Bloody Roar is a 3D fighting game where you're able to transform yourself into a creepy (or cute...) beast.
Gameplay:
Bloody Roar looks like any other traditional fighting game with easy and straight forward battle system, but under all the smashing and fighting an evil beast waits to burts out. Does this sound weird? Well, it is fact because in Bloody Roar it is possible to transform your fighter into a vicious beast, which only makes the fights more fun and bloody (hence the name of the game). This offers the player some new moves that can only be used when you're in "beast mode", and besides this it is just plain fun to kick your opponent's butt as a tiger who knows karate, a back-flipping and very agile fox, or a big bunny who's not as cute as she looks. The strength of the beasts can also smash the walls surrounding the arena and kick the opponent several meters (literally) out of the ring.
Although the fights are usually fun, the games feels a little slow, although you can go into "Rave mode" when you're in "Beast mode"... but that's just not enough. The game doesn't characters and the different characters does not have many moves each, which is too bad. But, it is extremely fun to smash your friends in this game, for some reason.
Graphics:
The graphics of Bloody Roar are good-looking, but definitely not great. The opening FMV even looked dated when the game was released, and the overall game itself just looks okay, which is a shame. The game could have been better if the animation was more slick and fluid, and if it felt faster it would have been much more fun.
The character endings achieved in Arcade Mode are just CG stills with a text underneath... Which doesn't excactly make them enjoyable to watch.
Sound:
The music featured in Bloody Roar is rock... and only rock, which is also fine. It suits the game and the mood well, but in the end it is nothing special or over the top good, since it is not that modern, but feels like rock music from the 1980's.
The voiceovers of the characters are okay, but not anything special. To me only the voice of Fox is enjoyable since it makes the character twisted, and that is nice.
All in all Bloody Roar is an generally enjoyable fighting game, which offers some new and original ideas. It is just a shame that the developers didn't make anything special out of the general game. If that was the case, it could easily have become a classic.