Bakuten Shoot Beyblade

Description

Bakuten Shoot Beyblade is based on the early Bakuten Shoot Beyblade manga/anime era and uses an original protagonist, Daichi Sumeragi, rather than putting the player directly in control of Tyson/Takao. The game is built around travelling through different regions, including Japan, China, and America, battling rival Bladers and aiming to become the world champion. The story follows Daichi as he meets familiar characters and takes part in tournaments, with the scenario tied more closely to the manga’s progress at the time than later anime-based Beyblade games.

Battles are not fully direct-control action fights. Instead, the player mainly chooses a strategy, performs the launch, and then watches the Beyblade clash play out, with stats, parts, luck, and timing all affecting the result. The player can influence the fight through launch power, special attacks, and setup choices, but much of the actual spinning battle is semi-automatic. The main depth comes from customising the Beyblade. Players can collect and equip parts such as attack rings, weight disks, blade bases, shooters, and tune-up parts, changing the Beyblade’s abilities and performance. Parts are earned through battles and events, and some can be missed, giving the game a collection and optimisation angle similar to the physical toy line.

In retrospect, it is a rough licensed game that mainly appeals to fans of the early manga/anime and toy line. It captures the excitement of collecting parts and facing familiar Bladers, but the limited direct control, harsh difficulty spikes, repeated grinding, and luck-heavy battle system make it feel uneven today. It is best understood as a product of its time: enjoyable for Beyblade fans in 2001, but not especially strong as a standalone action or RPG game.