Not a bad game
Cons: Shallow gameplay; poor design; limited move set
Bandai has done it again! Unfortunately for anime fans, that might not be such a good thing. The publisher has been cranking out title after title based on its popular anime series, but while gamers that love D.I.C.E., InuYasha, and Gundam should be jumping for joy and dancing in the streets, they're actually at home weeping in their rooms thanks to dreadful titles based on their favorite properties. Bandai's latest tear-inducing offender is Zatch Bell! Mamodo Battles. Though it features authentic sights and sounds that seem like they were pulled straight from the cartoon, there isn't a whole lot else going on with this fighting game. Only the most ardent Zatch Bell! fans will be into this one, and even that isn't a sure thing.
There Can be Only One
If you're not familiar with the plot of Zatch Bell!, it goes something like this. Every 1,000 years 100 mystic beings called mamodo are plunked down on Earth. They duke it out to become king of the mamodo. The catch is that they need human partners to use their wickedly powerful spell books. Think of it as Highlander with cute spell-casting cuties and without the beheading. One of the mamodo, named Zatch of course, is discovered by an archaeologist and mistaken for a lost little boy.
Zatch has amnesia and doesn't remember anything about needing to off 99 mamodo. The kindly explorer partners Zatch with his shy son and the two form a quick bond that grows strong as they're constantly attacked by mamodo. The duo set out to discover what the hell is going on and millions of kids follow their adventures each week, proving that any time you add amnesia to the classic buddy movie storyline you get comedic gold.
On the plus side, Mamodo Battles does a good job representing the show. The colorful graphics accurately convey the cheerful feeling of the cartoon. Voice actors from the series are also used in the game. This is the one area where Bandai serves its fans well. Unfortunately, these features are the bulk of the game's redeeming qualities.
The Fast and the Idiotic
If you're watching someone play Mamodo Battles, it's easy to mistake it for an entertaining game. The graphics are cute and the action is fast. It can easily be mistaken for an anime knockoff of games like Powerstone and Super Smash Bros. Playing the game is an entirely different matter. The gameplay is far too simplistic, there isn't much of a combo system to talk about, and you can win way too many battles by smashing one button. Certainly nobody expected this game to be Virtua Fighter, but it takes the simplest elements of Powerstone and Super Smash Bros., sans any of the depth, elegance, or fun.
While the game's combat seems like it should be partner-based, you're essentially only worrying about the mamodo. The human partners are there for decorative purposes only (kind of like nipples on men). While this avoids some of the confusion found in other Bandai fighters, it also leaves the game extremely shallow.
Then there's the story mode, the main mode of Mamodo Battles that isn't worth much. Here you get to power-up the mamodo of your choice and unlock various characters and cards. While fans of the series will enjoy unlocking more mamodo, they will be disappointed at the card aspect of the game. It's really just an art gallery and there's nothing you can do with the cards other than look at them. For casual fans of the anime, the poorly crafted story mode isn't that appealing since there isn't much of a payoff and they're unlikely to care about new mamodos.
Greasy Kid Stuff
It's easy to chalk this up as a simple game that's geared towards kids, but we all know better. Kids can pick up gameplay nuances fairly easily--they can certainly master one-button gameplay in under an hour. So to call this a kids game is to insult kids everywhere. That leaves the question of exactly who this game is for. As far as we can tell, Mamodo Battles was made for stupid, uncoordinated kids with poor taste in gaming and a big love of all things Zatch Bell!