The PlayStation 2 console’s launch was met with immense hype. So much that it killed the Sega Dreamcast, but that topic is for another day. All major Japanese third party developers were on board but the big question on everyone’s mind was what would Squaresoft’s (the developer of Final Fantasy) first game be? They answered this question with an unusual game; the Bouncer. This was a fully 3D beat ’em up (not something the developer had ever done before) featuring artwork from Tetsuya Nomura. I skipped out on it (I waited on the PS2) but decided to give it a look today.
When you hear a game title like ‘the Bouncer’ you expect to play as a rugged man’s man who can dish a serious beat down. Squaresoft isn’t known for making games with these kinds of characters, and instead you play as a band of metrosexual bouncers (with an odd sense of fashion) in modern day Japan. The game begins with news reports of a new energy source from outer space. Fighters shoot down from the sky into a bar and kidnap a supposedly important girl named Dominique. It’s up to a group of bouncers from this establishment to fight through the unnatural army and bring her home.
Your group consists of three different fighters. Sion is the main character (at least he’s featured on the boxart) then you have his two friends Volt and Kou. They would look right at home in any modern Final Fantasy game, and I don’t mean that in a good way. What’s interesting is that after each story sequence you’re given a choice of what character you would like to play as during the gameplay sections. All three have differing stats, and different attacks. You also see different angles of the story from the separate perspectives.
At its core the Bouncer is a traditional beat em up game, but it’s 3D. You move your character through the environment fighting all on-screen enemies, and when their life bars are drained you move to the next section. Occasionally you’ll be treated to a cut-scene leading into the next action sequence. Either way I’ve never played such a story driven beat em up game.
Your basic moves consist of kicks and punches. Buttons correspond to different attacks including a basic punch/uppercut, kick, sweeping kick, etc. You can also block, and use special moves (but more on those later). In the beginning you have your two partner characters during the action sequences that move on their own in real-time. The AI isn’t perfect but it does feel like you’re working as a team. That’s true at least most of the time.
So what sets this game apart? For one thing the action is very fluid. It’s clear that the developers put a lot of thought into the combat system, and enemy reactions. At times the fights can feel cinematic because of this. Initially your attacks are pretty limited. They aren’t designed to pull off combinations with, but that changes as you unlock new skills. It feels like combat evolves with you. The game gives you enough time to get a basic grasp on the mechanics as you gain access to more complex inputs. It’s a pretty decent system that feels somewhat unique.
There’s also an experience points system (come on, this is Squaresoft after all). You gain BP every time you defeat a foe, and after a fight you can spend this to increase your character’s abilities. These include attack, defense, life, etc. You can also use this to teach new fighting moves. This aspect of the game was refreshing because it’s not something you typically see in the genre.
For everything the Bouncer does right it does two things wrong, unfortunately. The game is too easy first of all. It doesn’t take a lot of thought, or even timing, to clear a screen of enemies even as you near the end. Additionally I had some real issues with the targeting system. It’s automatic, and as you get close to a foe your character faces them automatically no matter which direction you’re moving. This can be awkward when foes are close together, or in the late game’s escort mission.
My biggest complaint however is how darn repetitive the game is. The Bouncer generally features only one or two enemy variants per screen. Even Final Fight a decade earlier had more variety. There are some scenes where you have to do something outside of the norm, such as rush through falling security gates or escorting a character past robots, but I grew bored of the action pretty quickly. The story is also… well it’s too much. The cut scenes are far too frequent and they’re sometimes hard to watch because of the immense level of cheese.
For PS2 standard the Bouncer is absolutely beautiful. It’s hard to believe that this one was an early system release! The framerate is silky smooth even with a lot of chaos on-screen, and ambiance really makes the colorful elements stick out. This is a very beautiful PS2 game. The only issue I have is with the art style. The designs here are done in typical Squaresoft ‘early 2000s style.’ This means anime characters that have belts/zippers with costumes that just plain don’t make sense. It’s extremely cheesy and not in a good way.
The soundtrack fares quite a bit better. The high energy techno beats suit the action well and manage to give the game even more personality. The more dramatic pieces feel out of place given the fact that everything in the story is absolutely ridiculous. The voice acting is surprisingly decent. This holds especially true considering the rubbish the voice actors had to spit out during the recording sessions. Overall the audio is pretty good.
I really wanted to like the Bouncer. Heck, I fully expected to love it before diving in. The game is just too repetitious to score high marks from me. That, paired with the melodramatic story sequences (they take themselves far too seriously) and shallow gameplay all really held this one back. I didn’t know it at the time but this was a foreshadow for Squaresoft’s fall from grace.
