Each installment has several methods of play, with different types of game modes. New games have introduced additional modes that usually carry over to the sequels. Using characters taken directly from Bleach manga,[2] the player uses each character's unique abilities to battle and defeat an opponent. New games expand on the series' plotline in "Story Mode" or, as it is known in Heat the Soul 3 and 4, "Mission Mode", which generally stays true to the source material. Because of this, the character roster increases with each installment.
Gameplay
An example of gameplay from Bleach: Heat the Soul 3.
In each game of the series, the player controls one of many characters directly based upon their Bleach manga counterparts.[2] The player then pits their character against another, usually controlled by the game but this can also be another player depending on the mode being used. The objective of each match is to reduce the opponent's health to zero using basic attacks and special techniques unique to each character and derived from techniques they use in the source material. For instance, Ichigo Kurosaki's use of his Black Getsuga Tensho (though only while using Ichigo's bankai form) and Rukia Kuchiki's utilization of kidō. For some techniques, characters have available a "spirit gauge", which depletes upon execution. Most techniques are not executed in real time, and instead have an accompanying cinematic that takes place. Furthermore, some characters can transform into certain alternative forms mid-battle, albeit until their spirit gauge is fully drained or the player cancels the transformation. As of Heat the Soul 3, the player may select partner characters to help aid them in battle. Each partner character has different abilities based on their skills from the series. Whereas Heat the Soul 3 allows the selection of up to three partner characters, Heat the Soul 4 only allows two at a time, though the abilities of both can be combined to create more powerful effects.
Each installment introduces new ways of playing through Story Mode. Heat the Soul features a classic story mode, allowing the player to simply relive all the important battles from the beginning of the series. Heat the Soul 2 adds a bit of variety to the original story mode, allowing players to play through each character's individual story.[3] For example, if Ichigo Kurosaki is selected, the player must fight all his battles with the shinigami; if Byakuya Kuchiki is selected, the player must stop Ichigo and his friends from saving Rukia Kuchiki.[3]Heat the Soul 3 no longer uses "Story Mode" but rather "Mission Battle". In Mission Battle mode, the player must relive the battles of the series, though must meet certain conditions, such as a time limit, before being able to move on. Heat the Soul 4 also uses Mission Battle. Depending on completion time and remaining stamina, the player is awarded a rank of "S" through "C", S being the highest ranking possible.[4] If awarded S or A, a scenario branching occurs.[4]
Installments
Bleach: Heat the Soul
Bleach: Heat the Soul (ＢＬＥＡＣＨ：ヒート・ザ・ソウル) is the first installment in the Heat the Soulfighting game series, released on March 24, 2005.[5] The theme song for the game is *: Asterisk by Orange Range, which also happens to be the original opening theme for the anime. The game has a total of six characters, all of which derived from the Agent of the Shinigami arc. One thing critics seemed to like were the authentic voice-overs during both gameplay and conversation sequences.[6] The voice actors themselves also appeared at the Jump Festa event for a live talk show appearance on a mock radio station just months before the game's release.[6]
Bleach: Heat the Soul 2
Bleach: Heat the Soul 2 (ＢＬＥＡＣＨ：ヒート・ザ・ソウル２) is the second installment in the Heat the Soul series, released on September 1, 2005.[7] The theme song for this game is Chance! by Uverworld, and the music was composed by Kazuo Hanzawa, under the alias "NON", and Hitoshi Sakimoto. Continuing where Heat the Soul left off, the story mode of Heat the Soul 2 ranges from the Soul Society: The Sneak Entry arc to the end of the Soul Society: The Rescue arc[3] and features 12 playable characters. As opposed to Heat the Soul's story mode, this game allows to follow the story of the selected character rather than a single, designated plot. For example, if the players choose Ichigo Kurosaki, they would fight all his battles with the shinigami, whereas if they chose to play as Byakuya Kuchiki, the players must stop Ichigo and his friends from saving Rukia Kuchiki.
