Yanya Caballista City Skater Game Sample - Playstation 2
0Original Air Date: December 03rd, 2009
It seems that there were no legitimate videos that I could find for this game on YouTube, and I've been trying to play my "Blue Bottom" games ever since I got a new PS2, so I pulled this game out after having it for years and played it for the first time ever... and now I can sorta see why no one wants to make videos for it. What is the game? It's a cel-shaded skateboarding game!
Dreamcast had Jet Grind Radio, Xbox has Jet Set Radio Future, GameCube has Go Go Hypergrind, so some might have been wondering where the PS2's cartoony board game was. It's actually a very old PS2 game, and suffice to say, a very obscure one.
Being published by Koei and developed by Cave of all people, this game tried to breathe life into a genre that (at the time) didn't really need it and is very buggy and considered by many (who've played it) to be a pain in the ass to control. In fact, the game tried to employ more realistic gameplay by utilizing a special little board that went on top of the analogs to incorporate more realistic physics (in an unrealistic game) that actually makes the game harder. You'll be lucky if you don't knock it off during intense tricks and throw your controller at the T.V.
Thankfully, the creators were JUST smart enough to allow you to play the game without the overly cumbersome board interface...BUT the game and manual has terrible documentation! All they freakin' talk about is the board and how to control the board! I spent about a good hour trying to master the controller, understand when you can break in and out of tricks (none of which is explained) and when to input commands to begin with, as the control mechanics tend to be really sloppy.
The game seems almost based on probability rather than skill...you can even see it in this video. I'm trying to grind on the rail like three times in a row and she just rides on top of it! I just managed to demonstrate a grind against the boss, but if the controls were anywhere near as good as Go Go Hypergrind, Tony Hawk, or other more competent boarding games, grinding would be easy, fun, and effortless. There isn't even cool techniques like wall riding and such...bahumbug! The game also crashes at times during Ramp Mode for no apparent reason (may just be my hardware, but I doubt it).
However, the game isn't all bad and I don't want to seem like I'm just bashing it. It is, after all, one of the PS2's earliest games. The visuals are pretty stylish and the "breaking the speed barrier" thing that happens when you dash is pretty cool. The game possesses an eccentric cast of characters done in an anime style and they are well modeled. The music...well, it's actually below average compared to many other boarding games I've played and it's pretty unmemorable, but it is acceptable.
The gameplay is very basic and should have been easy to pick up and play, but due to controls, it might not be that way for some people. Once you figure out the bare bones of the game, you will see that it's pretty repetitive and easy. Scoring one million points is no big deal, even in one trick. Bosses are pretty easy...ramping is pretty easy...ah well. The level design is pretty cool and I like the concept of "elemental" boarders that attack "Gawoo" with elemental boarding tricks. The girl I used can attack with the power of fire while another character (Jet) can attack with air, etc...yeah. Koei publishes some weird stuff.
Overall, it's an old, unremarkable game that didn't even make a dent in Tony's market share. It's not unplayable (it probably would be if you had to rely solely on the board), but it's incredibly basic with few options and perks (you can't even BUY or MODIFY anything like new boards). Some may like it for cute anime babes like Clarice and Aimee and Mei Fa (who is part of the "Team QT"...clever) but it's actually one of the "lesser" boarding games I've played. I think even Street Sk8er was better than this, but it's been a long time since I've played it, so I don't wanna go there. Uhh...enjoy.
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