魁！！男塾：日本よ、これが男である。
Title: Sakigake!! Otoko Juku: Nihonyo, Korega Otoko Dearu.
Title: Sakigake!! Otoko Juku: Nihonyo, Korega Otoko Dearu.
Platform: Playstation 3
Developer: Badai Namco Games
Release Year: 2014
CERO: D
Be a man! At the manliest place on earth, in the manliest game in history.
Gameplay
Sakigake is a manga from the 80's about Momo, a delinquent, who goes to a military-esque school for drop-outs who will shape the future of Japan. That's how the game is set up. In Sakigake, you attend the Otoko Juku (Men's Private School). The game is set up in days, each day you will have a set amount of objectives; these objectives are split into categories: The 108 Battles, Drills, Story, Special Events, and Online Challenge. These different modes are comprised of two main forms of Gameplay: Mini-Games and Battles.
Each mini-game is pulled straight out of the manga, and they retain the goofiness and manliness just perfectly. Everything from doing Push-Ups over spikes while having weights added on your back to staying still in a vat of boiling oil with a burning candle balancing on your head. Each mini-game adds elements of quick-time event and rhythm which breaks up the battles quite nicely! And for fans of the comic, they will make you very pleased with how they retained the spirit of Otoko Juku.
Onto the Battles. Very solid 2-button 3-D fighting game mechanics (similar to games like Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle or J-Stars Victory Vs.). You have a light attack, which does less damage but has the ability to knock enemies back and throw them off ledges; Then the heavy attack, which does more damage and will sometimes stun your enemy. you build up your special bar to use specials, which are incredibly useful. On top of that, every arena is made up of Otokojuku's Specialties (which are essentially traps... manly traps) As you progress through the game you will buy and create your own levels, which you use for fun or for the online.
This game is extremely fun, and captivated me for hours at a time. for the duration of the story, everything was well balanced, broken up nicely so nothing felt redundant, and paced very well. After you've cleared the story missions (which should take you a little over a month of game days) you will continue on as you were with the 108 battles and mini-games. And there is tons of characters and traps to unlock in the post-game so it will keep you busy!
The major downside to this game though is the lack of multiplayer! You will almost NEVER here me actually complain about a lack of multiplayer, but man would this game be perfect for it! With the wonderful character roster and original use of level design, it would add an entire extra level of fun to play with friends! sadly this is seriously lacking... even the online is just uploading your maps for others to try. I have to dock at least a point for this. I'll knock a half point off also for having a really short story but a huge post-game, it can feel redundant after too much play, but only a little, and only if you marathon this game as hard as I did.
otherwise this game is wonderfully fun, and the gameplay is super solid!
Each mini-game is pulled straight out of the manga, and they retain the goofiness and manliness just perfectly. Everything from doing Push-Ups over spikes while having weights added on your back to staying still in a vat of boiling oil with a burning candle balancing on your head. Each mini-game adds elements of quick-time event and rhythm which breaks up the battles quite nicely! And for fans of the comic, they will make you very pleased with how they retained the spirit of Otoko Juku.
Onto the Battles. Very solid 2-button 3-D fighting game mechanics (similar to games like Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle or J-Stars Victory Vs.). You have a light attack, which does less damage but has the ability to knock enemies back and throw them off ledges; Then the heavy attack, which does more damage and will sometimes stun your enemy. you build up your special bar to use specials, which are incredibly useful. On top of that, every arena is made up of Otokojuku's Specialties (which are essentially traps... manly traps) As you progress through the game you will buy and create your own levels, which you use for fun or for the online.
This game is extremely fun, and captivated me for hours at a time. for the duration of the story, everything was well balanced, broken up nicely so nothing felt redundant, and paced very well. After you've cleared the story missions (which should take you a little over a month of game days) you will continue on as you were with the 108 battles and mini-games. And there is tons of characters and traps to unlock in the post-game so it will keep you busy!
The major downside to this game though is the lack of multiplayer! You will almost NEVER here me actually complain about a lack of multiplayer, but man would this game be perfect for it! With the wonderful character roster and original use of level design, it would add an entire extra level of fun to play with friends! sadly this is seriously lacking... even the online is just uploading your maps for others to try. I have to dock at least a point for this. I'll knock a half point off also for having a really short story but a huge post-game, it can feel redundant after too much play, but only a little, and only if you marathon this game as hard as I did.
otherwise this game is wonderfully fun, and the gameplay is super solid!
Score: 4.5/5
Presentation
Sakigake utilizes cell shading to create it's classic anime style come to life, and it's done right! The character models are vivid and colourful! Each one has a nice inky black used to border and shade the model, and a nice paint-like colour to really make it feel like the manga came to life! On top of the great character models, the menu designs, on screen health bars, special attack text, and so on really fit the style well with the nice brush stoke kanji and use of japanese style. some of the level objects do look lack-luster, on the other hand. not necessarily bad, but not what should be standard in 2014. I'm a sucker for vivid environments, so I also notice them when they aren't so great. That being said, it is the year 2014, we're in the PS4 era, and this game only runs 720p. so this game won't blow you away, it looks good, but not amazing.
sound-wise, this game utilizes the sound track and voice acting from the anime. and the sound effects sound really heavy, like when you hit someone it sounds and feels like a good heavy hit, I can't stress how important that is games! the music and SFX add a nice charm to this game, and give it the fine touches it needs to feel like you ARE a student of Otoko Juku. Don't expect mind blowing arrangements, these are mostly fun 80's Japanese backdrop music, but it works.
overall, the presentation isn't up to 2014 standards, but it does great justice to bringing this 80's jewel to life! 4 three finger push ups on burning coals out of 5!
Score: 4/5
Story and Setting
The game roughly follows the story that the anime adaptation does, skipping some of the later story arcs and the early episodic stuff in the original manga. Sakigake is the perfect mix of serious and light-hearted, just like an 80's shonen manga. The comedy aspects are very Japanese, and it may be hard for people to get into if they aren't familiar with the culture. However, the humor is on-point! The whole story revolves around a boys-school for delinquents, the head master and the teachers are all martial arts masters, and all of the "youths" look like grown-ass beefy men. Everything you do in the game is set around this context: All of the battles and mini-games are design to prove your manhood.
The game does an excellent job and recreating the anime experience, all of the characters and scenarios translate very well from the anime and nothing is really changed. One of the big story arcs has the main characters face martial arts masters in games of life and death on the way up a mountain. I've always thought this was a neat anime-trope, and they perfectly recreated all of the major battles, with the crazy conditions as stage hazards or quick-time events. The characters maintain their personalities, and the original voice actors are all present.
Score: 4/5
Final Thoughts and Score
For the importer, the game is fairly accessible: It's a ps3 game, so there is no region locking, and once you get into the action the mechanics aren't super hard to figure out. However, if you want to understand the humor, navigate the menus, or get involved with making your own trap levels, then a moderate amount of Japanese is required.
Overall, I really enjoyed this game. The gameplay is a lot of fun, and there is a lot of variety to the battles with the inclusion of traps and quick-time events. The game brings to life the anime perfectly, has great visuals, and will keep you occupied for hours at a time.
FINAL SCORE: 85% (B)
