Baki Hanma: Blood Arena Review

Baki Hanma: Blood Arena is a 2D one on one fighter with the perspective of Punch-Out!! or more recently Thunder Ray. While the game is based on a popular anime, the game lacks a proper story. The control scheme is surprisingly deep as X and A allows players to throw punches in the opponent’s guts whereas Y and B will throw uppercuts.

Holding either RB, LB, RT or LT while pressing one of the attack buttons will have the protagonist throw a stronger attack which takes about a seconds to charge up leaving you vulnerable to an enemy attack. Thankfully, you can block and dodge enemy attacks. But not all attacks can be blocked; they need to be dodge; or vice versa. Some attacks are undodgeable/unblockable so you’ll need perfect timing to counter the attack.

The game requires precision and perfect time when it comes to dodging and countering. It will also require a lot of trial and error while you learn the opponent’s patterns. When you get knocked down on your ass, you can mash A to get back up, however after three knockouts, you’re K.O.. On the flipside, if you knock your opponent down, mashing A will give you back some health.

The protagonist can also pull off a crazy power move. As you successfully land hits and dodge your opponent, a special attack meter will slowly fill up overtime giving you a chance to throw a powerful attack that can be a life saver during harder battles… or well, most of them.

Aside from the proverbial “campaign”, the game also includes a survival mode where you can go until you can’t go no more; which isn’t much different than the default game mode. Additionally, in the main mode, I think there’s a difficulty setting; Beast or Demon. The game doesn’t explain the difference and from what I tried, there isn’t much of a difference.

The game does look great; it represents the anime’s visuals perfectly. Each character is uniquely designed and the combat, mostly special moves, are quite flashly. When either fighting goes down, there’s comic like cutouts showing the reaction of three people from the crowd. The soundtrack is fair and mildly enjoyable; it feels like a bit of a mix of rock and jazz. Oddly enough doesn’t fit the theme of the game.

The game’s biggest problem is its abrupt difficulty spike. While the first fight also serves as a tutorial to show players the control scheme, it is manageable and a fair fight. However, this gives players a false sense of security as with the second opponent, the game becomes unexplainably brutal; it’s basically if in Punch-Out!! you’d go from Glass Joe direclty to Mr. Sandman or even Mike Tyson.

Another nuisance is that a lot of opponents will launch a devastating attack once they get back up; an attack that will eat half your health bar if you don’t dodge. But it sometimes comes so quick, that you barely have time to react, leaving you either knocked down or fighting an uphill battle for survival.

I was looking forward to giving Baki Hanma: Blood Arena a whirl; I loved Punch-Out!! back in the day, so I was happy to try this. And as much as I wanted to like it, it feels incredibly unforgiving with little to no margin for error. A single mistake can cost you the fight having you to restart over and over again. If you’re a gaming masochist looking for your next punishment, then Baki Hanma: Blood Arena is ripe for you. However, if you’re looking for an enjoyable gaming experience, this is an easy pass.