Review: Battle B-Daman
Harkening back to when simple games and concepts entertained us all, Battle B-Damam reinvents the classic marble games of yore with mixed results.
Harkening back to when simple games and concepts entertained us all, Battle B-Damam takes the classic Japanese marble games, which became popular in Japan in the 1920's, and repackages them for today's attention deficit disordered tikes.
Battle B-Daman reinvents the classic marble games of yore by adding robot marble shooters, special attacks, and a host of characters packaged in toy and anime form. The game is based on two opposing marble players facing off against each other on opposite sides of a field. The goal is either to move a puck-like object across the playing field to you opponents side of the field by firing marbles or to actually fire marbles to hit your opponent's robot until their hit points are depleted. Additionally, you'll be able to press the L and R buttons to position you B-Daman in a diagonal direction for banking shots.
Nostalgic Memories of Simplicity
Battle B-Daman, the video game, is a pretty basic text based RPG-esque adventure game, which is wrapped around a solid marble battling engine. In B-Daworld adventure mode, you'll assume the role of Yamato Delgado as he sets of on his journey to become the top B-Daman battler. Similar to Ashe from the Pokemon series, Yamato will gain friends, uncover a secret organization bent on stealing his prized B-Daman, the Cobalt Blade, and gain skills which will help him achieve his ultimate dreams of B-Daman dominance in the international B-Daman battle circuit.
The game unfolds rather linearly and new characters, B-Daman parts, and locales unlock as you progress through the story. Unlocking characters B-Daworld mode allows you to select them in a B-Dabattle fighting mode and B-Connect multiplayer versus mode, which is only accessible with an additional cartridge, and unlocking B-Daman parts allows you to highly customize your B-Daman robot. Customizing your B-Daman allows you to do two things. While you'll be able to improve your performance of your B-Daman, certain part combinations will also allow you to unlock special attacks such as fireballs and lighting strikes.
Horde the Parts
During a B-Dabattle, you build up B-Daspirit points for successful hits. Once your spirit gauge is high enough, you'll be able to select your special attacks by simultaneously pressing a corresponding direction on the D-pad and pressing B. These attacks can be devastating and can turn the tide of battle.
While Battle B-Daman is actually a really decent title, the game is meant for kids and it shows. There are several built in deficiencies in this game that will deter experienced gamers from enjoying this title. First off, the game is very linear and you must navigate through endless text boxes of meaningless banter to actually move forward in the game. Additionally, navigating through areas can be a pain since there isn't a central hub in towns where everything is accessible. For example to go to the B-Dapart shop in your hometown, you must exit you home, go to the Eastern area, and then select the option to go into the shop.
B-Da . . . Lost
Another minor drawback is that there's no memory for additional saved games. Once you save your game, you won't be able to play another game or revisit past events. Every time you load up the game, you'll be at your most recent save point.
Even with these caveats, Battle B-Daman is an enjoyable portable game title. The premise is simple, the gameplay is solid, and the game delivers on everything it promises and more.
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