Japan Review Check 9/5: 'Tekken Tag 2,' 'Samurai Warriors: Chronicles 2'

A recap of the most interesting games coming out soon in Japan, courtesy of the reviews section in the latest issue of Famitsu magazine.

A recap of the most interesting games coming out soon in Japan, courtesy of the reviews section in the latest issue of Famitsu magazine:

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (10/9/10/10, 39 points out of 40): Whenever Famitsu gives a perfect 40/40 score to a game (something that's happened 19 times in 26 years of publication), there's always a lot of controversy in Japan about how "deserving" the game is of the prize and whether Enterbrain, the publisher, gave the score more because of hype than quality. Perhaps because of this, it's more often for a game to miss perfection by one point instead, like what happened here.

"There's a huge amount of volume when it comes to characters and game modes," one reviewer said, "and it's safe to call this the ultimate collection of all things Tekken. The Fight Lab mode is great for beginners just learning the controls, and hardcore fans can concentrate on things like unlocking skills and trading their own unique Combot."

Despite the 9/10 one editor gave, the review text was, for the most part, universally laudatory. "From the fun combos to the unique characters, all the charm of the Tekken series is right here," one continued. "It's really a surprise to see over 50 characters show up here, with so much depth to every one of them. The visuals are really well-made, too, and series fans will have a lot to smirk about here in terms of references to the past. It's a really exhilarating feeling to put together a combo, but there's definitely a learning curve required before you really feel you have full control over what you're doing."

Samurai Warriors: Chronicles 2nd (9/9/9/8, 35 points out of 40): Koei's 3DS entry in the Samurai Warriors series does remarkably well scorewise, considering its low profile. "It's a stimulating experience, as always, to fight historic battles using generals you've created yourself," one reviewer said. "The orders you can give to friends are more specific now, helping out with strategy, and I like the net ranking functionality with the new modes as well."

"It's still an RTS of sorts," another added, "with you switching between characters as you tackle your missions, but everything's generally been beefed up from the previous game. That goes especially for story mode, which lets you enjoy the tale from the viewpoints of multiple forces. You can go as in-depth as you like, and if you're up for it there's a ton of deeper content to explore."

Medarot 7 (7/8/8/7, 30 points): Hey, remember Medabots? It's all right if you don't — basically, it's Pokemon except you're swapping parts and building a cool robot instead of engaging in amateur exotic cockfighting. The series had a brief run in the US before petering out, but still soldiers on in Japan, although it's a far cry from Pokemon in popularity.

"The thing I'm happiest about with this game is how much quicker the battles are now," one reviewer began. "The graphics are prettier, too, which makes the characters you control a great deal more charming. There are a lot of new gameplay elements here, and the story's pretty deep as well and does a great job of pulling you in."

"Everything's explained simply for you at the start of the game," said another, "which is nice for people new to the series. There's more parts and more customization available, but while the parts may look different, I didn't get the feeling that there was much else new going on with them."