Bloody Roar | |
---|---|
Genre(s) | Fighting |
Developer(s) | |
Publisher(s) | |
Platform(s) | |
First release | Bloody Roar July 7, 1997 |
Latest release | Bloody Roar 4 May 27, 2004 |
Bloody Roar (ブラッディロアBuraddi Roa) 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 after Hudson Soft was absorbed into the former company in 2012.[1]
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The series began in 1997 under the name Beastorizer. The game's theme incorporated anthropomorphism, where the player has the ability to transform into a half-human, half-animal creature known as a Zoanthrope (the name came from the clinical term, 'zoanthropy', which is similar to that of lycanthropy). The game would appear under the name 'Bloody Roar' when ported to the PlayStation in 1998, which would become the permanent title thereafter.
- 3Characters
List of games[edit]
Year | Title | Platforms |
---|---|---|
1997 | Beastorizer/Bloody Roar/Bloody Roar: Hyper Beast Duel | Arcade, PlayStation |
1999 | Bloody Roar 2 | Arcade, PlayStation |
2000 | Bloody Roar 3 | Arcade, PlayStation 2 |
2002 | Bloody Roar Extreme/Bloody Roar: Primal Fury | GameCube, Xbox |
2003 | Bloody Roar 4 | PlayStation 2 |
Gameplay[edit]
Bloody Roar has kept somewhat the same controls over the series. A button each for both punch and kick, the beast (transform/attack) button and a fourth button that has been either a throw button, a block button, an evade button (introduced for some characters in Bloody Roar 4) and a rave button (an early version of the Hyper Beast in the original Bloody Roar only).
The Bloody Roar series is a 3D fighting game in the same vein as Tekken, Soulcalibur and Virtua Fighter. Although some of the characters have remained almost identical through all four games, others have changed completely. For example, Yugo has a completely different move set in the fourth title compared to his original in the first and Bakuryu has stayed almost the same apart from a few extras which are relevant to the games' evolution over time and generations.
Characters in Bloody Roar have command moves and standard moves. Standard moves are the combination style moves from games such as Tekken, where the player must press different buttons to create 'combos', sometimes pressing the directional pad in one of the eight directions at the same time. Command moves are special moves that require a rolling technique and inputting certain commands with the directional pad, like Street Fighter. Each character has around fourteen 'suggested' combination techniques listed in the manual, most of these can be varied into many different ways, allowing nearly forty to seventy combination techniques with each character. Every character also comes with at least eight command moves, which can be incorporated into cancel points in these standard moves or combos. These cancel points, from character to character, can be around twenty to forty in each character's combo palette. These cancel points, when utilized with command moves, can then be cancelled once more, allowing the player to begin a new strategy with adequate timing. As well as this, the combat system has three types of dodging techniques: a heavy and light block that spans over three parts of the body, instead of the typical two in most fighting games; and 'Scratch' techniques, which can break guards from dead angles and is a series of command counters, throws and vanishing attacks. Bloody Roar 4, the latest game in the series, may be the most complex of the series, with the largest fighter roster of seventeen characters, and the ability to earn more moves by earning experience in 'Career Mode'.
Characters[edit]
The following is a complete list of available characters in each game.
Bloody Roar | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | PF/EX |
Alice the Rabbit | |||||
Bakuryū (1) the Mole/Kōryū the Iron Mole | N | ||||
Bakuryū (2) the Mole (Kenji) | N | ||||
Busuzima the Chameleon | N | ||||
Cronos the Penguin/Phoenix | N | N | N | N | |
Fang the Wolf | N | N | N | N | |
Gado the Lion | |||||
Ganesha the Elephant | N | N | N | N | |
Greg the Gorilla | N | N | N | N | |
Hans the Fox | N | N | N | N | |
Jenny the Bat | N | ||||
Long the Tiger | |||||
Mana the Ninetail | N | N | N | N | |
Mitsuko the Boar | N | N | N | N | |
Nagi the Spurious | N | N | N | N | |
Reiji the Crow | N | N | N | N | |
Ryōho the Dragon | N | N | N | N | |
Shenlong the Tiger | N | ||||
Shina the Leopard | N | ||||
Stun the Insect | N | ||||
Uranus the Chimera | N | N | |||
Uriko the Half-Beast/Cat | N | ||||
Xion the Unborn | N | N | |||
Yūgo the Wolf |
- Uriko was an unplayable boss character in the original Bloody Roar.
- Fang is only playable in the Xbox and Japanese GameCube versions.
Alice[edit]
- Voiced by (English): Kimberly Forsythe (Bloody Roar 3)[2], Rumiko Varnes (Bloody Roar 4)[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Mika Kanai (Bloody Roar, Bloody Roar II, Bloody Roar 3), Ruri Asano (Bloody Roar Extreme)
Alice Nonomura (野々村アリスNonomura Arisu) (Alice Tsukagami (塚神アリスTsukagami Arisu) in Bloody Roar) is a rabbit zoanthrope who was kidnapped as a child by a secret research institution that conspired to use zoanthropes as weapons. After being subjected to physical experimentation, her latent powers were awakened, after which she was used as a test subject and given battle training. However, she managed to escape the institution before being brainwashed, earning herself the freedom she had long sought. While hiding herself to regain her composure, she began to worry about a girl that Alice befriended in the institution. Because the girl sacrificed herself by distracting Alice's pursuers during her escape, Alice decided to come out of hiding and fight against the institution.[4] After the events of the story, Alice is adopted by her aunt Mitsuko and lives a peaceful life as a part of her family.[5]
Bakuryū (first)/Kōryū[edit]
- Voiced by (English): Greg Irwin (Bloody Roar 4)[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Fumihiko Tachiki (Bloody Roar), Takeshi Aono (Bloody Roar 3, Bloody Roar Extreme, Bloody Roar 4)
Bakuryū (バクリュウBakuryū), real name Ryūzō Katō (加東竜三Katō Ryūzō) is a mole zoanthrope and a self-styled master of the traditional ninja arts. His personal details are veiled in secrecy and his existence is a mystery. An expert in assassination, he was enlisted in an infamous underground organization and put in charge of sabotage and the abduction of zoanthropes for experimentation.[6] After the events of the story, Bakuryū's molecules destabilize, causing his body to completely decompose. As a result, the scientists of the Tyron Corporation decide to concentrate their efforts on a new conversion process.[7]
Busuzima[edit]
- Voiced by (English): Paul Lucas (Bloody Roar 3)[2], Micheal Rhys (Bloody Roar 4)[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Kazumi Tanaka (Bloody Roar II, Bloody Roar 3, Bloody Roar Extreme), Shōto Kashii (Bloody Roar 4)
As a child, Hajime Busuzima was curious about the internal mechanics of insects, dissecting them just to find out how they moved. His grandmother pointed out to him that the insect no longer moved because it was dead. Eventually, she too 'no longer moved' and Busuzima became very lonely. It was then that he became obsessed with the idea of immortality, beginning his slow descent into madness. Many years later, Busuzima was employed by the Tylon corporation as one of their top researchers. It was during this time that he conducted unorthodox experiments on himself and became a Zoanthrope chameleon. At Tylon he befriended a fellow researcher by the name of Steven Goldberg, with whom he had a friendly rivalry. Eventually Goldberg became uncomfortable with the experimentation going on, enraging Busuzima, who felt his plans were being interfered with. He used his friend as a test subject for creating an insect Zoanthrope, believing that Goldberg would understand things better if he became a Zoanthrope himself. Unfortunately, the experiment was a failure, leaving Goldberg (now called Stun) in an unstable state. Soon after, Tylon fell to a group of Zoanthropes fighting against the company to stop their experimentation. Over the next five years, Busuzima started his own group known as the Zoanthrope Liberation Front - ZLF - using Shenlong, a clone of the former Tylon assassin Long, as the front man, while he stayed behind the scenes, continuing to conduct his experiments and amassing a Zoanthrope army that struck fear into the hearts of confused humans.
Cronos[edit]
- Voiced by: Tomohiro Tsuboi
Prince of the Kingdom of Zoanthropes. Childhood friend of Shina. Cronos has several unanswered questions about his father, such as the experiments that his father keeps performing on his people and how his mother died. He feels that joining the tournament will answer these questions. He is the only character to have two beast forms, a phoenix and a penguin.
