Arcana Heart (ps2: 2008): Reviews

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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.

Arcana Heart


6.6

based on 12 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 3 votes
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Cheat Code Central

Official Website

Beyond our world lies that of the Elemental beings, the Arcana. These mighty spirits offer their abilities to the Maidens, those rare humans who are able to communicate with them. Long ago, our worlds were connected. However, the two worlds unexpectedly split apart, and a dimensional boundary was formed between them, separating our world from the Arcana. Seeking to harness their energy, the mysterious Mildred Avalon is trying to form a rift in the boundary and merge the worlds once more. Should her plan succeed, life on our world will never be the same again. Only the Maidens, with the help of their Arcana, can prevent her from bringing an end to all humanity. An all-girl fighting spectacular. Battles heat up with 11 beautiful female fighters to choose from. Customize your fighter's skills. Arcana add new attack and defense skills. Build your combat strategy by selecting from 11 different Arcana to pair with your fighter. Supreme vertical action. Take your fighting skyward! Huge battle maps let you rain down punishment on your opponent with air dashes and homing techniques to create devastating aerial combos. Includes the original Arcana Heart and the remixed Arcana Heart FULL, and offers four different modes: arcade, story, versus, and training, as well as a gallery mode filled with unlockable extras. [Atlus USA]

PUBLISHER:	Atlus USA
DEVELOPER:	Ecole
GENRE(S):	Fighting
PLAYERS:	2
ESRB RATING:	T (Teen)
RELEASE DATE:	April 10, 2008

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

TotalPlayStation

There's no denying the market for Arcana Heart: it's a pure fanservice, all girl-on-girl fighting game with such delightful anime clichés as a robot girl with huge boobs, a kimono-clad girl (and sisters) with huge boobs and an apparently lesbian end boss with (wait for it... waaaaiiittt...) big boobs.

IGN

A charming cast, great fight mechanics, diverse play styles and tons of depth make this a fighting game you don't want to miss.

1UP

While it borrows unabashedly from several other titles, the game does a great job of providing its own fun and unique flair.

GameZone

Arcana Heart won’t do anything for players that have never enjoyed a fighting game. But if you’re a fan of the genre and crave originality, this game deserves a spot on your shelf.

Destructoid

It may look like a silly anime girl brawler, but the underlying complex fighting system can provide a challenge to even the most seasoned fighting game fan.

G4 TV

Creepy though she might be, it’s fun to school your friends with a 10-year-old in a swimsuit.

Thunderbolt

If you're a fan of 2D fighting games then you will definitely enjoy this game.

PSX Extreme

Arcana Heart is a solid 2D fighter with a unique style that sets it apart from any other fighter you may have played. The controls can be a little iffy at times, but theres a good amount of depth involved in the battles even beyond the Arcana addition.

Cheat Code Central

It is not the best looking or most fluid fighting game out there, but if you want a solid title, then Arcana Heart delivers. It has all the right mechanics, and satisfactory audio and visual qualities.

Games Radar

Delivers the quality, and its mix of accessible, over-the-top anime silliness and deep technical fighting put it in a comfortable niche between games like Super Smash Bros. and King of Fighters.

Play Magazine

Unfortunately, Arcana Heart then falls short in its attempt to become a major player in the fighting game scene. [May 2008, p.59]

Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)

An enjoyable, if guilty, pleasure. [June 2008, p.75]

The average user rating for this game is 6.6 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Brian D. gave it a10:
This is a Great Game. If you're a fan of 2-D fighting games then this is the game for you. This is an all girl fighting game thats popular in Japan (Arcana Hearts 2 is in the arcade as we speak). This game also appears in major tournaments including battle opera. The game play is similar to Guilty Gear but slower and dumbed down but not in a bad way. You have 11 characters to choose from. Each of them have their own move set. Then on top of that you have 11 arcana or spirits that give your character extra moves and benefits based on the arcana you picked. For example if you used the Rock arcana you gain rock moves which include having a boulder drop on someones head and giving you some armor when you're dashing at the expense of some speed. Half the fun is trying out different Arcana for different characters. The controls have 3 attack buttons and 1 special button. The 3 attack buttons are light medium and fierce or ABC. The special buttons do all your Arcana moves and also give you different options. These options are as simple as chasing somebody down to canceling moves to keep the pressure on an opponent or to keep a combo going. Even though everything is simplified it still ends up being a great fighter. With the release we also get the patched version of the game which balanced out a lot of the characters. If you are into fighting games then I would highly recommend this game.

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