Digimon Rumble Arena 2 Preview

Give credit where credit is due – Bandai has taken an otherwise standard idea and spiced it up with a solid cast of characters and some unique elements.

The game is Digimon Rumble Arena 2 for the PlayStation2, a two-dimensional fight title that pits Digimon characters against one another. The title is developed by Black Ship.

The game is basically a set arena, with two of the fabled cartoon characters going against each other. As you hit the opponent, they drop little bubbles, which help you power up your character. Power up enough and you can transform from the little, cute and cuddly Digimon into its more fearsome counterpart.

The control configuration is simple. You have a basic attack (X), then you have two special attacks, one is the ranged (the square) and the other picks up and throws your opponent (O), which can be a very good move in a certain situation (but more on this in a moment). You can also jump (triangle) and that is important to get over the boxes. L1 is used to put up a defensive guard and R1 will let you Digivolve. There is also a special move you can perform.

There are several ways to play the game – practice, single player and multiplayer. You can also view records.

The game uses an Auto-Save feature. The game has more than 40 characters in the game, but only 12 are available as you begin. While there is no difficulty setting in the practice mode, there is a difficulty setting (easy, medium and hard) for the single-player game. Another big difference is that in the practice mode, you can pick your battleground or arena. Not so in the single-player game. The arenas are progressive.

Each battle is a countdown from 3 falls allowed. Of course, each battle is scored.

Not only are the environments horizontal, but you can go vertically as well. Take the jungle setting, for example. There are tree branches you can climb up on and jump across to come down behind your opponent. In the warehouse, the platforms move and tilt and you can fall off and take a knockout by falling into the abyss below. Throwing an opponent off the platform may result in a knockout as well.

The graphical elements of this title are very solid. The game, in spite of the two-dimensional arena, has a nice three-dimensional look, and the animation is quite fluid. The camera sometimes will hang up in a position, or zoom in, but you have no control over its motion. Generally it does keep the action in the center of the frame, but can zoom out to get both Digimons in the frame should they get too far apart.

This game is lushly rendered.

The sound, on the other hand, can get annoying – but only in the musical score. This is all highly repetitive.

The game does require some tactical consideration as well. As you fight, your health bar dips from the pummeling you take. If you have racked up two falls against your opponent while not surrendering any falls, and if your health is low. It may be wise to pummel your opponent and then take a fall to get a full health bar in order to continue the battle. Digivolving at the right moment, and using power-ups all come into play.

Digimon Rumble Arena 2 is light entertainment that is challenging, and looks very nice. The game does have a nice variety of options for playing and this is a title that should appeal to fans of the series as well as arena fighters looking for something that takes what is standard for the genre then adds enough twists to make it original and enjoyable.