Game of the Day 2/27/2015: Psychic Force 2012

[celerystalker]

Psychic Force 2012 for the Sega Dreamcast and PS2 is a game that I really have a soft spot for in my heart. My friend Ben and I used to play it when we worked at FuncoLand together during the bulk of the Dreamcast's existence, as we were both big anime fans, and it is clearly inspired by Clamp's X. It's a one on one fighter where psychics battle, flying high above the skyline within giant cubic barriers, unleashing violent waves of energy at one another while darting about in the air.

The free air movement really gives the Psychic Force games a unique feel as you fire projectiles and dash about, vying for position to set something up instead of a ground-based fighter. You are on a 2D plane, but the way the game moves makes it seem more 3D than it really is. You have basic strikes and projectiles mapped to strong and weak buttons, which change automaticaly based on range, and projectiles can be launched either directly at your opponent or at any angle, which gives way to much of the game's strategy, goading attacks and positioning yourself to unleash a devastating attack at the opportune time.

You have a life meter that is split with a psychic power meter, and your various specials use your power, which you can charge quickly or let slowly refill on its own while you aren't attacking or dashing. The lower your life, though, you can recharge your psychic power to fill in the gap, allowing for even more powerful special attacks, acting as somewhat of an equalizer, like a more refined take on SNK's desperation moves in many of their fighters. It's a nicely balanced little game, and truly shines in two player mode, as the arcade mode is very much on the easy side. Playing an experienced player, though, turns into an intense chess match that usually has some awesome, climactic ending.

The original game is on PS1, and it is much the same, but with a largely different cast. 2012 was its arcade and Dreamcast sequel, which had an arcade update called Psychic Force 2012 EX. That game was tweaked and put on PS1 in Japan as Psychic Force 2, though I prefer 2012 or 2012 EX. The original and both 2012 variants were later put on PS2 in Japan as Psychic Force Complete in regular and deluxe editions, which were packaged with action figures of one of the characters, or like in my big sun-faded box, all three action figures. There's also a PS1 puzzle game in Japan, but I haven't played that one.

Psychic Force did such a great job paying homage to X that the development team ended up being contacted by Clamp to actually make a PS1 game based on the anime! It plays just like Psychic Force, but, of course, with the anime characters and their many attacks. For a fan of either property, it's a must.


Oddly enough, Psychic Force then ended up with its own anime. Crazy.

Psychic Force 2012 remains a favorite for me and Ben, and we break it out every so often, and I kick his ass until he remembers how to play as Setsuna... then it gets heated in a good way. It's a different kind of fighter for a different kind of mood, and I dig it.

Any Psychic Force fans? Like X?

[Emperor Megas]

This one was massively informative for me. Thanks! I didn't anything about this game, but I would have definitely loved it considering how much I loved fighting games and Clamp back when this was new.

[celerystalker]

This one was massively informative for me. Thanks! I didn't anything about this game, but I would have definitely loved it considering how much I loved fighting games and Clamp back when this was new.

That's kind of how it caught me. I was fresh off of watching the Rayearth OVA and the theatrical release of the X movie, and it really hit a sweet spot for me in the moment.

[Emperor Megas]

That era was pretty much my last hooyah for Anime, up until I sort of got back into it recently thanks LARGELY to Netflix and titles like Knights of Sidonia and Attack on Titan). Man, I would have been all over Psychic Force 2012 had I known about it bad then.

While I've never really gotten out of game collecting, I'm also sort of just getting back into game PLAYING. I play more than I buy now, and I'd like to keep it that way if I can. It's weird, but in a good way, getting back into hobbies that I used to be heavily into back in the day. I'm playing catch up all the way back to the late 90's on a lot of this stuff.

[celerystalker]

I'm in kind of a similar place on both fronts. With anime, I watched a ton up through maybe 2003 or so, then really cooled off on it, but I've picked at some on Netflix now and again recently. With video games, I kinda hit the point where I was looking at my shelves trying to decide what I was in the mood for instead of just playing, and buying stuff just out of habit. I still buy games some, but it's much more targeted now. I mean, the whole reason I got into games was to play them, so I switched my focus to playing them, and then setting up tournaments and stuff to get other people the chance to play more. It's been fun, and I find I'm much happier with the hobby when I just pick a game and go.

[sancoa]

I picked up the PS2 Psychic Force Complete recently. It is import-only but the menus are in English (however the story is in Japanese) and of course there are translations and move lists available on gamefaqs. Single player might be easy for veteran fighting game fans but for some one who isn't that great at fighting games (such as myself) these games are good ones to try. If you have a Dreamcast, the US version of 2012 is probably the one to look for.