The Bouncer

One of the first games unleashed on us who owned a PS2 was going to a title named "The bouncer", it was going to combine the beat them ups with RPG elements. Seemed like a cool idea, 2001 came with the release of PS2 and soon after "the Bouncer" came at us....

The problem with "The Bouncer" is that is not deep at all. Sqaure thought that just throwing in some RPG elements such as learning new moves by gaining points was going to fool us. It doesn't, it just made us see how Sqaure fooled us and that the game was short and nothing like Square would put out. The game itself is not bad, the action is pretty cool. They did deliver us action as promised and it doesn't fail in that department. No joke, I beat this game in a hour and was really upset on how short it was. Okay, I am not complaing on how short it was but the game is not deep at all. beat bad guys up, move on. the story though wasn't that bad for something like this. the characters were cool with their unique figthing styles, the moves were carefully planned out. See, the game does have its points but after you beat it once you will have no use to play it again. You have seen everything and there is nothing hidden and it is over then you can say "Square lied to us". But if you enjoy games like Final Fight and Streets of Rage definately pick this one up, you will not be upset. Unless you want to play to players at the same time in adventure mode which doesn't exist. But other then that you will like it, but people who want something liek Square would usually put out will be let down...

B-

Now I'm reviewing The Bouncer for the PlayStation 2. This is an early PS2 title from Square. The game is also a fighter. Yeah, I know, that's some odd territory for Square, but…well, just read the review. The gameplay in The Bouncer is nothing really new. It's basically a button-mashing fighter. It's short too. It's so short. It's the shortest game for any console since the NES in the time it took for me to beat. 1:26. That's right. An hour and a half. A lot of that were cutscenes, as well. The Bouncer isn't a game so much as it is an interactive movie. I almost think that it was going to be Square Film's second project if Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within didn't throw their money down the drain. I think they lost somewhere around 65 million dollars on that boring movie. It may have been the original idea for Final Fantasy X, but was thrown out when that terribly simplistic Tidus plot line came along (Final Fantasy X reminds me of Final Fantasy I, only not so much fun). Whatever the story behind this game, the story is very good. Play the Action Movie is the tagline to the game, and that is exactly what you're doing. The reason I beat the game in one sitting is because I kept playing the levels, wanting to see what would happen in this surprisingly complex story. Anyway, if you have a couple hours to kill, just beat this game, its fun, and while the gameplay isn't anything original, it doesn't detract from the experience. The graphics in this game are very, very impressive. This thing is a graphical showpiece for ANY console this gen. It really shows off the PlayStation 2. Of course, part of that might be the fact that Tetsuya Nomura had a thing or two to do with this game. Tetsuya Nomura is one of the most talented people at Square. Tetsuya joined the group after the completion of the Final Fantasy VI project. His first project was Final Fantasy VII. Tetsuya Nomura was one of the most important people on the project, as he and Hironobu Sakaguchi CONCEIVED the STORY to Final Fantasy VII. He also designed the characters for battles. His next project was Final Fantasy VIII. On Final Fantasy VIII he was the lead character designer for the project, and conceived the story to that as well. He also worked as a supporting character designer on Final Fantasies IX and X, as well as this project, and the movie Advent Children, which is coming out soon. Anyway, the character designs are wonderful and so are the graphics. This is the perfect graphical showpiece for your console, and it's worth buying (if you can find it cheap) just to show it off. The sound is also some awesome greatness. Great voice acting from all sides, especially the character Kou Leifou, voiced by Steven Blum (the inimitable Spike Spiegel). That's right, Steven Blum. David Lucas is not his real name. The music is cool, the sound effects work great, and the announcer has a real movie feel even if he only says, "THE BOUNCER!!!" at the beginning the game. He also says, "GAME OVER!!!!" You don't hear that very often though. At least you shouldn't. Overall, the sound is as good as the graphics, which is why I really say this is a showpiece. Replay value in this game, however, is not so good. It has a multi-player and a survival mode, but who cares? For you to really play the game with other people it has to have great gameplay, not just stuff good enough to get you through the story. Honestly, I'm glad I only paid 10 bucks for it. The story might be good, but that alone isn't worth 50 bucks or some large amounts. Of course, there is the multi-player mode, which you may fall in love with, so, I say go ahead, have fun. Overall, this really isn't an ambitious project for Square, and with a little fleshing out, could have been a second project for Square's now defunct film department. With a LOT of fleshing out, maybe 50 hours worth of fleshing out, it could have been Final Fantasy X. But whatever, it's got a good story, and its worth a rental or a cheap buy.

Overall Score: 7.3/10

I really wish I could say a lot of good things about this game, but how it stands the only good I can say is that the voice acting was excellent. I have played almost every Square game ever made. This one and Driving Emotion Type-S must be the worst Square games ever made.

When I first played through this game I had no idea that the voice actors and actresses were some of my favorites from anime. But even that could not help this horrible game.

The Bouncer is a pretty good game. You can play as one of three bouncers, Sion Barzahd, Volt Krueger, or Kou Leifoh (My personal favorite). And your job is to rescue this girl, Dominique Cross, from her brother. Her brother, Dauragon C. Mikado needs Dominique for some experiment. Each of the bouncers has their own story you can fully understand once you have played the entire game as them. This makes the replay value very high. But, the game itself is really short (only takes about a hour). Also, it would have been better if the story lines were more different depending on the character you choose. Instead there are only slight differences till the end. Overall not bad. I highly recommend. But, Rent The Bouncer. Don't buy it.

The Bouncer is a great game that could have been a number one hit, except the fact that it is really repetitive. After playing it through the 6th time, boredom kicked in and I put the controller down. If you are looking for a great game with a rather good replay value get this game. The graphics will blow you away and the story is one the greatest. This game is a must have for any PS2 owner.