Fang[edit]
- Voiced by: Eiji Sekiguchi
Bonus character from the manga, Bloody Roar: The Fang. Fang is the main protagonist within the manga, joining together with a young school girl, Mashiro, in dealing with other Zoanthropes (and other strange creatures) causing trouble in their area. Eventually he has to face off against a dark creature that was brought to life by the joining of four talismans. Fang, using special gloves, can break the beast transformation—he uses his power to defeat the evil entity.
![Game Game](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124847503/225560555.jpg)
Fox[edit]
Hans Taubemann (ハンス・ターブマンHansu Tābuman) (nicknamed Fox (フォックスFokkusu)) is an Englishfox zoanthrope with a warped mind and heightened aesthetic sense. He is obsessed with beauty and despises ugly things, boasting of his good looks and publicly declaring all else ugly. Abandoned as a child and raised in the slums, he grew up into a well-known scoundrel. He earned the nickname of Fox from his wariness and cruelty in beating up even the very weakest. He works for the Organization in the same unit as Bakuryū and engages in such activities as kidnapping and murder.[8] After the events of the story, Fox kills another civilian, but is shocked to discover that it is his own mother.[9]
Gado[edit]
- Voiced by (English): Chris Wells (Bloody Roar 3)[2], Murray Johnson (Bloody Roar 4)[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Akio Ōtsuka (Bloody Roar 4)
Alan Gado (アラン・ガドウAran Gadōu) is a Frenchlion zoanthrope, a professional mercenary and military genius who took part in a mission with his best friend and Yūgo's father, Yūji, years ago. On that day, his union of armies was crushed by a combined force of superior zoanthropes and a hostile army that appeared out of nowhere. Gado was seriously injured in the battle and lost his sight in one eye. Afterward, he went off to search for Yūji and discover the identity of the enemy.[10] At the end of the game, he destroys the Tyron Corporation, finally exacting revenge for Yūji. After Gado's arrest, police discover the Tyron Corporation's secret lab and accumulate enough evidence against the Tyron Corporation to drop charges against Gado. Afterward, desiring the thrill of battle, Gado returns to the battlefield and promises Yūji that they will meet again in the heavens.[11]
Ganesha[edit]
- Voiced by: Shōzō Iizuka
Ganesha the zoanthrope Elephant didn't know what to do. He had won all the local tournaments and qualified for the national competition. But he knew if he beat all the guest warriors, he would be a rival against Cronos. He knew he had to do it. He thinks back, to a chaotic day some time ago. Burning houses.. Frightened people trying to escape.. A child growing cold in his arms.. A monster standing amongst the flames.. It was humans to start wars like this, but it was that monster that derived everything. He mutters, 'Prince Cronos' to himself.
Greg[edit]
Gregory Jones (グレゴリー・ジョーンズGuregorī Jōnzu) (Greg (グレッグGureggu) for short) is an Americangorilla zoanthrope who, in his youth, fulfilled his hope of running away to join a circus. Having a great talent for handling animals, he later took charge of the circus after the ringmasterretired. But with the rapid changes in the entertainment industry, the circus eventually went bankrupt and its members parted ways.[12] After the events of the story, Greg tries to talk Yūgo into joining his circus in an attempt to avert the circus's closure, but is eventually convinced into being the star himself.[13]
Jenny[edit]
- Voiced by (English): Samantha Vega (Bloody Roar 3)[2], Alison Noonan (Bloody Roar 4)[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Takako Kodama (Bloody Roar 4)
A woman surrounded in mystery. There are stories about her. Some say that because of an incomplete experiment, she has stopped aging, and others say she is a real life vampire from Hungary. It is known that Jenny Burtory is a top model. Though in truth, this is but a cover for her secret life - her occupation as a covert spy. Her skills are impressive enough for top companies to fight to seek allegiance with her. One day, Jenny is invited by Gado, an old acquaintance of hers, to investigate a suspicious organization. To kill her boredom, she takes up the invite and slips out into the cover of night, using her zoanthrope bat form.
Kenji/Bakuryū (Kenji Ōgami)[edit]
- Voiced by (English): Michael Naishtut (Bloody Roar 3)[2], Raj Ramayya (Bloody Roar 4)[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Shiho Niiyama (Bloody Roar II), Junko Noda (Bloody Roar 3, Bloody Roar Extreme), Akira Ishida (Bloody Roar 4)
He was born as the only son of a clan that worshiped the 'Earth God' in an isolated area outside of the urban cities. When he was young, he lost his parents and was taken into the care of an old ninja named 'Bakuryu'. He took the boy and left the village, with the intention to train the boy with the pure blood of the 'Earth Dragon' to become his successor. The boy was taught all the ninja techniques of his teacher and was conferred the title 'Bakuryu', even displaying the power to become a mole. Together, they worked for the Tylon corporation as assassins until its fall. The original Bakuryu died, while his successor was left in a ruined building in a vegetative state because of an incomplete brainwashing. He was saved by Yugo, who'd fought against Tylon's evil ambition. Yugo took the boy home, naming him 'Kenji' and adopting him as his 'brother'. Slowly, Kenji regained his health and humanity and began to settle into a peaceful life. However, five years after being taken into Yugo's care, the remnants of Tylon go after Kenji and kidnap him. He is re-brainwashed, reviving his memories as the ninja assassin 'Bakuryu'. He serves Busuzima, fighting anyone who opposes the ZLF (Zoanthrope Liberation Front). Even Yugo.
Long[edit]
- Voiced by (English): Dario Toda (Bloody Roar 3)[2], Chris Wells (Bloody Roar 4)[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Ryō Horikawa (Bloody Roar, Bloody Roar II), Ryōtarō Okiayu (Bloody Roar 3, Bloody Roar Extreme), Naoki Bandō (Bloody Roar 4)
Long Shin (Jin Long) (進龍Jin Ron) is a Chinesetiger zoanthrope who curses his fate and zoanthrope blood. When he was a child, his mother and younger sister died one after the other. Neglected by his workaholic father, Long ran away from his home. Afterward, his great skills in the martial arts and zoanthrope powers brought him recognition, and he was enlisted by an underground assassination unit.[14] After the events of the story, Long seals himself away from the world due to his zoanthrope blood.[15]
Mana[edit]
- Voiced by (English): Helen Morrison[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Ema Kogure
Mana, a kitsune able to become a small white fox, belongs to a secret temple that supports both the Buddhist and Shinto religions together (it had managed to escape the Meiji Restoration law that separated Buddhist and Shinto religious activities). She took over the role of her sister as her duty to the ninetails family to guard the seal of Gaia's dragon. Ryoho, the dragon vessel whom she is guarding, lost his memories of the events that occurred during the tabula/XGC incident the year before and did not know of his own powers. Mana is taken under his care and, unbeknownst to him, she makes sure that the dragon stays sleeping behind the seal. Before she joined Ryoho, she had been the target of interest of unsavoury types after the powerful ninetails. The monk's protection warded away any followers who finally left her alone. A year after the XGC incident, Mana feels the seal start to come loose. The power of the Unborn is growing and the dragon is disturbed. Because of the dragon's immense power, earthquakes and Zoanthrope violence began to occur. The Unborn attacked the secret temple the year before and the dragon appeared, leaving it up to Mana's sister to seal it. Mana pushes aside her doubts, knowing that she must find strong Zoanthropes to help her reseal the dragon. As she and Ryoho set out on a journey to protect their temple, she knows that Ryoho will soon learn the truth about himself.
Mitsuko[edit]
- Voiced by: Rin Mizuhara
Mitsuko Nonomura (野々村光子Nonomura Mitsuko) is a wild boar zoanthrope and everyday housewive with a massive body and generous nature. After her daughter (who is also a zoanthrope) was abducted, she went on a quest to find her, the only clue being the kidnapper's steely eyes and insanely sardonic grin.[16] At the end of the game, she discovers her daughter Uriko and brings her home, where they lead a peaceful life.[17]
Nagi[edit]
- Voiced by (English): Erica Ash[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Nawo Takamori
During the XGC and tabula/crest incident, Nagi was mortally wounded while trying to stop Xion, who was on a rampage against the Zoanthropes to absorb power for the tabula. It was during this time that Gaia copied the Unborn powers and created 'The Spurious' in order to try and seek out the Unborn and absorb it into the body. With this power inside Nagi, she was able to survive the attack, though the power stayed dormant because Yugo and the others overcame the incident. A year later, Xion was taken over by the Unborn and 'The Spurious' began to awake. Nagi wanted to know more about this strange power that had awoken within her and set out on a journey to find Xion.
