Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy Review

T/Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy/Action/Developed by Destineer/Produced by Funimation/No Multiplayer/Released on: DS
CONCEPT: Honestly, Fullmetal Alchemist is one of those manga/animes that should never be turned inot a video game. There's not much action in it up until about Volume 20, and even then, it's quick and precise. But, still, Destineer did a very good job at turning FMA into a nice-lookin' game. There's always something to be said about an old-school, beat-'em-up, side-scroller, y'know?
GRAPHICS: Destineer must've missed a memo here, 'cause these look like GameBoy Advance graphics. And the animations also look kind of last-gen. Overall, not a very enjoyable game if you like graphical powerhouses.
SOUND: The English voiceovers are authentic, which adds some nice punch to the sound. The soundtrack however, is super cheesy. But, honestly, I see that as a good thing. The soundtrack could use a bit more variety, though.
PLAYABILITY: They're simple and responsive. However, as responsive as they are, they can only be interesting if the combat system has enough depth. You basically use the same combos, over... and over... and over... and over. There are a small handful of Alchemy Powers, but they kind of unbalance the diffuculty. I will admiit, though, minigames are very nicely done.
STORYLINE: It very, very vaugley follows the anime. But, since the anime is an all-out mess and nowhere near as interesting as the manga, it makes for a very boring experience. And confusing if you've never watched the anime, 'cause it skips A LOT of major plot points. Not good at all.
ENTERTAINMENT: If you love Fullmetal Alchemist, then you'll most likely love Dual Sympathy. If you love old-school, SNES-era action games, then you'll without a doubt love Dual Sympathy. It's extremely fun to play, dispite the varying diffuculty levels. Even so, you usually find the solution to a difficult scene in under a half-hour.
REPLAY: It's worth buying to play again after renting.
SCORE: 5.5/10