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The Bouncer (video game)

The Bouncer (Japanese: バウンサー, Hepburn: Baunsā) is a 2000 beat 'em up video game for the PlayStation 2 co-developed by Squaresoft and DreamFactory. It was published in Japan by Squaresoft in December 2000, in North America by Square Electronic Arts in March 2001, and in Europe by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe in June 2001. The game was produced by Shinji Hashimoto, co-directed by Takashi Tokita and Seiichi Ishii, and features character designs by Tetsuya Nomura, and music by Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi.

The Bouncer
North American cover art
Developer(s)DreamFactory
Publisher(s)
Director(s)
Producer(s)Shinji Hashimoto
Designer(s)
  • Yuichi Ninagawa
  • Hiroshi Takai
Programmer(s)Taketoshi Nishimori
Artist(s)Tetsuya Nomura
Composer(s)
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
Genre(s)Beat 'em up, action rpg
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The game tells the story of three bouncers in the fictional city of Edge on a rescue mission to save their young friend from the Mikado Group, a solar technology megacorporation owned by the megalomaniacal Dauragon C. Mikado. The game is structured like a "playable action movie," with the plot unfolding differently depending on which character the player chooses for specific gameplay sequences.[2]

The Bouncer was Square's first game released internationally on the PlayStation 2, and although it received considerable press coverage before its release, and was greatly anticipated as one of the marquee titles in the first batch of PS2 games, it was met with poor sales and mixed reviews.

Gameplay

 
Gameplay in The Bouncer. The player is controlling Volt. Sion and Kou are being controlled by the AI. The players' health is on the top left; the enemy's on the top right.

Controls in The Bouncer are similar to those in the Tobal series.[3] Certain buttons denote high, middle, and low attacks, whilst others are used for jumping attacks, blocking, and special moves. Players have a health meter during gameplay, which, if depleted, means the player dies. Players also have a limited number of guard points available to them, although this is not represented by an onscreen meter. As the player blocks, the number of guard points diminish. When they are gone completely, the player can no longer block.[4]

The game's combat uses ragdoll physics, which allows characters to be launched several feet into the air, making it possible to juggle enemies by striking them repeatedly. Enemies can also be thrown or otherwise knocked into one another, causing all of them to take damage at once.

Story Mode

The Bouncer is structured as a series of short gameplay segments interspersed with cinematic cutscenes that tell the game's story. With the Active Character Selection (ACS) system, when a cutscene concludes, the player is given the choice to control one of the three protagonists and proceed onto the next gameplay segment.[5] The player then controls this character for the duration of the level, whilst the other two characters are controlled by the AI. At the conclusion of each gameplay segment, the player is able to spend Bouncer Points (BP), the game's equivalent of experience points, using the Point Exchange System. BPs can be used to boost the character's statistics (health, power and guard) and unlock new fighting moves.[6] Spending BPs allows the character to level up, with their rank graded on a letter scale from G to A, and finally, an S-Rank.[7]

Typical gameplay in The Bouncer consists of the player fighting groups of enemies using hand-to-hand combat techniques. Occasionally, one of the AI-controlled bouncers will do a taunt, prompting a button-press to activate a team attack ("Trinity Rush") which damages all enemies on screen.[8] However, the Trinity Rush is ineffective against some bosses. In some instances, the player is also tasked with activities other than fighting, such as running through a series of hallways to avoid being caught in a flood, finding a keycard, or fooling enemies into thinking the player is one of them. In general, a gameplay segment ends when the player has either defeated all of the enemies in the area, has defeated a boss enemy, or has achieved a set goal.

Survival Mode

In addition to the main Story Mode, there is also a single-player survival mode. Spanning ten stages and fifty enemies, every time the player survives a round, the gameplay gets progressively more difficult. At the start of each stage, the player's health bar does not return to full, but remains where it was at the end of the previous stage.[9]

Multiplayer

The Bouncer supports the PlayStation 2 multitap accessory,[10] and the game's multiplayer Versus Mode supports up to four players simultaneously in the "Battle Royal" mode. Battle Royal can also be played by a single player against three AI-controlled opponents, or by two players against two AI-controlled opponents.[9]

Synopsis

Set in Edge, a modern-day metropolis run by the Mikado Group corporation led by Dauragon Mikado, the story opens at the Fate bar on Dog Street, where three bouncers are enjoying a quiet evening; the young boy Sion, the light-hearted Kou, and the intimidating but just Volt. Dominique, a new friend of Sion's, visits to gift Sion a new necklace from his favorite fashion line. Fate is then attacked by masked soldiers from Mikado who kidnap Dominique, and Sion pursues them with Kou and Volt in tow. They pursue signs of Dominique across Edge, splitting up in a few places and confronting agents of Mikado. These include Echidna, a supervisor who knows Volt; Kaldea, a former friend of Sion's turned through experimentation into a shapeshifting agent of Dauragon; and Mugetsu, a skilled soldier driven insane by enhancement experiments. Each protagonist has their own routes which impact story sequences, and backstory elements during loading screens in their routes.

  • Sion was Kaldea's childhood friend and the adopted student of Wong Leung, a master martial artist who held old ties with the Mikado Group. Wong Leung later mysteriously disappeared to train Dauragon, and Kaldea later died in their teenage years in an industrial accident while working as an intern at Mikado. These experiences left Sion both emotionally scarred and eventually suicidally depressed, leading him to pick violent street fights in Edge's dangerous slums as a way to end his life. He was taken in by Fate after being beaten by Volt in a fist fight, then encountered Dominique on the streets and decided to care for her.
  • Kou is an undercover operative under Leann Caldwell, assigned by the anti-Mikado intelligence agency LUKIS to watch over Dominique. His distinctive full-body tattoo was a requirement for his mission so he could blend in on Dog Street. His real identity is Kou Hurst, the Hurst family being once prestigious in Edge, before being overshadowed by the Mikado Group.
  • Volt was a former Mikado employee loyal to Dauragon's adoptive father and previous head of the Mikado Group, Master Mikado. Soon rising to become Mikado's most dedicated and elite bodyguard, this came to earn the jealousy of Echidna, and when he attempted to fight against Dauragon, he was framed for Master Mikado's death and almost died. Taken in by the staff of Fate, he obscured facial scarring from his escape using face piercings. Originally, he was a street gang leader who was hired by a younger Dauragon to take out Master Mikado, but joined his ranks upon Mikado displaying no fear towards his former assailant, commandeering his respect.

