Today, I am reviewing “Kamen Rider Climax Heroes Fourze” for the Sony PSP as part of the “Video Games that were never released in the USA” series.
As a big fan of Tokusatsu series, “Kamen Rider”, “Ultraman” and “Sentai” rangers type of series still entertainment today, as it did when I was a child.
And that includes the video games!
But people today have a better chance to watch “Kamen Rider” as episodes are now featured legally on YouTube, Blu-ray releases are slowly starting to be released. But for the longest time, “Kamen Rider” was something many in the US were not familiar with.
While there were two series that were released in the US such as Saban Entertainment’s “Masked Rider” (1995-1996) similar to “Power Rangers” which takes footage from the original Japanese series but has a story crafted for American audiences. And in 2008-2009, the CW did an adaptation titled “Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight”
“Kamen Rider Climax Heroes Fourze” is a Sony PSP game released back in December 2011 and is the fourth installment of the “Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes” series, done in a similar fashion as “Masked Rider”.
The first was released on the Sony PlayStation 2 back in August 2009 and at the time, featured primarily Heisei-era (January 1989- April 2019) Kamen Rider characters.
NOTE: In Japan, eras are according to the current reign of an Emperor. Prior to the Heisei Era was the Showa Era (December 1926 – January 7, 1989) and currently, it’s the Reiwa Era (April 2019 – Present).
But because of licensing and certain reasons, there are a ton of awesome games released in Japan for the Sony PSP (and other consoles), that never were released in the US. Because I travel to Japan often I often pick these games and because it’s much easier to purchase from Japan via Amazon JP and eBay, obtaining these games legally are not that difficult.
So, knowing that the game was released in December 2011, the current Kamen Rider at that time was Kamen Rider Fourze (who debuted in Sept. 2011 through August 12th), which the series was the 13th of the Heisei Era (26th overall) and celebrated the 40th anniversary of the franchise. So, he is the prominent character in this video game.
But featuring the Heisei Kamen Rider characters means that other Kamen Rider such as Kamen Rider OOO (2010-2011), Kamen Rider W (2009-2010), Kamen Rider Decade (2009) inc. Kamen Rider Diend, Kamen Rider Kiva (2008-2009) inc. Kamen Rider Ixa, Kamen Rider Den-O (2007-2008), Kamen Rider Kabuto (2006-2007), Kamen Rider Hibiki (2005-2006), Kamen Rider Blade (2004-2005), Kamen Rider 555 (2003-2004) – So, Delta, Faiz and KAixa are included), Kamen Rider Ryuki (2002-2003), Kamen Rider Agito (2001-2002) and Kamen Rider Kuuga (2000-2001) are featured.
But the game also includes Kamen Rider from the Showa Era plus other incarnations of a Kamen Rider are included as well.. So, OG characters such as Kamen Rider 1, Kamen Rider 2, Kamen Rider V3, Kamen Ridre Amazon, Kamen Rider Black, Kamen Rider Black RX, Shadow Moon, Kamen Rider Birth, Kamen Rider Proto Birth, Kamen Rider Ibuki and Kamen Rider Den-O are included.
Thus making “Kamen Rider Climax Heroes Fourze” the first video game in the series to feature Showa riders as playable characters. But to make it even better is the inclusion of characters from the previous three “Climax Heroes” video games.
So, the overall total are 47 character in this game alone.
For the main modes that you will be spending the most of your time, it would either be Heroes Mode, Arcade Mode and/or versus modes. Heroes Mode allows you to participate in fights against Fourze, other Kamen Riders and enemies. This is great to unlock photos and characters. While Arcade Mode is straight battle for several best out of 3 matches and this is fun for those who like a bit more of a challenge.
Why this game will appeal to Kamen Rider fans is that you have a fighter with each button allow you to hit, utilize a weapon, special attack modes and finishers.
Granted, with each Climax Heroes release, there are tweaking of characters. Developers tried to show some balance with this game compared to the previous games, but in some cases, some characters do get nerfed to the changrin of a few Kamen Rider fans. So, some changes are good, some changes are bad. Not everyone is going to be pleased.
But the games drive is mainly utilizing ALL Kamen Riders in Heroes Mode and clearing each mission in order to open up more characters and photos.
The game also has a secret character of Kamen Rider OOO (Purple Eyes), which can be obtained after getting 100% on Heroes Mode. Play arcade mode and when this character shows up, defeat him. And then in Arcade Mode or other modes (except Heroes Mode), you can use Purple Eyes by selecting OOO and holding start and press the O button.
It takes awhile but the cool thing is you know the progress through the main screen. But it’s a “completionist” type of game that many may play until you are done, or something you come back to once in awhile, so you don’t burn yourself out.
Each character fights differently, has special abilities, so that’s a major plus.
And for a 2011 game, one thing that playing on the Sony PSP, the game looks very cool even today in 2024. The character animations hold up even today. Granted, put in a larger screen and possibly it may not be the case. But on a smaller PSP screen, the game looks great.
And as for the loading times, surprisingly, matches do not take a long time to load. I remember back then, where some games took very long to load. This one, just a few seconds, nothing to get frustrated about.
And another plus is hearing the actual voices of the characters and the music from the series.
Now, a big question one may ask, is if you need to know Japanese to play this game. The answer is “no”. But if you need help, use the photo mode on Google Translate to help you. But really, you don’t need to know Japanese to enjoy this game.
Is it a “must-buy”? I think for “Kamen Rider” fans, it’s worth owning and here I am playing it again in 2024. The game has a bit of fan service in terms of actor’s dialogue, cool finishers, music backgrounds and more. But it shouldn’t be compared to a “Street Fighter”, “Tekken”, “King of Fighters”, etc. fighting video game. It’s a grindfest of a fight game that was created for the kids and fans and considering that there aren’t that many “Kamen Rider” games released between 2010-2024, you take what you can get.
Last but not least, “Kamen Rider” games don’t get the same love and treatment as other high profile games. You’re not going to get the top developers, nor are you going to get a top tier game. But what you are going to get is a fun game, may it be fighting-based or “musou” style of fighting.
One has to realize the demographic in Japan the shows and games are targeting have always the kids and hardcore fans. Outside of Japan, it’s people who grew up with the series and still follow it and are much older than the targeted demographic who are the most vocal. I’m not that vocal, considering I have enough of a video game backlog as it is. But whenever a “Kamen Rider” game is released, I try to support it, considering in one’s lifetime, you’re not going to get that much.
Overall, “Kamen Rider Climax Heroes Fourze” is one the Sony PSP games worth owning if you love the “Kamen Rider” series. Personally, I enjoy this game as one of those games to pass time and get in a few matches slowly. Play at my own pace and come back to.
