Battle Arena Toshinden - CLASSIC OR OVERATED?

[ShinobiMan]

http://img-cache.cdn.gaiaonline.com/9762f272f213b463d0605067401fce11/http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o645/crisishelios/Battle-Arena-Toshinden-I-Tribute-Logo_zps37289bd2.jpg

The year was 1995 and Sony's Playstation had just launched. Touted as one of the console's big killer app titles, Battle Arena Toshinden made a huge splash with critics and fighting game aficionados. EGM even went as far as awarding it a solid 10, the same achievement Zelda Ocarina Of Time and Metal Gear Solid would later garner.

I loved this fighter. It was bright and colorful, with an anime style seeping through the visuals that wasn't as strong in competitors Virtua Fighter and Tekken. As acclaimed as Battle Arena Toshinden was at the time, it faded into the shadows of fighting game history, where as it's previously mentioned competition continue to flourish to this day on modern consoles. What went wrong?

I'm not going to get into that right now, rather I'd like to open this up for discussion. Have an stories you'd like to share about this series of games? Which was your favorite? Ever play the Game Boy or Sega Saturn exclusive versions? How about the Japan and Europe exclusive 4th installment? Are these games CLASSIC in your eyes, or OVERRATED?

Gab on!

[Graham Mitchell]

I haven't played the game in s long time but I remember it feeling kind of stiff. That said, I loved playing the multiplayer mode with my friends. And the art style is cool. I forget her name, but I loved the "I never give up!" Quote from the girl with the 2 knives. I'd like to play the game again. I think it's a classic, despite its problems, the same way Jumping Flash is also a classic.

Btw-I've seen a battle arena toh shin den pcb lying around an arcade warehouse I visit sometimes. Anybody try it?

[Aussie2B]

Neither, not now at least. They were definitely overrated at the time, but now they probably get even more flak than they deserve. I don't think they're classics, though. They're not especially great games, but they're enjoyable in a campy kind of way. I've actually played the Game Boy Toshinden more than any of the others. It's pretty solid, but unremarkable.

Oh, I had to edit this post because I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that there is some fabulous music for this series. I managed to pick up the official OST for Battle Arena Toshinden 2 a while back, and it's definitely a well-loved title in my soundtrack collection.

[FieryReign]

EGM gave it a 10? Let me guess, the reviewer was Sushi-X? They also gave Super Monaco GP and Sonic+Knuckles a few 10s, other games that didn't deserve such a high score. I remember it being on the original demo disk, renting it, and not being very impressed with it. I think Zero Divide and Tekken were much better as early ps1 3D fighters.

[Genesaturn]

It hasn't held up very well over the years for me, but back in the day I had this for my Saturn and it was one of my favorite fighters. I think it definitely is overlooked compared to other fighters of the time.

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

When I first got my Playstation during Christmas of 1995 Battle Arena Toshinden was one of 3 games I got to go along with it. This game was like no other fighting game I've played before at the time, it was 3D and had really nice graphics, I had not played Tekken or anything else similar to Toshinden at the time so I was enthralled with it beyond belief, and yes, to me the game has become a classic and I revisit it once every couple of years and enjoy doing so. Oddly enough I've never played the sequels and have just stuck with this one, maybe I should add them to my collection.

I will always remember the print ad's and the visuals for this game in the PS1 commercials back then.

[jammajup]

I quite liked it and i remember playing as Ellis a lot,i found the other Women player with the whip (Sofia) a pain in the arse if you met her in the later stages.I find this better than any version of Virtua Fighter i have played though,waste of space those games.

[Zing]

I barely put any time into it back during its release, but I did try to get into it about a year ago. It's clunky and pales in comparison to Tekken. Maybe if Tekken didn't exist…

[BetaWolf47]

Toshinden is way overrated. Battle Arena Toshinden 2 is a huge, huge improvement.

[Clownzilla]

Back in the day (I'm starting to sound like my grandfather) I remember buying a PSX along with Battle Arena Toshinden and X-Games. Both of these games absolutely blew my mind at the time. I had never played console games of that graphical sophistication on a home system before and that in itself impressed me more than the gameplay did. I did remember having a lot of fun with friends on the weekend playing those two games so I guess they were not THAT bad in the control department. Looking back though, they did not age very well.

[Drixxel]

At the PlayStation launch, I thought Battle Arena Toshinden totally ruled - with the limited disposable income I had at the time, I bought a used copy of the game well in advance of being able to afford the console itself. It probably helped that it was the first 3D fighting game I really sank any time into, but back then I thought the graphics were awesome, I loved the cast of characters and I especially enjoyed the fact that special moves could be mapped to the shoulder buttons for effortless spamming. Having played it again fairly recently, a more modern perspective reveals that the game has quite frustratingly unresponsive controls and generally offers boredom in look and play. I agree with Aussie2B that the soundtrack's pretty cool, if a bit skewed towards the cheesy and overdone.