During their missions, they learn that Dominique is an android created in the image of Dauragon's late sister, and he is planning to destroy Edge and take over the world as an act of revenge, in hatred towards their abandonment and unforgiving lives on the streets, and as his sister died due to neglect by the city's social systems. Echidna is defeated and eventually abandons Mikado. Kaldea's fate depends on who is selected to fight her. Mugetsu is killed by the group after Dominique is taken to a rocket heading for a new satellite designed by Dauragon to destroy Edge. With help from Leann, the three reach the satellite in a shuttle. There they free Dominique and defeat Dauragon, escaping as the satellite is destroyed. Depending on the final character selected, the ending scene varies; Sion is shown happy with Dominique, Volt meets Echidna again, while Kou opts to remain assigned to Dominique. A series of post-credit stills shows Dominique, wearing Sion's necklace, visiting her friends' graves. In Sion's route, a further scene shows when he and Dominique first met.

Development

The game was announced at the Spring Tokyo Game Show in March 1999, where it was revealed as Square's first PlayStation 2 title.[11] On July 12, 1999, IGN reported that Square was working on three PlayStation 2 games; an unknown game, a Final Fantasy game and a fighting game, which was thought to be Ehrgeiz 2.[12] Footage of the game was subsequently shown at the SIGGRAPH Convention in August, at which time the game was still thought to be Ehrgeiz 2. The footage showed the three main characters, which at that time were two men and one woman, fighting a group of ninja in a café.[13] However, on August 23, MagicBox.com reported the game was not a sequel, but an original story.[14] The title of the game was revealed on September 10, when Sony announced the PlayStation 2 launch titles.[15]

A non-playable demo was shown at the Fall Tokyo Game Show in September. IGN reported "Square's "Seamless Action Battle System" means that players will roam from adventure sequence to fighting sequence without intermittent FMVs or cutscenes that look out of place; the adventure aspects blend seamlessly into massive street brawls involving as many ten characters."[11] GameSpot were also very enthusiastic about the early footage from the game, writing "The Bouncer is arguably one of the strongest visual demonstrations of the PlayStation 2 hardware thus far. Designed to appear as though you're controlling characters in a movie, The Bouncer's camera movements and special effects truly appear as though they're straight out of a Hollywood creation."[16]

At the Spring Tokyo Game Show in March 2000, Square showed only a ten-second clip of the game, and revealed no new screenshots or information. They also had no release date, leading some journalists to speculate there may be problems behind the scenes.[17] At E3 in May, Square showed some new footage from the game, although they still did not provide a playable demo. IGN was underwhelmed with the new material, feeling there appeared to be too many cutscenes in relation to actual gameplay.[18] On July 13, GameSpot revealed the game's character designs were being handled by Tetsuya Nomura, and the game would receive a simultaneous North American/Japanese release in late 2000.[19] However, on September 1, IGN reported DreamFactory were having difficulty working with the PlayStation 2's hardware, and the game had been pushed back to January 2001.[20]

On September 19, IGN revealed that the game would feature Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound for the FMV cutscenes, and Square were attempting to use 5.1 sound for gameplay sections as well.[21] GameSpot revealed more details about the game on September 20, including the three available modes of play: Story, Versus and Survival. They reported that Square expected the story mode to take players roughly seven to eight hours to complete thoroughly.[22]

The selling point of an "action game" is the feeling of oneness with the character, but on the other hand, action games lack characterization and story development. RPGs can cover most of these narrative factors, but command input-type RPGs sacrifice the tempo, thrill factor, and the feeling of immediacy. The Bouncer's system is a combination of the best elements from these two genres.

Takashi Tokita, co-director[23]

On September 21, IGN published a roundtable interview with members of the development team; character designer Tetsuya Nomura, composers Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi, and co-director Takashi Tokita. The developers outlined the gameplay mechanics, the branching story, the versus and survival modes, the music, the character design, and the challenges of working on the PlayStation 2 for the first time.[23] Tokita claimed the most difficult aspect of the game's creation was working with the PlayStation 2's hardware.[24] The team also said the gameplay was partially derived from DreamFactory's Ehrgeiz and Tobal games, while graphically, the atmosphere was developed with the use of filters and lighting.[2]

On November 13, Square announced a Japanese release date of December 23.[25] On December 18, they confirmed a North American release date of January 30, 2001,[26] although this was quickly pushed back to March.[27]

The game uses the bloom shader effect to soften rough edges.[28]

Audio

The Bouncer was the first PlayStation 2 game to feature Dolby 5.1 sound, which was used specifically for the FMV sequences.[2][29] In addition, it features voice acting with subtitles in both English and Japanese. Because the game was being considered for a North American release early in production, the English voices were recorded first. The Japanese voices were recorded and incorporated later to "provide more of a DVD quality to the game."[2]

Soundtrack

The Bouncer was scored by Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi. The game contains several vocal themes, including the original Japanese ending theme song "Forevermore" ("Owaranaimono"), performed by Reiko Noda, and the English-language theme song "Love Is the Gift", performed by Shanice Wilson. Takashi Tokita has commented that the lyrics of "Love Is the Gift", heard during the closing credits, signify the game's overall theme.[30]

Two separate soundtracks were released; one in Japan and one in North America. The Japanese version, The Bouncer Original Soundtrack, is a 2-disc, 29-track album, published on March 23, 2001, by DigiCube.[31]

