X-Japan Virtual Shock 001

X Japan Virtual Shock 001 is an adventure game in the mold of D and other such titles. Only, instead of using CG Animation, this game uses live action FMV. You play a photographer set to document the X Japan concert being held at the Tokyo Dome on December 30th and 31st 1994. The game consists of your travels behind the scenes of the event. You are in charge of documenting the concert, so you have to search out the various band members and score photo shoots with them. Along the way various people will try to hinder your progress. Being the press, you have to find ways around these obstacles. At one point in the game you even have to try your hand at editing a music video. This all leads up to a front row seat to watch the band play one of it's songs live at a seemingly sold out show.

Before continuing further, I have to get one thing straight. This disc is clearly for fans of the band, and not meant for hardcore gamers. As a game, it falls flat on it's face. It's true purpose is to make you feel like you're there. To put you into the picture. Honestly, it does a pretty good job of it. The blend of D style cinematic adventure gameplay mixed with the live action fmv works quite well. The only drawback being the horrible acting, but that's usually par for the course when it comes to live action fmv. This disc is perfect for a fan of the band. It allows them to go backstage and see what everything is like from a cameraman's point of view. They can enjoy the experience for what it is and just have a good time.

However, from a gamer's stand point, this is just a lame adventure game, short on adventure and high on backtracking. Fans of this style of gameplay expect brain teasing puzzles to keep them interested. The closest part this game has to a brain teasing puzzle is when you have to pick up an All Area Pass from the Production Room so you can use the elevator. Throughout the game you will be given a photo shoot with each of the band mates. Don't get excited, the photo shoots are nothing more than a short FMV clip of the band member practicing or talking. During the clip you can press the R Button to snap a photo. Further proving that the game is just for fun, it doesn't really matter what you take photos of. No matter how much you suck, the guy still commends you on what a great job you did. It has no bearing on the outcome of the game. At one point in the game you are given the opportunity to edit a together a music video for the band. The gameplay here is pulled straight from the Make My Video days of the Sega CD, only here it has even less gameplay. As the song plays you can switch between four different camera angles with the Dpad and add an X Japan overlay with the X Button. That is all. At the end of the game you can view your music video. Whoopee!

Surprisingly enough, many of the characters speak in English with Japanese subtitles. This can make understanding, and playing, the game much easier. Unfortunately, not everyone in the game speaks English, so there will be points where you have no idea what is going on. At these points you can either consult a FAQ or simply use the importer stand by: trial and error. With a little free time, the language should not prevent you from completing the game. It is rather straight forward so all it takes is finding the right person to talk to or the right room to enter.

This game is quite short and if you know what you are doing it can be beaten in one sitting. I suppose that is a good thing since you cannot save your progress and must start over from the beginning every time you play. It would've been nice if they had at least allowed you to save your photos or edited music video. Once you go through it, there is really no reason to play it again. A short initial playtime and little to no reason for replaying adds up to something that most would be wise to avoid. It doesn't help matters that the game is far from common.

Overall, I can only recommend this to big fans of the band and even then, only if they can get a good deal on it. It is far too short and much too lacking as a game for me to even think about recommending it to someone looking for a serious gameplay experience. This is nothing more than an interactive multimedia disc, something akin to the early days of CDROM. Interesting, but ultimately not worthy of your time.

©2004 Ed Finnegan

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