mojomonkee's Full Review: Project Justice for Dreamcast
Anyone who has owned a Dreamcast for any amount of time has seen it's enormous repertoire of fighting titles and if one were so inclined as to look at the developers of this fighting library, you wouldn't be surprised to see that almost ninety percent of them come from the same development house: Capcom.
With all star releases such as Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, and Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, one might wonder how Capcom fares in the 3-D realm against such prodigy Namco, and you would only find a few releases in that medium from Capcom (only one on the DC called Tech Romancer which is an excellent game). One franchise you would find is the Rival Schools series and their latest offering "Rival Schools: Project Justice" brings some new and exciting gameplay elements to the table.
Premise Rating: 9/10
The premise of this game (and the whole series) is that there is an antagonist (this time it's a student in demon form) wreaking havoc on the local school district and you choose a team of three characters (which will change throughout the story) and try to find out who is behind the madness. If you choose traditional story mode, then you will have about a handful of premade teams to choose from and use with an active story line, or you can choose free mode where you choose your own characters and the story is nixed.
The different story lines are gripping and rewarding. Each of the teams have their own balance and advantages and beating the game which each team will give you skill with all of the characters as well as open up new characters and stages.
Graphics: 8.5/10
Don't expect the graphical style to be anything like Soul Caliber, Dead or Alive 2, or any other 3-D fighters you've played on the Dreamcast. This game is pure anime from all angles. Expect crazy hair styles and clothes. Expect crazy fighting styles like guys fighting with hands in their pockets. Just don't expect anything like you've seen before.
The textures are ultra smooth and the polygons are integrated very well. There are some instances where you will see polygons clipping into each other at the joints of fighters, but these are small occurrences that only occur noticeably during close-up shots on the fighters.
The stages are colorful and animated and they break from the mold of "the stage is just where it takes place". In the background you will see trains go by or people cheering you on. Especially impressive is the arena dome level that morphs behind you as you play. The roof retracts and the huge door in the back ground slides open and closed. An excellent usage of hardware power is evident in this game.
Sound: 7.5/10
The sound department in this game is probably the least impressive. Not to say that the music is shoddy or the samples are not up to par, but the sound in this game just doesn't blow me away like some games have in the past. (specifically MvC 2 adn GGX)
All of the voice samples are in Japanese which is a godsend for Capcom fanboys who yearn for the pure import. The samples are of good quality and from what I can tell, the voice acting is up to par.
The music consists of eighties rock guitar riffs, but I would have enjoyed the music much more if it had been more in the forefront of the game. It seems that the music is paled in comparison to the voice samples and sound effects. Of course, this can be somewhat corrected if you just set the sound effects low and pump up the music volume. I was actually quite impressed with the guitar riffs and while they might not be as impressive as Guilty Gear X, they display some nice talent and prowess.
Gameplay: 9/10
The fighting system in this game is superbly executed and very easy to pick up. Like most Capcom fighters, the combos and special moves can be easily executed in classic Street Fighter form with quarter circles and half circles on the d-pad followed by a button command.
The team up attacks are even upped in importance from previous Rival Schools titles with the new three person team up attack which can be quite devastating if used at the right times.
To use the team up attacks, you need to build up your "team up gauge" which has a max of five "credits". You build up your gauge by pummeling your opponent and the more you beat him, the higher it goes. Once you get enough to use a two or three man attack, you need to get close enough to your opponent to execute the team up attack.
If used correctly, the team up attacks can even which entire matches for you if you can use one characters "team up booster" ability which boosts your team up gauge, then use your three person team up attack after that to finish them off.
But don't think that you can always do this because your opponent can even counter your team up attack by bringing in their own character. This is known as a challenge. If their character hits yours first, the team up is rendered null and void. If you can hit them, then you go on with you team up attack.
Some minor gripes I have with Project Justice are the exclusion of the great mini games from the Playstation precursors and the reliance on the team up attacks. There will be times when the entire match will be a volleyball rally of who can get their team up attack to succeed. This can get fun and interesting when playing with a friend, but when you're playing the computer (which can also be cheap), it just gets annoying.
Final Game Rating: 9.5/10
In short, Project Justice delivers fast paced three on three fighting with plenty of play modes and a high production value, and with a price tag of twenty bucks retail, what fighting fan wouldn't pick this one up to add it to their DC library?
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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