MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade

MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade

MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade is a puzzle/arcade game for WiiWare. The game features three modes, Circle Mode, Bar Mode, and Square Mode. Each mode in unique and different from the other modes.

This review will be done in four different sections, one for each mode, and then one section for the game in whole, so really, this will be four reviews in one.

Circle Mode Review

Circle Mode is an arcade-style game. The aim of the game, is to defeat all the Enemies before they escape the arena. The arena is a circle (hence the name) and in the middle of the circle, there is some kind of object that makes it harder to defeat the enemies (e.g. A pendulum, which gets in your way). You play as a round ball, which is controlled by pressing the A button. The ball will roll around the arena, and you can press A to change the balls direction. The ball can simply defeat enemies by rolling into them. If an enemy escapes, then it's game over.

This is a good arcade-style game, and if you like to play games for fun, and to try and beat your high-scores, you will probably like this mode. The controls take a while to get used to, but one you get the hang of it, then they become very simple.

Now onto the bad things about this game. This game is good simple fun, but it feels a bit TOO simple, and you can get bored of it quickly if you keep playing it over and over again.

7/10

Bar Mode Review

Bar Mode is my favorite mode. Once again, you play as a round ball, but this time, there is a twist. There is a bar that swings around the ball, that can be used to defeat enemies/break bricks that get in your way. However, if a brick or enemy touches the ball, then its game over.

Once again, this game is controlled just by using the A button. When the bar is pointing in the direction that you want to go, then you can press A, and that will make your ball move in that direction. The aim of the game is to make it go the goal in the fastest time possible. The quicker you get to the goal, the more points you get. Once again, this is also a point-based game, so fans of beating their own high-scores will like this mode as well.

Onto the bad things about this mode. The controls are very difficult, and take a long time to get used to. Also, if your ball is touched by an enemy or brick just once, then it is an instant game over and you have to start all over again, which I found a bit harsh.

7.5/10

Square Mode Review

This is probably my least favorite mode, but thats just because I'm so terrible at it. This time you play as a square, and you have a tail of fire following you. The fire will not hurt you, and you have to use it to your advantage. If a block reaches the bottom of the screen, then it's game over. To prevent blocks from reaching the bottom of the screen, you can use your tail to burn the blocks. Each time you move, the blocks fall down a little more, the blocks take a while to burn, so the trick is to light them on fire ASAP, so they don't reach the bottom while still being burnt. This is a puzzle game, and requires lots of thinking to get a high-score on.

This is the deepest, and hardest game in MaBoShi. however, the learning curve is pretty steep, and it took me about quarter of an hour just to complete the practice level. Due to that, this game can become pretty frustrating.

This is another score-based game, so you just want to keep going for as long as you can, without getting the game-over screen.

7/10

MaBoShi Review

One of my favorite things about this game is the 8-bit version of the game, which you can download onto your DS using DS Download Play. This gives the game a true arcade feel, and that also means that you can take the game with you on car trips, and stuff. This is a very unique feature, and I hope that it is used in later WiiWare games. This is a game that you can play every now and then when you are bored, but it's not a game that you will play for long periods of time. I would consider this a casual game, but it is a unique casual game to say at the least.

One of my major gripes about the game is the price. I feel that 800 Wii Points was a little too steep for this kind of game, and that it should of been sold for at least 700 Wii Points.

Overall this game gets a 7/10