Battle Arena Toshinden URA

The second Toshinden title for the Saturn, Toshinden URA, is an enhanced version of Toshinden 2, which originally appeared on the Playstation. In addition to a new storyline, players will find new moves and new characters. In this installment, a mystery man has stolen the Toshinhei Replicant and is wreaking havoc on the world. What better way to get to the bottom of this mess than by getting in a ring and fighting it out?

Alongside the eleven fighters from Toshinden 2 is a batch of new fighters. They include RonRon, a wimpy scientist who has the unfortunate tendency of falling down while doing some of her moves; Ripper, a murderer who carries around spinning blades; Repli, the Toshinhei Replicant with the moves of both Eiji and Kayin; and Wolf, the final boss (who beats his opponent into submission with a stick). Though weak fighters, these new characters fit into the Toshinden mythos just fine.

The graphics in Toshinden URA don’t stand up to those found in the Playstation version. The backgrounds appear blocky, as do the fireballs and other special moves sprites. The character animation is somewhat choppy, and the graphics appear to be pixelated (the main 3-D enhancement is the ability to dodge incoming attacks by diving out of the way, but it doesn’t make the game worthwhile). This version adds some full-motion video intros and a video that plays if you get a double perfect against any character. The music is the standard fare for fighting games, and the hits and noises aren’t anything special.