Software:Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective

From HandWiki
Short description: 2003 video game
Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective
North American version cover art
Developer(s)Sensory Sweep Studios
Screaming Games
Publisher(s)Atari
Platform(s)Game Boy Advance
Release
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective is a video game for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld console. Based on the manga and anime series YuYu Hakusho created by Yoshihiro Togashi, the plot follows the central character Yusuke Urameshi, a street-brawling, often truant teenager who dies trying to save a young boy's life. After meeting an incarnation of the Grim Reaper, Yusuke is given a second chance at life as a "Spirit Detective", a protector of the living world.

Spirit Detective is an action-adventure game that retells the various events of the anime's story arc of the same name. The player takes control of one of six characters from the series and must complete various objectives from collecting items and completing mazes to battling enemies and occasional bosses. Spirit Detective was co-developed by Sensory Sweep Studios and Screaming Games as part of a western region publishing deal from Atari. Spirit Detective is the first Yu Yu Hakusho game that never saw a release in Japan.

Critical reception for Spirit Detective has been mostly unfavorable. While separate reviewers had their own qualms about the game, nearly all complained of monotonous gameplay and boring visuals.

Plot and gameplay

The player (left) battles several enemies. The experience, health, and spirit gauges are located at the bottom of the screen.

Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective is based on the manga and anime series YuYu Hakusho by author Yoshihiro Togashi. The plot follows Yusuke Urameshi, a 14-year-old with a bad attitude and a tendency for truancy and street fighting. One day, Yusuke spots a child playing with a ball in the street, the protagonist pushes the child out of the way of a speeding car, only to be struck and killed himself.[3][4] Yusuke's ghost is suddenly greeted by Botan, a cute girl who introduces herself as the Grim Reaper. She informs Yusuke that, due to his noble actions, he will be given a second chance at life as a "Spirit Detective", an investigator of cases involving apparitions and demons on Earth.[3] Spirit Detective retells events from the anime's initial story arc of the same name, consisting of the show's first 25 episodes.[5]

Spirit Detective is an action-adventure game in which the player must complete various storyline scenarios using one of six characters at any given time. The player is able to move freely within the game's maze-like environments and is guided to specific objectives using a compass, located at the top of the screen.[4][6] Objectives include picking up items or engaging in battle with foes. Combat consists of hand-to-hand or melee attacks, as well as special spirit abilities unique to four of the protagonists (Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei).[6] The player's health, spirit energy, and experience are represented by gauges. Items that refill health and spirit energy may be found strewn throughout many of the levels.[4] Defeating enemies will reveal orbs that can be collected for experience.[6] If enough of them are picked up, the character's health, spirit energy, and strength will increase. Although most levels require the use of one particular character, later levels allow the player to switch among the four aforementioned heroes.[6]

Development

Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective was developed by the US company Sensory Sweep Studios in association with Screaming Games.[2][7] Before its development, a multitude of licensed video games based on Yu Yu Hakusho were released in Japan during the anime television series' original airing.[5] The anime began its broadcast in North America in 2002, gaining popularity on the afternoon Cartoon Network block Toonami.[5][8] In June 2003, the gaming company Atari and Funimation Entertainment, the English licensor for the YuYu Hakusho anime, established a publishing agreement for video games in western regions.[8] Spirit Detective for the GBA is the first Yu Yu Hakusho game title in this deal. The two companies had found previous success with another Funimation license, Dragon Ball Z.[8]

Spirit Detective is Sensory Sweep's first published game. According to the company's Devon Hargraves, a team of 15 individuals took about five months to develop Spirit Detective.[7] Although were not given a lot of time to adjust their engine, the team attempted to include all aspects of the Spirit Detective saga. Hargraves acted as a "jack-of-a-trades" designer for the game, working on the design documentation, giving game ideas and feedback, designing levels, and writing part of the script.[7] Screaming Games had a more indirect involvement with the game's development by helping Sensory Sweep and Atari "line up" and "flesh out the project and all of the documentation".[7] Spirit Detective was officially announced by Atari in August 2003.[9] The game was released in North America on December 9, 2003 and in Europe on April 1, 2005.[2][1] Spirit Detective was later released in a double-pack with Software:Dragon Ball Z: Taiketsu in North America on November 3, 2006.[10]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic33 out of 100[11]
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM2.17 out of 10[12]
GameZone5 out of 10[4]
IGN3 out of 10[13]
Nintendo Power2.3 out of 5[14]
Nintendo World Report3 out of 10[5]

