A great brawler for fans of the anime and newcomers alike, this is a great game that shouldn''t be missed.
Story: 2/10
The story confuses me, mainly because there is none. Basically all the story there is, is some text between each fight in Story Mode. Strangely, most of the time these battles have nothing to do with each other in any way whatsoever, so you will often be left wondering what the heck is going on with the "plot". Come on, who gets into a fight because somebody took some eggs? (I'm serious. That's one of the fights...)
Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay, unlike the story, is where the game really peaks. The gameplay is, basically, your typical two-person brawler, like Tekken or Street Fighter. A nice exception is that unlike Tekken or Street Fighter, you can move around the stage however you wish. There are many combos you can pull off, with three pages per character on the Combo List; the most powerful ones require "fruit charges". You need to eat the fruit found in crates and such to charge up your Fruit Power. This is needed to pull off the most devastating combos. While this makes little sense (and by little, I mean none whatsoever) it adds a little more to the game besides mindlessly beating your opponent. The main drawback is, well, remember those huge combo lists I mentioned about 5 minutes ago? Well, each character's list has almost no change from the rest of them. Basically, when you've memorized one, you know them all. There's also a mode in the game where you can play a selection of minigames, which tend to take the regular fighting controls and put them to unique uses (such as breaking all the crates in a very large room).
Graphics: 8/10
The graphics are very good, with glitches few and minor. The graphics are a bit young for my taste, but they service the game well. The character designs are have lots of variety, ranging from pirates to navy soldiers to...talking reindeer?
Sound: 7/10
The sound is great, I can't remember half of it. It works, but it's not very memorable. Also, the voice acting could use a little work. Okay, a lot of work. But that's a complaint for the anime, not the game.
Controls: 9/10
The controls are very precise, but the combos are a bit too simple, usually consisting of pressing the same button numerous times. Still, it works for the game, and it's much less stress on younger fans of the franchise who can't remember which one is "X A X B Y X A" and how it differs from "A X B Y A A X". Like me.
Multiplayer: 9/10
Excellent multiplayer, if it's just you and your best friend you can play a 1 on 1 battle in Grand Battle mode, or if you have lots of friends you can play Tournament mode. The fighting is lots of fun and pretty intense at times, but almost never frustrating (unless your opponent rubs it in your face...).
Replay Value: 10/10
The game has excellent replay value, since you can play Story Mode with every single character in three difficulty settings (though you have to unlock the ability to play most of the characters in Story Mode). There are also 4 characters and 2 stages to unlock (along with an additional 2 characters you can unlock with secret codes), and 2 extra costumes for each of the main characters. And there are also unlockable artwork galleries, character models, and even voice soundtracks for each character (in case, for some reason, you actually want to listen to someone say phrases like "You chowderhead." numerous times.), these thing will probably appeal greatly to fans of the franchise. All in all, it will take a long time before you can really be "100% Clear".
Overall: 9/10
In short, this game is excellent (with the exception of the nonexistent story and...unique voice acting). It adds some substance to an otherwise mindless brawler, and there's a ton of unlockable stuff in the game, leading to exceptional replay value.
Rent or Buy?
Buy. With a frantic multiplayer and the excellent replay value, you should be playing this game for a long time. And then you can buy the sequel.