The fighting game market is a brutal one. If a fighting game comes out and offers nothing new or exciting to the genre, it will most likely be overlooked by consumers. Luckily for Capcom, Rival Schools offers just enough innovation and flare to place itself next to popular titles such as Tekken 3, Guilty Gear, and Dead or Alive.

Like most fighting games, the plot in Rival Schools is pretty poor. The main story is about some students from a handful of schools who become brainwashed drones and whichever characters you choose are the only ones who haven't been brainwashed yet. So, as the last normal students, your characters team up and decide to get to the bottom of the mystery at hand. What does this mean?  Basically, you beat the snot out of your opponents and they become normal once again. Not a very good story, but it's not important. Nobody plays fighting games for the storylines anyway.

While Rival Schools may not have much in the story department, it brings a relatively new concept to the PlayStation: the Tag Team. You start off by choosing two characters, one who starts every fight, and one who acts as a substitute when the starter gets beat. The substitute isn't limited to making appearances when the starter is defeated though. You can change characters in-between rounds regardless of whether you won the last round or not. Also, when you're character's power meter is built up (accomplished by executing special moves or taking damage) you can call upon your second character to enter a fight and help double-team the enemy. This makes for quite a bit of variety and replay value as there is a different tag team combo for each character.

The most noticeable feature about Rival Schools would have to be the sheer amount of Japanese quirkiness included throughout the game. The pace of a fight can range from medium to downright blazing. On top of that, all the special moves and tag team combos are all very dramatic and often result in the screen going absolutely crazy with flashing and special effects. Each character also has their own handful of "burning vigor attacks" which cause the screen to go completely black save for the characters who leave after-images when they move. This is a pretty cool effect and really has to be seen to be appreciated. As for the tag team combos, those really shine with quirkiness. For example, if you choose the cheerleader to be your substitute, and then call on her in battle, she will rush out and give your character a big kiss to replenish some lost health. If you pick the swordsman to be your partner and then call on him in battle, he will slice and dice your opponent while you hold them in place. Some of the more nutty tag moves include a quick massage, a quick pep talk, and an actual beating of your own character. Sound weird? It is, but it's also very humorous and makes for some very memorable moments.

Visually, the game resembles Capcom's past 3D effort, Street Fighter EX + Alpha. Characters look fine while they're fighting, but during the close-ups in the post-fight gloating, they appear very blocky and pixilated. This can easily be overlooked though because gloating is a pretty small part of the game. The actual fighting looks pretty decent and that's what really matters. The locations are some of the more interesting seen in a fighting game and again, they show off that Japanese flavor the game has. All of them are clearly defined and look very nice. Some of the better backgrounds include a high school gymnasium (complete with a jumbotron that flashes quirky images), a classroom, a beach, and a rooftop.

To sum up, Rival Schools is worthy purchase for any gamer and it is a must have for fans of the genre. Lots of replay value and character make this one of the best fighting games available today.