Name: Photo Battle (40.00% in 1 votes)
Type: ACT
Platform: VIDEO
Company: Namco
Release date: 2000
Reviewed by: Bata-kun
Tired of various big name games like Street Fighter, Tekken, and Dance Dance Revolution? Want to try a game you have never, ever, ever heard of before that's worth your time? Give Photo Battle a whirl!
Photo Battle is a photography game from Namco released three years back in Japan. This is the first photography game I played. Anyway, I played this at the arcades in San Jose State.
Story - There is no story. This is a photography game.
How to play - I'm going to do this on memory. There are directions that will help you, but I'll explain them anyway since I know there are people who can't read Japanese.
This is a one or two player game. You can either play by yourself or battle out with your opponent.
You are going to use a controller that looks like a camera. There are features of a regular camera - the button to shoot a picture, the focus adjuster and so on. Yup, it's like using a real camera.
Now that you know how the fundamentals work, let's begin your photography expedition.
You start out with three lives and four events. To pick a certain event, target that event and press the snap button. Once you have picked an event, it will give you directions. Be careful on what event you pick. Why? Let me give two examples: the shooting star and the monster shooting.
For an event like the shooting star, you are given one shot to get a picture of the star. You miss it and you lose a life. So if an event has only one number, that means it's a one shot event.
For an event like the monster shooting, you must get 20 pictures of monsters with 25 shots. If you don't frame 20 pictures with the 25 shots, you lose a life. So, if there are two numbers, you're given a multiple shot event.
If you pass, that's good. If you don't, you lose a life and if you lose all three, you'll have to insert coins in again. Hope you passed after you finished the event. There are times you'll be judged on a border line shot. So make every shot count.
After you did the four events, you get a bonus stage. Snap a certain treasure chest before the three hit the ground and if a camera pops out of the one you selected, you get an extra life.
Art - 10: This has a nice presentation. There's some neat drawings and realisitic scenes. That's a good use of the combination. Ah, the model.
Story - N/A: There's no story, remember? It's a photography game.
Audio - 8: I heard some music, but it was nothing memorable. At least they got the job done. The sound effects were great. You had sounds of the camera every time you took a picture. There were other effects as well.
Control - 7: It is responsive alright. Why did this category get a 7 only? It takes time to learn this game. I had to learn on the fly. Still, with enough practice, you can be decent at this game.
Fun - 5: Don't get me wrong. I do like the concept. It's a nice change of pace. I mean, what other games can make you become the next Ran, except from her own games of course? ^_^
What I did not like about the game was that it was hard. Yeah, the game looks easy, but it's actually harder than you think. Try the shooting star event. You get one shot and the star zooms by real quick. Oh and I mean real quick.
Life - 7: Once you give the game a shot, you get the feeling that you have to try again. It's the concept.
Overall - 6: Well, there you have it. Photo Battle is a game that is worth a try. It has a nice presentation and a nice concept, but it needs to be a little easier.
Japan sure came up with another innovative game. Now if someone from Japan brought a ren'ai game to American arcade cabinets, then I would be more than happy. It makes me wish I had a friend with a Tokimemo game. Why is it that America misses out on many great games from Japan?!??!?
*Sighs*
So, yeah, give Photo Battle a try.
+ It has a nice presentation, the sound effects were great, the music got the job done and being able to shoot pictures is a nice concept.
- It is a game that is difficult to learn at first and it is hard to pass an event in this game.
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