I, unapologetically, like this game.

Its story is laughable, its combat is a tad nebulous, its ragdoll physics are hysterical and kind of awful, its difficulty can get a bit frustrating, it REEKS of early 2000's punk edge...

But, I like this game. I like Sion, Volt, and Kou, their dumb shinannigans, and their quest to save a kidnapped girl. I like the cheesy, corny writing that's trying WAY too hard to be a relatively serious action movie filled with cliches. I like how enemies get tossed around like wet towels or slide down the stairs in the funniest ways. I like how the game can be relatively difficult as the game goes along.

I also like that the game has multiple different paths and endings, depending on what character you played as at what time, not necessarily changing the main beats, but definitely re-writing certain scenes or certain details, or including extra lore tied to the character being played. I like that story completion unlocks characters in Vs./Survival mode. I like that upgrading your character through the story will raise the characters rank, which will also affect difficulty of the game as well as upgrade Vs./Survival versions of the characters in the game.

I played and beat this game so much I've seen every cutscene and varient and I've also unlocked almost every character, including the True Final Boss with the devestaing 10 hit special attack that obliterated anyone caught in it. Survival mode is the mode I haven't beaten yet, which has the last "character" to unlock.

If you're looking for a really good beat-em-up, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a good RPG, look elsewhere. If you want to check out an interesting experiment of an experience done by Squaresoft, you could do worse. Even if you don't like it, I'm sure watching Sion slide down the stairs after being sent flying with an uppercut would give you more than enough entertainment for an afternoon or two. Best played with a like minded friend, either through couch Vs. or taking turns in the story.

The North American cover-art is the visual antithesis to the sheer quality I precieve of this particular game.

It's a simple, haunting story about a cursed boy, whom is controlled by the player, that is forced to be a sacrificial lamb, only to free himself and later free a glowing girl that speaks an entirely different language from him.

It's a simple, haunting game where the two travel through the ruins and structures, navigating treacherous and perilous environments, solving ancient puzzles that lock their exits, and fight back against shadow beings that seek to spirit away the girl the player character freed.

It's a simple, haunting theme about a growing bond of friendship beyond language, and the power of trust and determination against nigh insurmountable odds.

It's a simple, haunting journey where boy meets girl, boy saves girl, and boy frees girl, with nothing but a stick and little else left to lose.

Is this review pretentious? A tad. Am I biased? Very likely. That said, this game isn't for everyone, and its simplicity alone might turn most away from it, but power and respect to those that give it an honest try.

I don't care this is a Smash clone (even though I think what it did was interesting). I don't care that it features DiNO instead of Dante (well, I WAS a little salty about that back then, but I digress). I don't care that it didn't live up to its potential (though, I lament the fact Dart and Abe were cut, along with the titlescreen overhaul, and that Spyro and Crash were never brought in).

This game, despite some flaws, was very much a dream come true. I loved Smash back when I played it at a friend's place (original, Melee, and a little bit of Brawl), and I had always wished for Sony to do the equivalent. I knew they had a great deal of exclusive titles and IPs at the time, and was the only console that could come remotely close to competing with Nintendo's absolutely mammoth roster at the time (I love you Xbox, but I can count your significant exclusives on one hand by 7th gen).

While the roster was much weaker than any of the more modern installments of Smash, it had quite the very interesting cast to pick from, all with contrasting artstyles and playstyles that help give the game quite the differing flavor during matches. I've yet to see a platform fighter utilize characters from FPS/TPS titles (like Killzone, Bioshock, or Dead Space), along side action brawlers like Cole, Kratos, Heihachi. There are just some fun combinations you can get.

What emphasized the topsy-turvy nature were the stage mashups, which I thought were quite interesting and dynamic in of themselves, even without the stage hazards (which can be turned on and off). Even more so when the stage itself slowly evolves over the course of the match from one design to the other, with certain exceptions.

The light character customization in the game was also a neat little bonus, changing colors/costumes, intros, outros, win/lose music, and even taunts, making the characters you play feel that much more unique to you.

Now, again, the game is far from perfect, with some characters being quite overpowered compared to others, the knock-out system being a bit limited, and the roster not reaching the potential it could have. I really do get that. However, I just can't help it. The fact that this game exists at all at the tail end of the PS3 lifecycle was kind of a miracle in of itself.

I don't play it NEARLY as much as I used to back in the day, and the online servers have been shut down for some time now, but once in a while I have a small craving to pop the game in, mess about in Vs. modes with my main (Sir Dan), and putz about in Arcade mode once in a while.

It was a fun, albeit flawed, festival of fighting with a small portion of Playstation's history.

Though, as novel as it is, the final boss in the arcade mode IS kind of crap...