Anarchy in the Nippon

What do you get when a group of die-hard Japanese Virtua Fighter fans get together and work on their own fighter? Anarchy in the Nippon.

It shows, too. This new fighter, available for import, is the same Virtua Fighter formula: three button controls, high-resolution graphics, eight players with their own unique style. Heck, there's even ring-outs, though less frequent than in VF.

But that's where the similarities end. The developers shot for something a little different, adding a personal flair to the genre. While the majority of the characters are a little generic in design, you can't say that the designers lack a sense of humor: two characters, obviously in there for comic relief, are something you've never seen in a fighter. Where else but in a wacky Japanese game could you fight against an Asian businessman or an over-the-hill gymnast/school-teacher?

And these fighters have one heck of a moves library. Can't find them all? Check the training mode -- we'll bet there's a few joystick and button combinations you haven't used yet.

Anarchy in the Nippon, despite its solid gameplay, really has a no-frills feel to it. The game is - for lack of a better word - bland. Characters just don't have that certain motion expected in fighting games nowadays. And, geez, you've never seen so much concrete -- those backgrounds, flat, single layers - are way back there. Not to mention one specific level that causes character sprites to randomly flicker on and off. The game needs a certain polish to bump it up to Virtua Fighter quality.

It'll be hard to choose this one over Dead or Alive, but if you've got the cash consider bringing it over. There's a huge downside, though -- darn near every menu option needs Japanese translating. Hope you're good with kanji...