Reiji[edit]
- Voiced by (English): Eric Kelso[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Masakazu Suzuki
Deep in the mountains, there are four clans of fighting monks known as the 'Yatagarasu'. Within these clans, the power of the beast transformation is passed down, though it is sealed until the inheritor is judged an adult. However, one of the heirs to the families, Reiji Takigawa, had his seal broken prematurely before the coming of age ceremony because of the crest/tabula incident (Bloody Roar 3), and gained the power to become a crow. Reiji, who deep down harboured destructive tendencies, used these newfound powers and killed his father, a member of the four clans, and fled the temple. Reiji went out in search of strong Zoanthropes, finding great pleasure in killing a powerful opponent, though now he is on the run from the remaining Yatagarasu who pursue him.
Ryōhō[edit]
- Voiced by (English): Angus Waycott[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Naomi Kusumi
Ryōhō belongs to a secret temple that supports both the Buddhist and Shinto religions together (which had managed to escape the Meiji Restoration law that separated Buddhist and Shinto religious activities), and is able to become a dragon. A year before there was an attack by the Unborn though after the incident, Ryōhō lost his memory. Shortly afterward, a young Shinto miko, Mana, appeared. She had the power of the legendary ninetails. When taken under Ryōhō's care, people who were pursuing Mana for her power left her alone. A year later, earthquakes and Zoanthrope violence began to occur. To protect the temple, Ryōhō set out on a journey with Mana to face the evil that had caused these problems.
Shenlong[edit]
- Voiced by (English): Bill Sullivan (Bloody Roar 3)[2], David Schaufele (Bloody Roar 4)[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Kenji Hamada (Bloody Roar 4)
There exists an organization that stands for the liberation of Zoanthropes - for power and predominance over humans. This organization is called the 'Zoanthrope Liberation Front' (Also known as the Zoanthrope Release Battle Line.) Shenlong is their leader, a man who strikes fear into all who oppose him. He forces Zoanthropes to obey him with an iron fist. He is one of the most powerful and dangerous Zoanthropes to ever exist (able to become a white tiger) and the opposing administrations have nothing on him. His background is a complete mystery. But as he comes face to face with opposition against his group, he begins to question his own identity amongst the confusion of strangers who see the face of someone else.
Shina[edit]
- Voiced by (English): RuthAnn Morizumi (Bloody Roar II)[18], Lenne Hardt (Bloody Roar 3)[2], Karen Lee (Bloody Roar 4)[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Atsuko Tanaka (Bloody Roar 4)
Shina was an orphan of war, and a zoanthrope leopard. She was adopted as the daughter of the war veteran, Gado. Influenced by his status as a legendary mercenary, she began to demonstrate great capability for battle during her childhood. When she was 13 years old, she single-handedly obliterated a platoon, earning the nickname 'Fighting Marvel'. Her father however, didn't want his daughter to follow in his footsteps and tried to talk her into leading an ordinary life. Shina wouldn't listen and as soon as she graduated high school, she became a mercenary. One day, her father disappears without a word. There are rumors that he is the organizer behind the ZLF, (Zoanthrope Liberation Front) a group that thrives on vicious terrorism. Shina doesn't want to believe that her father is behind it. She will only make her judgment if she sees it with her own eyes. With that in mind, she follows her father's trail to find out what his real intentions are.
Bloody Roar Video Game 2017
Stun[edit]
- Voiced by (English): Greg Dale (Bloody Roar 3)[2], Ward Sexton (Bloody Roar 4)[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Tōru Ōkawa (Bloody Roar 4)
Steven Goldberg (スティーブン・ゴールドバーグSutīben Gōrudobāgu) was a young, zealous scientist working for the multinational group, Tylon. He believed his research would contribute to saving people's lives. In the same year that he joined the company, another young scientist by the name of Busuzima entered work there and the two would become good friends, and also, good rivals. Though, when Steven discovered the evils behind the company, he became a part of one of Busuzima's experiments and converted into a man-made insect Zoanthrope.Because of how unstable the experiment had made his genetic structure, he could only survive on a special stabilizer developed to retain his body. Feeling betrayed, Steven (now going by the name 'Stun') plunges into despair over losing his human form. Slowly, his mind and body decayed though his heart yearned for revenge.
Uranus[edit]
- Voiced by (English): Donna Burke (Bloody Roar 4)[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Eriko Fujimaki (Bloody Roar 3, Bloody Roar Extreme, Bloody Roar 4)
From the shadows appears a figure before the fighting Zoanthropes. She is the strongest Zoanthrope, the Chimera, created by Tylon when they converted Uriko. Uranus was cloned from Uriko and became a perfected form of both her Chimera form and her synthetic body. She is known to be the perfect zoanthrope, but cannot hold her chimera form for very long, so she tends to go without transforming. Uranus has the fate to be both the wife of the God of the Sky and the mother of the God of Time, Cronos.
Uriko[edit]
- Voiced by (English): Bianca Allen (Bloody Roar 3)[2], Lynn Harris (Bloody Roar 4)[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Marina Ōno (Bloody Roar 3, Bloody Roar Extreme), Yūki Hamano (Bloody Roar 4)
Uriko Nonomura (野々村宇理子Nonomura Uriko) was kidnapped by Tylon as a child to be used in an experiment that created super beast soldiers. She was brainwashed and converted into the body of a woman that stored the power of a synthetic transformation known as 'Werechimera'. While brainwashed she was forced to fight against her mother and her friend, Alice, whom she had helped to escape from Tylon. But it was thanks to their efforts that she was freed from Tylon's influence and she changed back to her normal self, returning with her mother and Alice home.
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Xion[edit]
- Voiced by (English): John Nuzzo (Bloody Roar 3)[2], Walter Roberts (Bloody Roar 4)[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Mitsuaki Madono (Bloody Roar 4)
The 'XGC' mark gives Zoanthropes the power to possess the Tabula of a Thousand Beasts, which has been sealed to prevent calamity from breaking free and gathering into one being. He is able to become an 'unborn' (an animal that doesn't exist yet), and Xion wishes to break the seal of the Tabula to revive the power that lies within. His goal is to completely exterminate the Zoanthropes with the 'XGC' one by one. Once the Tabula is integrated, the world will change its form. Xion walks his path alone to free the Unborn from a distant dimension. He killed his sister, whose heart was attached to the 'trivial' world. He sees it all as a useless waste that must be eliminated to create a new and better world.
Yūgo[edit]
- Voiced by (English): David Babich (Bloody Roar, Bloody Roar II)[19][18], Barry Gjerde (Bloody Roar 3)[2], Rob Narita (Bloody Roar 4)[3]
Voiced by (Japanese): Nobutoshi Canna (Bloody Roar), Hideo Ishikawa (Bloody Roar II, Bloody Roar 3, Bloody Roar Extreme), Akimitsu Takase (Bloody Roar 4)
Yūgo Ōgami (大神勇吾Ōgami Yūgo), the series' protagonist, is a young wolf zoanthrope on a quest to uncover the circumstances of his father's death. His father, Yūji Ōgami (大神勇二Ōgami Yūji), was a mercenary said to have died in combat in a South American country. Yūgo also seeks the mercenary Gado, the sole survivor of Yūji's combat unit.[20] Yūgo and Gadou eventually meet in a secret Tyron Corporation laboratory, where Gado reveals that Yūji was a zoanthrope who fought against the Tyron Corporation's mind control experiments and conversion process. Yūgo then promises his father that he will destroy their enemies with the powers that he inherited from him.[21]
Other media[edit]
Bloody Roar was adapted into a manga drawn by Maruyama Tomowo. It was originally published in Monthly Shōnen Jump. A few themes were used from the games but the scenarios and characters in Maruyama's version were completely new, though a few of his characters looked a lot like the original game characters. The main stars of the manga were a loner wolf zoanthrope, Fang, and a rabbit girl named Mashiro. Their adventures had them fighting out-of-control beast men and trying to stop an evil creature being released by the gathering of talismans. The manga was released in two volumes during 2001.
In the first three games, artwork by artistNaochika Morishita, also known as CARAMEL MAMA, was used for concept artwork and in game cut scenes.
For their 2000 single 'My Console,' the Italian eurodance group Eiffel 65 include Bloody Roar along with several other popular PlayStation titles in the song's lyrics.
