The Bouncer

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The Bouncer
Developer(s)	Dream Factory/Squaresoft
Publisher(s)	JP Square NA Square Electronic Arts PAL Sony Computer Entertainment
Designer(s)	Takashi Tokita (director) Seiichi Ishii (director) Tetsuya Nomura (character design) Noriko Matsueda (composer) Takahito Eguchi (composer)
Aspect ratio	480i (SDTV)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release date	JP December 23, 2000 NA March 5, 2001 PAL June 22, 2001
Genre(s)	Beat 'em up
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ELSPA: 15+ ESRB: Teen
Media	1 DVD-ROM
Input methods	DualShock 2

The Bouncer, known in Japan as Bouncer (バウンサー, Baunsā^?), is a beat 'em up for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console. It was co-developed by Squaresoft (now Square Enix) and Dream Factory. The game features character designs by Tetsuya Nomura and music by Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi.

The Bouncer tells the story of three bouncers on a rescue mission to save their young friend from a megalomaniacal solar technology corporation. The game is structured like a "playable action movie" and the plot unfolds differently depending on which character the player chooses for specific gameplay sequences.^[1]

The game marks Squaresoft's first release on the PlayStation 2.^[2] Although the game received a healthy amount of press before its actual release, it was met with mild sales and mediocre reviews.

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Story Mode 1.2 Multiplayer 2 Story 2.1 Characters 3 Development 3.1 Audio 4 Reception and criticism 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] Gameplay

Controls in The Bouncer are similar to those the Tobal No. 1 series.^[3] Certain buttons denote high, middle, and low attacks, jumping, blocking, and special attacks. One aspect of the game's combat is an exaggerated physics engine which allows characters to be launched several feet into the air as a result of attacks, making it possible to juggle enemies by striking them in the air repeatedly. Enemies can also be thrown or otherwise knocked into one another, causing them all to take damage at once. The game employs ragdoll physics during these moments.

[edit] Story Mode

The Bouncer is structured as a series of short gameplay segments interspersed with cinematic sequences that tell the game's story. With the Active Character Selection (ACS) System, a story sequence concludes to give the player the choice between one of the three protagonists to control (Sion, Volt, or Kou) and proceed into the next gameplay segment. 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 to boost that character's statistics and unlock new fighting moves. Boosting a character's stats eventually causes that character to grow in rank, which is graded on a letter scale ranging from G to S.

Typical gameplay in The Bouncer consists of the player fighting against groups of enemies using hand-to-hand combat techniques. Occasionally, the player will also be tasked with other activities, such as running through a series of hallways to avoid being caught in a flood. In general, a gameplay segment ends when the player has either defeated all of the enemies in the area, or has defeated a boss enemy.

In addition to the main Story Mode, there is also a single-player Survival Mode in which the player must fight off as many enemies as possible.

[edit] Multiplayer

The Bouncer supports the PlayStation 2 multitap accessory, a device making it possible for more than two controllers to plug into the console.^[4] The game's multiplayer Versus Mode supports up to four player simultaneous play in the Battle Royal option that allows the players to fight each other using many of the game's characters.

[edit] Story

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[edit] Characters

The game's player characters are Sion Barzahd, a bouncer and kenpō fighter who works in Bar Fate and has vowed to stop Dauragon to avenge his master and save Dominique; Volt Krueger, the true epitome of a professional wrestler and a former employee of the Mikado corporation prior to Dauragon's ownership who now works in Bar Fate, also wishing to stop Dauragon to restore his former employer's name; and Kou Leifoh, an undercover agent and Tae Kwon Do master posing as a bouncer in Bar Fate to keep tabs on Dominique.

