Import Impressions

Toh Shin Din -- Takara

Participate in battle on a 3-D arena in Toh Shin Din for the PlayStation. Winning is more than just beating your opponent, it's staying in the arena as well, and if you can make it through the grueling competition you may get a chance to fight the ultimate enemy.

Ferrari Man
Fighting gone 3-D. Toh Shin Din vs. Virtua Fighter 2 vs. Killer Instinct will be one of the most incredible match ups the worlds has ever seen. The play in this one was excellent. However, the special moves were almost too easy to pull off. This changed your strategy from simply pulling off the special, to a more defensive play. I was impressed all the way through the game. A few more characters, and an extra boss or two would help the game out. Overall, another excellent PSX title!

E.Phoenix
This is the most fun I have ever had with a fighter. Everything about TSD is fantastic. Each character has a distinct personality that is apparent in their fighting style, body language, and their taunts after a match. For example, Duke is a knight who fights with a heavy sword; his attack speed with the sword and heavy armor, are governed by the weight of the sword. So, his attacks become slow and deliberate, with devastating power. Sofia, the leather clad dominatrix, fights with a whip and laughs at you when you are defeated. Do not judge this game by still shots, the movement is very fluid, each character has many frames of animation, the music is excellent at times, and the camera angles and scaling are superb. I loved this game, R.I.P. and I played this game nonstop for hours and every match seemed to reveal a special move we hadn't yet seen. Did I mention this is the best fighting game I have ever played?

R.I.P.
Up until now my favorite fighting games have been Ballz and Eternal Champions, but after playing Toh Shin Din I seriously considered throwing them in the trash. TSD is without a question the best console fighting game I have ever played, one-player (kicks butt) or two-player (kicks even more butt). My only complaint with this game is that there is only one boss (I've only played up through Normal skill level) to fight... I hope that more might be lurking on the highest skill level, but I doubt it based on the text you get at the end of the game. You owe it to yourself to play this title.

Salamander
Toh Shin Din gives Virtua Fighter 2 a run for its money. Large characters with plenty of animation and "physics," plus plenty of killer moves and interesting camera angles are true highpoints. While a lack of boss-characters makes this title a bit weak in one-player mode, two-player head-to-head fighting is among the best I have seen.

(04/95)