Waku Waku 7!

The Gist of the Game
As in most fighting games, the idea of WakuWaku 7 is simple. You select a character, and then proceed to beat the living daylights out of each other character in the roster, one by one, in two to three-round bouts, with the one whose stamina runs out first kissing the floor. As fighting games go, this isn't too innovative. However, right off the bat, this game has two points in its favour. One, it's anime, and two, it has a story. There are seven WakuWaku balls scattered all around, and rumour has it that whoever collects all seven will get thier wish granted. It just so happens that each of the characters has one of the balls, and so whoever it is that you select goes off on a mission to beat the other characters up, and take thier ball to get a wish. Well, I never said it was a GOOD story, did I?

What's probably one of the most important things about a fighting game is it's characters. Some of them have... well, CHARACTER, while others are about as interesting as carboard. Fortunately, WW7's fighters each have thier own personality and fighting style.

Leading the Pack is Arina, the bunny-eared girl. She is apparantly a high-school student who learned fighting as a compulsory course. Her fighting style is quick and painless, relatively speaking. She's one of the perfect characters for those that favour speed.

Of all the characters, Slash is probably the one that hits the hardest, next to the Politank. With his energy sword, he can waste a lifebar in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, with a few key exception moves, he is almost so slow it doesn't matter.

Tesse the maid android is possibly one of the more unique characters I've seen in a fighter. All her attacks seem to focus on some form of household duty or job a maid might do, like her "Dish Toss" or "Needle Stick" attacks. Unfortunately, with low power and moderate speed, she becomes a character best left alone.

Dandy-J, he of the nomadic lifestyle, funky hat, and painful whip. He travels the world, looking for treasure, and his current target is the legendary "WakuWaku" treasure. Dandy is one of those characters I can't figure out. He seems to be a real powerhouse at some times, and has excellect speed at others, and yet he still manages to come off as totally useless in several cases, with characters like Arina and Rai running circles around him. Use only if you've got the patience to learn to work with him.

Despite appearances, Mauru is one of the more balanced characters of the game. While having no real strengths, he also does not seem to have very many shortfalls, although the use of a good one-two-three combo, or a well placed DokiDoki attack can bring him to his knees rather quickly at times.

Ahh, Politank-Z. Where would we be without your pure, brute force? Folks, if it's mass destruction you want, then this is the character to rely on. With what is undoubtedly the most devastating HaraHara attack in the game, and with his numerous cheap multi-hit attacks, there's little that can go wrong with this guy. Sure, if you're not dashing, he goes slower than a brick in molasses, but he can really book it if he dashes, and he can knock your block off in thirty seconds flat, or less! He is apparantly known to have a dislike for anyone who doesn't have respect for authority.

Rai. I really, really, REALLY hate this guy, especially when played by the computer. For some reason, the comp tends to play him as cheapness incarnate, pulling off multi-hit attacks even the Politank can't top. When player controlled, he has a general mix of strength and speed, coming off as a sort of male clone of Arina. He seems to have a very hot temper.

Huh?
Okay, by now, I've probably completely lost you, after using those strange terms above, such as DokiDoki, and HaraHara. Therefore, I'll explain a bit. As in most fighters, each character has a number of special attacks at thier disposal, each of which is usually unique to them. In WW7, this is no exception. An example of this is the HaraHara attack. Of all the attacks in the game, this is the most devastating attack available to any character at any time. The catch? It takes a second or two to charge up before use, during which the screen flashes and sirens go off, warning your enemy of the oncoming attack, and during which your oponent can hit you and cancel the attack.

The DokiDoki attack works on the same principle, although it doesn't have the charge-up time. When a DokiDoki is pulled off, your character goes into a frenzy, attacking with numerous lightning-fast hits, making it quite possible to rack up a 20+ hit combo.

I'll try and wrap this up before this page becomes too image intensive. WW7's control is reasonably tight, although the "Quarter circle" motions required for some attacks may cause problems on certain keyboards. The animation is fluid, and very well done, with each character having thier own animations for each effect, as well as two win and lose poses apeice. The music is decent, although nothing to write home about. All in all, a reasonably well-rounded game, as fighters go. This game, therefore, gains a reasonable four WakuWaku Balls out of five.