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Bringing a different style to the latest fighting games that have been released in recent months, Baki Hanma: Blood Arena brings a unique and creative experience. For some, it may be difficult and have few opponents, but the way the game conducts its story and fights makes up for everything.VeredictBringing a different style to the latest fighting games that have been released in recent months, Baki Hanma: Blood Arena brings a unique and creative experience. For some, it may be difficult and have few opponents, but the way the game conducts its story and fights makes up for everything.

If you like the Baki Hanma series, or Punch Out, then you should come out fighting with Baki Hanma: Blood Arena.

A fun Punch-Out!! take on the Baki Hanma anime

Baki Hanma: Blood Arena breathes Punch-Out!! and makes a point of revealing its inspiration at every opportunity, in the few game modes it offers. While it doesn't quite reach the same level of control quality and fluidity, Baki Hanma's adaptation of the Punch-Out style nearly pass the year, demonstrating that the series has the potential to produce great games; it just needs more investment and perhaps a little more appetite for bigger projects.

Baki Hanma: Blood Arena captures the fighting spirit that made the anime so special, but that energy quickly fades once you realize how little content there is.

Baki Hanma Blood Arena is a gamble that offers very little and fails to achieve a passing grade. Aside from the atmosphere, masterfully rendered by the team, the rest of the game presents several difficult-to-fill flaws. The combat system is interesting, but at the same time it's unnerving because it requires you to memorize every single enemy pattern. The main problem, however, is when completely random elements are added without any explanation, especially in a fighting game where practice and knowledge of the core mechanics are a must.

Baki Hanma: Blood Arena lives up to what Baki really is. Inherently campy, a true fan will understand how the game manages to capture the essence of the IP as a huge parody. Cloning Punch-Out!! is a cool proposal, however, it relies too heavily on the player's good faith in valuing the concept over the borderline-acceptable execution. It definitely doesn't serve to introduce the series to a new audience, but at least they captured the spirit of Itagaki’s work.

I was looking forward to giving Baki Hanma: Blood Arena a whirl; I loved Punch-Out!! back in the day, so I was happy to try this. And as much as I wanted to like it, it feels incredibly unforgiving with little to no margin for error. A single mistake can cost you the fight having you to restart over and over again. If you’re a gaming masochist looking for your next punishment, then Baki Hanma: Blood Arena is ripe for you. However, if you’re looking for an enjoyable gaming experience, this is an easy pass.

What should have been a knockout game is instead lying on the mat, waiting for the referee to count to ten. Baki Hanma: Blood Arena tries so hard to be something it’s not, and unfortunately, it misses all the punches it throws and should instead have thrown in the towel.

Inspired by Super Punch-Out!!, Baki Hanma: Blood Arena is a fighting game that even devout fans of the franchise may struggle to love. The combat here is dull and frustrating, requiring you to simply mash buttons and dodge or block incoming attacks that are frequently hard to read. And there's little in the way of content and features.