Game Description

"Let loose the dogs of war!" would have taken on new meaning if one of the characters in Bloody Roar 3 could assume a canine form. Within this game, developed by Hudson Soft and published in the U.S. by Activision, characters assume the powers of their inner beasts and enter intense melee battles. There are 12 different characters to choose from. Like its also-Hudson Soft-spawned predecessors, Bloody Roar 3 is a fast-action fighting game featuring a host of fighters who have the ability to transform into creatures, mostly based on different terrestrial animals. By winning battles and exercising each character's abilities, players can learn in-game secrets and unlock special moves. Four different play modes -- Arcade; VS Battle; Survival; and Practice -- are available to the player. Deformable geometry, breakaway walls, and intense special effects add a degree of intensity to what would already have been furious battle scenes. ~ Tom Carroll, All Game Guide

Review: Enjoyment

If you can't have fun with a game that allows you to link together Beast Drive moves for an anthropomorphic bunny and a sexy vampire bat girl, you're in the wrong wing of the entertainment building. For sheer quirky fun, this game takes the cake. ~ Tom Carroll, All Game Guide

Production Credits

ACTIVISION

Senior Vice President: Bill Swartz

Executive Producer: Mika Hayashi

Senior Associate Producer: Tad Horie

Production Assistant: Haruyoshi Sawatari

Production Coordinator: Austin Keys

Acquisition Managers: Takehisa Abe, David Grijns

QA STAFF

QA Project Lead: Jeffry Moxley

QA Senior Project Lead: Adam Hartsfield

QA manager, Console Testing: Joseph Favazza

Floor Lead: Dustin Thomas

Test Team: Matthew Beal, Kirk Kosinski, Saam Shabahang, Mike Marzola

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Customer Support Manager: Bob McPherson

Customer Support Leads: Rob Lim, Gary Bolduc, Mike Hill

Legal: Michael Hand

Creative Services: Denise Walsh

Manager, Creative Services: Jill Barry

Marketing: Larry Goldberg, Kathy Vrabeck, Dusty Welch, Kevin Kraff, Brad Carraway

Special Thanks: Jim Summers, Jason Wong, Tim Vanlaw, Nadine Theuzillot, Sam Nouriani, Jeremy Gage, Ed Clune, Kragen Lum, Indra Gunawan, Todd Komesu, Tanya Langston, Willie Bolton, Nicholas Favazza, Ben DeGuzman

HUDSON

Director: Kenji Fukuya

Product Manager: Norihito Miyamoto

Producer: Masato Toyoshima

Lead Programmer: Yuchi Ochiai

Graphic Coordinator: Shinichi Ohnishi

Lead Graphic Designer: Tetsu Ozzaki

Lead Motion Designer: Sator Yoshimura

Illustrator: Naochika Morishita

Scenario Designer: Osamu Kagoshima

Scenario Supervisor: Noriaki Suganuma

Sound Coordinator: Keisuke Mitsui

Composer: Takayuki Negishi

Recording Manager: Yuji Saito

Sound System Programmer: Takayuki Iwabuchi

Sound Effect Engineer: Yoshiyuki Kadooka

Sound Support Engineer: Keita Hoshi

Technical Support Engineer: Takahiro Haga

Opening Movie Editor: Zin Kamohara

Ending Movie Editor: Zenjiro Motono ~ Keith Adams, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

Video games have the unique power not only to take people places they've never been, but also to let them do things they've never done. Add to that the ability to let them be creatures they'll never be, and you have the unique selling point behind Activision's Bloody Roar 3. As a pure fighting game it doesn't hold a candle to such hits as Dead or Alive 2 or Tekken Tag Tournament, but it's better than the incarnations of Street Fighter EX3 for PS2 and Virtua Fighter 3tb for Sega Dreamcast.

While these games involve a mostly human cast of characters, Bloody Roar 3's characters have human and beastly forms. Sexy Jenny transforms into a bat, comical Busuzima into a chameleon, and stoic Gado into a lion. Stun undergoes a dramatic makeover when he becomes a huge purple rhinoceros beetle. Appropriately enough, Alice's alter ego is a bunny. And there's even a character that morphs into something called the Unborn. It's shiny and scary.

Storing up enough bestial energy triggers the transformation. After the changeover, using the beast half's raw power and Beast Drive attacks is critical. Bloody Roar 3 has all the elements of the successful DOA2, but in somewhat shorter supply. The player can link together combo moves so an opponent takes more damage. The arenas all have breakaway elements to expand the play field. Both games also have defensive systems in place so the player can avoid taking damage and, in some cases, counter the opponent's move with a counter strike.

The problem with Bloody Roar 3 is that it doesn't have as much of these elements, and they aren't quite as much fun. For example, the side-to-side defensive moves, while capable, aren't as fluid and fun as those of DOA2 or Tekken Tag Tournament. Also, the arenas seem much more constrictive and dark than those of DOA2, though they are every bit as good, if not outright better than the ones found in Tekken Tag.

The bottom line with Bloody Roar 3 is that if you want to get the best fighting game available for the PS2 to date, you'll still want to get DOA2. If you want the second-best fighting game, you should probably explore Tekken Tag Tournament. Yet if you want the best game anywhere that includes a bunny knocking the living daylights out of a chameleon, then Bloody Roar 3 is the only game in town. ~ Tom Carroll, All Game Guide

Review: Graphics

Bloody Roar 3 makes best use of all of the PS2's graphics features while maintaining a frantic frame rate. There are multiple light sources that enhance the PS2's limited texture capabilities. Each character is animated using complex bone systems that allow for intricate movements and the game handles it all extremely well. In fact, some of the characters are downright eerie in their ability to use antennae, tails, and multiple limbs to inflict damage. It's a shame that more of the arenas don't look more initially appealing than the ones in Fighting Vipers for the Sega Saturn. ~ Tom Carroll, All Game Guide

Review: Sound

The sound effects are rich and engaging, while the music really hits the spot. Sound is one area where Bloody Roar 3 really hits its stride. It can't be easy to come up with a full line of sounds for such varied characters as a bat, a chameleon, a bug, a bunny, and various cat characters. ~ Tom Carroll, All Game Guide

Review: Replay Value

The drive to complete the best Beast Drive moves is enough of a rush. Exploring the breakaway arenas is another. Using all of the character's three costume changes is a third. Various play modes adds more depth, too. Hudson Soft baked more than enough replay value into this biscuit. ~ Tom Carroll, All Game Guide

Review: Documentation

Full-color manuals are often a waste of time (and ink), but because this one uses attractive oriental-style borders and full-color renditions of each character, it's very much worth the coinage. The info is also very easy to understand and assimilate. ~ Tom Carroll, All Game Guide