Hanatareshi Yabou has the Bleach name and not much more.
- Characters up to 6 in battles
- Good battle themes
- Most of the dialogues can be skimmed through rapidly
Negative
- Town's music is horrendous
- Lacks a bit of depth for an RPG
- Camera is largely awful when exploring
This game proves that there isn't much to look forward from Bleach in tactical role-playing games. Hanatareshi Yabou is a passable experience with might satisfy fans of the series looking for an anime game, but otherwise this game doesn't have enough depth in the gameplay and not suited for an RPG.
I apologize in advance if I make mistakes but since it's a Japanese only game I can't be a 100% sure. If this game follows the story of the game, then it's horribly messes up. Some events appear before they should and some spoilers here and there as well. All cutscenes and dialogues are in Japanese but thankfully you can skim through the dialogues at high speed without stopping unless the character changes pose. The cutscenes are the usual ones you sure expect with 2 characters talking to each other but at least they move their mouths but nothing happens in the background. The story doesn't go very far though considering the release date.
For an RPG, Hanatareshi Yabou lacks quite a lot of depth. I can't be sure if it's always like this, but my version has some English names. The main menu's new game, continue and special are all in English, same goes for the pause menu and the combat directions. Combat is easy and not satisfying. Ichigo will normally fight hollows so he makes sure to keep his distance. Hit attack and Ichigo will attack but sometimes enemy will anticipate you and deal damage to you instead and then you can attack. The battle system is up to 6 characters which add something. Several familiar characters make appearance but not where they make an appearance in the anime. Different characters have different abilities. For example Ichigo can only attack and Rukia can attack and heal. Not everyone can guard. Spiritual attacks are combos to deal more damage and again not everyone can do them. The random encounter rate is ok.
The graphics are bland and a bit dated. The repetitive nature of Karakura town is boring with little change in scenery despite being different parts of the city. The character models are somewhat a bit bland as well. The cutscenes can be dreadfully boring and such. But the worst part of it is the camera. The camera is so far away from Ichigo when exploring that it is easy to get confused.
On the other hand, the music is worse. The town's music is simply awful and you will hear it a lot. Thankfully the battle themes are so much better. There are 2 of them at the beginning and they are good. I suppose the same voice actors of the anime do the voices here but even so they aren't great. Defeated enemies don't change their phrases often. The loadings are frequent to say the least especially at the start and end of battle. Moving from street to street also makes a loading screen appear.
Not much to say, this series is not made for turn-based RPG. There is little slashing here. Die-hard Bleach fans might be turned off because of it. Western audience can't enjoy this anime's game because there are none which is a bad thing since Bleach has been gaining popularity. In any case Hanatareshi Yabou isn't for everyone, only a few Bleach fans can forgive this game's problems but overall not very entertaining.
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Graphics = 6.3
Repetitive and bland environments and the character models could have been better. In the end the graphics are a bit dated.
Sound = 6.0
Karakura town music is horrendous but the battle theme is surprisingly good. The voice acting from the anime I suppose.
Presentation = 5.5
The usual cutscenes with long and frequent load times especially in battles.
Gameplay = 7.0
Lacks depth and all, but certain people should enjoy it. Up to 6 characters at once is the best deal out of it.
Story = 4.2
If it follows the anime's story, then it's bad. Dialogues can be skimmed at high speed but cutscenes can't be skipped. Confusing story to say the least.
OVERALL = 5.8 / 10
Hanatareshi Yabou has the Bleach name and not much more.