Continuing the Throwback Thursday game review series, this week we take a look at my old 2005 review of Kamen Rider Faiz on the PS2. What did I think of the game and is it worth tracking down? Read on to find out!

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Kamen Rider Faiz
System: Playstation 2
Developer: Bandai

Introduction
Take control of Kamen Riders Faiz, Kaixa, Delta, as well as many of the Orphenoch in the fight for survival. Use your Gear developed by Smart Brain or just your new found powers, and choose to destroy a company or save humanity.

Review
Having briefly played Kamen Rider Faiz before, I already knew what to expect with this game. Put simply, a fighting game based on the Kamen Rider Faiz series. Whether you hated the series, or loved it, one thing is pretty much agreed on. Faiz had some KILLER suit designs and weapons at his disposal! And fear not kids, cause they are all found in the game as well! But perhaps you’d rather be an Orphenoch (either good or bad), Faiz has you covered here as well!

Gameplay
This is the type of fighting game that anyone can just pick up and start kicking ass with! Even if you’ve never played a fighting game, or suck really bad at them. Two buttons (X and O) handle the punches & kicks (also for short combos), while another (Square) takes out a weapon, and lastly (Triangle) preforms the finisher/desperation move. That it! Only FOUR buttons total to worry about!

Even though Faiz is a 3D fighting game, it feels exactly like a 2D fighting game. Which isn’t really a bad thing (I actually prefer 2D fighting over 3D) since you only have to really worry about moving forward and backwards, and only rarely side to side. That being said, you fight in a full 3D environment from locations taken from the series.

Graphics
From the wonderful opening CGI movie to the in-game renderings, Faiz’s graphics take you right into the world of Kamen Rider Faiz.
The graphics engine is a reworked version of the PS1 Ryuki game, but you never really get the feeling you’re playing a PS1 game. All the character animations are fluid and suck you right into the action. Even the backgrounds are photo-realistic familiar locations from the series.

Game Modes
Challenge-
Choose your fighter, and battle it out though five stages to earn points and love you so desperately crave from your PS2! Just LOOK at all these popular characters to choose from!…
Kamen Rider 555 Faiz
Kamen Rider 913 Kaixa
Kamen Rider 333 Delta (unlockable)
Horse Orphenock
Crane Orphenock
Snake Orphenock (unlockable/slot machine)
Crocodile Orphenock (unlockable/slot machine)
Centipede Orphenock (unlockable/slot machine)
Lobster Orphenock (unlockable/slot machine)
Dragon Orphenock (unlockable/slot machine)
Kamen Rider Faiz Blast Form (unlockable)
Auto Vajin (unlockable)
Not only can you earn points by completing this mode with each character (to use in the Slot Machine Mode and get photos & characters), but in the case of Faiz & Kaixa, you also unlock a weapon upgrade each time through w/ that character.

Free Battle Mode-
This is where you can pick any character, Rider or Orphenoch, that you have unlocked and fight another character (of your choosing) in a 3 round contest. And that’s all there is to it.

2P Mode-
This is straight up fighting between you and a friend. Each person picks a character and then have at it in a 3 round contest.

Slot Machine-
Each time you beat the game w/ a character you earn points to play the slot machine. The interface of the game is very much like a video slot machine that you might find in any Vegas casino, full of moving pics and sounds.
The object is simple, line up 3 like icons, and not only do you win points (depends on how the icons are lined up), but you also unlock part of a photo that appears in the Gallery. There are 4 parts to every pic, so it may take awhile to view a photo (and also unlock a character).

Gallery-
And this mode is exactly what it sounds like. It’s where you can see all the photos you have unlocked playing through the game & the slot machine. Most photos also have little sound clips, some even background music from the show.

Options-
Self explanatory.

End Credits-
Unlocked after you beat the game once.

Lecture/Tutorial-
Get a rundown on how to play the game. Two different tutorials are available. One by Mari and one by the Smart Brain Lady (after it is unlocked).

Conclusion
After playing this game for about 4-5hrs right after opening the case, I can say Kamen Rider Faiz is a pretty good fighting game. Not as in-depth or button combo friendly of most fighting games out today, but then when was the last time you were able to play a current fighting game and henshin into your favorite Kamen Rider?

I recommend Kamen Rider Faiz for the PS2 as a great addition to anyone’s Kamen Rider or fighting video game collection.