BeyBlade VForce Ultimate Blader Jam 2003 By: Atari

Overview:

"BeyBlade VForce Ultimate Blader Jam" is based on the extremely popular "BeyBlade" toy franchise in Japan. Beyblades are spinning metal tops. The Beyblade toys spawned a popular manga series, which led to an anime series, which spawned a series of video games. That is quite an evolution for a spinning top, and further proof that the Japanese people have way cooler toys than we Americans. "BeyBlade VForce Ultimate Blader Jam" puts the player in the middle of an anime drama, which can be a little hard to follow for those of us unfamiliar with the series. As a matter of fact, without any context from the series, "BeyBlade VForce Ultimate Blader Jam" can seem nebulous and a little bit intimidating. "BeyBlade VForce Ultimate Blader Jam" is markedly less confusing and approachable when the player realizes that the game basically breaks down to playing one of those games where the player must move the hand-held board to guide the ball bearing to its hole. While the player doesn't have any control of the board in "BeyBlade VForce Ultimate Blader Jam", they do have control over the Beyblade, or spinning top. The player must navigate the top from the start of the isometric map to finish. The maps do not have borders, and BeyBlades easily fall off and have to restart at the beginning. The maps are also rife with environmental elements that can have a range of effects on the player's Beyblade such as speeding them up, or tossing them in the air. The tricky thing about the movement is that the top must maintain momentum for the player to retain control, compelling the player to move quickly through the map, which is of course dangerous.

"BeyBlade VForce Ultimate Blader Jam" intersperses a dialogue driven, comic framed story line with Beyblade action. The player controls a revolving set of characters that decided to form a Beyblade squad. There are four such characters. For some reason, the characters keep getting kidnapped, robbed, and randomly challenged to Beyblade games. I'm sure that the story would make more sense for one more familiar with the anime series, but for the rest of us, the story features overly dramatic, and humorous tropes that we've come to expect from anime encounters (lots of yelling, and shocked faces).

With a cute story line and approachable gameplay, "BeyBlade VForce Ultimate Blader Jam" is a light hearted and fun game that is sure to be appreciated by fans of all genres. The game's unfamiliar concept, and at times jarring story, is interestingly juxtaposed by gameplay that is easily approached and mastered. The graphics and music are vibrant and appropriately fitting for the game's fast pace. Gamers unfamiliar with the series might find "BeyBlade VForce Ultimate Blader Jam" difficult to get into, but will reliably have a blast figuring it out.

Directions:

Players will control a member of a Beyblade group that is vying to be the world's best. Players will have the option of choosing from one of two possible Beyblades assigned to the player's character when challenged. Beyblades can be collected from defeating opponents and winning tournaments.

When in battle, the player has two bars visible at the upper left hand corner of the screen. The green bar is the spin bar, which slowly depletes as time progresses. As the spin bar depletes, the player will have a harder time controlling their Beyblade. Players can increase their spin by moving over squares marked with a green symbol.

Each Beyblade has an attack that, when charged, will release the Beyblades super attack. The attack bar is filled by knocking opponents off the map. Players can execute a regular attack only when close to their opponents. As players collect Beyblade parts, they can change their attack technique.

At the beginning of each map the player must time their rip cord to determine the amount of spin that they will start with.

"BeyBlade VForce Ultimate Blader Jam" utilizes a battery save feature to save progress.