Bleach: Heat the Soul 3
Bleach: Heat the Soul 3 (ＢＬＥＡＣＨ：ヒート・ザ・ソウル３) is the third installment in the Heat the Soul series, released on July 20, 2006.[8] The game features 34 characters, covering events from the Soul Society: The Sneak Entry arc to Ulquiorra Schiffer's introduction at the beginning of The Arrancar arc. Unique to Heat the Soul 3 are "Soul Road" and "Karakura Heroes". In Soul Road, the player is to select the desired character and partner character. Afterwards, the player is set on a board game-like map where the goal is to pass through markers in order to fight enemies. After each match, the player is given an amount of "Trust points" (how many received depends on the mode's difficulty) which go towards leveling up partner characters and unlocking bonuses, such as alternate costumes and new partners. To unlock these bonuses, the player must find a blue marker to turn in their points; however, before doing so, the players must answer a multiple choice question. In Karakura Heroes, the player is put into a humorous side-story, with some extra anime scenes added. Don Kanonji leads a group of shinigami, initially Byakuya Kuchiki and Tōshirō Hitsugaya, on some sort of wacky adventure which involves battling several other characters. At the mode's completion, a scene shows the gang relaxing at an expensive hotel, doing activities that in some way fit their personalities and/or abilities (for example, Hitsugaya snowboarding).
Bleach: Heat the Soul 4
Example gameplay from Heat the Soul 4.
Bleach: Heat the Soul 4 (ＢＬＥＡＣＨ：ヒート・ザ・ソウル４) is the fourth installment in the Heat the Soul series, released on May 24, 2007.[9] The game features 51 characters, covering events from The Arrancar arc to the entrance into Hueco Mundo.
Unlike its predecessors, Heat the Soul 4 features a "Character Master" mode. In it, the player chooses a character and goes through a series of five battles and is usually faced with certain conditions, such as using only grab to inflict damage, in order to finish the battle. After the third and final battles, a multiple answer question posed by the character must be answered. Depending on the answer, the player is either rewarded 200 points, 50 points, or nothing. For each battle won, a random number of experience points will be added to the character's total. As the level grows higher, bonuses such as voice tests and alternate costumes can be unlocked.[4] The player is also given 100 points per battle; these go towards unlocking more characters and stages.
Bleach: Heat the Soul 5
Bleach: Heat the Soul 5 (ＢＬＥＡＣＨ：ヒート・ザ・ソウル５) is the fifth installment in the Heat the Soul series based on Tite Kubo's Bleach, released on May, 15th 2008 in Japan. Like previous installments it picks off where the other Heat The Soul left off, from the entry of Hueco Mundo to the encounter between Grimmjow and Ichigo. New features include a "Tag Action" system and a new way for releasing zanpakutō. Transformations such as Bankai are now made when 2 bars of reiatsu is obtained and then pressing the L button, rather than selecting a character's Bankai form before a fight. There also seems to be 3 styles of tag action: offensive, defensive and technical. There is also a game mode called Tag Master, which lets the player choose 2 characters to fight with in a series of fights. The system also includes specials which use the tagged partner's abilities.
The game features 32 characters usable in Tag Battle mode, while extra characters can be obtained with Bleach: Heat The Soul 4 game save through game conversion. However, these characters are only usable in single mode with no in-game transformation. They are selected through a separate menu accessible by pressing L/R in the normal character menu.
Bleach: Heat the Soul 6
Bleach: Heat the Soul 6 (ＢＬＥＡＣＨ：ヒート・ザ・ソウル6) is the sixth game in the Heat the Soul series based on Tite Kubo's Bleach, which was released in Japan on May 14, 2009. It includes more Arrancar Resurrections like that of Nnoitora, Szayelapporo Grantz or Nel(Gamuza). The game has a new championship mode added in which you can fight tournament style similar to Bleach Soul Carnival and a customization mode exclusive to Heat the Soul 6. The game's story mode starts from the day Ichigo got his powers to the Espada/Soul Reaper showdowns to date in the anime. It boasts a character roster consisting of 74 playable characters including Senna, Sojiro Kusaka, Dark Rukia, and the Visored and Tessai in their Soul Reaper uniforms from the "Turn Back the Pendulum" arc. Its opening theme is "Koyoi, Tsuki ga Miezu Tomo" by Porno Graffitti which was also used for Bleach: Fade to Black.