Bloody Roar Video Game Free
Yūgo appears as a playable character in the 2003 crossover fighting game DreamMix TV World Fighters.
References[edit]
- ^'Corporate History'. Konami. Archived from the original on 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
- ^ abcdefghijkl'Bloody Roar 3 (2001) Cast'. Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 13 August 2019. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.
- ^ abcdefghijklmnopqr'Bloody Roar 4 (2003) Cast'. Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 13 August 2019. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.
- ^Instruction Booklet, pp. 22-23.
- ^Hudson Soft (October 31, 1997). Bloody Roar. PlayStation. Sony Computer Entertainment. Level/area: Alice Ending.
Alice: Uhmm..? I'm so tired..? I want another five minutes of sleep.. OH NO! I overslept! I need to hurry or I will be late for school! / Uriko: What's taking you so long, sis? You're late. I'm meeting some friends and I need to leave now. / Alice: Wait for me, Uriko! Why didn't you wake me up?! See you later, Aunt Mitsuko. Don't be so mean, Uriko. Wait for me!
- ^Instruction Booklet, pp. 16-17.
- ^Hudson Soft (October 31, 1997). Bloody Roar. PlayStation. Sony Computer Entertainment. Level/area: Bakuryū Ending.
Bakuryū: Did you really think YOU could defeat ME?! How dare you challenge me! Your defeat was inevitable! My fighting skills are nearly perfect! I have thousands of fighting techniques at me disposal. I HAVE ASCENDED TO THE RANK OF THE 'ULTIMATE SOLDIER'! AAARGH!! WHA.. WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?! THE METAMORPHOSIS IS FAILING!! I don't understand! The conversion cells should be stabilized! THEY'VE USED ME! THEY LIED! I was just a guinea pig for the Tyron Corporation's scientists! It can't end this way! I do not want to die! H.. H.. Help.. / Scientist #A: Experiment B-0755 molecular destabilization has reached critical point. Nervous system and muscle tissue have completely decomposed. / Scientist #B: Hmm.. Interesting. Were the results from the simulation as we expected? / Scientist #A: Yes they were. Was that the last of the series B-0755 class type? / Scientist #B: Correct! This final round has proven conclusively we cannot continue using this model. We must concentrate our efforts on the latest prototype conversion process. / Scientist #A: Sigh! It's going to be a very busy year.
- ^Instruction Booklet, pp. 26-27.
- ^Hudson Soft (October 31, 1997). Bloody Roar. PlayStation. Sony Computer Entertainment. Level/area: Fox Ending.
Fox: Ugly beasts must be weeded out of this world! I can smell the beast power within you.. You are a beast.. Show me your true figure! I will enjoy killing you more if you try to fight back. What? You will not even try? You anger me! I will give you one last chance to fight! No? I am growing bored. You must die! / Old Lady: Uh.. Hans.. / Fox: How do you know my name?! / Old Lady: Forgive me, Hans. I was not a good mother.. / Fox: You are my mother?! It can't be! I.. I am.. I killed.. No.. Ha.. Ha.. Uwaha.. Ha, ha.. Hyaha, ha, ha, YAAAAHHHH!!
- ^Instruction Booklet, pp. 14-15.
- ^Hudson Soft (October 31, 1997). Bloody Roar. PlayStation. Sony Computer Entertainment. Level/area: Gadou Ending.
Gado: Ha! The destruction of the Tyron building is almost complete. Only a few people are still trapped in the basement area. My mission is complete. Yūji, my friend, I have exacted revenge for you. I know you would not have agreed with my methods but this is my way. / Text: Following the arrest of Gado who allegedly destroyed the Tyron Corporation building, police investigators at the scene uncovered the secret experimental lab Gado claimed the company was using for illegal genetic experiments on humans. Police sources have now confirmed they have accumulated enough evidence against the Tyron Corporation to drop all charges against Gado. / Gado: Why do I feel so.. strange? Is it because I am no longer being hunted by my enemies? All my life I have known the thrill of the hunt. The lure of danger and excitement have been with me for as long as I can remember. Yūji, our enemies are gone, but I cannot live a quiet life, not after all the war and bloodshed I have seen and caused.. It is my true nature to fight! (later) And now I find myself back on the battlefield. The smell of blood and the dancing of flames is where I feel truly alive! Every organ, nerve and cell in my body cries out for the thrill of battle! Death follows me like a shadow. And even though my next battle could be my last, this is the life I was destined to lead. Yūji, the battlefield is our true home. When we meet in the heavens, we will have many tales to share and we shall laugh and celebrate together!
- ^Instruction Booklet, pp. 24-25.
- ^Hudson Soft (October 31, 1997). Bloody Roar. PlayStation. Sony Computer Entertainment. Level/area: Greg Ending.
Greg: Oh yes! I can see it now! You will be the future star of our circus!! You are the only one that can save us from closure. / Yūgo: I wish you would shut up! I don't care about your stupid circus. / Greg: Trust me. My instincts are never wrong. You will be a HUGE star. / Yūgo: You have GOT to be kidding! / Greg: I know real talent when I see it! You have quick reflexes and swift motion. Besides, when you transform into your beast form, your physique and strength are awesome! Well, what do you say? I am 100% sure that you will be the most talented performer at my circus! / Yūgo: NO! And please stop asking me! If you want someone to play the role of a beast to star in your show, why don't you do it yourself. / Greg: .. / Yūgo: Why are you so quiet? Now what's the matter? / Greg: I think it's a great idea. / Yūgo: What?! YOU the star of the show? / Greg: Yes, I think it is a very good idea! / Yūgo: You are not serious.. are you?
- ^Instruction Booklet, pp. 20-21.
- ^Hudson Soft (October 31, 1997). Bloody Roar. PlayStation. Sony Computer Entertainment. Level/area: Long Ending.
Long: RELEASE ME FROM THIS CURSE! I have never asked for these powers and I do not need them! / Tiger Spirit: You do not need them? Are you sure of that, Long? By learning to control your abilities, you can achieve so much. I know and understand so much of your deep torment because I am you! / Long: STOP! I will not listen to you, EVER! / Tiger Spirit: That is your decision.. but understand me when I tell you that the powers bestowed upon you are what separates you from mere mortals. With the abilities you have, your destiny is still undecided. / Long: No, you are wrong. I have decided what my destiny will be! I, Jin Long, will seal myself away from the world as long as the blood of the beast courses through me. The world shall no longer have to live in fear of my existence.
- ^Instruction Booklet, pp. 18-19.
- ^Hudson Soft (October 31, 1997). Bloody Roar. PlayStation. Sony Computer Entertainment. Level/area: Mitsuko Ending.
Uriko: Mother? / Mitsuko: Uriko! It is you! I finally have found you. Are you okay, Uriko? I love you so much. We will never be apart again. / Uriko: Mom.. / Mitsuko: Hush now, don't cry my child. Let's go home now. Everybody is waiting to see you. (later) Uriko.. Are you dressed yet? Uriko! Wake up or you'll be late for school!
- ^ ab'Bloody Roar 2 (1999) Cast'. Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- ^'Yugo Ogami Voice - Bloody Roar (Video Game)'. Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- ^Instruction Booklet, pp. 12-13.
- ^Hudson Soft (October 31, 1997). Bloody Roar. PlayStation. Sony Computer Entertainment. Level/area: Yūgo Ending.
Gado: Incredible! I can't believe you have managed to reach this place without any combat training. It seems you have inherited a lot of your father's natural and unnatural abilities. / Yūgo: Gado?! Why are you here? / Gado: Like you, Yūgo. I am searching for Yūji Ōgami, your father and my best friend. I'm sure our answer lies behind this door! / Yūgo: What are they? / Gado: They are Beast Soldiers. This is where they kept the soldiers who fought against the mind control experiments and the conversion process. The Tyron Corporation keeps this laboratory a secret from the world. / Yūgo: But, if this is where my father is being held.. Where is he?! / Gado: I am sorry Yūgo.. I could not save him.. / Yūgo: Father.. I know you will never be able to rest while our enemies live.. I promise you from this day forth, with all the powers I have inherited from you, I vow to destroy them all. This battle will never end..
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bloody_Roar&oldid=915625867'
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/BloodyRoar
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The unrelenting call of the wild courses through my body. The tremble of these fingers cannot be stopped. The real me.. the facade of a man crumbles, and my true self awakens, with a primal scream!
