"Walking the path of the PS2, the Kamen Rider game that will rule over all others."

User Rating: 7.9 | Kamen Rider Kabuto PS2
"Henshin!" *(#::#)*

Having lived in Japan the past two and a half years I have seen the good and bad sides of Japanese television. The show I have enjoyed the most has been TV-Asahi's Kamen Rider Kabuto(KRK). It is the thirteenth series in the Kamen Rider franchise, which is known as the Masked Rider franchise in America. So far only one Masked Rider series has made it to America, in an utterly hacked up craptastic form. Please do not think about that disaster when you consider Kamen Rider Kabuto or any of the Japanese Kamen Rider franchise.

Seven years before the start of the series' story a meteorite falls to Earth and destroys Shibuya city. This meteor brings with it hostile aliens called Worms that can mimic human appearance and memories. To combat this threat, ZECT is formed and the Masked Rider System is developed. The Masked Rider System consists of a series of small intelligent robots called zecters and their interface equipment. When a zecter chooses a host and the host interfaces it they change into that zecter's rider and gain weapons and abilities that can effect time and space. These riders then have the power to defeat the Worms. The series' story focuses on Tendou Souji, a mysterious young man who is not a member of ZECT but becomes Kamen Rider Kabuto. There are many riders and Worms involved in the series, but this game only deals with about three fourths of the story, because it was published before the end of the series.

"Cast Off!" ....((((*(O^O)*))))....

I am a big fan of Kamen Rider Kabuto so I feel I should insert a disclaimer. This game is not for everyone. If you do not know anything about the series, and have absolutely no Japanese, you probably will not have as much fun as someone like me who does. It is a fun game but if you do not know what is going on you will have little motivation to enjoy playing it. That being said, on with the review.

"Clock Up!" ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((O^O)

This game is a brawler. You take control of riders and Worms and use all of your moves and abilities to defeat however many enemies inhabit the current stage, if you are victorious you move onto the next stage until you reach the end and get a game clear screen. There are no character endings or long story sequences, there are just intros and outros during the story mode. This game is less about the story and more about the battling. And the battling is fun. All of the character abilities from the series are intact, from the ability of the riders' to "Cast Off" their armor, to almost all of the characters' ability to move at super speed for a short time. Each character also has their signiture moves, weapons, and finishers. The finishers in particular are very important, as with most Japanese super hero stories the finishers are one of the main things that defines each character. The gameplay is one of the high points of this game if you are a fan of the franchise.

"One!" (O^O))))))))))))))

Graphically this game is not great, but good. We are at the end of the PS2's life cycle and a lot of the games that are coming out now look great. However all of these games are released on DVDs where as KRK is on a CDROM. So take that for what it is worth. I think the graphics and content are pretty impressive for a CDROM game.

"Two!" ((((((((((O^O)

The sound is truely one of the high points of this game if you are a fan of KRK. All of the themes and sounds from the series are intact and the original voice cast from the series does all the voice work. Having all the sounds and voices from the series really makes the KRK experience more like what we saw on TV. The sound is good, however there are not very many songs and some of the sounds during intros and outros get a bit repetitive, in particular the Worm breathing noises.

"Three!" (O^O))))

Games are expensive here in Japan. I paid the price because I am a huge fan of KRK, for me it was worth it. I even tacked on another $30 for swapmagic so I could play it on my US PS2. I am not suggesting everyone do this, though if you are a fan of KRK and you don't want your enjoyment to end because the series is over I think it is worth it.

"RIDER KICK!" (((O^O)..*\(_O^)..***..(_O^)/..(__)..~~~~*****

This is one of the most satisfying game purchases for me personally in a long time. I love KRK, it brought back the excitement on Sunday mornings I had on Saturday mornings when I was a kid. So as you can imagine I was going to get this game regardless of how I had to do it, and for me not to enjoy it, it would have had to be pretty bad. I was pleasently surprised, this is a good game as brawlers go, and a fantastic game as licensed series tie in games go. But remember that this game and the costs involved with getting it at this time may not be worth it if you are not a fan of the series like I am. So if you love KRK, don't want it to truely end, and don't mind the costs of import gaming, get it.

"Clock Over!" d(O^O)

For more info on the game check out my FAQ on www.gamefaqs.com;

http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/file/kamen_rider_kabuto_a.txt