Where Bleach DS is a more technical fighter, Heat the Soul 3 uses a simpler chain system. You won't get 50 hit combos in Heat the Soul, but the fighting system is solid. For Bleach fans, both titles are essential to a healthy diet.

Can You Survive?
The test of any fighting game is the gameplay (duh), and I am happy to say Heat the Soul 3 delivers well in that department. But the first thing you notice is.. Hot Pinky G!... the graphics presentation is top notch with great cel shaded characters that look like their anime counterparts. The personality of each character has also been taken into account with expressive animation and match-up specific conversations before and after each match. For example, during a Renji versus Byakuya fight, their pre-match conversation is straight from their confrontation in the anime. And when fighting one of his schoolmates, Ichigo will be astonished for having to fight them then apologize to the specific friend after he beats the pink out of them.

However, it is the arenas that really shine. Locales from Ichigo’s High School to the bridge at the Tower of Penance look even better than the anime. Looking past the arena on Souykyoku Hill to the city below with fog and subtle lighting effects surrounding you really adds to the atmosphere and makes you believe you are fighting in Soul Society.

Sound rounds out the presentation, with voice acting by the anime's cast. The music is a bit mixed, and depends on your taste. The designers went with a Soul Caliber feeling epic score instead of just using themes from the anime.

Don't Give Up
For the third Heat the Soul game, Sony tapped Eighting (responsible for other recent anime fighters like Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen! 4 and Battle Stadium D.O.N) to develop the game. Control is similar to the previous HTS installments, and the tug-of-war style of gameplay returns. The flow of the match is affected by the shared Spirit Pressure meter at the bottom of the screen, with the character having the most Spirit Pressure being able to enable more of their Specials and knock back their opponent with their Reiatsu.

The control is straightforward, composed of attack button presses (no dragon punch controller craziness, here!) with a direction for 8 basic moves per character. This may seem overly simplistic but this is where the beauty of this system lies, allowing players to attack with set attacks without overly complicated directional movement. Combos are performed in the chain style. For example, a basic combo is X, X, O, O, O which will end in a knockdown. You can vary your chains with different combinations of attack buttons and directional presses. Certain characters can also amplify one attack with another. For example, Ukitake’s down + O will unleash a small flood (mid range move) towards the opponent and forward + O (close range move) will result in an electric charge, but if you quickly follow the flood move with the electrical charge, the water will shock the opponent for extra damage.

Each character also has at least one super, performed by activating your Spirit Pressure then quickly pressing one of the attack buttons. You can even end your chain with a super for extra damage.

There are a couple new gameplay elements to Heat the Soul 3. First is the partner system, which gives your character extra effects during a match. Having Rukia as your partner will let you use her signature Shakahou energy attack, while using Zangetsu as a partner will power up your attack strength. The Partner Gauge is located under your life bar and fills as you perform attacks. You can have up to three levels of Partner Assist, or even three individual partners!

The other new gameplay element is Spirit Clashes. When opponents dash towards each other at the same time, they lock weapons in a battle of strength until the one who ups their Reiatsu more than the other (done by rapidly mashing the attack buttons) launches the other fighter away.

Crush!
Tons of fan service complete the Bleach experience. When unlocked, the character roster will have 33 playable fighters and you can finally play as the Bankai versions of several characters in the Heat the Soul series. Even more characters are available as Partners.

While we lose the BlockOn minigame from the previous installments, we get an extra Mission Mode; Karakura Heroes Mach, which is unlocked by completing the normal Mission Mode. A custom anime was created for Karakura Heroes Mach. Successful completion of this mode will unlock a new playable character, Ulquiorra, a hybrid Hollow-Shinigami character already revealed in the manga.

Speaking of Modes, click here to get a FAQ on all the modes and how to unlock everything in the game. The best approach is to play Mission Mode or VS. CPU first to unlock extra characters and Omake options. Soul Road will take the longest and should be saved for last to unlock extra costumes and partner characters.

Extra costumes, Gallery, Movie, and BGM modes round out the extras. Besides playing through the game, you can enter codes from the latest Bleach trading card series to gain points for the Urahara shop. One of the most fun purchases, as with the previous installments, are different system voices to do the play by play for the matches.

Winner!
Heat the Soul 3 is the best in the series. A fun and accessible fighter that captures the anime perfectly. It deserves permanent residence in your PSP library.

System: Sony PSP
Publisher: Bandai
Developer: Eighting
Genre: Fighting
Release Date: Jul 20, 2006
# of Players: 1-2
Online Play: No

IMPORT FRIENDLY ▲
LOAD TIME ▲
ORIGINALITY – ▲
GRAPHICS – O
MUSIC – O
LONGEVITY - O
OVERALL – O