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A not so popular fighting game franchise published by Hudson and co-developed with 8ing. The series centers around humans who can transform into animals called Zoanthropes.
The fighting system (somewhat reminiscent of Fighting Vipers) is a basic 3 button layout with a punch, kick and beast change. The special thing about this franchise is the ability to morph into a beast form with access to different attacks, special moves, and essentially another health bar. The latter bar is charged with damage dealt and received when in normal form, then takes over for most damage received when in beast form (while also allowing a small amount of the damage dealt to the health bar to be regenerated while in beast form), the difference being that depleting the beast meter simply brings that fighter out of beast form.
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There are 5 games in the series, most of which were released on PlayStation consoles.
- Bloody Roar (aka Beastorizer) (1997)
- Bloody Roar 2 (1999)
- Bloody Roar 3 (2000)
- Bloody Roar Primal Fury/Extreme (Similar to 3 in terms of assets, but otherwise, a completely new game) (2002)
- Bloody Roar 4 (2003)
Character Sheet in progress.
This franchise provides examples of:
- A.I. Breaker: A viable strategy in 4 is simply withdrawing and putting distance between you and your foe, waiting for your opponent to charge, sidestepping, and then hitting their blind side. No joke.
- Ironically, 4 fixed an issue that was common with the AI in previous entries: They are susceptible to being thrown the moment the match starts, and they are unable to properly register when you do a side step.
- Alice Allusion: Alice turns into a white rabbit.
- Amazing Technicolor Battlefield: Most of the Final Boss stages.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: In Bloody Roar and Bloody Roar 2, if one selects most characters in their alternate costumes and watches them transform into beast mode, it will be noticeable that some of their beast modes' coloration will not be found on their real-life animal counterparts. For instance, one costume of Gado's in the first game has him turn into a bright blue lion with an orange mane. This has been averted starting with Bloody Roar 3, where their coloration is closer to real life, with the notable exception of Shenlong, who turns into a violet-purple tiger normally and a scarlet-red tiger in his alternate costume, presumably as a result of tampering with his genetic code in the process of cloning him from Long.
- Amazonian Beauty: Shina is noticeably buffer than the other females. She also has a few.. distracting costumes. Did we mention that she's French? Being a mercenary since she was a child, she also is most likely the strongest of the ladies physically, thus averting Muscles Are Meaningless.
- Anime Hair: Quite a few characters, with Gado probably taking the cake, as his hair resembles a lion's mane.
- Animorphism: The whole game features characters who transform into animals.
- Anti-Villain: Xion (Type I). He could convincingly be read as 'amoral.'
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Shenlong and Yugo.
- Artificial Stupidity: The AI will never counter throws, at least not in the beginning of the match where you can get close before the match begins, and get a throw in as soon as it starts. They are also unable to catch up to side-stepping players in time to change their strategy, allowing savvy players to dodge their attacks with ease.
- 4 did fix these for the most part, but created one more glaring issue: The opponents will drain their health in favor of refilling their beast gauge so they can go into their beast form more often. Even if they did this with the intention of using their beast drives, said beast drives don't even inflict much more damage than a regular combo string. Basically, they're deliberately killing themselves for little appreciable gain.
- In the case of Dragon Ryoho, whose health bar is almost depleted when faced as the final boss, he will happily use beast drives, which cost him parts of the beast gauge. To put simply, he is able to turn himself into a One-Hit-Point Wonder. It seems that the best way to balance this out is to make his beast drive really powerful, but that can be dodged.
- Ass Kicks You: Busuzima, going for the gusto, not only sits on his foes' faces, but cuts farts as well. The Nonomura family (Alice, Uriko, Mitsuko) appears to be fond of this type of attack, as does Greg.
- Back from the Dead: Bakuryu from Bloody Roar 1 got rebuilt as a robot in Bloody Roar 3 as an unlockable character (known as Kohryu), and even received his own story in later games.
- Stun, too, who died after 3, had a clone come back for Primal Fury/Extreme, then the original came back for some reason in 4.
- Badass Adorable: Uriko is a standout here.
- Badass Beard: Ganesha, Ryoho, Greg. Gado could count too, but he has muttonchops.
- Badass Biker: Yugo.
- Badass Longcoat: Xion.
- Badass Long Robe: Long.
- Bald of Awesome: Ryoho, the series' resident Bare-Fisted Monk.
- Bare Your Midriff: Alice (up until Extreme/PF), Shina, Nagi.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Yugo and Alice, natch. One's a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, the other's a Type B ('deredere') Tsundere. She even delivers an Armor-Piercing Slap to Yugo in her ending from Extreme/Primal Furybecause he was being reckless and could have gotten them all killed. She then turns around and cries.
- Bishōnen: Xion and Cronos exemplify this, but most of the guys are either this or ruggedly handsome (i.e. Gado).
- Bishōnen Line: Uranus and Ryoho's Hyper Beast modes allow them to stay human, while Cronos turns into a humanoid phoenix capable of going from 0 to 60 on your ass. To a lesser extent, Uriko exhibits some of this too.
- Blatant Lies: The advertisement for Bloody Roar 4 claimed to have 18 playable characters. This counts Ryoho and Dragon Ryoho as different characters, and singles out Mana, even though she fights exclusively with Ryoho. It also claims that there are 8 game modes, which is stretched thin since training and sparring are virtually the same (the difference is that the AI opponent will fight back), and Com Battle is considered a 'game play' mode.
- Blessed with Suck: In some way or another, just about all of the more powerful characters (i.e. Uriko, Uranus, Xion, Ryoho, etc.) get bowled over with this.
- Cronos, by far, has it the worst. An oddity among Zoanthropes, Cronos was a rare specimen with two Beast forms. Unfortunately, Cronos has little control over his Phoenix form, the more powerful and more destructive side of his persona. During his childhood, it's heavily implied that his Phoenix form went berserk, wiping out his entire home village. The number of casualties was great, and his mother was (apparently) among them.
- Long hates his Zoanthrope genetics, as it was this power that killed his younger sister. When his beast form starts showing signs of becoming a separate (and evil) entity in his ending in the first game, he goes into self-imposed exile for five years to beat it.
- Ryoho has a dragon that's been sealed within him, who has the power to destroy the world. Depending on who you play as, he may not even be aware of this!
- 'Blind Idiot' Translation: Lots of typos and grammatical errors present in Bloody Roar 4, especially with the game's inability to differentiate 'its' and 'it's', and that's just a common error. Doesn't help that the subtitles either don't match up, or are misread without a retake.
- Bloody Roar 1 was undecided on how to spell the main antagonistic corporation (Tylon, Tyron, Tyrone, etc). The second game settled on the name Tylon.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Happens with Uriko, Bakuryu, Xion, and Nagi.
- Bonus Boss:
- Kohryu and Uranus from 3.
- Shenlong in 2.
- Bottomless Pits: You can knock people off buildings and bridges. An instant win if you manage it, though it's rather difficult to break the walls around the arena without having already defeated your opponent.
- But Not Too Foreign: Alice's father was Japanese, while her mother was an American of German descent.
- Button Mashing: If you try this in Bloody Roar 2 or 3, you will be destroyed. It's a good 'tactic' in 4, though.
- Long, Shenlong, and Uriko have fighting styles that focus on large combos and this.
- Cain and Abel: Xion (Cain) and his sister Nagi (Abel).
- Calling Your Attacks: A number of attacks across the series are accompanied by various shouts. Parodied by Busuzima, with one attack accompanied by him simply shouting 'Kick!'
- Came Back Wrong: Stun, or to be specific, his clone.
- Captain Ersatz: You're lying to yourself if you say that Nagi isn't Kasumi with less clothing.
- Cast of Snowflakes: Each character is instantly recognizable, even before they change into various animals. Even Long and Shen Long, the only two characters who have the same beast form, can easily be told apart from one another.
- Characterization Marches On: Shenlong, who starts out as irredeemably evil and refused to believe that he is a clone. Upon facing Long, the man he is based on, he goes mad from the revelation. Since then, he went on to live a life for himself, enjoying life more, and appears to be on good terms with Long and Uriko, and becomes more rational with each game.
- Gado as well. He goes from a Blood Knight in the first game who loves to start fights in honor of his fallen comrade, Yugi. In later games, he takes a more passive role of representing Zonathropes in talks of them co-existing with humans, having apparently eliminated his violent tendencies.
