Inuyasha – Secret of the Cursed Mask (2024)

[This Review is Spoiler Free!][Use CRTL+F to search [Overall] for concise review] [Color Coding]:

[Terrible][0.0-2.4]|[Sub-Par][2.5-4.9]|[Good][5.0-7.4]|[Excellent][7.5-10.0]

Introduction

Well, I never thought this would be the first thing I would review but here we are. Inuyasha – Secret of the Cursed Mask, in this review I’m going to be focusing on reviewing the game through the side of it’s intended audience. Surprise, surprise… I’m an Inuyasha fan, but not a hardcore one.

Inuyasha – Secret of the Cursed Mask (1)

Inuyasha – The Secret of the Cursed Mask was released on March 18th, 2004 in Japan, with North America receiving a translated version later that year at the start of November. This game is surprisingly a PS2 exclusive and as a fan of the Anime I’m really happy this game was even released in the first place.

It came out to some pretty terrible reviews and was panned by pretty much every critic for it’s many gameplay flaws and lack of versatility when it came to capturing a wider audience. A lot of critics called this a childrens game (it’s really not) and some even went as far as saying it’s one of the worst anime show games out there… The funny thing about all of this is if you read any consumer reviews, they are all generally very good, most have gripes with the combat system like everyone else did but few fans of the show actually disliked the game… and let’s face it.. you don’t buy an Inuyasha JRPG Style game just for the RPG Experience… The same reason you don’t buy Karaoke Revolution just for the gameplay and not the singing, it seems pretty contrary.

The best way I could put it would be Zelda 2. The game is pretty terrible by most definitions but if you’re a fan of Zelda there’s something there for you to discover… and it’s that discovery that I feel this game does so well. Let’s begin.

Graphics

Oh man… This is sad to say but the polygonal graphics in this game are horrible for the time period… they are VERY BAD. I hate dstarting reviews so negative so let me just say I do like the game but the animations, sprites, particle effects, special effects are just… so terrible, it’s really unforgivable even given the fact that it’s an Inuyasha game first and video game second.

On the other hand, the characters are well represented, they look pretty bad overall but I find the look charming. The characters are kinda cute and it fits into the whole universe of the game pretty well.

The animations, sprites, particles, and most enemies look so bad I’m going to run out of words to describe how bad they look. If you kill an enemy their animation stops dead and they stand perfectly still while they get ‘spaghettified’ into a nearby black hole that sucks them into an infinite oblivion… it’s looks ridiculous.

Now I know I said the polygonal graphics are awful, but that’s only half of the graphics in this game, it actually features hand-drawn backgrounds and interiors. Thankfully they didn’t model any of the areas or the game would look like a nightmare. They went the same way as Ocarina of Time (N64) when you enter a shop, it’s just a static background image with invisible geometry to keep you in place.

Not every place is like this, and the places they did model, like the Temple near the start of the game are actually really nice. They look good, the textures are clean and bright and the color choices are very representative of the show’s color palette.

I’ll be honest some of the hand drawn backgrounds are actually stellar, they are very clean and crisp and add a ton of feeling to every single area you visit. There’s a lot of variety but be ready to see heaps of generic woodland areas as most of the game seems to be covered in it. If you do check this game out make sure to pay attention to all the nice details added to the interiors and and exteriors.

[Graphics Score][4.3/10]

Sound Design

Wow, the crew is all here – Richard Cox is there for sure as Inuyasha and does an excellent job as always portraying and over-the-top annoying and arrogant jerk. I was actually blown away with the amount of original Voice Acting that is included in this game, there’s so much to hear and experience it really feels like your in the world. It’s one thing if it was all just text, but being able to listen to all your favorite characters and play through the game and impact what they say to you is an great addition to the game and really ties it all together.

Not everything has voice acting but a large majority of the story stuff is voice acted making it fun to watch if you’re a fan of the show. Both main characters are also voice acted which feels a little less like “you” are part of the game but is a nice addition none-the-less as it leaves less gaps in the audio and I think that was the right choice.