The Bouncer Original Soundtrack
No.TitleLength
1."Prelude"0:42
2."Prologue"4:29
3."Disquietude"1:57
4."Tension"1:59
5."The Escape"2:06
6."Melody of Reminiscence"2:17
7."Infiltration"1:52
8."LUKIS Covert Op."1:36
9."Reminiscence"0:14
10."Distant Rain: The Cross Children"2:05
11."Mikado's Plot: A Foolish Utopia"2:39
12."The Pursuit"1:39
13."Affection"2:49
14."Owaranaimono"6:30
15."Sion Barzahd"3:27
16."Volt Kruger"3:50
17."Kou Leifoh"3:16
18."Echidna"2:56
19."Mugetsu"3:06
20."Kaldea Orchid"4:29
21."PD-4"2:54
22."Dominique Cross"3:17
23."Wong Leung"3:58
24."Leann Caldwell"3:58
25."Mugetsu: Destruction"3:58
26."Dauragon C. Mikado"3:58
27."Dauragon C. Mikado: Madness"3:35
28."Dauragon C. Mikado: Awakening"3:29
29."Sion Barzahd: Jet Black"4:13

The North American version, The Bouncer Original Video Game Soundtrack, is a single disc, 21-track album, published on March 26, 2001, by Tokyopop Soundtrax.[32]

The Bouncer Original Video Game Soundtrack
No.TitleLength
1."Prelude"0:42
2."Sion Barzahd"3:27
3."Volt Krueger"3:50
4."Kou Leifoh"3:16
5."Echidna"2:56
6."Mugetsu"3:05
7."Kaldea Orchid"4:29
8."PD-4"2:55
9."Dominique Cross"3:17
10."Mugetsu: Destruction"3:28
11."Dauragon C. Mikado"3:58
12."Dauragon C. Mikado: Madness"3:35
13."Dauragon C. Mikado: Awakening"3:29
14."Prologue"2:52
15."Disquietude"1:56
16."The Escape"2:03
17."LUKIS Covert Op."1:36
18."Distant Rain: The Cross Children"2:05
19."The Pursuit"1:39
20."Owaranaimono"6:33
21."Kou Leifoh (Remixed)"3:31

Reception

The Bouncer received "mixed or average reviews," and holds an aggregate score of 66 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on twenty reviews.[33]

With the consideration of its high-profile development team, as well as the fact that it was a front-runner PlayStation 2 release, The Bouncer was highly anticipated. However, the game was perceived as a disappointment by many, and was largely seen as mediocre. Numerous aspects from the E3 trailer, such as destructible scenery, were removed in the final game, possibly in order to get the game out in time to be among the first batch of PlayStation 2 titles. Much of the criticism, however, fell on the gameplay. IGN found the controls average and the camera angles to become a major issue in the later portions of the game, where the player is confined to tight spaces.[10] The game was also seen as having an excessive amount of cutscenes and load screens. GameCritics' Brad Galloway, for example, argued actual gameplay constitutes less than one third of the game's length.[40]

IGN's Douglass C. Perry reviewed an import version of the game prior to its release in North America, and was disappointed with the lack of depth, but impressed by other aspects. He praised the graphics, character design and CGI cutscenes. He was also impressed with the "glowing" effect used throughout the game; "DreamFactory employs a Playboy-like filter that smoothes out every single bit on the screen. The effect is consistent throughout the game, and rids the PS2 of aliasing or flickering, but also provides a unique gloss that's never been used before with such success." He concluded that, "despite the disappointments, I am absolutely having a great time with The Bouncer."[41] In his official review of the game upon its North American release, Perry scored it 7 out of 10, writing "The game is a letdown, but not a catastrophic one. [...] It's a good game, not a great one, and it's worth a look." He referred to Story Mode as a "mixed bag of good ideas executed ineffectively," although he praised multiplayer mode. He concluded "The Bouncer is not the next messiah, it's not the next wave of fighting, and frankly, it's not the paradigm for anything really new, except perhaps incredible-looking graphics. These things said, The Bouncer is a decent game. It's not horrible, it's not brilliant. It's pretty average."[10]

In his look at the import version, GameSpot's Miguel Lopez called the game "little more than a glorified and highly cinematic version of Final Fight using dated Tobal animations." He called the graphics "quite competent," but was highly critical of the game's length, estimating a player could play through the entire game in 45 minutes or less, if they skipped cutscenes.[42] In his full review, Jeff Gerstmann scored the game 6.7 out of 10. Of the graphics, he said "Everything, from the characters to the backgrounds, looks absolutely incredible." He concluded "The Bouncer makes a great showpiece for the PlayStation 2. It looks and sounds incredible. However, the ease and extremely short length of the game, matched with other problems like horrific camera angles and lack of a multiplayer story mode, make The Bouncer fair, at best."[3] It was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Most Disappointing Game" award among console games, which went to Luigi's Mansion.[43]

Game Revolution's Brian Gee awarded the game a C+. He wrote, "It's easy to tell what the developers focused on, because The Bouncer is obviously one of the best-looking games on a console to date. Near flawless animations and picture perfect visuals make it a great choice to show off the sleek Sony super machine to your friends. Once the game begins, though, The Bouncer sheds it's [sic] pretty boy image and gets down and dirty." He was critical of the controls and the absence of a lock-on feature. Like other critics, he also had problems with the camera and the ratio of cutscenes to gameplay. He concluded "Though many will undoubtedly be disappointed by The Bouncer's inability to live up to the hype, others will find a fancy beat 'em up to pass a few hours. Its flashy graphics are at least worth taking a look at, but its many problems just might keep it from a place in the collection."[36]

GamePro were more impressed, scoring the game 4.5 out 5, and writing "The Bouncer slickly combines copious amounts of hard-hitting moves with a stellar story line all in a visually stunning world."[35]

Blake Fischer reviewed the PlayStation 2 version of the game for Next Generation, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "The Bouncer manages to look good, but don't let that fool you into thinking that it's very fun."[37]