- Charged Attack: Gado's very own Falcon Punch! Shina's got it, too.
- Greg, whose Wind Up Punch is very similar to Jack's Megaton Punch.
- Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys: Averted completely with Gado the Lion and his daughter Shina the Leopard. Not only are they both French, they are decorated mercenaries known for their courage, fighting skills, achievements in battle, and for being two of the series' most prominent badasses, Gado being a Living Legend in-universe and one of the more manly males in terms of appearance, personality and fighting style, and Shina being a tough-as-nails Tomboy who is capable of obliterating entire platoons singlehandedly, and that was when she was only 14 years old.
- Cherry Tapping: Alice's basic crouch punch in the first game. Just watch out for Fox, who will bitch slap you for being so cheap.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Fox and Greg never came back after the first game. Mitsuko stops being playable, but is still referenced by other characters over the next couple of games, being the mother (adopted in one case) of two characters that do appear in every other game - Uriko's storyline in the second game even revolves around rescuing her from the ZLF.
- Cronos and Ganesha, who were major characters in Bloody Roar Primal Fury/Extreme, suddenly disappeared from the franchise entirely in Bloody Roar 4.
- Cliffhanger: A few endings, particularly where Ryoho gets murdered. One where Reiji faces the members of the clan he escaped from, and another where Xion and Nagi destroyed the unborn and passed out while Mana mourns for Ryoho.
- Cloning Blues: Shenlong initially loathes Long, conflicted by the fact that he was cloned from him (the truly noticeable differences in appearance between the two being Shenlong's red eyes and, in beast form, white fur, most likely due to genetic manipulation). He eventually gets over this and mellows out, his role towards Long becoming significantly less antagonistic, to the extent of a friendly rivalry of sorts. It's even implied from the opening of Extreme/Primal Fury that he's friends with Uriko, Long's student.
- Clothing Damage: Self-inflicted, since they rip their clothes when morphing into animals. The clothes come right back on when they morph back. Magic Pants do wonders, right?
- Combat Stilettos: Alice, Jenny, Uranus, and Nagi.
- Combos: It's a fighting game, so yeah.
- Comeback Mechanic: Primal Fury aids losing players by expediting the rate at which their Beast Gauge fills, regardless whether inflicting or receiving damage. Thus, the lower their health, the greater the gain per hit.
- Bloody Roar 4 featured a mechanic which allows you to recover the beast gauge while sacrificing part of your life gauge. This proves to be a Scrappy Mechanic due to stripping away your health and removing some of the benefits that came with the beast mode, such as disabling the health regeneration. Unless you play as Ryoho & Mana, in which Mana uses the beast gauge, and recovering it never drains Ryoho's health.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: Ganesha.
- Heck, Shina and Busuzima can do their third Beast Drives with no problem!
- Cool Shades: As if you needed more persuasion that Gado was a badass Cool Old Guy, check out his outfit from 3.
- Creepy Child: The final battle of the first game looks like it will be against a little girl, who glares at you and then erupts into a more adult form, which in turn erupts into a massive beast.
- Cursed with Awesome: In general, the Zoanthropes. This can, however, cross over into Blessed with Suck, thanks to persecution, abduction by the Nebulous Evil Organisation for research and experimentation, and Power Incontinence.
- Cute Bruiser: All of the females, but the best example is probably Uriko.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: After her revamp in 2, Uriko learns a Kenpo style mimicking Long's. However, if a player makes even the slightest mistake during her inputs, Uriko can easily mess up and fall over. Being something of a ditz, this makes sense, although Uriko is much more capable than you'd think, given that she's implied to be the strongest of all the Zoanthropes. In typical Lethal Joke Character fashion, Uriko (with the right tempo) can whip out infinites that can juggle her opponent to death.
- Cutscene: They came in full force in 4; previous games settled almost entirely for still scenes with text that were, outside of 2, restricted to the ending and, if you were lucky, the beginning.
- Dance Battler: Not only can Cronos kick your ass with no effort, but he does it while doing the tango!
- Dark-Skinned Blond: Gado, Cronos, and Ganesha. Shina as of Extreme/PF (she had a somewhat lighter skin tone beforehand).
- Demoted to Extra: Bloody Roar 4 had the new characters, including Xion from 3, take front and center compared to the rest of the cast who don't have any real story connections, besides being zoanthropes and most of them just following a nine tailed fox (Mana in beast form) as to explain their inclusion in the plot. The only exception being Yugo who does play a part in Nagi's ending, and even he barely gets a bit more screen time than the rest of the Bloody Roar veterans.
- Earlier on in Bloody Roar 2, Mitsuko (who was one of the eight playable characters in the first game) gets hit quite very hard with this trope, having been kidnapped by Shenlong and the ZLF, which prompts Uriko to come to her own mother's rescue. Even after being saved, Mitsuko never returns to being a playable character and is only mentioned in-name from within Uriko's storylines of the later games.
- Divergent Character Evolution: Oddly, a clone of Long got his moves while Long himself got this in Bloody Roar 2, though this was reversed in 3. Yugo has a similar case, where his moveset was massively changed from the second game on (owing to him becoming a professional boxer in-story in the five years between them), while his expy from the manga Fang, as a secret character in Extreme, has a slightly-varied form of his BR1 moveset.
- Downer Ending: Bloody Roar 4 has a few endings that qualify. One in particular, if you beat the game as Xion, he murders Ryoho in his unborn form before Nagi comes by, Mana goes into her beast form and releases the unborn from their subconsciousness, allowing the duo to destroy it before passing out as Mana mourns for Ryoho.
- In Primal Fury/Extreme, there is almost no ending where Ganesha survives.
- The Dragon: Ryoho, literally.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: Xion to some extent, as well as Cronos and especially Fox.
- Emotionless Girl: Uriko in the first game, along with being a Tyke-Bomb.
- Genki Girl: Uriko in every game from 2 onwards.
- Enemy Within: Ryoho's Dragon transformation, which was so powerful that it needed to be sealed away from time to time. It should be noted that his Dragon form isn't necessarily good or evil, more like initially rampaging.
- Everything's Better with Penguins: One of Cronos's forms is a penguin, which is oddly good.
- Evil Albino: Xion the Unborn.
- Evil Laugh: Xion after winning in Beast Form, or during his Beast Drive in 3.
- Xion takes a liking to stuff like this. Uranus also gets a pretty sinister laugh from time to time, most notably in 4.
- Same goes for Cronos, although it's more like 'Ha ha! You suck and I'm much better than you!'
- Evil Twin: Shenlong (yes, him again) to Long, Kohryu to Bakuryu, and (somewhat) Uranus to Uriko.
- Expy: Mitsuko and Greg got nixed for Stun, while Fox got nixed for Jenny. Then there's the whole Bakuryu situation.
- If you think Long bears an uncanny resemblance to Citan Uzuki, you're not alone.
- Likewise, Xion's design screamsPegasus.
- An Older than You Think example: Xion has been accused of being similar to Dante from Devil May Cry, although Xion has actually been around a little longer (Bloody Roar 3 releasing in December 2000, versus August '01 for DMC).
- In-universe, Yugo gets one in the form of Fang,◊ a character exclusive only to the worldwide versions of Extreme and PF and a Canon Immigrant from Maruyama Tomowo's two book tie-in manga, Bloody Roar: The Fang. He looks and acts just like Yugo (even sharing most of his moves from the first game), a rabbit girlfriend (Mashiro), and beast form (the wolf). He acts as a Palette Swap for Yugo. Word of God confirms that the parallels were intended.
- Fake Difficulty: The Final Boss from Bloody Roar 4 can break through your own guard. And his attacks deal more damage, like half a gauge. Furthermore, losing to him simply ends the game. The trade off is that it is possible for the final boss to lose almost (if not all) of his health just for performing beast drives.
- Fake Longevity: Bloody Roar 4 features Career mode. Similar to Weapon Master in Soul Calibur 2, it is a road map to play through different fights and even unlock some content for the main game. The problem is that the final unlock: Dragon Ryoho, takes 100,000 points to unlock, and all the levels only allow a maximum of 96,000 to be awarded. Repeating every fight doesn't grant you the full point reward (for example: a new stage may grant you 400pts. Replaying that stage grants you 80pts every time after that), requiring you to fight at least 50 more times just for that final unlock.
