Bakugan is pretty big franchise and it’s always looked exciting. I’ve never seen the anime or checked out any of the reading material, but I consider myself to be an experienced fan. Why is that? Well, I own the first PS3 game and I own the 2nd PS3 game, along with the next DS game. From the title of the review, we can also figure out that I own this one, meaning that I’ve got the whole collection. I’m pretty psyched to work on the PS3 one, but I have a lot of PS3 games on the back burner so we’ll see how quickly I’m able to get through it.

The first game in the series was pretty incredible so this game had some really big shoes to fill. The game started out at a quick disadvantage since they would be getting rid of most of the marble part of the gameplay and just keeping in the turn based system. After playing it, I can say that the gameplay hasn’t fallen too far. Getting rid of the marble gameplay is a little disappointing, but the turn based part is great on its own as well.

The gameplay in itself would probably net the game an 8. I was tempted to give the game such a high rating, but there just wasn’t enough content. The game has 25 levels which may sound decent, but the levels are over in a matter of minutes. I completed the entire game in about a day and it’s much less when you consider how long I was actually playing the game. It’s only a few hours long and did I mention that the game is ultimately easy? If you are not at a high enough level to defeat the enemy, just beat a minigame which will drastically increase your monster’s attack points. Each minigame ranged from around 30 seconds to a minute and a half. If you play the mini games enough, your monsters will easily be strong enough to win the battle.

The actual plot of the game is good and the Earth is in trouble. The main villain, Vector, has kidnapped all of the Bakugan from Earth. He is mind controlling them and he plans to create the ultimate Bakugan and take over the world! Maybe even destroy it when he’s good and ready. Dan (The Man) must use his new Bakugan to save his original Bakugan and also save the planet while he’s at it. The cutscenes are comprised of stills, but they have more variations than the average game so they’re still fun to watch.

The main problem is the fact that the villain’s will constantly say the same things over and over again. Nearly all of the dialogue is recycled footage and it can get a little repetitive. The soundtrack is leagues under the PS3 game and I miss the main character from the game as well. Dan is still solid and he can hold his own game so it’s not a very big loss. The supporting characters don’t really get to do anything in this game so I don’t really have any opinions on them. The animation is really good for the stills, but not so good for the actual gameplay. They look really weird and you may think that we’re back in the GBA era. (Some of those games had better graphics) Still, who needs good animation when the gameplay is so fun right?

The main menu is pretty bare bones and there is really nothing to do after you’ve beaten the game. You can replay the old levels and power up your monsters I suppose. It will certainly be easy enough since the levels go up really fast, but there isn’t much of a point in the long run. I just stuck with a Fire, Fire, Grass combo to take out all of my opponents. It’s a really solid roster to have, especially since the final villain uses dark types.

Overall, I definitely recommend this game. The main drawback is the fact that the game is so short and that’s why I’ve made sure to warn you about this. You will be done with the game in about a day and there may not be much reason to start playing it again. It may be destined to go back in the drawyer for all of eternity, but I still recommend that you buy the game. It may be short, but the gameplay is pretty great and I had a blast. Sometimes a game may be short, but the gameplay can still make it incredible. (Bleach for PS3. Although that one had a lot of other modes to help the length) Let’s not forget that LASERMAN is in the game as well! Also, watch out for the epic, twist ending. Let’s just say that things got real!

Overall 7/10