Beat on Hard as Ioz. I tried out each character and liked Ren's performance the least. Tula was more strategic than Ren and I did better with her, while Ioz's power suited me the most. I made use of all the moves and found the game to have an excellent balance. The regular quick attack was good for staggering a single enemy to then approach for a grab, while the full 3 quick attack combo did well when the enemies were grouped. I went for grabs as much as I could; some enemies needed to be punched or knocked down first, while others I could just run up to. Then I would do 2 quick head butts followed by a power slam into the ground, or better yet into another enemy. Slamming enemies gave valuable invincibility frames and was an excellent counter to jump kicks, charging fat guys and the dogs. The power attack with the sword had better range and damage than the punch, but much longer windup. I found it good when hiding behind an obstacle so that enemies could not approach head on, the couple times enemies could not reach me at all, and against solo enemies. Good timing could stop a charging fat guy and I could hit the dogs. I even found it the best move for the final boss. The special spin attack costs health, but not so much to make it not worth using. I found it useful for disrupting difficult to avoid attacks, such as the charging fat guys, dogs and final boss. Not so useful for most enemies. I appreciated having a dedicated block button but it did not stop the most annoying attacks. I only found block useful against the tall sword guys because they could be difficult to approach without getting slashed; block the hit then move in. The aerial attacks were good at avoiding damage but slow at dealing it. The basic jump attack was great for smashing rock traps but not good for combat. The moving jump fist was a good way to knock down a group and kill the fishermen but could not stop charging fat guys. The charge was good for closing distance quickly followed by a knockdown, though many times I opted for a grab instead. The jump kick was the overall best move, providing a nice cheap attack and the double press direction to run was only a little awkward. It was a great way to deal with bosses, charging fat guys and jump kicks. Sometimes I jump kicked back and forth constantly, though grabbing after the knockdown was the faster way to deal damage.

I did not like the few platforming sequences because they cost a life if you fell, and Final Fight style brawler controls do not work well for platforming. I loved the positional tactics, using obstacles and hazards to control the battlefield. I especially liked picking up enemies and one hit killing them by throwing them into a pit, and letting them get killed by traps. I did not have too much trouble with the game and beat it with 13 lives left. I ran out of time just before the final 2 boss fights to the point that when it transitioned to the final screen I was not sure if I had won or lost. Not sure if the time limit has any effect. I did not like the 1 shooter boss; there was too much time waiting around for the boss to be attackable, and why even put in a different genre for a single fight? One of the better beat em ups I have played. I could see playing again as Tula.

8.0/10