''Bloody Roar 4'' is a

fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...

developed by

Eighting , stylized as 8ing, is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It was formerly known as . It is known for its shoot 'em ups and its licensed fighting games. History Raizing and Eighting were formed in part by former staff of Compile, ...

and

Hudson Soft was a Japanese video game company that released numerous games for video game consoles, home computers and mobile phones, mainly from the 1980s to the 2000s. It was headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo ...

in 2003. It is the fifth of the ''

Bloody Roar is a series of fighting games created by Hudson Soft, and developed together with Eighting. The series has been published by multiple companies, including Virgin Interactive, Activision, and Konami. Konami holds the rights to the franchise aft ...

'' games as well as the second game in the series to appear on the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

Gameplay

Like the previous games in the series, characters can transform into beasts during battle, using the beast gauge, slightly increasing their power. Unlike the other games, however, the beast gauge acts as its own separate health meter.

Plot

After the events of ''

Bloody Roar 3 ''Bloody Roar 3'' is a 2000 fighting arcade video game developed by Eighting and Hudson Soft. It is the first of the '' Bloody Roar'' series to appear on the Sony PlayStation 2. Gameplay The main feature of ''Bloody Roar 3'' is the ability t ...

'', Xion, who is possessed by the Unborn, an evil spirit, attacks the dragon temple, awakening the dragon. The dragon is a weapon of Gaia, the Earth's will, and is supposed to awaken in the presence of evil. However, if freed too long, it can inadvertently destroy the world itself. The dragon is successfully resealed by the temple's head

miko A , or shrine maiden,Groemer, 28. is a young priestess who works at a Shinto shrine. were once likely seen as shamans,Picken, 140. but are understood in modern Japanese culture to be an institutionalized role in daily life, trained to perform ...

at the cost of her life, leaving the late miko's sister, Mana, to watch over the seal in Ryoho, the temple's priest and the vessel of the dragon. Other than attacking the temple, Xion also stabs a woman named Nagi, imbuing her with his power as well as that of Gaia's, making her both his lifesaver and enemy. A year later, the dragon is about to break free again, causing disturbances among the zoanthropes triggering earthquakes. Each of the zoanthropes investigate and eventually find the source in the dragon temple. In some cases, Ryoho and Mana invite them to help strengthen the seal, while others come on their own accord. In most of the characters' endings, Mana manages to seal the dragon and Ryoho comes out alive. In Nagi's ending, in addition to sealing the dragon and saving Ryoho, she kills Xion and the Unborn. In Xion's ending, the Unborn is killed, but not before murdering Ryoho and the dragon. In Reiji's ending, the confrontation at the temple ends with him murdering Ryoho and the dragon.

Characters

The game features eighteen playable characters. Four are new additions: * Nagi Kirishima, the Spurious: A human who becomes entangled with the zoanthrope conflict when Xion stabbed her during his rampage on the dragon temple. The incident not only bequeathed her with Xion's essence, thus branding her his clone, but also the power of Gaia, the Earth's will who opposes Xion. * Reiji Takigawa, the

Crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...

: A former member of the

Yatagarasu Yatagarasu (Yatagarasu, Yata no Karasu) is a mythical crowThe Book of Ancient Matters, The Book of Ancient Matters, Gakken, pp. 130, 138, 139. and a guiding god in Shinto mythology. During Emperor Jimmu's Eastern Expedition, he was guided from ...

, a clan of crow zoanthropes protecting the dragon temple. He went fugitive after killing his father and became a hedonist who messes around zoanthropes for fun. * Ryoho and Mana: Two guardians of the dragon temple. Ryoho, who real name is Rao Mamurasaki, is a priest who is secretly a vessel for Gaia's dragon, whereas Mana is a young

nine-tailed fox The nine-tailed fox () is a mythical fox entity originating from Chinese mythology that is a common motif in East Asian mythology and the most famous fox spirit in Chinese culture. In Chinese and East Asian folklore, foxes are depicted as spiri ...

tasked to keep the dragon's seal. In gameplay, the two work in tandem, with Mana serving as the zoanthrope transformation. * Ryoho, the Dragon: The character is Ryoho after he is possessed by the dragon. He is no longer accompanied by Mana and instead has his own zoanthrope transformation. No matter which difficulty the player chooses, Ryoho’s dragon form is very difficult to defeat normally without any chance to continue fighting him, and requires tactics to defeat him in Arcade Mode. The other fourteen return from previous games: * Yugo Ogami, the

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

. * Alice Tsukagami, the

Rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

. * Alan Gado, the

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

. * Long Shin, the

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

. * Uriko Nonomura, the

Cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

. * Kenji Ogami/Bakuryu, the

Mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...

. * Stun, the

Insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

. * Shina, the

Leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

. * Jenny Burtory, the

Bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

. * Hajime Busuzima, the

Chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colors, bein ...

. * Shenlong, the Tiger. * Xion, the Unborn. * Kohryu, the Iron Mole. * Uranus, the Chimera.

