The sounds of yelling, stomping, frustration, joy, and laughing still ring fresh in my ears. Although I grew up with two younger brothers who consistently held Super Smash Bros. parties, I don’t have much experience with the game other than laying eggs with Yoshi. I can still picture his little feet chugging away as a last stand to keep from falling over the edge. The reason I say this is because SSB’s influence clearly seen in Chu’s Dynasty. If other indies are creating “clones” of AAA titles as well polished as this, then sign me up!
Quite clearly, Chu’s’ visual spectacle will jump right off the screen at you – literally. Beautifully hand drawn characters will catapault, soar, and jump across one side of the map to the other. The vivid backdrops are seen not only the background, but the foreground as well, filling in the space between your character and the screen. There are three levels in total, and players have their choice between four characters as well, each uniquely different from one another, whether visually or with their move set.
I chose to go with Dr. Chu as my weapon of choice. He has a small, frog-like appearance with a thin curly mustache, benevolent demeanor, stereotypical Asian persona, and is surrounded by two smaller frog pets to use at his disposal against enemies. Dr. Chu uses smoke bombs, deception, and teleportation to gain the upper hand against enemies. Other choices include an overly large, lurching hulk of a beast, as well as two svelte characters who use speed and agility to their advantage. If you couldn’t tell the characters apart by their beautiful art, then at least you will be able to based on their profile alone.
The moves list is surprisingly large for each of the characters as well, filled with combos, reversals, and a special move. It was refreshing to see the female character drop a Hadouken onto Dr. Chu. Furthermore, sparks, smoke, and explosions flash as characters make contact, further adding to the appeal of pulling off a successful blow. I did find it difficult though to get moves down initially as it first feels like chaos on the screen. Then again, I haven’t had much hands-on time with Super Smash Bros., so I don’t doubt that my lack of experience with a fighter of this type contributes to that problem.
As in SSB, fights aren’t simple 1-on-1 bouts. Players have the choice to doing team battles with up to 4 characters on screen at once, which is either pure chaos or a child with ADHD’s dream. The only time I noticed a bit of slow-down was when I had a high number of characters on screen at once, but I’m not sure if that was part of the animations, or whether the Xbox was responsible for it. You’ll also want to play through Chu’s Dynasty with each characters as well because they each have their own individualized storyline, complete with stylized cut scenes which showcase the characters back story.
Few fighting titles choose to include this type of story anymore, none the less one on this platform. See a reoccurring theme here? Well polished product. If you’re a gamer who spent nights furiously smashing the N64 or Gamecube remote after a loss in Super Smash Bros., then you’ll find an equal amount of joy within this title. I found the voice overs and sound to be some of the sharpest heard on the Xbox indie platform thus far, and the graphical fidelity is outstanding as well. Whether your an avid fighter aficianado or someone who enjoys a well polished indie product, you’ll be quite pleased to pick up this title and give it a try.
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Visit the Xbox Marketplace to download a free demo of Chu’s Dynasty for Xbox 360.
Chu’s Dynasty was provided for review by TrubeToy. It is available for 240 MS points ($3)
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