The best PSP fighter to date; While that doesn't say much, remains a -MUST- buy for Bleach fans.
To start this review off, I'm going to repeat several things that I've already mentioned before from the previous review that I made on Bleach: Heat the Soul, which is the first game.
Bleach is, still, currently an ongoing anime in Japan. Recently, it's managed to reach primetime in Tokyo (7:30-8:00 timeslot), which only shows how popular the series has become. Was a sequel even a surprise to anybody who might be reading this? Of course not.
This time around, there are 11 characters, with 5 latest additions to the recent cast of fighters including Kuchiki Byakuya, Hitsugaya Toshirou, Ichimaru Gin, Urahara Kisuke, 'nd Yoruichi.
While the lack of characters, though still a lot better then the 1st game, does hold the game back, Bleach: Heat The Soul 2 remains the best fighter on the PSP to date, 'nd a -must- buy for any Bleach fans.
The graphics remain virtually the same, though a few new backgrounds are there that follow the anime's current storyline. Even with very little upgrades on the graphics, it's still one of the better looking PSP titles that retains an a cel-shading that fits with the feel of the game.
The audio is the same; random battle midis that don't hold ground to the anime's BGM, though the opening movie is truly beautiful. Before you ask, if anybody's even reading this, the opening song is UVERworld's "Chance" which is the PSP's exclusive song, 'nd won't be found in the anime, anytime soon.
The gameplay is the same: square does a ki charge-like move. X is melee attack. O is a special attack. /_\ (Triangle) is jump. Doing combos is as simple as X, X, O, O, O. It's the same for all characters, but even mashing it, is relatively enjoyable. When you press Square + Square, you can stun... Square + X and/or O, you do a special move. You can do one at any time, but, if you miss, and you're low on your meter, you'll be stunned and out of breath for a moment. Same system as the previous game, but the addition of the new characters is essential. Each character feels different from each other, even you used the same "X, X, X, O, O, O" combo.
Overall, this game manages to be one of the few games that I keep for my PSP. It's joined the likes of Lumines, Burnout: Legends, 'nd Metal Gear AC!D in my PSP game cases. There are a few downfalls to the game; the combat could have been a bit more intuitive, a little bit more responsive, but it remains the best PSP fighter on the console. While the combat isn't enough to -really- justify the score that I gave this game, there are a few things I forgot to mention.
There are enough extras to make you sit down and play for ages; there are trading cards that you can view (Over 200), there are system voices where each of the Japanese voice actors speak in English (It's more of a gimmick, 'nd doesn't make a real difference... but hearing Yoruichi's VA say '-ja' at the end of each word, such as 'Winner-ja!' or 'Don't give up-ja. Reaaady... Fight-ja!' is really fun to keep on), and the infamous Block-On.
If you can find a great deal on this game, buy it. If you're a fan of Bleach, buy it. If you enjoy Break-out, 'nd want to play that and have something else to do in the game besides that... buy it. Block-on rules. You'll know what I mean when you see it.