Sales

The Bouncer was a commercial failure. In its debut week in Japan, it sold 158,727 units, debuting as the fifth highest selling game across all systems.[44] It went on to sell 219,858 units by the end of 2000, finishing as the 53rd highest selling game of the year, across all systems,[45] and the 9th highest selling PlayStation 2 game of the year.[46] It sold an additional 126,123 units in 2001, for a total of 345,981 units sold.[47]

References

Notes

References

  1. ^ a b c "The Bouncer". IGN. from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d Perry, Douglass C.; Zdryko, Dave; Smith, David (March 7, 2001). "The Bouncer Interview". IGN. from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c Gerstmann, Jeff (March 2, 2001). "The Bouncer Review". GameSpot. from the original on January 31, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  4. ^ "Battle System: Guard and Defence". Squaresoft. from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  5. ^ "Story Mode". The Bouncer Instruction Manual. Squaresoft. 2001. p. 8. from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  6. ^ "Point Exchange System". The Bouncer Instruction Manual. Squaresoft. 2001. p. 10. from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  7. ^ "Bouncer Points". The Bouncer Instruction Manual. Squaresoft. 2001. p. 9. from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  8. ^ "Battle System: Trinity Rush". Squaresoft. from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  9. ^ a b "Versus & Survival Modes". The Bouncer Instruction Manual (PDF). Squaresoft. 2001. p. 12.
  10. ^ a b c d Perry, Douglass C. (March 6, 2001). "The Bouncer Review". IGN. from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2007.
  11. ^ a b Perry, Douglass C. (September 20, 1999). "TGS 1999: The Bouncer - First Look". IGN. from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  12. ^ Perry, Douglass C. (July 12, 1999). "PS2 Week in Review: July 7 through July 12". IGN. from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  13. ^ "First Look at PS2 Ehrgeiz 2?". IGN. August 16, 1999. from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  14. ^ Perry, Douglass C. (August 23, 1999). "Square's First PlayStation 2 Fighter?". IGN. from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  15. ^ Perry, Douglass C. (September 10, 1999). "The PS2 Launch Titles". IGN. from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  16. ^ "Bouncer Preview". GameSpot. February 10, 2000. from the original on January 25, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  17. ^ Zdyrko, Dave (April 3, 2000). "TGS 2000: The Bouncer Almost a No-Show". IGN. from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  18. ^ Perry, Douglass C. (May 11, 2000). "E3 2000: The Bouncer Impressions". IGN. from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  19. ^ Sato, Ike (July 13, 2000). "Catching Up With The Bouncer". GameSpot. from the original on January 20, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  20. ^ "Off The Record". IGN. September 1, 2000. from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  21. ^ "The Bouncer Gets 5.1 Channel Surround Sound". IGN. September 19, 2000. from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  22. ^ Sato, Ike (September 20, 2000). "More Facts Emerge from The Bouncer". GameSpot. from the original on January 29, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  23. ^ a b "The Bouncer Team Talks About Its Mysterious Game". IGN. September 21, 2000. from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  24. ^ Tokyo Drifter (November 24, 2000). . GamePro. Archived from the original on January 13, 2005. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  25. ^ Sato, Ike (November 13, 2000). "The Bouncer Date Set in Stone". GameSpot. from the original on February 18, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  26. ^ "Bouncer And Type-S Get Dated". IGN. December 18, 2000. from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  27. ^ "The Bouncer and ZOE May Get Big Backing". IGN. December 20, 2000. from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  28. ^ Massey, Tom (February 9, 2015). "Ys: Memories of Celceta review". Eurogamer. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  29. ^ "The Bouncer Goes Dolby". GameSpot. January 5, 2001. from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved September 16, 2007.
  30. ^ "The Bouncer Gets a Theme Song". IGN. October 23, 2000. from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2007.
  31. ^ "The Bouncer Original Soundtrack" (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  32. ^ "The Bouncer Original Video Game Soundtrack". Amazon. from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  33. ^ a b "The Bouncer". Metacritic. from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  34. ^ "プレイステーション2 - バウンサー". Famitsu. No. 915. Enterbrain. June 30, 2006. p. 87.
  35. ^ a b . GamePro. June 3, 2001. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  36. ^ a b Gee, Brian (March 1, 2001). "The Bouncer Review". Game Revolution. from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  37. ^ a b Fischer, Blake (March 2001). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 4, no. 3. Imagine Media. pp. 78–79.
  38. ^ "The Bouncer Review". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. March 2001. p. 130.
  39. ^ "The Bouncer". Play. No. 73. February 2001. pp. 44–46.
  40. ^ Galloway, Brad (March 23, 2001). . GameCritics. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  41. ^ Perry, Douglass C. (January 3, 2001). "The Bouncer Import Review". IGN. from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  42. ^ Lopez, Miguel (January 9, 2001). "The Bouncer Hands-On". GameSpot. from the original on January 31, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  43. ^ GameSpot VG Staff (February 23, 2002). . GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 3, 2002.
  44. ^ "ゲームソフト販売ランキング TOP30" (in Japanese). Famitsu. December 28, 2000. from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  45. ^ "2000年テレビゲームソフト売り上げTOP300" (in Japanese). Geimin.net. from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  46. ^ "Japan Top 10 Best Selling PlayStation 2 Games of 2000". The-MagicBox.com. from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2007.
  47. ^ "2001年テレビゲームソフト売り上げTOP300" (in Japanese). Geimin.net. from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.