I'd say it played an important part in the launch lineup, being an effective graphics showcase with its fully-textured polygonal everything and all that, and those strong first impressions were enough to overshadow the shallow, stiff gameplay (for me, at least). Overrated at the time? Definitely. These days, I feel the game has been justifiably forgotten.

[FrankSerpico]

Overrated at the time? Definitely. These days, I feel the game has been justifiably forgotten.

I completely agree. There's a reason franchises like Namco's 3D fighters are still around and Tohshinden is forgotten. I'd possibly rank the sequel as one of the top ten PSone fighters, but certainly not the original

[Peonpiate]

I enjoyed the game at release, it and Ridge racer were the first Psx games that I had. Both games had a huge "wow" factor since at the time the graphics were ridiculous compared to what the SNES offered. Gameplay wise I dont think it holds up to well today but at the time it was solid for a 3d fighter, and imo funner than Virtua fighter atleast.

I know you didnt want to delve into what went wrong with the series but ill throw this in anyways...The series was graced with a decent sequel, and a atrocious 3rd sequel. The two sequels killed the series off. Tekken 2 and Tekken 3 in particular set the bar higher than what Toshinden 2 or 3 could ever hope to touch.

[SpaceHarrier]

Objectively, the game was overrated. In my eyes? It's a classic. I still play it to this day, adore the soundtrack, and bring it up in conversation with other gamers probably more often than I should. The character designs were fantastic (for the first two games, anyway). Duke's theme from BAT 1 is my favorite video game track period. The side-step dodging was a wonderfully fun gameplay mechanic, and I enjoy using Street Fighterish moves and fireballs in a 3D game. I've had a lazy daydream for years now that if I had the capital and skill set, BAT is the one IP I'd love to just outright buy the rights to and reboot, finally garnering the series the respect I feel it deserves.

I was somewhat disappointed in the sequel, it felt rushed and unbalanced. The partially live-action intro was awful. Cheap-o super moves abound and the final boss was anticlimactic after fighting Uranus in all her 10 foot tall, badass, winged glory. I still enjoyed it, but this was the point when the series missed an opportunity to really step it up and become a more household franchise up there with Tekken, instead of just fading into oblivion.

[wiggyx]

In a word, both.

[bigbacon]

when this game comes to mind, all i can think about is Ellis screaming 'AAAEEE' every time you did anything

[WCP]

I actually just played this game the other day. I was testing out a bunch of PS1 cd's that I have to see what's working and what isn't.


There were two things that really jumped out at me about this game:


1. It still looks very, very impressive when it's just running in it's demo mode. The sound and visuals are very good, and I can see why it would be a killer app because it just looks so next gen compared to everything else that was coming out at that time.

2. The game is crap. I tried playing it, and man, I couldn't turn the thing off quick enough. The gameplay blows if you ask me.



I did get a PS1 at launch, and I wasn't really a big fighting game fan at all, but I remember renting this game from Blockbuster, and being mildly entertained by it. I'm not sure how the hell I could enjoy the game. I guess the graphics/sounds were just that good that I was willing to play such crap for so long.

[CRV]

I picked up the third one not too long ago, and it's pretty crappy. I'm already looking to get rid of it.

[T.A.P.]

I played the Saturn ones back in the late 90s (I think I got them both for a couple bucks each disc-only from FuncoLand). I thought they were ok at the time, but when I tried replaying them recently I was underwhelmed.

I do think it's interesting just how quickly this series was forgotten. I grew up during the 90s and the series seemed to be completely forgotten by 1997 around here.

[E Nice]

I think what went wrong with the series was they were always a step behind when trying to improve in sequels. The first one got away with its simplicity because it was one of the first. They didn't do much to fix up the combat afterwards. Some moves and attacks were overpowered or rather not scaled properly damage wise. It seemed like they envisioned it as a 2D style game on a 3D floor. I think it's why the Gameboy version played rather well. Improvements in the sequel were minor additions. And the third game felt like Mortal Kombat. Toshinden Subaru/4 felt worse, loved the unlockable minigames though. Graphically it was all grainy and blocky looking. Overdrive super moves now stopped the battles as you watched some animated sequence before returning back to the fight. Toshinden on the Wii felt like what Toshinden Subaru was aiming for.

As for my favorite, that's would be Toshinden URA for the Saturn. Despite it being regarded as terrible, due to the mess it was shoveled out as, I enjoyed playing it. They touched up some issues I had with Toshinden 2, such as overdrive meters not powering up so fast and seesawing like crazy during a match.

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

EGM gave it a 10? Wow. I remember a lot of other magazines gave it rather poor scores. Or maybe that was the second one?

I got my PlayStation on Christmas 1997, along with Tekken 2. BAT never even had a chance.