Square Enix (my darling Squee), Please [the Bouncer]

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Originally Posted by some reviewer, I edited it to make it sound less stupid

When the game was first announced over a year ago now the developers were promising full interactivity with the environments and plenty of excitement. While the latter may be true, the former is sadly missing, and it's a big loss.

The Bouncer follows the fortunes of three bouncers; Sion Barzahd, Volt Krueger, and Kou Leifoh who all work together at the same neighborhood bar. One day, a secret attacker ambushes the three bouncers and kidnaps Sion's girlfriend, Dominique. Naturally, the game centers on finding and rescuing Dominique who holds a terrible secret involving the Mikado Corporation and her own importance. The game takes you deep into the Mikado headquarters where you are required to use great fighting skills to defeat all the enemies and uncover the terrible plot.

The Bouncer is split up into three main sections. The majority of the game will see you progress through the story mode, which will only take an hour or so to complete, but has slight variations depending on the character used. The Bouncer also includes a survival mode, which is pretty standard fare while the multi-player mode adds some longevity to the game overall but is no where near as enthralling as a dedicated 1-on-1 beat-'em-up. One neat feature with The Bouncer is that the game unlocks almost 20 characters, including the enemies and bosses, for use after completing the story mode.

The fighting in The Bouncer is very reminiscent of the Japanese PlayStation hit Erhgeiz which is not a bad thing. The fighting is a lot of fun with a huge variety in the moves. As you defeat the enemies you earn points that allow you to "purchase" upgrades such as new moves or increased health etc. This becomes vital as you progress through the game and encounter increasingly difficult enemies.

While it all sounds like a great game something has gone horribly wrong between the games announcement and its release. The game has turned into more of an interactive movie then a beat-'em-up. You'll be watching 2 or 3 minutes of superbly rendered movies before fighting a handful of opponents, saving the game and then being dished out several more minutes of, once again, superbly rendered movies. The only benefit to this is the ability to change characters before entering the next fighting sequence. However, as much as I love computer generated movies, and go to almost anything with CG on the big screen, it all gets too much in this game.

Sadly the game is also missing a lot of the branching storylines promised. There is one point in the Mikado Headquarters when each character has his own path, and Kou's password battles are fun, but it's only a small portion of the game. Also gone is the promised interaction with the surroundings. You may be standing right next to chair but try as you might you can't pick it up and smash it over the opponents head. Want to kick a guy into the air and onto a table nearby? It can’t be done. It could have added a whole new dimension to the game.

Although the surrounding screenshots give you some idea as to the quality of the graphics it's not until you see it moving that you truly appreciate how much effort has gone in to this title. From the opening sequence in the bar to the final battle your jaw will be on the ground, it's that good. The character animation is superb although some of the enemies, especially the early ones, seem too robotic for my liking. Although the game looks stunning, there is one horrific flaw that distracts from the game play. That flaw is the camera angles. At times the camera with put you behind a box or wall fighting an enemy completely blind. There isn't even an option to rotate the camera, or put it directly behind your characters. It's horrific and probably the worst I've seen in years.

Sound-wise The Bouncer is as impressive as the graphics. This is the first game to use Dolby Digital 5.1 sound which truly immerses the player. The developers obviously know their stuff with some atmospheric music behind the action while the effects are hard hitting action and crunches as you land the punches. The speech is also very well done with the baddies sounding bad-assed while the good guys come up with some typically lame comments.
The Bouncer has been a nightmare to review. On the one hand, the graphics and sound are simply stunning; on the other hand, the game is so short-lived and is lacking in some aspects of game play. Hopefully, when or if the developers ever decide to do a sequel, they will put a lot more effort into the game play and include the features that were expected with this game. It really is hard to recommend you buy The Bouncer, unless you are a complete CGI and beat-'em-up fan. The safest bet is to go to your local video games store and rent it for a few hours, because that's about as long as you will play it for.

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That’s how the Bouncer added up. I agree with everything that was said (aside from the way it was said.)

Ever since buying the game last year, I’ve been fantasizing about a sequel. Why not?

Is the game not worthy? It had its flaws, but a pretty good story and (I thought) some solid characters. Maybe instead of a sequel, the game can be re-imagined.
All of the aspects that were promised can be included, all the problems mentioned above (plus other issues needing address like button sensitivity and combo-stringing) can be fixed, and the story can be told in a more thorough and straightforward manner (maybe).

I’d really like to see the four main characters again (SiVoKoDo) and even Leann and Echidna. A sequel would be great, a remake would be better, a prequel would likely be interesting.

The beat-em-up genre is pretty dead these days.

I don't know that they're dead, they've just mutated and been taken over by licensed characters(like spiderman) instead of introducing new characters or stock characters. Also FPS and the revamped action genre(PoP, GoW, etc) kind of took on that role. FPS allows for a deeper emersion, and the action games created combat systems that are deeper and funner. I guess it's probably possible to create a really deep involving and fun beatemup now, but it just seems unnecessary.

I found The Bouncer to be a pretty good game. Had its flaws, but was still good. I'd like to be able to play another of the sort.