External links

  • Official European site
  • (in Japanese) (Archive)

bouncer, video, game, bouncer, japanese, バウンサー, hepburn, baunsā, 2000, beat, video, game, playstation, developed, squaresoft, dreamfactory, published, japan, squaresoft, december, 2000, north, america, square, electronic, arts, march, 2001, europe, sony, compu. The Bouncer Japanese バウンサー Hepburn Baunsa is a 2000 beat em up video game for the PlayStation 2 co developed by Squaresoft and DreamFactory It was published in Japan by Squaresoft in December 2000 in North America by Square Electronic Arts in March 2001 and in Europe by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe in June 2001 The game was produced by Shinji Hashimoto co directed by Takashi Tokita and Seiichi Ishii and features character designs by Tetsuya Nomura and music by Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi The BouncerNorth American cover artDeveloper s DreamFactoryPublisher s JP SquareNA Square Electronic ArtsPAL Sony Computer EntertainmentDirector s Takashi TokitaSeiichi IshiiProducer s Shinji HashimotoDesigner s Yuichi NinagawaHiroshi TakaiProgrammer s Taketoshi NishimoriArtist s Tetsuya NomuraComposer s Noriko MatsuedaTakahito EguchiPlatform s PlayStation 2ReleaseJP December 23 2000 1 NA March 6 2001 1 EU June 22 2001 1 Genre s Beat em up action rpgMode s Single player multiplayerThe game tells the story of three bouncers in the fictional city of Edge on a rescue mission to save their young friend from the Mikado Group a solar technology megacorporation owned by the megalomaniacal Dauragon C Mikado The game is structured like a playable action movie with the plot unfolding differently depending on which character the player chooses for specific gameplay sequences 2 The Bouncer was Square s first game released internationally on the PlayStation 2 and although it received considerable press coverage before its release and was greatly anticipated as one of the marquee titles in the first batch of PS2 games it was met with poor sales and mixed reviews Contents 1 Gameplay 1 1 Story Mode 1 2 Survival Mode 1 3 Multiplayer 2 Synopsis 3 Development 3 1 Audio 4 Soundtrack 5 Reception 5 1 Sales 6 References 6 1 Notes 6 2 References 7 External linksGameplay Edit Gameplay in The Bouncer The player is controlling Volt Sion and Kou are being controlled by the AI The players health is on the top left the enemy s on the top right Controls in The Bouncer are similar to those in the Tobal series 3 Certain buttons denote high middle and low attacks whilst others are used for jumping attacks blocking and special moves Players have a health meter during gameplay which if depleted means the player dies Players also have a limited number of guard points available to them although this is not represented by an onscreen meter As the player blocks the number of guard points diminish When they are gone completely the player can no longer block 4 The game s combat uses ragdoll physics which allows characters to be launched several feet into the air making it possible to juggle enemies by striking them repeatedly Enemies can also be thrown or otherwise knocked into one another causing all of them to take damage at once Story Mode Edit The Bouncer is structured as a series of short gameplay segments interspersed with cinematic cutscenes that tell the game s story With the Active Character Selection ACS system when a cutscene concludes the player is given the choice to control one of the three protagonists and proceed onto the next gameplay segment 5 The player then controls this character for the duration of the level whilst the other two characters are controlled by the AI At the conclusion of each gameplay segment the player is able to spend Bouncer Points BP the game s equivalent of experience points using the Point Exchange System BPs can be used to boost the character s statistics health power and guard and unlock new fighting moves 6 Spending BPs allows the character to level up with their rank graded on a letter scale from G to A and finally an S Rank 7 Typical gameplay in The Bouncer consists of the player fighting groups of enemies using hand to hand combat techniques Occasionally one of the AI controlled bouncers will do a taunt prompting a button press to activate a team attack Trinity Rush which damages all enemies on screen 8 However the Trinity Rush is ineffective against some bosses In some instances the player is also tasked with activities other than fighting such as running through a series of hallways to avoid being caught in a flood finding a keycard or fooling enemies into thinking the player is one of them In general a gameplay segment ends when the player has either defeated all of the enemies in the area has defeated a boss enemy or has achieved a set goal Survival Mode Edit In addition to the main Story Mode there is also a single player survival mode Spanning ten stages and fifty enemies every time the player survives a round the gameplay gets progressively more difficult At the start of each stage the player s health bar does not return to full but remains where it was at the end of the previous stage 9 Multiplayer Edit The Bouncer supports the PlayStation 2 multitap accessory 10 and the game s multiplayer Versus Mode supports up to four players simultaneously in the Battle Royal mode Battle Royal can also be played by a single player against three AI controlled opponents or by two players against two AI controlled opponents 9 Synopsis EditSet in Edge a modern day metropolis run by the Mikado Group corporation led by Dauragon Mikado the story opens at the Fate bar on Dog Street where three bouncers are enjoying a quiet evening the young boy Sion the light hearted Kou and the intimidating but just Volt Dominique a new friend of Sion s visits to gift Sion a new necklace from his favorite fashion line Fate is then attacked by masked soldiers from Mikado who kidnap Dominique and Sion pursues them with Kou and Volt in tow They pursue signs of Dominique across Edge splitting up in a few places and confronting agents of Mikado These include Echidna a supervisor who knows Volt Kaldea a former friend of Sion s turned through experimentation into a shapeshifting agent of Dauragon and Mugetsu a skilled soldier driven insane by enhancement experiments Each protagonist has their own routes which impact story sequences and backstory elements during loading screens in their routes Sion was Kaldea s childhood friend and the adopted student of Wong Leung a master martial artist who held old ties with the Mikado Group Wong Leung later mysteriously disappeared to train Dauragon and Kaldea later died in their teenage years in an industrial accident while working as an intern at Mikado These