Shaman King: Power of Spirit for PlayStation 2 Reviews by Gamers

Going in I thought Shaman King was another fighting game based around a licensed anime series, much to the likes of InuYasha, Naruto or Bleach. I was surprised to find it isn`t just a fighting game, but a very stripped down and simplified fighting game overloaded with RPG elements. After the first 3 stages I began to wonder exactly who this game was made for? It has twitchy fighting, a visual style, and characters simple enough for children. But with slow and drawn-out text based reading, grid based combat, and character stats for a light RPG- all stuff that any (Westernized) child would soon pass by for something akin to Ratchet and Clank instead. That leaves only the extreme Otaku or fanatic of the show. Anyone else not fimiliar will find a tedious and muddled game that will annoy you with "fights" largely spaced out with long periods of reading what looks like a Japanese visual novel (read: talking heads). When you are`nt reading, your "fights" will be literally stopped so the game can go back to the grid-based screen after a short time so your opponent can make his next move. This game even forces you to lose a fight because it was intended to match the storyline. What game would make you throw a fight? Like combining a manga comic, a temper tantrum and an egg timer all in one room, this game is too confused to do anything right.