The antagonists, those associated with Mikado Corporation, are Dauragon C. Mikado, the current CEO of the company who is well-trained in academics (i.e. solar technology) as well as martial arts; Mugetsu, a covert ninja and unstable psychopath with cybernetic modifications working for Dauragon who loves to kill his enemies regardless of the situation; Echidna, an associate/lover of Volt who betrayed him when Dauragon seized control of Mikado Corporation, skilled in the art of capoeira; Kaldea Orchid, a woman from Sion's past who is a result of a genetic experiment performed by Mikado Corporation; and PD-4, a deadly android that is able to extend sharp scythes from its hand and utilizes the Muay Thai fighting style.

Support characters include Dominique Cross, the sister of Dauragon and friend of the workers of Bar Fate who is kidnapped at the game's start; Wong Leung, the wise kenpo master of Sion and Dauragon who is advanced in years but possesses massive power nonetheless; Leann Caldwell, Kou's superior who is closely watching the whereabouts of both Mikado and Dominique, and Master Mikado, Dauragon's honorable foster father, who is deceased by the time the game starts and appears only in flashbacks.

[edit] Development

The Bouncer was co-directed by Seiichi Ishii and Square Co. veteran Takashi Tokita, while its character designs were handled by Tetsuya Nomura, famous for his work in the Final Fantasy series. Tokita claims that the most difficult aspect of the game's creation was working with the PlayStation 2's advanced hardware for the first time.^[5] Its gameplay was derived from Dream Factory's Ehrgeiz and Tobal series, while graphically, the game's atmosphere was developed with the use of filters and lighting.^[1] The game was first announced at the Tokyo Game Show in 1999 as Square's first PlayStation 2 title.^[2] Before more information was revealed by Square at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in May of 2000, it was thought to be a sequel to Ehrgeiz.^[6][7]

[edit] Audio

The Bouncer was scored by Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi. Two separate soundtracks were released. The Bouncer Original Soundtrack, a 2-disc, 29-track album was published on March 23, 2001 by DigiCube. The Bouncer Original Video Game Soundtrack, a single disc, 21-track album was published on March 26, 2001 by Tokyopop Soundtrax.^[8][9] The game contains a few vocal themes including "Forevermore" (Owaranaimono), performed by Reiko Noda, and the ending theme song "Love Is The Gift", originally performed by Shanice Wilson. Takashi Tokita has commented that the latter song, heard during the credits, signifies the game's overall theme.^[10]

The Bouncer is the first PlayStation 2 game to feature Dolby 5.1 sound, used specifically for the title's full motion video sequences.^[11][1] In addition, it features voice acting with subtitles in both English and Japanese. Because the game was being considered for North American release early in production, the English voices were recorded first. The Japanese voices were recorded and incorporated later on to "...provide more of a DVD quality to the game."^[1] Facial animation was also created later to fit the voices.

[edit] Reception and criticism

In Japan, The Bouncer sold over 219,000 copies the year of its release, making it the 9th best selling PlayStation 2 game of 2000.^[12] It sold an additional 132,000 units in 2001, making it the 86th best selling game of that year.^[13]

With the consideration of its development team, as well as the fact that it was a front-runner in PlayStation 2 game releases, The Bouncer was highly anticipated in the months before its release. However, the game was not received as well as many had hoped, and was largely perceived as mediocre. Much of the criticism it garnered fell on its gameplay. IGN found the controls to be average and that the camera becomes a major issue in the later portions of the game, where the player is confined to tight spaces.^[4] The game is also seen as having an excessive amount of cutscenes and load screens. GameCritics.com condemns this notion, saying that its actual gameplay constitutes less than one third its length.^[14] The Bouncer currently holds a 22% ("Rotten") rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[15]

Nevertheless, the game's graphics and sound were common points of praise. GameSpot noted "Everything, from the characters to the backgrounds, looks absolutely incredible."^[3] PSXExtreme.com found perfection in the game's voice acting, while AllRPG.com said the score "set the mood of the scene and introduced the person in song, much like Star Wars."^[16][17]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• List of beat 'em ups

[edit] External links

• The Bouncer official North American site
• The Bouncer official European site
• The Bouncer on GameRankings
• The Bouncer at MobyGames