experiences left Sion both emotionally scarred and eventually suicidally depressed leading him to pick violent street fights in Edge s dangerous slums as a way to end his life He was taken in by Fate after being beaten by Volt in a fist fight then encountered Dominique on the streets and decided to care for her Kou is an undercover operative under Leann Caldwell assigned by the anti Mikado intelligence agency LUKIS to watch over Dominique His distinctive full body tattoo was a requirement for his mission so he could blend in on Dog Street His real identity is Kou Hurst the Hurst family being once prestigious in Edge before being overshadowed by the Mikado Group Volt was a former Mikado employee loyal to Dauragon s adoptive father and previous head of the Mikado Group Master Mikado Soon rising to become Mikado s most dedicated and elite bodyguard this came to earn the jealousy of Echidna and when he attempted to fight against Dauragon he was framed for Master Mikado s death and almost died Taken in by the staff of Fate he obscured facial scarring from his escape using face piercings Originally he was a street gang leader who was hired by a younger Dauragon to take out Master Mikado but joined his ranks upon Mikado displaying no fear towards his former assailant commandeering his respect During their missions they learn that Dominique is an android created in the image of Dauragon s late sister and he is planning to destroy Edge and take over the world as an act of revenge in hatred towards their abandonment and unforgiving lives on the streets and as his sister died due to neglect by the city s social systems Echidna is defeated and eventually abandons Mikado Kaldea s fate depends on who is selected to fight her Mugetsu is killed by the group after Dominique is taken to a rocket heading for a new satellite designed by Dauragon to destroy Edge With help from Leann the three reach the satellite in a shuttle There they free Dominique and defeat Dauragon escaping as the satellite is destroyed Depending on the final character selected the ending scene varies Sion is shown happy with Dominique Volt meets Echidna again while Kou opts to remain assigned to Dominique A series of post credit stills shows Dominique wearing Sion s necklace visiting her friends graves In Sion s route a further scene shows when he and Dominique first met Development EditThe game was announced at the Spring Tokyo Game Show in March 1999 where it was revealed as Square s first PlayStation 2 title 11 On July 12 1999 IGN reported that Square was working on three PlayStation 2 games an unknown game a Final Fantasy game and a fighting game which was thought to be Ehrgeiz 2 12 Footage of the game was subsequently shown at the SIGGRAPH Convention in August at which time the game was still thought to be Ehrgeiz 2 The footage showed the three main characters which at that time were two men and one woman fighting a group of ninja in a cafe 13 However on August 23 MagicBox com reported the game was not a sequel but an original story 14 The title of the game was revealed on September 10 when Sony announced the PlayStation 2 launch titles 15 A non playable demo was shown at the Fall Tokyo Game Show in September IGN reported Square s Seamless Action Battle System means that players will roam from adventure sequence to fighting sequence without intermittent FMVs or cutscenes that look out of place the adventure aspects blend seamlessly into massive street brawls involving as many ten characters 11 GameSpot were also very enthusiastic about the early footage from the game writing The Bouncer is arguably one of the strongest visual demonstrations of the PlayStation 2 hardware thus far Designed to appear as though you re controlling characters in a movie The Bouncer s camera movements and special effects truly appear as though they re straight out of a Hollywood creation 16 At the Spring Tokyo Game Show in March 2000 Square showed only a ten second clip of the game and revealed no new screenshots or information They also had no release date leading some journalists to speculate there may be problems behind the scenes 17 At E3 in May Square showed some new footage from the game although they still did not provide a playable demo IGN was underwhelmed with the new material feeling there appeared to be too many cutscenes in relation to actual gameplay 18 On July 13 GameSpot revealed the game s character designs were being handled by Tetsuya Nomura and the game would receive a simultaneous North American Japanese release in late 2000 19 However on September 1 IGN reported DreamFactory were having difficulty working with the PlayStation 2 s hardware and the game had been pushed back to January 2001 20 On September 19 IGN revealed that the game would feature Dolby Digital 5 1 Surround Sound for the FMV cutscenes and Square were attempting to use 5 1 sound for gameplay sections as well 21 GameSpot revealed more details about the game on September 20 including the three available modes of play Story Versus and Survival They reported that Square expected the story mode to take players roughly seven to eight hours to complete thoroughly 22 The selling point of an action game is the feeling of oneness with the character but on the other hand action games lack characterization and story development RPGs can cover most of these narrative factors but command input type RPGs sacrifice the tempo thrill factor and the feeling of immediacy The Bouncer s system is a combination of the best elements from these two genres Takashi Tokita co director 23 On September 21 IGN published a roundtable interview with members of the development team character designer Tetsuya Nomura composers Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi and co director Takashi Tokita The developers outlined the gameplay mechanics the branching story the versus and survival modes the music the character design and the challenges of working on the PlayStation 2 for the first time 23 Tokita claimed the most difficult aspect of the game s creation was working with the PlayStation 2 s hardware 24 The team also said the gameplay was partially derived from DreamFactory s Ehrgeiz and Tobal games while graphically the atmosphere was developed with the use of filters and lighting 2 On November 13 Square announced a Japanese release date of December 23 25 On December 18 they confirmed a North American release date of January 30 2001 26 although this was quickly pushed back to March 27 The game uses the bloom shader effect to soften rough edges 28 Audio Edit The Bouncer was the first PlayStation 2 game to feature Dolby 5 1 sound which was used specifically for the FMV sequences 2 29 In addition it features voice acting with