Manga goes GameCube with SEGA's Bleach Koukon ni Mamieru Shinigami Coming Next Month

News from Lik Sang

Ichigo has successfully fought on several platforms before, with recent versions of Bleach for PlayStation2 and PSP, all developed at Sony. Now another major Japanese multiplayer is in charge for bringing the famous Shonen Jump Manga franchise to the Nintendo GameCube: software veteran SEGA. Bleach Koukon ni Mamieru Shinigami is now due on December 8th and bound to offer one-on-one battles in a Beat'em Up featuring a huge cast of 25 characters from the popular Manga's universe. Expect to meet the biggest and baddest fighters in a clash that will shake Ninty's current-gen box to its very core. The developing team's ambition for this title is indeed a keen one: cel-shade everyone from Ichigo himself to Renji in a style that's true to its Japanese comics roots, while souping up enough frantic action to remove even super-strong gel from all-spiky hair. While you could say that cel-shading is a technique which can be regarded as almost a traditional technique now when creating Manga based videogames, the animation in Bleach for GameCube has reached new heights in this title, enjoying the royal treatment courtesy of SEGA.

While this game certainly shines in the visual department as moves are depicted with dramatic eye-candy, the fighting engine of this fine 2D Beat'em Up needs to be dragged into the spotlight as well. And how about a big round of applause for what can only be called a well-balanced, easy graspable system that leaves sufficent room for exploration and the challenging task of mastery? Hone your skills using two attack buttons, providing a weak as well as a strong advance. The ability to jump and block comes in handy as well. The attacks can be brought in low and blocks can be attempted at that level too. Don't forget it's SEGA we are talking here: Bleach for GameCube definitely is not just a flashy Manga hit gone videogame, with a half-heartedly combat feature stuck on, it can stand its own against more "serious" Beat'em Up titles, and very well so. While chain combos are fairly easy to pull off, more experienced players can do some intriguing combo magic. A cool concept represents Bankai mode, which will be appreciated by fighting game novices as well as virtual black belts. Think Matrix meets Manga, where this novelty allows you to slow down time (Viewtiful!) and hand out even more damage to your opponent.

With a Bleach all-stars filled character selection screen on top, Koukon ni Mamieru Shinigami is looking to provide more Banzai! bang for your buck and simply a honorable Beat'em Up effort that for fans of Japanese pop culture and Bleach followers in general cannot be missed. Available on December 8th for only US$ 64.90 (shipped!), SEGA also announced a dedicated Bleach skin set for the GameCube console and controller, limited to early adopters. Click on the image to the right to view the sticker set in question. Please note that while we'll do our best to have some of these for our preorders, we can't guarantee the availability of this bonus. Still, we recommend placing your order as soon as possible, in case you'd like to increase the chance of receiving one of the skin sets with your preordered game. In the world of Bleach, next will be another version for PS2, Hanatareshi Yabou on December 29th, a RPG by Sony. SEGA will be at it again for a Nintendo DS edition - dubbed Souten ni Kakeru Unmei - a Bleach fighter conquering another platform, due out January 26th.