Bleach: Heat the Soul 7
Bleach: Heat the Soul 7 (ＢＬＥＡＣＨ：ヒート・ザ・ソウル7) was released on September 2, 2010. The main change in this game is a 4-Players mode.[10] The game features battles against giant characters. New characters include Allon (Ayon), Coyote Starrk (Los Lobos), Baraggan Luisenbarn (Arrogante), Tier Harribel (Tiburon), Yammy Liargo (Ira), Ulquiorra Cifer (Segunda Etapa), Ichigo Kurosaki (Full Hollow), Muramasa, Hachigen Ushoda, Love Aikawa and Shuren (downloadable content); in all, 84 characters are playable.
Playable characters
The characters in the Heat the Soul series are directly based upon characters taken from Bleach. With Heat the Soul 4 set between Shinji Hirako's introduction and the entrance into Hueco Mundo, "normal" characters originate from The Arrancar arc and later, while "EX" forms, as they're known in the game, are from the Soul Society: The Rescue arc.
To avoid confusion, all characters will be referred to as they are in the most recent installment in the series, Heat the Soul 7. It also appears that most (if not all) characters can change forms during battle. For example, Hollow Ichigo and Ichigo can start out a match with shikai and end it with bankai when they have enough spiritual pressure.
Bleach is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. It follows the adventures of a teenager Ichigo Kurosaki, who obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper—a death personification similar to a Grim Reaper—from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki. His new-found powers allow him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife, and set him on journeys to various ghostly realms of existence.
Bleach is a Japanese anime television series based on Tite Kubo's original manga series of the same name. It was produced by Studio Pierrot and directed by Noriyuki Abe. The series aired on TV Tokyo from October 2004 to March 2012, spanning 366 episodes. The story follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper—a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki. His newfound powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife. In addition to adapting the manga series it is based on, the anime periodically includes original self-contained storylines and characters not found in the source material.
Ichigo Kurosaki is a fictional character in the Bleach manga series and its adaptations created by author Tite Kubo. He is the main protagonist of the series, who receives Soul Reaper powers after meeting Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper assigned to patrol around the fictional city of Karakura Town. These powers come at the cost of her own, and as a result, he concedes to work as her stand-in, fighting to protect people from evil spirits called Hollows and sending good spirits, wholes, to a dimension known as the Soul Society. Ichigo appears in other media after the manga series, including the anime television series, four anime films, two original video animations, rock musicals, several video games, light novels and the 2018 live-action film.
Rukia Kuchiki is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. In the series, she is a Soul Reaper,, in charge of slaying and eradicating corrupted souls who's unfortunate fate lies destined for ruthless killing and feeding of living beings. We call these lost souls hollows. Along with eradicating hollows, Rukia's primary objective as a Shinigami is to pass on the souls of those who have failed to pass on those who have yet to cross by means of konso. At the beginning, after a brief meeting with the protagonist of the series, Ichigo Kurosaki, who can see supernatural beings such as Soul Reapers, she transfers her powers to him in order to fulfill her duties as a Soul Reaper. Rukia has appeared in several other pieces of Bleach media, including the four feature films in the series, the two original video animations and several video games.
Renji Abarai is a fictional character in the Japanese anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. In the series, he initially challenges Ichigo Kurosaki, the protagonist of the series, but he later joins forces with him to help rescue Rukia Kuchiki halfway through the Soul Society arc. He has since become a major character and one of Ichigo's main allies. His weapon is Zabimaru.
Byakuya Kuchiki is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. He is a captain of the Sixth Division for Gotei 13 and Rukia's brother. His vice-captain is Renji Abarai. He is married to Chiara.
Rock Musical Bleach, often referred as BuriMyu, are a series of rock musicals produced by Studio Pierrot and Nelke Planning. The musicals are based on Tite Kubo's manga Bleach. The Rock Musical Bleach consists of live performances that follow the manga plotline from the Soul Society arc and The Live Bankai shows with the original script. The first musical was directed by Takuya Hiramitsu, with a script adaptation by Naoshi Okumura. The music is completely original and was written by Shoichi Tama. The premiere was held in Space Zero Hall in Shinjuku, Tokyo from August 17–28, 2005.
