Chaos Code (PSN)

I can make a total ass of myself sometimes. I really can. Last night just so happened to be one of those moments in my life. Before closing for the night last night I got into a somewhat heated conversation with Tenryo, the English community manager for "Chaos Code" through twitter. I complained about how poorly designed the characters were in comparison to some other fighters as well as certain indie games I had played in the past. While the game definitely appeared to be that way to me last night I found that when I continued with my playthrough today the game didn't look all that bad. Sure there were some slight imperfections with character designs, and some stages looked better than others, but for the most part the game wasn't all nearly as bad as I had had made it out to be, especially for a 2002 Japanese arcade release. Seeing the error of my ways I'd like to take the time to apologize to 'Tenryo', and 'Arc System Works' for my accusations earlier. I'm truly sorry, and hope the following review makes up for my mistaken claims.

When I read the title "Chaos Code", and it's storyline regarding "Chaotics" something familiar comes to mind. That odf course is the Danish trading card game, and animated cartoon series of years past. While the two obviously have nothing to do with one another it's the sort of thing that will linger in a gamer's thoughts regardless of the connection, or lack thereof. Chaos Code, as it were is a 2D fighter that first originated as a Japanese Arcade game. Back in 2002 if you were lucky enough to be in Japan you likely witnessed many arcade goers battling it out with their arcade brethren via the respective "Chaos Code" arcade cabinets. I for one though was not so privileged, and had to wait for the latest US PSN release to get my hands on the game.

For the lowly, and very affordable price of $11.99 I was able to add this bad boy to my collection. I had hi hopes for the game, and was hoping to the gaming gods that this would be a fighter worth making it's mark amongst so many other well known fighting game franchises. As my intro paragraph states though my first impressions of the game were a wee bit biased in a completely negative way. As I played the game the night that I bought it my eyes kept on focusing on what appeared to be the most horribly crafted character sprites i'd ever laid eyes upon. It wasn't until the following day (today) that I was able to clearly see that what I was complaining about was so minor in scale that it made my argument mute. I suppose all first impressions can't be positive though, but thankfully I had not typed up a review based on those negatively biased opinions.

Chaos Code, as you will find it is an exceptionally, and well presented 2D fighter that seems to borrow a lot of features from other popular fighting games. You'll find hints of 'Darkstalkers', 'Guilty Gear', 'BlazBlue', and even 'KoF' within the constructs of the game's simple menu systems, and glorified anime accents. Characters like the naughty female nerd "Hermes" have physical appearances that are not that different from characters (Litchi - BlazBlue) in other fighting games, and the fact that they are paired with fighting styles that mimic a totally different fighting game characters (Donovan - Darkstalkers) makes the mix & match system that is applied a less than original one. While I could go on, and on about the copycat creations in this game you'll find that each of the available 13 characters ( Hikaru, Kagari, Cerberus, Kudlak-Sin, Celia, Vein, Celia II, Hermes, Catherine, Cthylla, Bravo, Cait & Sith, Rui) in "Chaos Code" still have their own unique versions of the similar fighting styles. Everything from the projectiles to their attack animations are uniquely their own.

Among the current modes of play that you'll find in "Chaos Code" are "Story", "Versus", "Survival", and "Practice". Being the Arc System Works co-published title that it is I'd expect no less. After all it is "Arc System Works" who released to us US gamers the 'Guilty Gear', and 'BlazBlue' series with similar yet slightly more impressive menu systems filled with a variety of different mode types. Story mode, as you might imagine gives meaning to each of the characters' involvement in the overall plot of the game. It comes complete with an intro, some boss battle cutscenes, and even a slightly animated ending. Versus on the other hand is a mode in which local gamers can play head-to-head via the same console, or where a single player can take on a CPU opponent if they so desire. The "Survival" mode, whic is one of Arc System Works fighting game features that I've always enjoyed allows the gamer to fight until they have no health left to fight with. As long as you are winning in this mode you can regain health, and continue the fight for as long as you can handle it.

One of the more unique features in this particular 2D fighter is the character setup, and selection menu. Aside from being able to choose different color palette swaps at the press of a button you can also select a couple of special moves to accompany your chosen character. These "Specials" come in a variety that is entirely unique to each individual character. In total there are four per each character that include everything from throws to projectiles, and even multiple hit finishers. After you choose your specials (which will be displayed on the in-game hub as you fight) you will have to choose your "Bounce" type which basically amounts to which kind of dash that you prefer. You can choose to either go with the more traditional "Run", or the less traditional option "Step". While "Run" is fairly self explanatory you'll find that the "Step" option acts more like a skip in which characters bound forward in a skipping motion. While these features more, or less only tweak minor mechanics in the game they still add that extra something that sets this game apart from other fighting games.

Now for the verdict ...

Chaos Code is a tough game for me to judge. While there's definitely tons of copy cat material in it I found that all those mirrored features were applied in a way that made the game's experience unique. This in itself has captured my undivided attention, and as a result the game may end up taking up a lot more of my time once the online patch has been issued. In an offbeat sort of way I have found that having the similar fighting styles that were applied make it easier for me to pick up on combos, combo setups, and specials inputs without having to revisit the game's practice mode. I think anyone who has invested quality time in the fighting game genre will find themselves at home as I did with the mechanics, and features of "Chaos Code". In that sense the game is definitely highly accessible to long time fighting game fans, but at the same time will be easy enough for newcomers to learn as well. Nothing in the game is really hard to execute, and most high level combos can easily be performed without much struggle.

As far as the anime styled art goes I loved all the anime accents such as the character art that can be viewed via story mode, match borders, and even in the game's own "Gallery". Any anime fan will likely be attracted to the gorgeous modern-day anime art style that was implemented. At the same time though there are still some slightly flawed in-game character designs that might turn away artistic perfectionists such as myself. I was able to get past these minor imperfections though, and think that even the most hardcore anime enthusiasts can look past such flawed details as well. As a gamer you'll find that most of your attention will be focused on the onscreen actions more than the poorly designed background characters anyways. When it's all said, and done I think "Chaos Code" is a hell of a deal at $11.99! Be sure to support this unique 2D fighter with your hard earned money. If you do so we may be able to see new developers willing to bring different ideas to the forefront for this particular video game genre as well as some Japanese exclusives that never made it stateside!

The character that caught my eye ...

CATHERINE

For those of you thinking this kawaii character is a lady, GUESS AGAIN!!! Like a character ripped from the pages from some pervy boy-on-boy manga this gender challenged individual can't decide whether he wants to be a boy, or a girl. Through a variety of different attack animations we see this young lad/lass transform into everything from a cheerleader to a mermaid. In fact he's so self-infatuated that one of his specials unleashes a mostly nude godlike representation of himself which crushes his foes underneath it's pompous weight. If you look really close at his nether regions you'll even notice that he is pitching a tent in that pajama suit of his. Oh, the humanity of it all !!! O_o