The game received "unfavorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[11] One universal complaint about the game was the very repetitive and thus unenjoyable nature of the gameplay.[4][5][12][13][14][15] Adam Tierney of IGN lambasted the combat with enemy AI, the required use of the compass in the maze-like levels, and the discouragement of exploration.[13] Eduardo Zacarias of GameZone found that the battles become "more of a nuisance rather than an entertaining challenge"; he did credit the developer's attempt at variety with the unique objectives in each stage.[4] Nintendo World Report writer Michael Cole chose Spirit Detective among 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.[5]

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", but did take pleasure in the pre-rendered models and the clever text used in the storyline adaptation.[13] 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.[5] Like Tierney, Zacarias was unmoved by the graphics and accompanying music, but was impressed by the fighting animation and sound effects.[4] Cole described the use of official in-game artwork as a plus, but remarked the audio as "horrible".[5]

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.[16] Sensory Sweep Studios and Screaming Games collaborated once more for the release of Software:Yu Yu Hakusho: Tournament Tactics for the GBA in 2004.[17]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Yu Yu [Hakusho Spirit Detective (GBA)"]. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0000CDONI/. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Yu Yu Hakusho Spirit Detective Ships". December 2, 2003. http://www.gamershell.com/news_10640.html. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mylonas, Eric (2003). Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective Prima Official Game Guide. Roseville, CA: Prima Games. p. 4. ISBN 0-7615-4510-7. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Zacarias, Eduardo (January 28, 2004). "Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective - GBA – Review". https://www.gamezone.com/reviews/yu_yu_hakusho_spirit_detective_gba_review/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Cole, Michael (February 10, 2004). "Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective". http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/4170/yu-yu-hakusho-spirit-detective-game-boy-advance. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Mylonas, Eric (2003). Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective Prima Official Game Guide. Roseville, CA: Prima Games. pp. 6–11. ISBN 0-7615-4510-7. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Mylonas, Eric (2003). Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective Prima Official Game Guide. Roseville, CA: Prima Games. pp. 92–3. ISBN 0-7615-4510-7. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Yu Yu Hakusho game announced". July 3, 2003. http://www.gamershell.com/news_8069.html. 
  9. ↑ Harris, Craig (August 25, 2003). "Yu Yu Hakusho (Preview)". Ziff Davis. http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/08/25/yu-yu-hakusho. 
  10. ↑ "Dragonball Z: Taiketsu /Yu-Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective". https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002T74Q2/. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective for Game Boy Advance Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/yu-yu-hakusho-ghost-files-spirit-detective/critic-reviews/?platform=game-boy-advance. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Johnston, Chris; Gifford, Kevin; Theobald, Phil (February 2004). "Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (175): 128. ISSN 1058-918X. http://www.egmmag.com/article2/0,2053,1487064,00.asp. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Tierney, Adam (May 4, 2004). "Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective". Ziff Davis. http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/05/04/yu-yu-hakusho-spirit-detective. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) 177: 121. March 2004. ISSN 1041-9551. 
  15. ↑ "Yu Yu Hakusho: Spirit Detective review". Play Magazine (Fusion Publishing) (25): 76. January 2004. ISSN 1940-0721. 
  16. ↑ "Atari's Q3 Results". February 2, 2004. http://www.armchairempire.com/videogame-news/multi-platform/February-2004/ataris-q3-results.htm. 
  17. ↑ Funky Zealot (November 18, 2004). "Atari Ships Yu Yu Hakusho: Tournament Tactics for GBA". GamePro (IDG Entertainment). http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/39610/atari-ships-yu-yu-hakusho-tournament-tactics-for-gba/. Retrieved December 19, 2009. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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