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Its been just about 2 months since its release in April and I must say that I was rather pleased with it overall. It is rather a solid fighter and its game system is rather unique compared to other conventional fighters. (To my knowledge, I'm not big on fighters except the "Guilty Gear" series so feel free to point out any of my mistakes)
The US console version has been distributed by ATLUS and I must say that ATLUS didnt disappoint...much. I'm glad that they decided to keep the Japanese voices (which they tend to do often and is a BIG plus for me...I wish they did that for the DS games they work on too but the DS doesnt leave much space to work off of apparently so...) in but I dont see why they had to remove the voices from the dialogs in the Story mode during the cut scenes, they might as well have left it in.
With 11 selectable player characters the choices may seem limited but what element adds to this game is the "Arcana" that you can pair up with your character. With 11 Characters and 11 Aracanas to go along with them you have a choice of 121 different fighting styles. The Arcanas basically adds special moves and abilities on top of the characters set moves. For example, some may offer increased defensive capabilities as another can slowly recover a player's health. Another unique feature of this game is the "Homing" system. As the name applies, you home into your opponents and approach them rather quickly whether they're high up in the air or any other place within the stage. This system helps pull off some major aerial combos. (I cant get the hang of it though, I'm a ground based player that rushes right into attack) Other than that the only other notable feature is the "Extra" section which is basically filled with Artworks, BGMs, and Movies, all nice things to have easy access to afterwards. Another plus for the US release is that the US console version comes with the player being able to choose between the "original" Aracana Heart and the "modified" Arcana Heart Full. Arcana Heart Full is a modified version in which the overly powerful characters have been "toned down" and they've added some more color selections. Apparently in Japan this "extra modification" cost consumers about 78,000 yen, nearly $800 for a single mod chip..yeah, lucky us.
There is already an "Arcana Hearts 2" out in arcades in Japan with 7 new characters. (apparently) So far there seems to be no info of a US console release. According to Wikipedia there are four known locations in the US that have imported the arcade machines:
Arcana Heart - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
...not much else left to comment on I guess. Well, just for kicks I've seen consumers complaining in game forums, etc. that there were no "pantie shots" or any other forms of "fan service". The all female cast had some people looking forward to some "eye candy" but the closest they got was a Sailor Moon-ish transformation scene of one character and an instant clothes change of a character going from Swimsuit to bath towel.
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