Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble
- November 04, 2009 12:17 PM PST
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Even with copious amounts of fireballs, fan service and the occasional fighting kangaroo, many fighting games tend to take themselves a bit too seriously. Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble, the new side-scrolling brawler from Atlus looks to break that trend by introducing an incredibly silly storyline, zany characters and a heft dose of gratuitous machismo. Reviewer Nathan Meunier was pleasantly surprised at not only the game's tongue-in-cheek presentation, but it's fun and oftentimes wacky on-screen antics.
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There's not much that brightens the day quite like getting schooled in the fine art of Badassitude. The world is full of Banchos (RE: extreme kickers of major ass), but being the dude with the most Banchosity means you have to let your manliness spill out, deliver some well-placed Pimp Hands when it's called for, and brazenly Smash Talk your way into the most foolish of brawls. Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble. doesn't take itself too seriously, which is why being a cocky bastard and kicking people's teeth in up and down the streets of Japan is a fun as it is funny.
It all starts with a senior class trip to the fictional city of Kyouto. As the resident Bancho of your high school, there's little excitement to be found in visits to historical museums and peaceful strolls through tame tourist hotspots. You're far more interested in tracking down the local tough guys from other schools in the neighborhood and beating them down. With only seven days to hunt down as many Banchos you can find and beat the living snot out of them, there's not a lot of time to waste.
The city holds quite a bit of turf to cover in this slick 3D adventure brawler, and hopping a bus, taking the subway, or hailing a taxi is the best way to get where you need to go. However, the real action is found while roaming the streets in different areas. You can run up to any random Bancho henchmen that are milling around and unceremoniously bash their faces in, although it's better to stare them down and express your inner machismo with a little Smash Talk -- a timed word-play mini-game that lets you string together badass insults. Winning these verbal sparring matches lets you deliver the first blow. Losing means you'll get curb-stomped, but it's sometimes worth it just to be able to tell your opponent "bad food'll destroy things" or other similar nonsense.
Badass Rumble's fighting mechanics are satisfying yet sloppy. Wrestling with the camera while delivering the pain is annoying, and in crowded fights you'll inadvertently wind up decking and drop-kicking your own henchmen half the time. Still, even that's mildly entertaining, and the scores of cool moves to equip keep things varied. Shaking down thugs earns you yen that can be spent on health power-ups and there's always an absurd amount of clothing options available if you've got extra cash to burn. The more people you pummel the more you'll amp-up your badass reputation and fighting skill level. Brutalized enemies also drop important itinerary that lets you know where their bosses are hanging out.
Encounters with rival Banchos are much tougher and the satisfaction of taking them down is commensurate. Defeating these swaggering braggarts lets you steal their trademark moves, and you'll also get their cell numbers so you can call them to your side to help out during bigger fights. It'll take multiple replays to shame all of the city's Banchos into submission, yet the repeated opportunity to spit testosterone and exude goofy manliness while clocking goons is too good to pass up.
PROS: Silly premise; tons of moves to equip; strange humor; high-replay value
CONS: Awkward camera controls; sloppy combat
