Metacritic Games

Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament (Playstation 2)

There are only two ways out of the Dark Tournament – victory or death – and Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament takes players inside the dangerous fighting arena to see if they are up to the challenge. Playing as one of over 25 Yu Yu Hakusho franchise characters, combatants can execute fast, high-power attacks authentically derived from the TV show. [Atari]

Atari
Fighting, Action
Players: 2
T (Teen)
Developer: Digital Fiction
Released September 20, 2004

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

56 / 100

Critic Reviews

80 Game Chronicles
This is strictly a fan game, and in that vein, it is a success.
72 Armchair Empire
This title is complete fan service to those who like the anime, and will largely be enjoyed by these people, just be careful of the occasional cheap comeback by the computer.
70 Jolt Online Gaming UK
A game that (probably) does as much justice to the cartoon series as you can expect, and while fans of ‘proper’ fighting games will overlook it – with some justification – it’s not without its merits. The visual style, special effects, damageable arenas and, we understand, proper voice actors all lend themselves to a fairly well rounded experience.
69 GameSpot
If you're a big-time Yu Yu Hakusho fan looking to step into the shoes of Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, or any of the other notable characters from the series, you'll definitely find Dark Tournament to be a much more engaging experience than if you were just looking for a good 3D fighting game.
69 GamingTrend
It's got average graphics, sound that does not stand out, and decent replayability due to unlockable items, but the issues with control and timing outweigh these items.
67 IC-Games
For the veteran of Virtua Fighter, or Tekken, however, it’s a sheep in wolf’s clothing.
59 IGN
Feels like an incomplete game to me, as the limited combo system and unresponsive control definitely left a feeling that more could have been done.
55 1UP
To a fan, if you can get over the fighting's sluggish pace, there's much nostalgia to be had. For the rest, this is one ghost file that best remains closed.
50 Stuff
With no online capabilities or even tag-team possibilities, you're better off spending the 40 bucks on a Jenga game and a case of Schlitz.
50 PSX Nation
If you dig the Yu Yu Hakusho anime (particularly the Dark Tournament saga) then you’ll be pretty satisfied with this bare-bones PS2 brawler.
50 Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
YYH's problem is with the controls, which are shallow yet complicated. [Jan 2005, p.107]
50 PSM Magazine
Only ultra-devoted Yu Yu fans will think this doesn't suck. [Jan 2005, p.72]
40 GamerFeed
This game gets boring quick, and the frustration induced from agonizing over the awkward controls makes Yu Yu destined for the dark bargain bin pit of despair.
33 Gaming Age
With only eight stages, poor controls, and moderate visuals, its solid line up of 25 characters cannot save this game’s fate of falling below mediocrity.
33 Game Informer
Given just how unresponsive and sticky the gameplay is, a strong case can be made that a turd in a toilet has far greater functionalty than the controls in this game. [Dec 2004, p.177]

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