The sequel wouldn't necessarily have to be a beat-em-up. It could be a horse-riding simulator (FINALLY). I personally hated this game a lot and gave it away to some cousin for free, but if the sequel was good I'd be all for it.

Horse-riding... okay.

The game did have issues aside from those mentioned. Like having crappy AI allies that would spend most of the batlle running away from a single character. The only time they really did any fighting on their own was when they were surrounded. The controls were sloppily assembled as well.

I think the sequel should be a beat-'em-up. There are so few games of this kind left for our generation. As chionos said, beat-'em-ups have mostly been replaced by action-adventure and FPS games. Just because the first game wasn't up to par doesn't mean the format should be abandoned. I do think it needs more interactivity and RPG features. But the beat-'em-up idea still works, it just needs tweaks. Lots and lots of tweaks.

I liked The Bouncer lol I wish they did make a sequel. it would be pretty good <3

Now that Square is Enix's cash cow, they don't seem to be allowed to make many games without the words "Final" and "Fantasy" in their title. If they do ever get to make a Bouncer sequel, it'll probably be a mobile phone game.

i have "The Bouncer" and love it, i had no problems with the controls or the pressure sensitivity on the buttons hell my favorite fighter series "Dead or Alive" is pressure sensetive, and it's not important that i can't pick up a chair and smash my opponent with it, that's just gimmic stuff and really doesn't add much to gameplay... i got this game about a year after it came out and my only regret is i didn't get it a year earlier when the Strat Guide and Soundtrack were on the shelves...

Yep, KR, that does seem to be the factual case as of late. But I'm a man of faith (in so very few things but so many different ways) and I believe the Squeeker listens to its fanbase. Thus all we must do to ensure "Bouncy2" sees the light of day is make it damned well clear that we intend to play it and won't rest 'til we gets it. I mean, those at Square Enix aren't completely stupid, you know?

But damned if won't cut off my own thumbs if they make it a cursed cel game. I can accept PSP. Damn, I'd accept it being released on Nintendo or Xbox as long as they didn't make it a freaking cel game.

I agree what was said that this genre is dead. Why bother, when you have GTA? Where not only can you punch and kick, but you can pull a weapon, steal a tank and run over whatever you feel like, steal a harrier jet and start firing missiles at anything. So pretty much you can thank Rockstar for transforming the genre into the freeroam system. If we see a new beat up up game, it must be freeroam, as that's the current trend. Otherwise it will get labeled LIMITED levels. Gamers have now been spoiled by freeroam. And going back to boundaries would be a step in the wrong direction.

The Bouncer wasn't bad for its time, but it doesn't need a sequel, either.

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Originally Posted by toad626

I agree with what was said, this genre is dead. Why bother, when you have GTA?
Gamers have now been spoiled by freeroam.
going back to boundaries would be a step in the wrong direction.
If we see a new beat up up game, it must be freeroam, as that's the current trend. Otherwise it will get labeled "LIMITED levels."

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I admit, that's something I don't like about Naruto Uzumaki Chronicles. You can only see the places if you're sent there on mission and they play no interesting role in the game. You can't even roam Konoha. So I agree that a beat'em-up should have a freeroam function more than it should have a tournament function.

I own plenty of GTA and I do love'em, don't get me wrong. But it's not the same experience. I'll never be satisfied being stuck with freeroams like GTA. Freeroam isn't enough reason for me to play it. GTA claims that anything is possible but that's a complete lie.

I liked this game.

I think a sequel or revamping of some sort of The Bouncer would be interesting if it took a few lessons from Sega's Yakuza series. Yakuza, as far as I'm concerned, is everything The Bouncer was promised to be and quite a few things that the developers didn't seem to think of. Essentialy, it's The Bouncer without all of the SUCK.

I can't believe GTA was just brought up in a beat'em up thread. Beating up groups of old ladies at random when you're bored is nothing like the thrill of beating up waves of enemies defending yourself and pursuing a goal. Forget boundaries/free-roam. Its not a step in the wrong direction if its done properly. Look at how well Viewtiful Joe was recieved. It didn't just limit your path. It limited your dimensional depth xD Everyone's gone ape :skull::skull::skull::skull: over 3D since Playstation and then salivating over free-roam since GTA3. And then a little 2D beat'em up captivates everyone anyway. It can be done. Just has to be done right

Heart. I've played a bit of Viewtiful Joe. I don't own it though. I was also kind of entertained by the TV series. Where'd it go?

I haven't played Yakuza yet, but I own a video demo. It does seem interesting.
Personally, my deal is that I like the characters. Even if they are slightly underdeveloped. It really sucks that you have to play through the whole game with a character and pay attention to all the loading screens every time you play through just to read about a small part of their life before the game's events.

Then again, I'm the same guy who's been pushing for a sequel to Ehrgeiz. I've actually been writing a movie plot that involves characters from Ehrgeiz, Soulcalibur, Big Trouble Little China, and Jackie Chan Adventures. Might I be just... nuts?