Reception
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 40% |
| Metacritic | 33 out of 100 |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 2.17 out of 10 |
| GameZone | 5 out of 10 |
| IGN | 3 out of 10 |
| Nintendo Power | 4.6 out of 10 |
| Nintendo World Report | 3 out of 10 |
| Play Magazine | 2.5 out of 10 |
Overall critical reception for Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective has been mostly negative. The game holds average scores of 40% on GameRankings and 33 out of 100 on Metacritic. One universal complaint about the game was the very repetitive and thus unenjoyable nature of the gameplay. Adam Tierney of IGN lambasting the combat with enemy AI, the required use of the compass in the maze-like levels, and the discouragement of exploration. GameZone found that the battles become “more of a nuisance rather than an entertaining challenge”; the website did credit the developer’s attempt at variety with the unique objectives in each stage. Nintendo World Report writer Michael Cole chose Spirit Detective among one the worst games he has played, noting poor collision detection, significant lag when using special attacks, and virtually no challenge in its battles or collection missions. Cole was satisfied with the integration of episode plot devices into the levels and the inclusion of minigames.
Most critics disapproved of the graphics in Spirit Detective, while opinions about other aspects of the presentation have been largely mixed. Tierney called the backgrounds “dull” and “bland”, the looping music “weak”, and static menus “bland”. However, he did take pleasure in the pre-rendered models and the clever text used in the storyline adaptation. Contrarily, Cole thought the plot “flows like a low-budget clip show”, requiring the player to be familiar with the anime and allegedly neither introducing characters and situations in a proper fashion nor including all portions of the story arc. Like Tierney, GameZone was unmoved by the graphics and accompanying music, but was impressed by the fighting animation and sound effects. Cole described the use of official in-game artwork as a plus, but remarked the audio as “horrible”.
Despite the game’s poor critical reception, Atari’s North American division reported satisfying financial results for its third quarter of 2003, naming Spirit Detective as one of the contributing titles. Sensory Sweep Studios and Screaming Games collaborated once more for the release of Yu Yu Hakusho: Tournament Tactics for the GBA in 2004.
Read more about this topic: Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective
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