Now I tested this game through multiple audio devices and noticed a sort of fuzzyness to the voices on higher volume settings, I’m sure it’s artifacts from compression but it does detract from the audio quality as it was quite noticeable for me using two tower speakers and subwoofer, headphones, TV Speakers and 5.1 Surround. Even with lots of tuning I couldn’t really get rid of it but overall it’s acceptable quality for what it is.

The music for the game is phenomenal, it’s super crisp and clear, very strong bass notes and all the classic Inuyasha instruments and scores you’d expect including some originals, the in-game music variety isn’t that great but the music is good enough that it’s really not an issue for me.

Now, again for the category killer. The in-game sound effects are just… so bad. When you are in combat and you kill and enemy in one shot it cancels whatever sound effect your character is playing. It sounds cheap, most of the in-combat stuff sounds so cheesy and terrible that I just can’t give it a thumbs up, even if some of it is kinda cute… Like how some team members will compliment/comment on other team members efforts/failures. If you know the show this makes for some pretty funny random moments and I like that small little touch.

[Overall]: The game features a rich musical score, tons of fantastic voice work by the original actors from the english dub of the show, they get into tons of new and unique scenarios which make this a must-play for fans of the show. It also has great ambiance and folley which is somewhat accurate but can fall away at times. (Like the timing between footsteps and the sound they make, its not synced and it’s noticeable). The in-combat sound effects are pretty crappy and overlap eachother pretty badly. Some of the slashing and attack sounds are alright but for the most part they are extremely sub-par.

[Sound Score][7.8/10]

Gameplay

Inuyasha – The Secret of the Cursed mask is a story-driven RPG that takes place in the world of Inuyasha, understanding this world isn’t key to enjoying the game but knowing some of the backstories of the characters is essential. The game does a good job of introducing the characters in a way that makes sense to people that haven’t watched the Anime.

As a story-driven RPG, gameplay tends to take a backseat to story telling. This is the kind of game where ‘gameplay’ is just a buffer in-between learning what happens next. The story isn’t exactly enthralling but just being able to interact with these beloved characters on such a personal level is a fantastic touch. There are time where you can get close to characters you are fond of from the show and learn more about them or get into unique situations. Most of which would spoil the game so I won’t mention them here but they are definitely worth playing through to find!

On the surface you’ll find a very standard RPG Game engine, running a fixed perspective camera (for the most part, it does follow you when you are in areas that are rendered in 3D and textured) and also featuring hand drawn backgrounds over invisible brushes (terrain).

The game is very story driven and most of the story elements are quite easy and fun to follow along with. I barely found myself skipping dialogue as I enjoyed hearing the effort put in by the voice actors themselves. Characters are introduced slowly to the game and I feel they did a great job with pacing here given the time this was released.

You play as either a Boy or a Girl of your choice, you can change one of their names but for the sake on continuity in gameplay you can’t change their first name… Or last? I don’t know how Japanese names work. Anyways you start alone but end up meeting Inuyasha and he and Kagome eventually join your Party followed by everyone’s favorite little fox demon, Shippo.

Now a lot of people have gripes with the games rather simplistic inventory and character managment but I think given the fact that it’s an Inuyasha game – we’re lucky there’s even this many stats to begin with. There’s actually quite a lot you can do here, you can Min/Max your favorite characters or even try out something unique as the game gives you items that can change certain member’s stats. I found that classing and making custom builds really wasn’t effective and the game tends to push you in certain directions. It is possible to say, make Inuyasha a tank but his stats will increase in a predictable way meaning in general, he will always turn out the same.

The menu is pretty deep for what it is, allowing you to modify your characters with items and equipment and also changing your lineup which allows you to change who follows you on the overworld… I though this was great, I loved running around as Inuyasha.