- Fanservice: Almost all female characters. Notably Jenny, who replaced Fox from the first game, and is featured on the US box arts for Bloody Roar 3 and Primal Fury, and has a zoanthrope form that is oddly 'cosplay-friendly' to better describe it.
- Shenlong too, complete with him hardly wearing a shirt in 3.
- Depending on the game, Alice is either shaped like a realistic rabbit, or this.
- Gado, he's pretty muscular and his outfits are sleeveless and torn, sometimes he's shirtless.
- Fan Disservice: Busuzima in 3, whose ass has the crest on it. Likewise, his ending implies that he got probed.
- Fantastic Racism: Much like the X-Men, humans come to resent the Zoanthropes over time. A good portion of the cast, like their mutant counterparts, are trying to induce peaceful relationships between both species.
- Fartillery: In Primal Fury, one of Busuzima's grabs involves him farting in your face. It's one of his more powerful grabs.
- Femme Fatale: Jenny. You could also argue a case for Uranus and Nagi.
- The Fighting Narcissist: Fox. He prides himself as the most beautiful fighter. This gets to the point that he hates morphing into his Beast Form, simply because he sees it as ugly (despite the fox being one of the more attractive forms in the first game).
- Fingerless Gloves: Several characters. What'd ya expect? It's a fighter.
- Flanderization: Uriko went from a teenager who is incredibly skilled (thanks to being trained by Long) and shows excellent promise in skill, and may play a huge part later (as implied by Extreme/PF), to a complete and utter ditz in 4. To a minor extent, she is only involved in the plot of 3 because she was bored.
- Yugo did enjoy a good fight and held a career as a professional boxer, but he demonstrated that he is perfectly capable of running an agency to help Zoanthropes, and is not one to back down from destroying an artifact that is the cause of trouble in 3. By 4, he is portrayed as a Dumb Jock, demonstrating his clumsiness and being too head strong.
- Forgotten Friend, New Foe: Averted with Shina and Cronos. We know that they have a connection (and the two actually remember one another after being separated for so long), but the games have yet to divulge anything more than that. The two are also on good terms after being reunited.
- Gaia's Vengeance: Since the story of 4 revolves around a god called Gaia.
- Gaiden Game: Primal Fury and Extreme, set between 3 and 4 based on a sidestory, to the point that they've often been mistaken as simply slightly-enhanced GameCube and Xbox ports of 3.
- Girlish Pigtails: Alice, until Extreme/PF. Complete with blue hair.
- Gonk: Dear lord, Busuzima.
- Also, Mitsuko is a female example. And there was Greg, too.
- A God Am I: Cronos from Primal Fury, sort of.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Yugo has an X-shaped scar on his forehead, while Gado has a scar running up his left eye along with several more on his arms. Shenlong has a scar running up the left side of his face, while Fang has a single scar on his forehead like Yugo.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: It rarely happens, but it's possible to injure yourself with your opponent after knocking him/her into the wall. It's also hilarious.
- Guest Fighter: Yugo pops up in DreamMix TV World Fighters, a Mascot Fighter featuring characters from Konami, Hudson, and Takara.
- Guide Dang It!: No one knows how to do Shina's third Beast Drive. Or Busuzima's. No one who requires oxygen, at least.
- Half-Human Hybrid: The whole cast.
- Happily Adopted: Shina, the adopted daughter of Gado. Kenji is Yugo's adopted younger brother, and Alice was adopted by Mitsuko, also making her Uriko's older sister.
- Hard Work Hardly Works: Sums up why most people hate these games.
- Ironically 2's greatest strength and 4's greatest weakness. The moves have always been simple to use, the game emphasized tactics and mind games over long, complicated moves. Thus in 2, a new player could be an expert if they used their head and out-thought opponents. In 4, it's pointless working hard to understand the game; just use the cheap and broken stuff to get easy wins.
- Hired Guns: Both Gado and Shina are former mercenaries.
- Hospital Hottie: Alice, before joining the W.O.C. (The World of Co-Existence), a non-government organization dedicated to bringing about peaceful relations between humans and Zoanthropes.
- An Ice Person: Cronos' penguin form.
- Impossibly Cool Clothes: Everyone qualifies.
- Jiggle Physics: Not just the boobs, but the guys' muscles as well!
- Much more apparent in Primal Fury and Extreme, as the physics are promptly demonstrated at the character selection screen.
- Ki Attacks: Long and Shenlong employ a bit of it.
- Killer Rabbit: Quite possibly Alice, even though she's not the Blood Knight kind.
- Killer Robot: Kohryu, a mindless clone-robot of the first Bakuryu who is a rival/enemy of his successor. Comes complete with a Rocket Punch and Macross Missile Massacre!
- Lady in Red: Jenny. Okay, it's more like a hot pink, but close enough.
- Last-Name Basis: Long, Gado, Busuzima.
- Left Hanging: Just about everything.
- Legacy Character: The mantle of Bakuryu. It first belonged to Badass GrandpaOld Masterassassin Ryozo Kato (who was liquefied soon afterward), before being passed on to his apprentice, Kenji Ogami.
- Lethal Joke Character: The Penguin will kick your ass.
- This is a counterbalance to Cronos' Phoenix form, which can bite off chunks of your health almost instantaneously, but only can maintain the transformation for about 15 seconds. His Penguin form is weak and severely lacking in the range, speed, and strength departments, but is a hard target to hit. All of this is mitigated by Cronos' human form having above-average stats.
- The first game featured Greg, a weak, slow, and generally useless gorilla. However, he has a throw that can be spammed an infinite amount of times, leading to an amusing way of beating the last boss.
- Light Is Not Good: Xion. One of his Beast Drives creates a Holy Crossout of light. Considering that in English, his name could be read as 'Zion' instead of 'Shion' (the Japanese equivalent), this might be intentional.
- Limit Break: Beast Drives, first introduced in 2, which deal incredible amounts of damage at the cost of forcing you back into human form afterwards.
- Little Miss Badass: Uriko at times.
- Loads and Loads of Loading: 3.
- Mad Scientist: Busuzima. Everything he does is For Science!, and for getting the rest of the cast to recognize his genius and take him seriously for once.
- Meaningful Name: Aside from the obvious implication that as a 'Half-Beast', Uriko is a cat girl (or werecat, as evidenced by her adult form), Nagi is a Spurious. The word spurious (an adjective) means 'to be false/not genuine.' In biological terms, it means a structure that has a comparable appearance but nonetheless has a diverse structure, thus explaining why Nagi's Beast Form is so distinct from the others and greatly resembles her regular self (in fact, her incomplete transformation seems to resemble a red, feminine version of Xion's Unborn form).
- Ganesha is a god in the Hindu pantheon, known for his elephant head. Guess what Ganesha's Beast Form is.
- Alice has a rabbit transformation, which makes sense in terms of Wonderland..
- Let's just say Uranus and Cronos are named after deities for a reason.. Curiously, their namesakes are parent and child, which just adds more fuel to the 'Uranus is Cronos' mother' theory.
- Miko: Nana.
- Mission-Pack Sequel: Bloody Roar Primal Fury/Extreme qualifies. It takes many of the graphical and gameplay assets from the third game, while adding on two new characters (plus one in Extreme) and continues the story, setting it in a tournament setting. It fits the criteria so well that many had mistaken Primal Fury/Extreme as a straight-up port of 3 at worst, or an Updated Re-release of 3 at best.
- Mr. Fanservice: Fangirls seem to be crazy for Shenlong.
- Ms. Fanservice: Jenny.
- Nagi, too. Her Spurious form retains significantly more human-like traits than any other character. And still she's hot.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Xion the Unborn.
- Nebulous Evil Organisation: Tylon and the ZLF mostly, though neither lasts very long past their initial games.
- Ninja: Yugo's brother, Bakuryu, the original Bakuryu who trained the second, and his clone, Kohryu.
- Ninja Log: One of Kenji's Victory Poses. Not to be outdone, Kohryu uses a steel construction girder to achieve the same effect.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Kohryu is a ninja robot oni mole. Busuzima is a punk rock scientist chameleon. Uranus is a sexy psychic lava-Tyrannosaurus-bull lightning clone prisoner.
- Noble Wolf: Yugo, the mighty and heroic wolf.
- Not Blood Siblings: Yugo and Bakuryu, along with Alice and Uriko.
