Zatch Bell! Mamodo Battles takes the Saturday morning anime and fills it with cel-shaded, interactive life. All of the characters come off as really good replicas of their animated counterparts. From Zatch's dress (or whatever that thing is that he wears) to Brago's feathers -- it all looks like it should.

Each of the game's locations also comes off nicely. Even though you will only be able to run around on a wooden battle field, the surroundings are always pleasant to look at. These scenes range from a London street to the middle of the Fairy Woods, the park, store, an old castle and many more diverse locations. The other visual effect that is worth mentioning are the characters' various spell attacks. From Zatch's Zaker attack to Tia's Saisu move, each one is a pleasure to look at and execute.

From what I can tell, all of the voices of Mamodo Battles seem to be taken straight from the series. The game's cut scenes typically consist of static images of the Mamodo and his/her partner with word bubbles as the voices read what it says. Also, it seemed like there wasn't all that much in-battle commentary from the various characters. Though there was some, it wasn't anywhere near enough to get annoying.

Every 1000 years, Mamodo cross over to our dimension and battle it out in constant fights. The winner of this competition becomes the leader of the Mamodo. But, in order to unlock their magical abilities and truly excel in the fights, each character must team up with a human to use the Mamodo's magical attacks. Zatch Bell! Mamodo Battles follows Zatch, Tia, Kanchome, Brago, Zofis and their partners as they try to claim the throne.

The game's Story Mode lets you choose one of the major characters and follow their attempt to become ruler of the Mamodo. The TV series, and one of the stories, follows Zatch who was found years earlier (before the other Mamodos appeared) in some woods by an archaeologist. Zatch had no memory of the other world and befriends the scientist's son, Kiyo.

Now other Mamodo are appearing and Zatch is finding himself thrown into dozens of battles. What's odd is that all of these other Mamodo seem to know him and don't seem to want to tell him about his past.

As you progress through the story, you will find or earn points. These points can be used to up your unlocked characters' Health, Magic or Strength. You will also unlock several characters in this mode, but unlike most fighters, Story Mode isn't the only mode that you will be able to unlock stuff in.

Zatch Bell! also has a Time Attack Mode where you battle through eight stages of fights as fast as possible. If you can do it without continuing once, you're chance of unlocking another character is increased. There are also 1P and 2P modes that let you play against another person or the computer. The game's Practice Mode lets you hone your skills with a particular fighter and Bonus Mode lets you buy game cards or view the purchased cards. Though these cards don't have any bearing on the game as a whole, it is a nice addition for the completest bastards out there, as it definitely extends overall game time.

Zatch Bell! Mamodo Battles will typically let you breeze through several story mode battles. As you progress through the ladder of opponents, you will probably find an enemy that will beat you, but if you apply the points you earned in your battles, it should be no trouble to get past the opponent that last defeated you.

The only aspect of Zatch Bell! that had any real difficulty associated with it was the Time Attack Mode. Since this is the only way to unlock new characters, many times you will probably find yourself trying to work through the eight battle without losing once.

Zatch Bell! Mamodo Battles's control scheme is simple, a bit too simple. Typically you just need to run towards your enemy hitting the attack button (X) as much as possible. When you've gathered enough magic, just tap your Square to perform your Mamodo's spell attack. If you have a full magic meter, hold down the L1 button and if you can build up enough energy without being hit, you will perform your ultimate attack. For Zatch, this is the Zatch Dragon flying out and taking a sizable bite from his enemy. Each character has their own move that is very impressive to see. Since it is possible for you and the enemy to use this attack at the same time, the two of you will have to rapidly tap the Square button in a tug-o-war match (Dragon Ball Z: Budokai style).

I say this is a simple system because you really only use three buttons: X, Square and L1. I was hoping for a way to change out moves or customize your characters in some other way (again like Budokai). But alas, this isn't the case.

Maybe it is because this game is geared more towards the younger gamers, but the simple controls will probably run most experienced fighting game players away. If you like the series or have a young one wanting to get into the fighting genre -- then Mamodo Battles is a good game, otherwise it isn't necessarily the best game to pick up.