As for your character, they are pretty much useless for most of the game and just occupy a slot that I wish I could just fill with someone else already. I personally would have much rather been playing as just the characters I know and love. The addition of these kids that come out of nowhere is cool, and let’s them make custom anime cutscenes… cause’ well.. the characters are always the same. I wish they just didn’t do that and let us level and tinker with are favorite characters in an RPG setting.

As for RPG settings it’s got all the usual stuff, high monster encounter rates, shops, money, grinding, equipment, special mobs and all that fun stuff. I think it’s a pretty solid RPG experience. It’s got all the status effects you could want, all the special items and drop tables to analyze and discover and I mean it’s really just a solid rpg system..

but it’s built around a core that’s really just… meh. The combat system. It’s really simple and clunky, it feels slow to operate. There’s really not much you can do, you can Attack, Block, Use items or Special Attacks, you have cool special moves like Co-Op attacks where certain team members can learn an attack that they can use together which is a really awesome touch in my opinion! Most of the moves are pretty lame and I was really disappointed to see some of my favorite moves from the show missing as well some silly stuff like Shippos “Wheel of Fire” which isn’t even a wheel and doesn’t even make fire… It literally makes no sense… It’s a really good attack though – keep that In mind if you ever plan on playing.

The game has a lot of hidden content that is out-of-the-way or just hard to find, I’ve gotten lots of goodies and rewards for exploring the maps and even found some neat ‘rare’ drop tables for certain monsters. The gameplay is rewarding enough that I even went out of my way to farm in many places in the game to make some extra currencies and stock up on items I knew the creatures were carrying.

The game controls are pretty standard, using the “overworld” is pretty simple the controls are good enough that you won’t get frustrated, the controls during battle feel slow as the menus animate and take time to finish. There’s this little disc-type thing at the top right which gives you the current combat order, it’s important to pay attention to during hectic battles so you know who’s coming up next. My only problem is that often times 2 people are right on top of each other so I have no idea who is going to be next, making it hard to setup strategies sometimes.

The story does eventually get in the way of gameplay as the interactions become a little more drawn out. It’s forgiving but as someone who values gameplay over story it was really hard for me to stay invested in the story later of, even though it does pick up in some places and I did spend a lot of time talking to the characters whenever I could to hear their unique dialogues. The core of the game is alright but is only there to serve as a means to drive the story and have the player feel like they are making the choices when in reality the game is very linear and if you explore well and talk to everyone you really wouldn’t have any reason to play this game again.

[Overall]: Inuyasha – The Secret of the Cursed Mask features a very deep story that is captivating for fans of the show but will definitely irk those who are just looking to play a game. The combat and RPG mechanics are solid, but feel very bare-bones compared to other titles from it’s time. Having all original voice actors really adds depth to the gameplay and atmosphere, although the game feels very long, requiring a lot of exposition to get through most major story sequences.

[Gameplay Score][5.3/10]

Overall Summary & Scoring

Inuyasha – The Secret of the Cursed mask for the Playstation 2 (PS2) was an enjoyable experience as a fan of the anime series – but as a fan of good games I find there are some major issues with some of the gameplay, presentation and pacing in later portions of the game. There’s some great voice work by the original english dub actors and some unique anime cutscenes made specifically for the game, they alone are worth playing this game to watch – although you could probably just find them on Youtube and save yourself a bit of frustration.

Unfortunately for Inuyasha – The Secret of the Cursed Mask, it’s amazing sound and tons of great artworks couldn’t save it from the mediocrity and ‘tacked-on’ feel of the RPG game that seems to have just been built around a story… which is never a good idea.

[Overall Score]:[5.8/10]

Inuyasha is a great game for fans of the anime and has some really nice fan-fare and features for anyone who’s enjoyed the show. Half of it is really good and the other half really feels tacked on and it’s a shame… If you like Inuyasha you should consider picking this game up as it’s definitely worth playing through at least once!

If you’re a fan of good RPGs you’ll find little to nothing of value here for you, which really detracts from this games rating. If I saw the game through cherry blossom glasses It’d probably rate it in the high 7’s but it’s flaws really outshine it’s accomplishments… of which there are few.