subtitles in both English and Japanese Because the game was being considered for a North American release early in production the English voices were recorded first The Japanese voices were recorded and incorporated later to provide more of a DVD quality to the game 2 Soundtrack EditThe Bouncer was scored by Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi The game contains several vocal themes including the original Japanese ending theme song Forevermore Owaranaimono performed by Reiko Noda and the English language theme song Love Is the Gift performed by Shanice Wilson Takashi Tokita has commented that the lyrics of Love Is the Gift heard during the closing credits signify the game s overall theme 30 Two separate soundtracks were released one in Japan and one in North America The Japanese version The Bouncer Original Soundtrack is a 2 disc 29 track album published on March 23 2001 by DigiCube 31 The Bouncer Original SoundtrackNo TitleLength1 Prelude 0 422 Prologue 4 293 Disquietude 1 574 Tension 1 595 The Escape 2 066 Melody of Reminiscence 2 177 Infiltration 1 528 LUKIS Covert Op 1 369 Reminiscence 0 1410 Distant Rain The Cross Children 2 0511 Mikado s Plot A Foolish Utopia 2 3912 The Pursuit 1 3913 Affection 2 4914 Owaranaimono 6 3015 Sion Barzahd 3 2716 Volt Kruger 3 5017 Kou Leifoh 3 1618 Echidna 2 5619 Mugetsu 3 0620 Kaldea Orchid 4 2921 PD 4 2 5422 Dominique Cross 3 1723 Wong Leung 3 5824 Leann Caldwell 3 5825 Mugetsu Destruction 3 5826 Dauragon C Mikado 3 5827 Dauragon C Mikado Madness 3 3528 Dauragon C Mikado Awakening 3 2929 Sion Barzahd Jet Black 4 13 The North American version The Bouncer Original Video Game Soundtrack is a single disc 21 track album published on March 26 2001 by Tokyopop Soundtrax 32 The Bouncer Original Video Game SoundtrackNo TitleLength1 Prelude 0 422 Sion Barzahd 3 273 Volt Krueger 3 504 Kou Leifoh 3 165 Echidna 2 566 Mugetsu 3 057 Kaldea Orchid 4 298 PD 4 2 559 Dominique Cross 3 1710 Mugetsu Destruction 3 2811 Dauragon C Mikado 3 5812 Dauragon C Mikado Madness 3 3513 Dauragon C Mikado Awakening 3 2914 Prologue 2 5215 Disquietude 1 5616 The Escape 2 0317 LUKIS Covert Op 1 3618 Distant Rain The Cross Children 2 0519 The Pursuit 1 3920 Owaranaimono 6 3321 Kou Leifoh Remixed 3 31Reception EditReceptionAggregate scoreAggregatorScoreMetacritic66 100 33 Review scoresPublicationScoreFamitsu31 40 34 GamePro 35 GameRevolutionC 36 GameSpot6 7 10 3 IGN7 10 10 Next Generation 37 Official U S PlayStation Magazine 38 Play76 39 The Bouncer received mixed or average reviews and holds an aggregate score of 66 out of 100 on Metacritic based on twenty reviews 33 With the consideration of its high profile development team as well as the fact that it was a front runner PlayStation 2 release The Bouncer was highly anticipated However the game was perceived as a disappointment by many and was largely seen as mediocre Numerous aspects from the E3 trailer such as destructible scenery were removed in the final game possibly in order to get the game out in time to be among the first batch of PlayStation 2 titles Much of the criticism however fell on the gameplay IGN found the controls average and the camera angles to become a major issue in the later portions of the game where the player is confined to tight spaces 10 The game was also seen as having an excessive amount of cutscenes and load screens GameCritics Brad Galloway for example argued actual gameplay constitutes less than one third of the game s length 40 IGN s Douglass C Perry reviewed an import version of the game prior to its release in North America and was disappointed with the lack of depth but impressed by other aspects He praised the graphics character design and CGI cutscenes He was also impressed with the glowing effect used throughout the game DreamFactory employs a Playboy like filter that smoothes out every single bit on the screen The effect is consistent throughout the game and rids the PS2 of aliasing or flickering but also provides a unique gloss that s never been used before with such success He concluded that despite the disappointments I am absolutely having a great time with The Bouncer 41 In his official review of the game upon its North American release Perry scored it 7 out of 10 writing The game is a letdown but not a catastrophic one It s a good game not a great one and it s worth a look He referred to Story Mode as a mixed bag of good ideas executed ineffectively although he praised multiplayer mode He concluded The Bouncer is not the next messiah it s not the next wave of fighting and frankly it s not the paradigm for anything really new except perhaps incredible looking graphics These things said The Bouncer is a decent game It s not horrible it s not brilliant It s pretty average 10 In his look at the import version GameSpot s Miguel Lopez called the game little more than a glorified and highly cinematic version of Final Fight using dated Tobal animations He called the graphics quite competent but was highly critical of the game s length estimating a player could play through the entire game in 45 minutes or less if they skipped cutscenes 42 In his full review Jeff Gerstmann scored the game 6 7 out of 10 Of the graphics he said Everything from the characters to the backgrounds looks absolutely incredible He concluded The Bouncer makes a great showpiece for the PlayStation 2 It looks and sounds incredible However the ease and extremely short length of the game matched with other problems like horrific camera angles and lack of a multiplayer story mode make The Bouncer fair at best 3 It was a runner up for GameSpot s annual Most Disappointing Game award among console games which went to Luigi s Mansion 43 Game Revolution s Brian Gee awarded the game a C He wrote It s easy to tell what the developers focused on because The Bouncer is obviously one of the best looking games on a console to date Near flawless animations and picture perfect visuals make it a great choice to show off the sleek Sony super machine to your friends Once the game begins though The Bouncer sheds it s sic pretty boy image and gets down and dirty He was critical of the controls and the absence of a lock on feature Like other critics he also had problems with the camera and the ratio of cutscenes to gameplay He concluded Though many will undoubtedly be disappointed by The Bouncer s inability to live up to the hype others will find a fancy beat em up to pass a few hours Its flashy graphics are at least worth taking a look at but its many problems just might keep it from a place in the collection 36 GamePro were more impressed scoring the game 4 5 out 5 and writing The Bouncer slickly combines copious amounts of hard hitting moves with a stellar story line all in a