~ FACEBALL TAIKENBAN ~
Riverhill Soft / BPS / Xanth Software
Super CD-ROM
1993
It isn't uncommon for video-game demo discs to contain extras of some sort, but Faceball Taikenban sticks to being a "sample" in the strictest sense of the word. Options are certainly not aplenty in this slice of the main game's Battle mode. You decide if you'll be waging yellow-head war with the computer or another human and choose a face-man avatar to represent you in combat...
...and then you get hurled into a labyrinthine arena to devastate your opponent.
You get no say in matters of stage structure or difficulty level. You're granted neither the opportunity to invite ghost-folk to the fights nor the option to try out the finished product's Race mode (which, in my estimation, presents a superior rendition of the sport). You merely hammer or get hammered by your foe... and then likely move on to some other pursuit.
The lack of bonus material makes this an item that only the most ardent of Faceball lovers and the most indiscreet of PCE collectors will wish to purchase. For those who qualify as either, I recommend ignoring the old wives' tales of the disc invariably costing a fortune. I'd have ended up rather vexed had I spent much cash on it.
