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When first announced 4 months ago, Tail Concerto was described as a 3D Mario-esque Action / Platformer set in a world of cats and dogs . . . and it was from Bandai. The initial announcement instilled feelings of apathy (a seeming Mario 64 clone) and disgust (Bandai's doing another 'game'). Last month, at the Tokyo Game Show, Tail Concerto was suddenly hailed as the "Game of Show" by many a journalist and gamer (or it was second only to Konami's Metal Gear Solid). This turn of events raised many an eyebrow here in Southern California - Could it be that Bandai actually made a -good- game?! The answer is a resounding "Yes!" After recovering from that initial shock, what Tail Concerto delivers is a wonderfully realized, fully 3D Anime world, complete with solid control (for a Bandai game?!), tons of anime cut scenes, splendid voice acting, and an overall well-playing, fun game.
The first aspect that makes Tail Concerto stand out is the high quality talent that is associated with it. Character Designs and Illustrations are done by Nobuteru Yuuki - the godly artist behind "Record of Lodoss War," "Battle Angel / Gunnm," "X: the Movie," and "Escaflowne." The game features many top notch seiyuu such as the ubiquitous Yuko Miyamura (Asuka (Evangelion)), and Maya Sakamoto (Hitomi (Escaflowne)). As seen from these examples, it seems Bandai went all out to hire the best talent they could find, and it shows.
The care that went into making this game continues as the game's 3D world is the closest I have seen to bringing 'Anime' into 3D. The texture design, the gouraud shading, the real-time deformation of 3D models all lend itself to creating a stunning Miyazaki-esque world. While the style may seem very 'plain,' it is effective, and all the inhabitants and the environment in Tail Concerto exude an innocent simplicity of design not seen since the anime movie epic, "Laputa: Castle in the Sky." The 'levels' originate on various floating city locations (like Laputa), and from there they expand to ice-covered regions, underground mining levels, and even a gastric acid/underwater level. The mechanical designs reflect a consistency as well - very Steam-punk -, as Waffle's (the main character) mech that you control is something straight out of "Future Boy Conan." It all works and blends perfectly, as you cannot help but marvel at such a cool anime world you've been dropped into.
The premise is simple, as you take control of Waffle (^^), a member of the peace-keeping Police force in Tail Concerto. The 'good guys' and most of the population seem to be made up of members of the canine persuasion. The 'bad guys' that you are introduced to are (of course) cats. It seems that there is a high level of bigotry and racism running rampant through the society and it is in this setting that you begin.
As Waffle, you are armed with his custom Steam-punk mech that moves and controls very well (even better if you consider that this is from Bandai). You have controls to Shoot 'capture bubbles' that deal damage and can stun/freeze opponents, Jump, and Grab (or Action). In addition you can adjust Camera height for better viewability. The only negative part about the controls are that they are 'Directional.' To clarify, if you enter a room (for example), and Waffle is facing the camera, if you press Down, he'll move forward into the screen, while pressing Left or Right will cause him to turn in those directions. On another screen where you are facing to the left, you have to press Left to make him move forward. If you press Down on this screen he'll turn into the screen. It makes sense, but for us who've gotten used to Resident Evil's controls (where it was Locked - pressing Up will -always- move the character Forward, no matter how the camera is set), it takes time to get used to this setup.
Perhaps the game's greatest weakness lies in its Camera setup. The Camera in the game follows Waffle around, but -with a lag-. So if you move around a corner, the controls are immediately responsive and you'll move around the corner; then a few seconds later the camera will slowly and smoothly follow you around that corner and 'reaffix' itself behind your character. It's this lag time that causes the most frustration with the game. If you can imagine, during some boss encounters, you'll be firing and running around, and the camera will slowly adjust to follow you - in that lag time, the boss will be unseen because the camera is still moving to get behind you again. Overall it isn't that bad, but it can get annoying.
One last comment must be made about the Sound. Overall sound effects are average and 'work,' but the voice acting is definitely phenomenal. Bandai made a huge effort to include as much voice as possible, so that even when you watch a real-time cut scene, it still feels very much like you're watching '3D Anime' and it's pretty cool. The highlight of Tail Concerto would have to be a boss encounter between Waffle and Alicia (Yuko Miyamura). Let's just say it involves Miyamu-chan, a large cat mech, a Giant megaphone, sonic waves, and the word "BAKA!!" ^_^
In the end, Bandai has astounded us with a very good, well-thought out game called "Tail Concerto." With solid effects, tons of anime cut scenes, great control, it seems that Bandai is really taking a step in the right direction. Overall it may seem too 'child-like' and immature for some people, but Tail Concerto is a light-hearted romp through a cute, Anime 3D world, and a very good world at that. Although far from perfect, this game is even more important in that it gives all of us Macross fans (and PSX owners in general) Hope. Hope that Bandai's "Macross: Digital Mission VF-X 2" (which comes out later this year) will actually be a solid game (unlike the utter garbage that is VFX1). In fact, if Bandai even barely improves what they have here in Tail Concerto, I can say that the new "Macross: VFX2" will be in contention for Game of the Year.
Final Scores (out of a perfect 10):
Graphics 9.0
+ Wonderful Anime-esque world and feel.
+ Solid textures and gouraud-shading to accentuate the 3D Anime look. Stunning.
+ Simple, anime-like 3D models for characters and vehicles.
+ Cool real-time 3D stretching and morphing.
+ 30 frames-per-second, smooth animations.
+ Tons of TV-quality Anime movies and cut scenes.
+ Cool Nobuteru Yuuki illustrations to view when you want (Photo Album).
+ Nice 3D 'Options Interface' (Waffle's room is the 'Options menu' - the phone is the Save Game, the phonograph is the Sound Options, the Album, to view pictures).
- Sorting problems occur (minor, most of the time unnoticeable).
- Texture warping and pixellization at times (minor).
Sound/Music 8.8
+ Outstanding Voice Acting - Yuko Miyamura does an awesome job!
- Average, generic music.
Gameplay 7.5
+ Solid controls for Waffle, responsive.
+ Simple, easy-to-play learning curve.
- Directional controls may throw off some people.
- Camera lag is annoying, and bad at times during boss encounters.
- Not enough to do in the game.
- A tad short (I beat the game in 5 hours).
Overall 8.0
"Tail Concerto is wonderful light 3D action game set in a very Anime world. Those looking for a fun diversion, look no further."