Bat

The gimmick in Bloody Roar revolves around the Beast Mode. Because your fighters are zoanthropes, they can transform into werebeasts during combat and everyone transforms into a different animal-human hybrid which provides different benefits during combat and even changes the way some characters play on the fly. Bloody Roar 2 continues this trend but also build upon it. In the original Bloody Roar, the character's human forms weren't that effective and so it came down to players only trying to build their beast gauge so they could transform and really get down to the grit. In Bloody Roar 2 however, the cast is more than capable of holding their own even in their human forms and become absolute BEASTS when they transform no pun intended. Offensive and defensive attributes increase, health regenerates, and every character gains additional moves and combos that can only be done in their transformed state.

Slash Marvel!!

While in beast mode you can also unleash a super move which will inflict massive damage (50% every-time) on your opponent. This move can change the ebb and flow of battle in an instant so if you use your super move you better make sure it hits. There is a risk versus reward system here because whether your attack hits or not, it will empty the beast gauge completely. Once the beast gauge is depleted it can be refilled by inflicting damage as well as taking it. Because the characters all have different fighting styles and different beast modes, their super moves are different as well. Some characters like Yugo can combo into their super, while Gado's is telegraphed, and Long's is something of a parry.

First rule of Bloody Roar: no casuals.

The combat in Bloody Roar 2 delivers whether you're playing with a friend or against the computer and this is due in no small part to the responsive controls, varied fighting styles, and really capable AI. Bloody Roar 2 is an old-school fighting game and by old-school, I mean it was a game that required a player to have skill. There are no patches, the characters aren't balanced (in part because they're not supposed to be), and in order to really play and beat this game you have to actually be good at it. The game requires skill and technical mastery of the characters and combat system to come out on top. Gado (pictured above) for example can and will dish out 60% damage with only a 3-hit combo while characters like Long and Shenlong can repeat combo strings and take out the average player before they even get a hit in. This is especially true on higher difficulty settings.

Leaving the past behind.

There is a captivating story mode which explains each characters involvement in the game and why they enter into the conflict with the ZLF and to the games credit, not only are all these stories interesting, some are a bit unorthodox, and none of which have anything to do with a fighting tournament because there actually isn't one. In each characters story, a different event puts them on the path to take on the ZLF and we'll go into a few of these without delving into spoiler territory. Yugo's adopted brother Kenji gets kidnapped by one of the games antagonists and so Yugo sets off to rescue him, encountering the other zoanthropes and having to fight them in the process. Shina is searching for her father Gado who disappeared while investigating the ZLF, and signs point to him being part of the organization. While Long is approached by Uriko who needs help rescuing her mother who was kidnapped by the leader of the ZLF - a man who bears a striking resemblance to Long himself. The fighting in Long's story is further justified in that the other zoanthropes attack him on sight because he looks exactly like the ZLF's leader. The overall point here is that there is a reason the characters are fighting each other that goes beyond "I must progress to the next level". "No I must progress to the next level. We must fight"!

Long The Tiger

The artwork in Bloody Roar 2 is stunning, very detailed, and there aren't any characters in any other fighting games that look like the cast of Bloody Roar 2 and it really gives the game a unique aesthetic.

The game has a rocking score provided by Jun Kajiwara, a well-known guitarist in his native Japan. Every character has their own theme and stage which is not only fitting but gives every battle a tone of its own. The slow, heavy guitar riffs on Gado's stage immediately let's the player know that what they were up against before is nothing compared to the battle they're about to face. And Shenlong's theme, appropriately called "You're Dead" really drives the point Shenlong is wild, fast, unpredictable, and a monster game-changer.

Mole versus Tiger? Let's see where this goes.

There are some technical issues with the game depending on which version you play. For whatever reason, the game has massive and I mean massive lag on the PS3. We're talking "sip your Mountain Dew between Long's combo strings" lag. This lag wasn't present in the Playstation version. I've read that PSVita owners haven't had any issues so it appears to be a PS3 problem. With that said I highly advise buying a Playstation copy off Amazon or from a mom and pop store and playing it in your Sony console of choice, and avoid the PSN version unless you're playing it on your Vita.

The New Breed

Bloody Roar 2 is an excellent fighting game and undoubtedly one of the best from the Playstation era. If you're a fighting game fan who doesn't mind the dated graphics this is a must own title. And you'd better get it fast because there's a reason those Amazon prices are inching closer and closer to $80. Not only is this game the high-point of the Bloody Roar series but it's one of the best old-school fighting games of its time.