Bleach: Dark Souls

Introduction

Bleach: Dark Souls is the follow-up to 2007's Bleach: The Blade of Fate, offering more balanced characters, a robust story mode, a card battle enhancing system, and a character roster of 40 fighters. The DS Bleach games are also known for offering a beginner-friendly touch screen interface.

The fights happen on two 2D planes, and can contain up to 4 normal characters. When the fighters are far away from each other the screen zooms out and vice versa creating a 3D illusion.

New Characters

• Kisuke Urahara
• Ururu Tsumugiya
• Kūkaku Shiba
• Yūichi Shibata
• Don Kanonji
• Ririn
• Shūhei Hisagi
• Izuru Kira
• Ikkaku Madarame
• Rangiku Matsumoto
• Hanataro Yamada
• Menos Grande
• Grand Fisher
• Shrieker
• Tsukaima (Shrieker spawn)
• Goteitaishi (generic 11th Squad member)
• Kyugohanin (generic 4th Squad member)

Game Modes

There are a number of different game modes available, they are:

• Story Mode

Play through a all new non-canonical story. Battle shinigami, hollows and play minigames.

• Arcade Mode

Standard Arcade mode.

• VS Mode

Single player vs CPU, or multiplayer vs humans via Wi-Fi.

• Time Attack Mode
• Survival Mode
• Training Mode

Train with any unlocked character.

Story

The story will take place between the first and second season of the anime show. There will be many references to events that took place in the show.

As you progress in the story you'll get the opportunity to choose your fate with paths on your progress map. You'll be able to unlock individual character stories. The story offers multiple endings and it will take you up to 3 play through in order to get the "real" ending

New game plus

Once you beat the story mode you can replay any level you played on any difficulty using any character that you have unlocked, a progress meter is shown at the top of the screen showing you what percentage of the levels you have unlocked in each zone and what percentage you have beat on all difficulty settings, completing a area at a 100 percent grants you money and unlocks characters. You also unlock additional story arcs to explore in a new play through once you beat the game once.

Fighting

The fighting mechanices in the game are the same as in The Blade of Fate. You'll need to make a deck of spirit cards to control your status during battle.

You'll be able to choose from mini-games (non combat scenarios). The mini-games will help test your reflex and also your knowledge of the anime series.

Controls and fighting mechanics

Movement

• Double Jumping

You can do a second jump by pressing up when already in the air.

• Dashing

You can dash by double pressing the direction in which you want to dash.

• Air dash

When in the air you can also dash by pressing the direction you want to go twice, you can do up to 2 air dashes.

• Line jump

Line jumping is what makes bleach dark soul unique, the game uses a multi-plane gameplay which means that you can hop between the to fighting planes this is extremely helpful when avoiding attacks and getting away from opponents when you are outnumbered. Line jumping is done by simply pressing " L".

Gauges

• "Life" meter

Since the events in Bleach: Dark Sous happen in the after life, it is no longer death that is feared but non existence, when a fighter is hit his soul decreases.

• Spiritual pressure gauge

this gauge fills up when you are hit or by enemies or when you are hitting them, once it fills up it will create one pressure unit, you can hold up to 3 of these in stock. Each unit of spiritual pressure grants you one super attack.

• Spiritual energy

this gauge regenerates over time but depending on how you used its energy it will regenerate on a different rate, flash steps take one out of 3 units of spiritual pressure and regenerates rather swiftly RF attacks however causes your spiritual energy to regenerate at a slower rate.

Defense

• Flash step

Flash steps are like dodging, you wont be able to get hurt when you execute them, however each flash step you do will cost you 1 out of the 3 units of "spiritual energy", flash steps can also be done whilst mid-air. You do a flash step by pressing the "B" button. The flash step is also an excellent combo stringer.

• Guarding

You can block attacks by pressing the R button, standing blocks protect you from jumping attacks, crouching blocks will protect you from both standing and crouching attacks and aerial blocks will protect you from any attack.

• Attack canceling

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Attacking

• Normal attacks

Bleach dark souls uses a 3 attack button set up (light, medium and heavy), as in most fighting games you can attack while crouching, standing and in mid-air

• Special attacks

each character in Bleach dark soul has around 3-5 different special attacks, each of these attacks have 3 variations, light medium and heavy. These variations different in charging speed, damage, reach, speed ect... Special attacks are executed by a d-pad movement and one of the attack buttons, the attack button you chose to end your combination with will decide witch variation of the attack is used.

• Reinforced normal and special attacks

These attacks can not be dodged using flash step, using one will deplete you spiritual energy by one unit. To do a RF attack you do a special attack with the heavy attack. you can only execute RF attacks when you have the spiritual energy to use it.

• Throwing ( grappling and aerial grappling)

You can grab and throw an enemy by pressing two of the attack buttons at the same time while standing next to your opponent, throws can also be done mid-air. You can even throw an opponent (or can be thrown) while blocking.

• Super attacks

Super attacks use up one unit of the spiritual pressure gauge, the far most devastating move of each character uses all three of the spiritual pressure charges, most of the time this is the " Bankai" of each fighter. Super attacks are activated by a more complex d-pad movement and are ended by one of the attack buttons. Super attacks can not be reinforced.

Multiplayer

The game supports online battles through Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection service.

• 1 vs 1 (up to 4 players)
• 2 vs 2
• 3 vs 1