Orihime Inoue is a fictional character in the Japanese manga series Bleach and its anime adaptation created by Tite Kubo. She is one of Ichigo Kurosaki's friends. Like the many other characters in the series, she quickly develops powers of her own after Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper. Throughout the series, Orihime learns about Ichigo's duty as a Soul Reaper and accompanies him when they go to the Soul Society to save Rukia Kuchiki, and is depicted as Ichigo's wife in the epilogue.
Kenpachi Zaraki is a fictional character of support in the anime and manga series Bleach created by Tite Kubo. He is the captain of the 11th Division within the Gotei 13. His lieutenant is Yachiru Kusajishi.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya is a fictional character in the manga and anime series Bleach, created by Tite Kubo. In the series, Hitsugaya is a captain of the 10th division or squad of the Gotei 13, a group of Soul Reapers who govern the flow of souls and protect Soul Society, an afterlife realm. Hitsugaya makes appearances in all Bleach's films, being the protagonist in Bleach: The Diamond Dust Rebellion, and in other media related to the series, including video games and original video animations.
Bleach: The Blade of Fate is a 2D fighting game that features the cast of characters from the Bleach anime and manga. The game featured Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection, which allowed players to connect and play against players all over the world. The game modes include story mode, arcade mode, VS mode, training mode, challenge mode, and survival mode, time attack mode and Urahara shop. The game's theme song is "Ichirin no Hana" by High and Mighty Color.
Bleach: Memories of Nobody is the first animated film adaptation of the anime and manga series Bleach. Directed by Noriyuki Abe and written by Masashi Sogo, the film was first released in Japanese theaters on December 16, 2006 in between episode 107 and 108, though likely takes place between episode 109 and 110. In the film, strange white beings start appearing in Karakura Town, along with a mysterious soul reaper named Senna.The DVD was released in Japan on September 5, 2007. To promote the film, the opening and closing credits for episodes 106 through 109 of the Bleach anime use footage from the film. The film's theme music is "Sen no Yoru o Koete" by Aqua Timez. The film had a limited theatrical release in the United States from June 11 to 12, 2008, and in Canada on October 20, 2008 and was followed by the DVD release on October 14, 2008. The film aired on September 5, 2009 on Adult Swim. The Blu-ray was released on May 7, 2012 in the United Kingdom.
The Agent of the Soul Reaper Saga is the first season of the Bleach anime series. The episodes are directed by Noriyuki Abe, and produced by TV Tokyo, Dentsu and Studio Pierrot. In the English release by Viz Media, the title is changed to The Substitute. The season adapts the first eight volumes of Tite Kubo's Bleach manga series, spanning twenty episodes. The episodes' plot covers the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after becoming a Soul Reaper and assuming the duties of Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki.
Bleach: Blade Battlers (ＢＬＥＡＣＨ ～ブレイド・バトラーズ～) is a series of fighting games released only in Japan for the PlayStation 2 based on the manga and anime Bleach by Tite Kubo. There are two games in the series, both developed by Racjin and published by SCEI. Both games became best-sellers in Japan.
Bleach: The 3rd Phantom is a tactical role-playing game for Nintendo DS based on the popular manga written by Tite Kubo. It was released in 2008-2010 and is published by Sega.
Bleach: Fade to Black is the third animated film adaptation of the anime and manga series Bleach. In the film, Ichigo Kurosaki enters the Soul Society once more in order to save Rukia Kuchiki, who has been kidnapped by two spirits who have a history with Rukia. They also erase Rukia's memories along with the Gotei 13, who now view Ichigo as a threat. Directed by Noriyuki Abe, the film was released in Japan on December 13, 2008, later to be released in the US. The film's theme music is "Koyoi, Tsuki ga Miezutomo", performed by Porno Graffitti and its screenplay was written by Natsuko Takahashi and Masahiro Ōkubo. The DVD was released on September 30, 2009, in Japan, with additional footage of Ichigo, Rukia and Kon leaving for the World of the Living. The English dub was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 15, 2011, in the United States and on May 28, 2012, in the United Kingdom.
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