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Black Jack - Hi no Tori Hen: Reviews

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Game Score: 6/10

Black Jack - Hi no Tori Hen is one of the more unique games I've played, if you're a fan of the anime series then you already know what this is about but for those who don't know, Black Jack is a genius surgeon who takes outrageous fees for doing very complicated surgeries. In this game you are taking the role of the genius surgeon Black Jack and it is your duty to save human lives! (As long as the pay the right price....)

Story - While I cannot read Japanese, I am fairly certain that this game simply takes you along through Black Jack's numerous adventures in the anime as well as probably a few that are not in the anime. Each surgery has it's own Manga sequence to go along with it. With only a few hours into the game I've encoutered 16 surgeries and a few others for events in the game.

Graphics - The game's graphics are purely 2D Anime/Manga Style artwork, which works very well for this game considering it is an anime. There are also little animation sequences when you start a level (Black Jack getting on his surgery wear) and at the end when he does his final two cuts. While it isn't pushing the DS to it's capabilities it works well for this game.

Gameplay - When you start a surgery first you will be presented with a story displaed in a manga format as stated before, along the bottom of the top screen and the right side of the touch screen is a little bar and eventually circles will come down that line. When the circle reaches the end the circle will pop up in the manga on the touch screen and prompt you to use your stylus to emulate the shown direction. From what I gather the circles are divded into colors which display difficulty Green. Blue and Red (Going from easiest to most difficult) also there are also quirks along the way such as if the icon is shaking then you DO NOT follow the command and just let it run, the prompt will turn or even just vanish right after leaving you to hope your memory serves you well.

After you complete the main manga you go into a more intensive mini-game which is the "surgery" before this you are told what to do but for those who don't know japanese here are the few I have encountered.

Touch the glowing dots quickly in order and then 'rub' the patient
Use your stylus to draw a pattern and not hit the sides (Sort of like a digital version of Operation the board game)
Memorizing 4 circles and then doing the prompts in that order (1 to 4)

At then end you simply follow along the cut line and you've done your mission!

Sound - There are a few tracks in the game mostly in major sections of the game, In your office, during missions, traveling and things like that. So far I've encountered no real problems with sound and they all work in the game in my opinion. While the soundtrack may not be memorable I see no flaws in the sound except for maybe the annoying ringing when the Life meter reaches around 25%

Replayability - You can replay missions over and over again and try to beat your old score getting new ranks and more money along the way to buy more sounds, pictures and other things from the scattered shops. Other than replaying those missions I do not know of any other incentives to replay this game.

Difficulty - At first things start easy as always but you will soon need your steady hand to guide you through the twists and turns of the surgery making you learn how to do the motions quick, flawlessly and on a whim. The first missions gradually increase in difficulty but I think in certain points of the game it takes a leap rather than a step.

Overall - For those of you looking for a Black Jack styled Trauma Center, this is not the game for you. This is merely a bunch of minigames put together in the form of Black Jack trying to use the series as a medium to help te game along. While it is sucessful in some parts some may feel that this game simply isn't worth it. But for those Black Jack fans out there I say this is something you should look into.