Audio

The Japanese voice cast includes

Akimitsu Takase is a Japanese voice actor from Chiba Prefecture. He graduated from the Tokyo Seiyu Academy and Ezaki Productions Training School (currently Mausu Promotion Actors' School). After working at Mausu Promotion, he joined Aksent. Filmography Anim ...

as Yugo, Ruri Asano as Alice,

Akira Ishida is a Japanese actor and voice actor. For his portrayal of Saki Abdusha in '' You're Under Arrest'', Makoto Kurumizawa in '' BOYS BE'', Setsuna Aoki in ''Sakura Wars'', and Athrun Zala is a fictional character from the Japanese science fict ...

as Bakuryu,

Yuki Hamano is a former Japanese football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where ...

as Uriko,

Kenji Hamada is a Japanese voice actor from Fukuoka, Japan who is an affiliate of Mausu Promotion. On adult works, he goes under the alias of . Personal life In 1996, Hamada enrolled at Ezaki Production school. Since 1998, he has been affiliated with Mausu ...

as Shenlong, Ayaka Kodama as Jenny,

Akio Ōtsuka is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from the Tokyo Metropolitan area. He is attached to Mausu Promotion. The astringent and calm quality of his deep voice has landed him many roles in films, dubbing, animation, and video games. He is ...

as Gado,

Tōru Ōkawa is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. While he went to a College of Art, Nihon University, he started his career as a stage actor, but after he moved to Mausu Promotion, his current agency, he came to focus on voice acting. Filmography ...

as Stun, Shōto Kashii as Busuzima,

Mitsuaki Madono is a Japanese voice actor who was born in Osaka, Japan. He's known for voicing characters who are jokers, but sometimes hide a more insidious nature such as Emishi Haruki in ''GetBackers'', Loki in ''Valkyrie Profile'', Joker in ''Flame of Recca' ...

as Xion,

Nao Takamori is a Japanese voice actress from Chiba Prefecture affiliated with Production Ace. Filmography Television animation *'' Aquarian Age: Sign for Evolution ''(Receptionist, nurse) *''Bakugan Battle Brawlers'' (Wavern) *'' Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Ne ...

as Nagi,

Masakazu Suzuki is a former Japanese football player and manager. Playing career Suzuki was born in Yamanashi Prefecture on January 1, 1955. After graduating from Nippon Sport Science University, he played for Yamaha Motors (later ''Júbilo Iwata'') from 1977 ...

as Reiji,

Naomi Kusumi is a Japanese actor and voice actor. He worked at the Seinenza Theater Company in 1999, and currently works at Mausu Promotion. He is often typecast in either overweight or middle-aged roles in voice acting. He is the official Japanese dubbing vo ...

as Ryoho,

Ema Kogure is a freelance Japanese voice actress previously affiliated with Mausu Promotion. She was born in Osaka Prefecture and raised in Adachi, Tokyo. Filmography Television animation ;2000s *Hand Maid May (Mika, Miyuki Zin, Woman) * Go! Go! Itsutsugo ...

as Mana,

Naoki Bandō , often credited as Naoki Bandou, is a Japanese voice actor who has worked on a few videogame titles and anime series. He provides the voice of Lord Emon in ''Shadow of the Colossus'', and the voice of Larikush in '' Baten Kaitos''. Some of his ...

as Long, Atsuko Tanaka as Marvel/Shina,

Takeshi Aono was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Asahikawa, Hokkaidō. He was attached to Aoni Production at the time of his death. He graduated from Hokkaidō Asahikawa Higashi High School. Career Aono was most known for the roles of Shiro ...

as Kohryu and

Eriko Fujimaki is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan and is employed by Aoni Production. Filmography Anime *''Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden'' *'' Green Green'' *'' Guruguru Town Hanamaru-kun'' *''Hikaru no Go'' *''Madeline'' Games *''Bloody Roar 3'' - ...

as Uranus. The English voice cast includes Rob Narita as Yugo, Rumiko Varnes as Alice, Raj Ramayya as Bakuryu, Lynn Harris as Uriko, David Schaufele as Shenlong, Alison Noonan as Jenny, Murray Johnson as Gado, Ward Sexton as Stun, Micheal Rhys as Busuzima, Walter Roberts as Xion,

Erica Ash Erica Chantal Ash (born September 19, 1977) is an American actress, comedian, singer and model. She was a cast member on the sketch comedy programs ''MADtv'' and ''The Big Gay Sketch Show'', and she later starred in the Starz sitcom '' Survivo ...

as Nagi,

Eric Kelso Eric Kelso (born December 22, 1962) is an American voice actor, director, presenter and producer currently based in Tokyo, Japan. He is best known as the voice of Paul Phoenix in the video game series, ''Tekken'', as well as Guizhang Chen, M ...

as Reiji, Angus Waycott as Ryoho, Helen Morrison as Mana, Chris Wells as Long, Karen Lee as Shina, Greg Irwin as Kohryu and

Donna Burke Donna Burke is an Australian voice actress, singer, narrator and businesswoman. She is also known for her vocal work on songs produced for video game series such as ''Metal Gear'' and ''Final Fantasy''. Biography Burke graduated from Edith Cow ...

as Uranus.

Reception

''Bloody Roar 4'' has received average reviews from critics, with aggregate review website

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

assigning a score of 60%.

References

External links

* {{Eighting 2003 video games Bloody Roar Multiplayer and single-player video games PlayStation 2 games PlayStation 2-only games 3D fighting games Fighting games Hudson Soft games Eighting games Konami games Video game sequels RenderWare games Video games developed in Japan