For years, developers have continued to milk the Beyblade franchise, and for years, these games have had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Beyblade: Metal Fusion is the latest entry in the mediocre series, and whether you�re playing it on the Wii or the DS, you�re bound to be bored nearly to death. This version of the game suffers from most of the flaws that plague the Wii version, and although the game is slightly less annoying, it is in no way a good or even average DS title.
You play Metal Fusion by releasing a top onto a playing field and watching as it crashes into your opponents� tops. In order to release your top successfully, you need to perform a quick swipe across the DS touch screen when prompted to do so. From there, dragging your stylus across the screen forces your Beyblade to spin toward that direction. At times you are prompted to yell into the DS�s microphone to initiate a power move; these moments are silly to say the least, and there are times when the game doesn�t even recognize your shouts.
Playing against the computer is an inconsistent mess. There are times where AI opponents just don�t do much, and then there are battles where you hardly even stand a chance against the opposition. Playing with friends locally or online is obviously a lot better, but because the game is hardly any fun to begin with, these modes are just a meaningless addition to a poorly made package.
The single-player story in Metal Fusion for the DS isn�t marred with walls of text like its Wii counterpart, but the writing is still cheesy and bland. You enter a tournament in the hopes of climbing the ladder and becoming a top Beyblader. Aside from that egotistical goal, your focus is on a character who is hurting competitors and using magic to make them faint after battle. Along the way you meet many uninteresting characters and battle them, learning more about the game�s antagonist the further you progress. This mode is boring and a bit of a pain; for some reason, every time you quit after being defeated, you are forced to start all over again, making this mode a complete nuisance.
There�s nothing remarkable or even noteworthy about the game�s presentation. Anime still shots make up the bulk of the narrative in story mode, and unimpressive, polygonal graphics are all you see during battles. Thankfully, the music isn�t as annoying as that of the Wii version. Rather than featuring techno and electric guitar solos, Metal Fusion on the DS keeps it simple with a shallow, generic soundtrack.
It�s hard to imagine any DS owner spending a large amount of time with Metal Fusion. The single-player story mode is repetitive and grows boring almost instantly while the core gameplay itself isn�t deep enough (or at all) to warrant any sort of commitment whatsoever. Yes, this franchise is better suited for the DS, but even then it is still a laughable series with no real substance.
Beyblade: Metal Fusion on the Nintendo DS is far less absurd and just a bit more tolerable than its Wii counterpart. Regardless of that, this is still a bad game, and it is impossible to recommend this title to anyone, even fans of the anime. If you�ve overlooked this game before, continue to do so. There�s no reason for anyone to waste their time with this worthless cash-in.
