For me, at least, it's fun to recall my old King of Fighters roots, in a 3D game that's not afraid to bring a little of that Eight Maidens flavor to its special attack system. Yes, they look the same every time, but they're definitely worth seeing them far more than once - the sequences of attacks move ridiculously fast, but they're all carefully linked together and set off with special effects. The animation is smooth on the whole, especially for the more complex beast forms, but the Beast Drive attacks are where things get genuinely ridiculous. Everyone has a selection of three costumes, too, including a few highly questionable DOA-esque outfits for the ladies. The reworked character designs are cheerfully bizarre, from the relatively subdued Shina (as per usual, Marvel's been renamed), to Xion and Stun's hulking beast forms.
The stage architecture is a mixed bag as far as looks and design go - some of them are pretty, while others are rather uninspiring - but the characters are the weirdly-designed equals of the competition in Tekken Tag Tournament. Bloody Roar 3 at its best features some superb high-speed animation and creative use of the PS2's lighting capabilities - like DOA2, the stages use multiple light sources to add a visual richness that limits on texture memory might otherwise preclude. Graphics But dang, it looks pretty sometimes. Defense in fighters has evolved a lot in recent years, and Bloody Roar 3 definitely feels a bit behind the curve. Bloody Roar 3 includes a simple, easy-to-use sidestepping system, with up and down mapped to the lower shoulder buttons, but it's not the equal of the reversal scheme in DOA or the complex parry/reversal/sidestep system that Tekken's evolved over the years (you haven't seen real fighting sausagedom until you've seen someone chicken an attack in Tekken Tag). It's the defensive system rather than the offensive system that feels a little less deep than some. There's a little less emphasis on developing original combos, although you can still devise some very clever linked attacks by studying how the stagger system works and what effect the walled arenas have on combat. Like DOA, though, linking attacks is generally determined by the canned strings or by staggering your opponent (which works more or less as in DOA2).
The combo scheme should be familiar to someone with a grasp of Dead or Alive or the more basic elements of Tekken - characters have a decent-sized selection of attacks based on directional movements and the two attack buttons, with preset combos generally ranging from two to six hits (although a few stretch up to eight or so low-power strikes). Offensively, then, Bloody Roar 3 has a lot of flash and a reasonable amount of depth. Beast form enables stronger combos, and you can sacrifice your entire store of beast energy on the gamble that as a massive Beast Drive - hit or miss, you return to human form, but it's worth it if you can land in excess of 20 hits. See, characters can fight in human form, but not nearly as effectively as when they're packing giant fangs and sharp claws (or antennae, or giant prehensile spiky things, or floppy ears and a cotton tail).
The game's chief strategic element involves managing the energy meter that allows the transformation, and knowing when to use the extra attacks that it enables. The cast runs the gamut of visual and technical fighting styles, both in and out of their bestial forms, which they can swap between almost at will. Gameplay Bloody Roar's gimmick is the inclusion of monstrous alter egos for each of its characters - the werewolf's the cover boy, but there's also the were-leopard, the were-lion, the were-tiger, the were-rhino beetle, and something called the Unborn, the definition of which has never yet been satisfactorily explained. It's certainly worthy of its American release, which has come thanks to Activision, and it's worth the attention of those looking for something off-beat in a fighting game. Bloody Roar 3 is not the toe-to-toe equal of Soul Calibur or Tekken Tag Tournament, and it's not as ambitious as DOA2 in some ways, but it's undeniably fun as a solo or multiplayer game, and every so often it throws out a moment of serious graphical flair.
DOA's next-generation debut received a flurry of hype and anticipation, while the eventual arrival of Bloody Roar 3 on System 246 and PS2 barely raised eyebrows. Raizing's lycanthropic fighter had two outings on the PlayStation, both localized by Sony and met respectably at the box office, but the franchise never seemed to earn the respect that Dead or Alive pried loose from the market and that Tekken and Virtua Fighter seemingly possessed by default.