Farfetched, I know, but I'm a hopeless optimist sometimes. I once had a girl from the internet visit me who had refused to send me a picture, convincing myself that she just didn't want her beauty to effect my opinion of her. She ended up having ankles as thick as my neck and a smell like an infected ear piercing..true story. I just never learn.

At least Legend of the Dragon smells nice?

This is definitely one of those games they'd rather no have press look at. I'm not familiar with the cartoon, and after playing the game version I have absolutely no intention on rectifying that anytime soon. The controls are awkward, the game modes weak, the graphics lean towards N64 quality and the sound is just...odd.

Now You're Playing with Power

This is not a game that should have been made for the Wii. It's more or less your traditional 3D fighter with a few bells and whistles tacked on to take advantage of the unique setup, and it just does not work. You use the control stick on the nunchuk to move, jump, and crouch, with the C & Z buttons being used to step up or in on the 3D plane. Then you have A & B to punch and kick and the directional pad to block. Once you transformer into your alter ego (every character has one) you gain super moves which just make no f***ing sense whatsoever. The tutorial doesn't help. The book doesn't help. The Spanish half of the book doesn't even help.

What also doesn't help is that once your opponent transforms, you pretty much have to as well or your chances of survival drop considerably. Rounds end up like Voltron episodes. "Well we started fighting as separate lions, but then decided that the ultra-powerful robot was the way to go. If only we had some sort of blazing sword..."

Modus Operandi

You can play story mode, where you choose a character, fight one or two battles, and then spend half an hour honing another character's traits, decimating opponent after opponent only to be cheap shotted out of ring by a guy named Henchman. The there's survival mode, where you can decimate opponent after opponent until being cheap-shotted out of the ring in a single punch. Love that game balance.

There is no arcade mode, but there is a quick versus, where you jump instantly into action, win or lose the round, and then get a game over screen. Definitely quick. There are other modes and of course multiplayer, which I haven't tried but can't imagine making the game magically playable.

But How Bout The Graphics?

In the game's defense, it does indeed capture the look of the characters from the show, who just happen to all be pretty bland and generic, lacking any real flair or style. The environments are too back, with breakable objects scattered about adding a little depth to the surroundings, but all in all they have no flavor whatsoever.

Sound Off

The sound, as I stated earlier, is just odd. At times it sounds like they doubled or tripled up on some fighting grunts, meaning instead of hearing just one you'd hear the same sound two or three times in a row. Then there was this character I ended up playing for the better part of an hour. Ming the rat guardian, this little girl who dances around after her fight ends and then wheezes like she's having an asthma attack four times. Jarring, horrible noises that seem very out of place. Does the cartoon character actually have some horrible lung disease? Should we start up a collection for her? Now I'm worried.

Magically Atrocious

Legend of the Dragon is going to be one of those games I never live down purchasing, though as I see it if I hadn't picked up the game one of you would have, and I've got enough blood on my hands. You are welcome. Michael Fahey

Game Factory today confirmed that they are working on a 3D fighter for the Wii based on the JETIX cartoon Legend of the Dragon.

"We are thrilled to be publishing for the WiiTM," said Henrik Mathiasen, Game Factory's President. "While the Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 next-gen consoles have really captured the imagination of the more mature gamer, at Game Factory we're really excited about the potential impact WiiTM will have on the children's market, as this is obviously our forte."

The game will let you choose between one of 19 characters, all of which wear magical wristbands that allow them to transform. The game also includes a real-time spell-casting system that is suppose to lend an RPG element to the fighter.

The whole thing is being done with cel-shading, so I'm at least marginally interested. Press release after the jump. Brian Crecente

ENTER THE DRAGON'S DEN

The Game Factory announces Legend of the Dragon for WiiTM

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (December 15, 2006): The Game Factory today announces it is publishing the forthcoming 3D fighting title, Legend of the Dragon, for Nintendo's WiiTM system. The game is due for release in Q2 2007.

Legend of the Dragon for Nintendo WiiTM will be the publisher's first release for the recently-launched next-generation video game system, based on the hugely popular Children's TV show currently airing on JETIX.

"We are thrilled to be publishing for the WiiTM," said Henrik Mathiasen, Game Factory's President. "While the Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 next-gen consoles have really captured the imagination of the more mature gamer, at Game Factory we're really excited about the potential impact WiiTM will have on the children's market, as this is obviously our forte."

Allen Bohbot, BKN's Chief Executive Officer stated, "we have been thrilled with the success of Legend of the Dragon's first series on Jetix this year and The Game Factory has proved to be master at translating the action, drama and excitement of Legend of the Dragon into brilliant videogames, and the WiiTM version will take this to the next level"

The Legend of the Dragon story begins against the backdrop of China's sacred temples and just as a new Golden Dragon is selected. The Golden Dragon is the honourable title given to the chosen warrior set to fight the evil Zodiac Master, Woo Yin.

Each of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs has its own temple protected by a guardian; all guardians have individual powers unique to their zodiac symbol to help them defend their temple. The Zodiac Master - Woo Yin - plans to capture these powers; with them he will be unstoppable in his fight for the dark side to reign over China.
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Legend of the Dragon/ WiiTM

Ang Leung has been chosen as the new Golden Dragon over his twin sister Ling, but the surprise and humiliation of this decision is too much for Ling and she quickly defects to the dark side. In her new position as the Shadow Dragon, she will fight against her brother and old friends in a bid for revenge.

Gamers can choose to play as one of 19 characters, each with unique fighting techniques, strengths and movements. All characters wear magical wristbands that enable them to transform into mystical warriors. Once transformed, each character takes on the exact likenesses and superhuman powers of the zodiac creature they represent. An innovative real time spell casting system enhances the classic experience of a fighting arcade style of gameplay in addition to blending RPG elements through various available power-ups.

The videogame captures not only the compelling story of the cartoon series by using cell shading technology but also dramatic fighting scenes that will grip any gamer. It also mirrors a variety of locations from the cartoon series, using them as destructible combat areas, including Hong Kong Bay, The Dragon Dojo and The Great Wall of China.