- Not Just a Tournament: Each tournament revolves around diplomatic tensions between Zoanthropes and humankind due to experiments being conducted on Xoanthropes, behind the scenes. The tournament itself is merely a front to lure the strongest of their kind to be test subjects, by pitting them against others of their kind with legendary beast power.. or genetically enhanced super beings.
- Oh, Crap!: During the final battle with Uriko in the first game, you're in a caged-off arena. When she turns into the Chimera, steel walls slam into place with 'EMERGENCY MEASURE' flashing on them. Someone off-camera must have had one of these moments.
- Older Alter Ego: In the first game, Uriko goes from this◊ to this◊ upon tapping into her powers. Judging by her ending in Extreme/PF, she briefly assumes this form again to save Cronos' life.
- One-Man Army: Stun can take on a full army of security guards (obviously).
- One-Winged Angel: Uriko in the first game is the only character to get two beast forms rather than one. It is justified, though, as she's only a child in this game, and too young to fight in her human form.
- Ryoho in his dragon form is this, though he isn't evil.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: (Alan) Gado and (Hajime) Busuzima are only ever addressed by their last name in the games. Gado's daughter, officially named Jeanne Gado, is also only ever called 'Shina' or 'Marvel' depending on region.
- Our Werebeasts Are Different: Every character is some sort of werebeast. There's a weretiger, werelion, wererabbit, werefox, werecat, wereboar, weremole, werebat, werechameleon..
- Our Werewolves Are Different: A boxing werewolf.
- Panthera Awesome: No fewer than five characters just by the second game. Gado (lion) and Long (tiger) debuted in the original, with 2 adding Shina/Marvel (leopard), Uriko (half-cat), and Shenlong (another tiger).
- Panty Shot: In all of Jenny's costumes, you can do several attacks that reveal a G-string.
- Nagi, thanks to a practically non-existent skirt. At least one cutscene in 4 blatantlyfocuses on her barely-clothed rear.
- Parental Substitute: Ryoho is a father-figure for Nana.
- Playing with Fire: Cronos' phoenix form, Yugo during his second Beast Drive, Ryoho.
- Power Echoes: Upon entering Hyper Beast Mode in later games, the fighters' roars deepen and become heavily distorted. Nagi's Spurious form also has an echo effect.
- Power Floats: Uranus is above gravity, apparently. Same goes for Uriko in 1.
- Power Glows: Hyper Beast Mode give each character an electrified Battle Aura with a yellow glow. Cronos' hand also glows during one of his intros.
- The Protagonist: Yugo, who doubles as the Series Mascot.
- Put on a Bus: Fox and Greg simply disappeared after the first game. Mitsuko is a different case: while she also hasn't been available outside of 1, her status as Uriko's mom keeps her gravitating around the second game's story, where she's been kidnapped and Uriko is fighting to rescue her.
- Randomly Gifted: Zoanthropy is seemingly randomly developed. The exception is Busuzima, who apparently made himself into a Zoanthrope after he began working for Tylon.
- Red Baron: As a child, Shina was known as 'Fighting Marvel' due to single-handedly obliterating a platoon of soldiers. In the Japanese releases, she's exclusively addressed as such.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Among other examples, Nagi (when controlled by the Unborn) and Ryoho (when he loses control of his Dragon transformation).
- Remember the New Guy?: Yugo apparently had a thing with Nagi in Bloody Roar 4 despite only being introduced then.
- Retcon: Beating Shenlong's story mode in Bloody Roar 2 ended with him disemboweling himself, much to Long's horror. Later games feature him being perfectly fine, and even having reconciled with Long.
- In Yugo's ending of Bloody Roar 3, he destroys the Unborn. This is completely ignored in Bloody Roar 4 and instead claimed that it was sealed.
- Ring Out: An instant win for anyone who pulls it off, though it takes some doing to break the walls and allow it.
- Scarf Of Asskicking: Bakuryu II aka Kenji.
- Series Mascot: Yugo and Shina, arguably.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Shenlong. Gado has also been seen wearing business suits and sunglasses in several artworks.
- She's a Man in Japan: The feminine, crossdressing Fox in Bloody Roar was made female for the European release. That is one manly-looking woman.
- Shirtless Scene: A scant few fighters go shirtless, and while costumes have undergone drastic changes between 1, 2, and the rest, one thing remains true: at least two characters go shirtless in their Beast Forms in every single game.
- Greg, from 1, is an exception—in his base form he's always shirtless, but has the decency to wear a Nice Hat with it (until his opponent knocks him down). Reiji is also always lacking in the shirt department.
- Shorttank: Shina, with a light dash of Sugar-and-Ice Personality in her.
- Shout-Out: Yugo very closely quotes South Park in his introductory cutscene in 2.Yugo: They kidnapped Kenji! You bastards!
- Gado's outfit in 2 is extremely similar to that of un-tuxedo'd Rugal Bernstein.
- Perhaps it's a stretch, but Stun's real name is StevenGoldberg.
- Some of Stun's moves in his beetle form resemble certain Kamen Rider attacks.
- Xion's beast form is clearly inspired by the Guyver, while Nagi's is a very clear shout out to Witchblade. Oddly, Nagi heavily resembles Masane Amaha, whom she predates by about three years.
- SNK Boss: Cronos, Ryoho, Uranus.
- Spinning Piledriver: Bakuryu's 1st Beast Drive, which begins with an explosion of leaves.
- Split Personality/Superpowered Evil Side: Nagi has a part of Gaia in her blood and goes crazy when she's under control of the Unborn. Long shows some signs of this in his BR1 ending, but it's never brought up in later games.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: All the new characters in 4.
- And Xion ever since 3.
- Stoic Spectacles: Long.
- Stout Strength: Ganesha.
- Stripperiffic: Shina enjoys fighting in a bra a lot. And then there's Nagi, whose bra is revealed a lot, and fights with a very short skirt. And then there's Jenny.
- Super Mode: In every game after 2. In 3 it gives the player character massive speed, damage, and regeneration boosts, even allowing them to use multiple Beast Drives (which normally instantly brings them out of Beast Mode) while it lasts, but at the cost of being unable to transform at all for the rest of the fight. In Primal Fury/ Extreme, Hyper Beast Mode can be done as much as you want, but doing so without a full beast meter costs a good chunk of health.
- Supernatural Martial Arts: It's a fighting game series about a group of people who can transform into werebeasts. That's as 'supernatural' as it gets.
- Although Bloody Roar 3 did introduce the beast crests that slowly take the series away from the science-fiction genre, and goes full-force into supernatural in 4.
- Surprisingly Good English: Arcade versions of the games in Japan.
- Ultimate Life Form: There's convincing evidence for both Uriko and Uranus to have claim to this title. There's also hints that the two are closely related, perhaps even being one in the same.
- Updated Re-release: For the U.S release anyway. Primal Fury and Extreme are both the same game, with the difference being that Extreme uses CG for cut-scenes instead of animation, and Fang is an unlockable character.
- Villainous Crossdresser: Fox (Hans in some versions), the aforementioned narcissisticDude Looks Like a Ladyfox. He works as a psychoticassassin for Tylon and is extremelyeffeminate. He accidentally kills his mother in the process, and snaps. Oh, and he's British.
- Warrior Prince: Cronos.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Ryoho is a textbook SNK Boss. He's got a bunch of extremely easy-to-hit moves with high damage and can chew your life meter out in a few seconds. But if you're using Uriko, all of his attacks will go over her head and he will be completely vulnerable to all of Uriko's moves.
- White Hair, Black Heart: Reiji. Cronos avoids this, while Xion is more a matter of how decent or nasty he feels like being on any given day.
- Will They or Won't They?: A few teased couples, notably Yugo/Alice and Gado/Jenny.
- The Worf Effect:
- A pro boxer like Yugo getting trumped by Busuzima of all people in the story of 2.
- The opening to 3 is essentially the dev team showing off Xion by dedicating the second half to scenes of him brutalizing most of the cast, even shrugging off one of Gado's most powerful moves. This is then turned right around when Yugo recovers, prompting Xion to take a step back, before Yugo starts to demonstrate his new second Beast Drive.
- Wrestler in All of Us: How many wrestling moves can you count?
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Up until the time of 3, characters like Alice and Bakuryu (Kenji) actually had blue hair. Nana from 4 also has blue hair. Uriko's hair turns green in her Older Alter Ego form from 1, while Busuzima also has green hair by default.