Does anyone remember the days when demo discs were a thing? I do, and that’s mostly because of Bloody Roar. A demo disc came into my possession which had a sample for this low key fighting game. This was in a time when I wasn’t really into the genre, but I still tried it out because I didn’t have anything to lose. This demo disc soon became the one I played more than any other. What’s funny is that I never bothered to track down my own copy of the game until recently. I dove right in and let me tell you as a hardcore fighting game fan that Bloody Roar is easily one of the most underrated brawlers. Let’s dive right into this classic.
In typical 90s fighting game fashion we’re treated to a very cheesy storyline. This one involves a group of humans known as zoanthropes. These are people who can transform into animals at will to enhance their fighting abilities. The basis of the game is centered around a tournament organized by a corporation seeking to use these skills for evil. Of course each character has their own background and story, but these are entirely generic so I’m going to skip them over. All you need to know is that each playable character can transform into a beast form which is unique to each one. That’s also the basis for the unique element of the game.
Bloody Roar is a 3D fighter that at first seems pretty typical. You can move left and right, and each face button is set to a different punch or kick. There are no projectile attacks which makes Bloody Roar a bit more realistic in it’s fighting engine. You have to get up close and personal to do damage, but you can also back off and run at a foe by tapping forward twice. Holding any direction on the d-pad results in a miriad of different attacks. Success at the game takes a lot of practice because you need to memorize these strikes, their range, and effect. Jumping in as a new character will take some practice because the fighting engine has a fair amount of nuance.
The fighting engine has a great sense of momentum. The reactions to each strike are a little overacted but they just feel right. You can knock your foe back and to the ground with just the right attack (typically it’s a combination between the punch/kick and a direction). Bloody Roar is more fast paced than your average game and relies heavily on its combo system. It’s not the most technical fighting game in this regard but that’s because the emphasis here is on speed and flashy attacks. You can get pretty far button mashing here when against AI opponents, but with a basic grasp of the mechanics you defeat any foe that relies on this strategy.
In typical fashion you win a match by draining your opponents life bar, and the overall victor is determined as the best two out of three matches. In an interesting twist you can also win by knocking your opponent out of the ring. Thing is, each battleground is enclosed by a fence or other similar structure. You can shatter this barrier by hitting your foe with just the right attack and sending them flying through the air smashing it to bits. The camera moves into dramatic angles for this and that aspect reminded me of Fighting Vipers for the Sega Saturn. The ring out mechanics are really neat here and among my most favorite in the fighting game landscape.
Bloody Roar’s big gimmick however is the ability to transform your character into an animal. There’s no other fighting game quite like it because of this. Each fighter has their own spirit animal, and can transform once a meter below their health charges. When in beast form your moveset changes (though it’s similar in spirit), your character becomes heavier, and you begin to recover a small percentage of your health. When in your beast form you can charge the meter even more to enter rave mode where you’re even more powerful for a limited amount of time. What’s nice is the fact that you aren’t forced into transforming; you can do so by pressing the circle button once the meter is appropriately charged. The transformation sequence itself is actually an attack and can be used strategically.
I touched on it earlier but the fact that each character has their own spirit animal deserves to be explored a bit more. These animals walk upright. I expected this to be cheesier than it actually is. The animals chose here include a wolf, lion, boar, rabbit, gorilla, mole, tiger, and fox. It’s a decent spread, but I sort of wish the developers could have gotten a little more exotic with it. There aren’t any marsupials, birds, fish, etc. Instead they went with the animals you would assume would make their way into a video game like this (except maybe the mole… that’s just an odd pick). It’s a minor complaint, and I love the way they fight and control.
Bloody Roar is mostly a beautiful looking game. The framerate is silky smooth and stays constant no matter how much crazy action is going down. This is especially impressive given how fast and frantic the gameplay is. Furthermore, there are a lot of really neat special effects such as lighting and particles that I found really pleasant. The in-game character models are full of detail and have loads of personality. The only real drawback are the pre-rendered character portraits at the selection screen. These are horrible and a clear product of its time. This is especially disappointing because of the fact that the arcade version has charming anime portraits instead. Music here is primarily techno rock mixes that fit the over the top action quite well.
It’s no Tekken or Street Fighter II. It doesn’t have to be. Bloody Roar manages it’s own unique charm and feels different from everything else available on the platform. It’s not just the beast transformations either; the gameplay flow and combo system feel unique from everything else. My only big complaint is that the roster is a bit small, but I suppose the beast transformations add more layers to the roster. Bloody Roar will always hold a special place in my heart as my most placed game demo perhaps of all time, and the full release is even more fun. I highly recommend this one for fans of the genre, and even for those largely unfamiliar with fighters in general. If you have even a vague curiosity about one on one brawlers then you could do worse than Bloody Roar.
