Review: Kamen Rider Dragon Knight (Wii)

Kamen Rider Dragon Knight fans will be happy to know that not only will they be able to take the Kamen Riders with them on the go with Kamen Rider Dragon Knight DS but will also be able to play head to head with their friends as they take on their favorite characters from the show in the Wii version of the fighting game.

Kamen Rider Dragon Knight Wii is strictly a fighting game – you will find no RPG elements here – however, the two games are somewhat similar.  You have the opportunity to play with each of the 15 Kamen Riders (the 13 original along with the two Survive Mode versions) and each Rider has their deck of Advent cards and can perform vents that are straight from the CW4Kids show.  Like the DS version, this game will appeal mostly to fans of the Kamen Riders series.  The main difference between the DS and the Wii versions is that the DS features some RPG elements and is a single player fighter only.  The Wii version removes the RPG system and allows you to battle your friends head to head, Kamen Rider style.

The game features play modes that mirror most fighting games with a one player arcade mode, vs com mode, multiplayer, and a story mode.  Playing through the Arcade Mode with each character will unlock new characters while playing through the game’s story mode, Mirror World, will unlock Advent Cards for purchase with Rider Points (RP) earned as you advance through the stages.  Mirror World is set up as a series of objectives with paths that open up to new stages as you complete each stage.  You can choose to play each stage or you can take the shortest route to the end, which is a battle against General Xaviax.  You will face your enemies one on one and in some cases, the enemy will have an advantage over you like doubled hit points, HP regeneration, full Card Gauge or you are at the disadvantage with the inability to guard or with objectives to defeat your enemy with Advent attacks or with the Final Vent or no cards at all.  You will also have stages full of enemies that you must clear to move on.  You have 1200 seconds (20 minutes) to complete Mirror World.  As you play each stage, the time it takes you to complete it will be deducted from your total time.  You can travel back and forth freely throughout the map of opened stages however, you will encounter random fights called Accidents.  Accidents are not part of the map and will drain you of time.  Time is only deducted if you win a battle, so the only real disadvantage to losing a battle is not being able to move on.  In the case of Accidents, you can opt to not continue which will bring you back to the map screen.  You earn Rider Points with each victory and as you fight each Rider, you can unlock their Advent cards.  The trick is that the Rider must have the card in their deck when you beat them in order for the card to be unlocked and available to purchase.  Playing Mirror World is optional however, you need to play it to unlock and purchase Advent Cards since it is the only mode in which you earn Rider Points.

The one player mode is simply an arcade mode where you must fight a series of fights with the last fight being against General Xaviax.  Once you beat him, you unlock a new character.  Playing through with each available character will unlock another one.  All of the characters can be opened this way with the exception of four which can only be unlocked in combination with playing Mirror World and the Arcade mode.

The most frustrating part of this game was that there are no instructions on how to play or any info regarding the card elements of the game.  These are all figured out by trial and error.  The game assumes that you are familiar with the Kamen Rider show so it assumes that you know exactly what the cards do.  The game features a Tutorial mode however I found it rather useless.  It teaches you nothing about the cards or the game play.  It has a button display – it shows the buttons you are hitting as you hit them, however, since there aren’t any complicated combos to pull off, it seems rather pointless.  After playing the DS game, which also offered no instructions or tutorials, I was really hoping that this game would shed some light on the Kamen Rider world and it really didn’t.

The controls were tailored especially for the use of the Wiimote and Nunchuck however, you can use the Classic Controller as well.  I tried both and stuck with the Wiimote/Nunchuck combo.  The controls worked well for the most part however the card selection was mapped to the D-Pad which made it a little more difficult since you have to use your thumb to attack using the A button as well as choose your cards with the D-Pad.  There is no option change the button configuration so you’d better get used to it fast.  The Classic Controller configuration wasn’t any better since you used the right control stick to choose cards leading to the same issue of not enough thumbs.  I would have liked to have an option to change the button configurations or see the Classic Controller’s layout make use of the L or R bumpers to cycle through cards.  Other than that, the controls worked really well.

The fighting mechanic of the game is pretty solid.  My only complaint is that I constantly found myself with my back to my opponent and would have to consciously stop and press the control stick in the direction I wanted to face.  On the upside, your opponent (computer controlled or real opponent) was constantly in that predicament as well.  The fighting can seem very unbalanced at times but the characters are a bit unbalanced.  While this is not really an issue in the Arcade mode it can make a difference in Mirror World and in the Multiplayer.  Because you are mostly at a disadvantage in Mirror World, you will get your butt kicked a lot and it will get frustrating.  In Multiplayer, you can really see how the characters are unbalanced but a big part of the game is mastering each character and their Advent attacks and card vents.  You can definitely play it as a straight up fighter but this game is really all about the character’s special attacks.  The actual Final Vent attack is not blockable but the invoking of the card can be.  This was very frustrating at first (until I figured it out) but it makes the game a little more dynamic.  Since the game revolves heavily around the card attacks, it is nice to see that you have a way to circumvent them.

That brings us to the Multiplayer portion of the game.  Norm and I sat down and played through each character together and were both a little surprised at how much fun we were having.  Norm was at a disadvantage since he had not played through the game at all except at the preview over a month ago where I kicked his butt in almost every match.  He tinkered through the tutorial and I played the opponent while I explained how to play by sharing what I had discovered.  When he felt more comfortable with the controls, we jumped into a match together.  I went a little easy on him at first since he was still getting used to how it all worked but after a few rounds he was beating me.  As we played some more, we became more even with our strong and weak attacks so it became more about strategizing with our Advent Attacks and Card use.

The graphics were a little less than what I would expect from the Wii however, the Final Vents, Card Vents, and Advent Attacks look great.  The stage backgrounds were plain and stark but if you have seen the show, they look similar.  Overall, I think the spirit of the show is captured in the game.  The music is similar to what you find in most fighting games – a rock/techno mashup.  While I probably won’t have this game’s soundtrack on my iPod, I thought it fit well with the game and I caught myself bobbing my head to it more than once.  The voice acting was repetitive and constant, an annoyance I wish I could’ve muted, turned down, or shut off.

This game is a must have for any Kamen Rider fan and, like the DS game, is worth checking out – fan of the show or not.  The game features three difficulties – Easy, Normal, and Hard – and if you want to unlock everything, you will get a lot of replay value out of this title.  Also, with the inclusion of a multiplayer mode, Kamen Rider fans can play their favorite character against their friends which will extend the game’s value even further.

Kamen Rider Dragon Knight is rated T for Teen and is available now exclusively for the Nintendo Wii for $29.99 MSRP.

A review copy of the game was provided by D3Publisher and did not affect the outcome of this review.

Related Links:

• Official Kamen Rider Dragon Knight Website
• Kamen Rider Dragon Knight on D3Publisher's Site