Baki Hanma: Blood Arena - Full Game (Demon Mode)
Baki Hanma: Blood Arena is a brand new Punch-Out style game from developer Purple Tree, who previously released Thunder Ray, which is another Punch-Out-like. I played Thunder Ray when it came out and it was very good, so I was pretty excited to see that they're continuing down the Punch-Out path, this time with a popular anime license that seems to suit it perfectly, with Baki Hanma.I never watched Baki before I heard about this game, but I know it's a really popular series on Netflix. So I watched around 7 episodes before I started playing, just to familiarize myself with the world. It seems like a series that's purely about fighting crazy characters, one after another, until Baki can finally fight and surpass his father - the strongest man in the world. And that's essentially what this game delivers. There's not much overarching story, and you jump from one area to another without much context. I do think they could have done a better job with the story aspect of it (an ending would have been nice, at least), but the core game is very well made. Even if you aren't a fan of Baki, or don't know anything about it, if you like Punch-Out, you'll have fun with this game too (and Thunder Ray).
Mechanically, of course, it's basically Punch-Out. The twist that they added to the formula is the ability to charge up a high kick or body blow. If you land two charged attacks in a row, without taking damage or missing any punches, you'll dizzy your opponent for a moment, giving you an opening to land a bunch of free shots on him.
As I was finishing the last few fights, I realized that you could actually interrupt everyone's attack strings at any point with a charged attack if the hit will dizzy them. I didn't do that at all in the early fights, so I was a little tempted to redo everything... but I'll do that in another video, if I go on to the circuits after this. I like that though, it adds a bit more depth to fighting optimally.
I only have a couple of gripes with the gameplay. The first is maybe a skill issue. Some of the enemies' hitboxes tend to stay active for longer than you'd naturally expect. It's frustrating to dodge an attack, then go back to neutral, only to get hit by the same attack that you just dodged because it's still on screen. But, the active hitboxes are clearly telegraphed with colored effects (streaks, etc), so if you just pay attention to that and hold your dodge until it fades away, you'll never get hit. I wouldn't be surprised if it was intentionally designed this way, because it does take a bit more skill/awareness to know how long you need to hold your dodge, instead of just being able to press it and be safe. I won't call it a negative, but that's one thing that may annoy people.
The only other issue I have is how some of the bosses toward the end of the game are actually a bit simpler than some of the guys you've already fought. Retsu was a lot harder to learn for me than Oliva, for example. I'd prefer it if the last 4 or 5 bosses had a super attack in the third phase, and some of them could use another move to help mix up their combo as the fight progresses.
Although, now that I think about it, this game also has a Punch-Out style "circuit" mode where you fight a certain amount of bosses in a gauntlet. I haven't tried it at all yet, but if Retsu was the last boss of the middle circuit, and the simpler fights that came after him were the first one or two fights in the last circuit, then the progression actually makes sense. But in story mode, where you fight everyone in order, the difficulty curve feels a little strange.
Baki Hanma: Blood Arena comes out on September 11th on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One/Series, and Switch, so if you have any remotely modern platform, you should be able to play it!
It will cost $29.99, and it has a 10% launch discount on at least some platforms (I see it for $26.99 on the eShop). Personally, I've had a lot of fun with this game, so I wouldn't regret spending $30 on it. I could definitely people balking at the price, though, so it may depend on how much you like Baki and/or Punch-Out... But I think it's worth it. It looks amazing and plays great. That's all I really need.
If you want to play a Punch-Out game for half the price, you can always check out Thunder Ray from the same developer, if you haven't tried it yet. Or buy both!
0:00 Intro
0:48 Katou Kiyosumi
3:41 Alai Jr.
7:23 Katsumi Orochi
10:47 Kaoru Hanayama
15:17 Sikorsky
19:12 Dorian
22:05 Retsu Kaioh
25:37 Doppo Orochi
29:32 Jack Hammer
33:40 Biscuit Oliva
37:43 Pickle
42:36 Yujiro Hanma
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Beat 'em Ups (e.g. Final Fight): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfI6IYca_kvMhpG1GR9sk8OYiWQMZZTgl
2D Action (e.g. Metal Slug): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfI6IYca_kvNFjpnJ59Th6N0IU1PSpD3d
STG/Shmups (e.g. Dodonpachi): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFE6B3779BE759F71 Receive SMS online on sms24.me
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