Saiyuki is a game about a monk who has to travel from Ancient China all the way to a Holy Temple in Asia. Now over there this legend is very well known and studied. Plus this is the legend that Akira Toriyama (creator of DragonBall) made the fighing anime known as DragonBall. So lets get on with the reveiw.

Graphics 7/10: Now the graphics here arent that highly detailed or super cool eye candy like you see in numerous RPG's. However since this IS a tactics based game, there really isnt anything special. But I love the graphics they used for the WereBeast Transformations. Overall, graphics that good on the eyes but nothing too good.

Music 6/10: Alright, now there isnt that really good music in here to me but its good enough to get you thru the game. Nothing really mentionable or memorable but something you can hum every once in a while.

Control 10/10: Its a tactics game so of course its going to have near-perfect control.

Battle System 9/10: Alot of people say this game is very similar to FFT (Final Fantasy Tactics). But I can see how that is but in a way its also very different. But the battle system I have to say is great but there's one downfall, you can level up your character all the way to 99 but the enemies will still be at 10 or whatever because you did it so early in the game. This is because the enemies levels dont keep up with the characters which can really dumb down the challenge to the game ESPECIALLY when your using a Gameshark for this. But I really loved the WereBeast idea, and how you can only use it once per battle because that really gives you an edge on challenge. Other than that its just more of the same thing.

Replayability 8/10: I'd have to say this game has alot of replayability. Because not only is the story awesome but you can also choose the gender of the character (but in the legend its really supposed to be a guy). Not only that but the characters in this game are something you can remember if you like this game quite a bit. But if your not into Tactics games or anything similar to it, you'll most likely beat the game once and never touch it again.

Story 8/10: Now the story here goes after a legendary monk in China. He was found floating down a river, monk picks him up, takes care of him, yada yada yada. I think you can figure out the rest. Well later on he becomes a monk because of his visions of seeing Lady Kannon. He then sets out to go to a Temple in Asia and do something. Along the way he finds great friends and allies such as the Legendary Monkey God, Son Goku (and trust me, he dosent look or act like Goku from DragonBall,DBZ or DBGT, he is completely different). Of course, I think they wanted to revolve around Son Goku more than the monk for some reason (just listen to what their saying on the intro movie, Magic Son Goku is what their saying). But other than that, above average story and something you'll most likely love.

Rent or Buy?: Unfortunetly, I'll have to say, rent. I mean this game is great and all but for some reason this isnt the game you wouldnt want to buy unless you love it. Dont get me wrong but I like this game but it really isnt something I would wanna dish out 40 bucks for. They could have added a little more extra things into it and that would have gotten me to buy it but they didnt so I geuss I'm stuck with renting it. But its a good rent for any type of game but if you hate tactics games then dont even bother with this.

Well thats the end of my review, I hope this made our decision. If you have any questions about the game, feel free to email me or post it at the message boards. Keep Gamin'!

Final Score: 8/10