visually stunning world 35 Blake Fischer reviewed the PlayStation 2 version of the game for Next Generation rating it two stars out of five and stated that The Bouncer manages to look good but don t let that fool you into thinking that it s very fun 37 Sales Edit The Bouncer was a commercial failure In its debut week in Japan it sold 158 727 units debuting as the fifth highest selling game across all systems 44 It went on to sell 219 858 units by the end of 2000 finishing as the 53rd highest selling game of the year across all systems 45 and the 9th highest selling PlayStation 2 game of the year 46 It sold an additional 126 123 units in 2001 for a total of 345 981 units sold 47 References EditNotes Edit References Edit a b c The Bouncer IGN Archived from the original on December 1 2020 Retrieved October 22 2013 a b c d Perry Douglass C Zdryko Dave Smith David March 7 2001 The Bouncer Interview IGN Archived from the original on October 30 2013 Retrieved September 16 2009 a b c Gerstmann Jeff March 2 2001 The Bouncer Review GameSpot Archived from the original on January 31 2014 Retrieved October 22 2013 Battle System Guard and Defence Squaresoft Archived from the original on October 29 2013 Retrieved October 22 2013 Story Mode The Bouncer Instruction Manual Squaresoft 2001 p 8 Archived from the original on March 1 2016 Retrieved February 22 2016 Point Exchange System The Bouncer Instruction Manual Squaresoft 2001 p 10 Archived from the original on March 1 2016 Retrieved February 22 2016 Bouncer Points The Bouncer Instruction Manual Squaresoft 2001 p 9 Archived from the original on March 1 2016 Retrieved February 22 2016 Battle System Trinity Rush Squaresoft Archived from the original on October 29 2013 Retrieved October 22 2013 a b Versus amp Survival Modes The Bouncer Instruction Manual PDF Squaresoft 2001 p 12 a b c d Perry Douglass C March 6 2001 The Bouncer Review IGN Archived from the original on October 30 2013 Retrieved September 16 2007 a b Perry Douglass C September 20 1999 TGS 1999 The Bouncer First Look IGN Archived from the original on October 30 2013 Retrieved September 16 2009 Perry Douglass C July 12 1999 PS2 Week in Review July 7 through July 12 IGN Archived from the original on October 29 2013 Retrieved October 23 2013 First Look at PS2 Ehrgeiz 2 IGN August 16 1999 Archived from the original on October 29 2013 Retrieved October 23 2013 Perry Douglass C August 23 1999 Square s First PlayStation 2 Fighter IGN Archived from the original on October 29 2013 Retrieved October 7 2013 Perry Douglass C September 10 1999 The PS2 Launch Titles IGN Archived from the original on October 29 2013 Retrieved October 23 2013 Bouncer Preview GameSpot February 10 2000 Archived from the original on January 25 2014 Retrieved October 23 2013 Zdyrko Dave April 3 2000 TGS 2000 The Bouncer Almost a No Show IGN Archived from the original on December 1 2020 Retrieved October 23 2013 Perry Douglass C May 11 2000 E3 2000 The Bouncer Impressions IGN Archived from the original on October 29 2013 Retrieved October 23 2013 Sato Ike July 13 2000 Catching Up With The Bouncer GameSpot Archived from the original on January 20 2014 Retrieved October 23 2013 Off The Record IGN September 1 2000 Archived from the original on October 29 2013 Retrieved October 23 2013 The Bouncer Gets 5 1 Channel Surround Sound IGN September 19 2000 Archived from the original on October 29 2013 Retrieved October 23 2013 Sato Ike September 20 2000 More Facts Emerge from The Bouncer GameSpot Archived from the original on January 29 2014 Retrieved October 23 2013 a b The Bouncer Team Talks About Its Mysterious Game IGN September 21 2000 Archived from the original on October 29 2013 Retrieved October 23 2013 Tokyo Drifter November 24 2000 The Bouncer Interview GamePro Archived from the original on January 13 2005 Retrieved October 7 2013 Sato Ike November 13 2000 The Bouncer Date Set in Stone GameSpot Archived from the original on February 18 2014 Retrieved October 24 2013 Bouncer And Type S Get Dated IGN December 18 2000 Archived from the original on October 29 2013 Retrieved October 24 2013 The Bouncer and ZOE May Get Big Backing IGN December 20 2000 Archived from the original on October 29 2013 Retrieved October 24 2013 Massey Tom February 9 2015 Ys Memories of Celceta review Eurogamer Retrieved February 25 2022 The Bouncer Goes Dolby GameSpot January 5 2001 Archived from the original on October 18 2007 Retrieved September 16 2007 The Bouncer Gets a Theme Song IGN October 23 2000 Archived from the original on October 30 2013 Retrieved September 16 2007 The Bouncer Original Soundtrack in Japanese Amazon co jp Archived from the original on December 1 2020 Retrieved February 14 2016 The Bouncer Original Video Game Soundtrack Amazon Archived from the original on December 1 2020 Retrieved February 14 2016 a b The Bouncer Metacritic Archived from the original on February 9 2009 Retrieved October 22 2013 プレイステーション2 バウンサー Famitsu No 915 Enterbrain June 30 2006 p 87 a b The Bouncer Review GamePro June 3 2001 Archived from the original on June 12 2008 Retrieved October 15 2013 a b Gee Brian March 1 2001 The Bouncer Review Game Revolution Archived from the original on September 8 2015 Retrieved March 31 2015 a b Fischer Blake March 2001 Finals Next Generation Vol 4 no 3 Imagine Media pp 78 79 The Bouncer Review Official U S PlayStation Magazine March 2001 p 130 The Bouncer Play No 73 February 2001 pp 44 46 Galloway Brad March 23 2001 The Bouncer Review GameCritics Archived from the original on May 31 2012 Retrieved October 22 2013 Perry Douglass C January 3 2001 The Bouncer Import Review IGN Archived from the original on October 29 2013 Retrieved October 24 2013 Lopez Miguel January 9 2001 The Bouncer Hands On GameSpot Archived from the original on January 31 2014 Retrieved October 24 2013 GameSpot VG Staff February 23 2002 GameSpot s Best and Worst Video Games of 2001 GameSpot Archived from the original on August 3 2002 ゲームソフト販売ランキング TOP30 in Japanese Famitsu December 28 2000 Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved April 30 2015 2000年テレビゲームソフト売り上げTOP300 in Japanese Geimin net Archived from the original on June 27 2015 Retrieved April 30 2015 Japan Top 10 Best Selling PlayStation 2 Games of 2000 The MagicBox com Archived from the original on October 17 2012 Retrieved September 16 2007 2001年テレビゲームソフト売り上げTOP300 in Japanese Geimin net Archived from the original on June 27 2015 Retrieved April 30 2015 External links EditOfficial European site Official Japanese site in Japanese Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Bouncer video game amp oldid 1130869907, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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