is a 1999

fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...

for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

developed by

Treasure Treasure (from from Greek ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions legally define what constit ...

and published by

Enix was a Japanese multimedia publisher who handled and oversaw video games, manga, guidebooks, and merchandise. It was founded in 1975 by Yasuhiro Fukushima as Eidansha Boshu Service Center, initially as a tabloid publisher and later attempting t ...

. It is a full 3D battle arena fighting game, featuring characters that resemble crayon drawings. The game was only released in Japan.

Gameplay

''Rakugaki Showtime'' is a fighting game in a full 3D fighting arena. It features up to four players. Throwing projectiles feature prominently in the game, which has led to some reviewers comparing the game to being similar to

dodgeball Dodgeball is a team sports, team sport in which players on two opposing teams try to throw balls and hit opponents while avoiding being hit themselves. The objective of each team is to eliminate all members of the opposing team by hitting them w ...

, but lacking a dividing line between the teams. The game features 17 playable characters, including guest character Marina Liteyears from ''

Mischief Makers ''Mischief Makers'' is a side-scrolling platform game developed for the Nintendo 64 Video game console, gaming console by Treasure (company), Treasure, and published in 1997 by Enix in Japan and by Nintendo internationally. The player assumes ...

''.

Development and release

''Rakugaki Showtime'' was Treasure's first original project for PlayStation. It featured music composed by Kenta Watanabe, who had previously worked on

Banpresto (formerly Coreland Technology Inc.) was a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. It had a branch in Hong Kong named Banpresto H.K., which was headquartered in the New Territories. Ba ...

's ''

Panzer Bandit is a video game developed by Fill-in-Cafe and published by Banpresto for the PlayStation in 1997 and for PlayStation Network in 2011, exclusively in Japan. Gameplay ''Panzer Bandit'' is a side-scrolling beat 'em up game that uses the same engin ...

'' (1997). The game was released on 29 July 1999, and published by

. The game was given a very limited release because of a legal dispute over who owned the characters between Enix and Treasure. The game became a rare item after its release, and would sell for 15,000 yen ($150 U.S.). It was re-released for the

PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...

"Game Archives" in Japan on 25 June 2008. It retailed for 600 yen. The game was to be the basis for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 fighting game based on ''

Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It originally aired from September 14, 1990 to December 6, 1992, airing in syndication before eventually settling a ...

'', called '' Tiny Toons: Defenders of the Universe'', but the game was never released. It was later leaked onto the internet.

Reception

''Rakugaki Showtime'' was met with positive reception from critics.

Notes

References

External links

''Rakugaki Showtime''
at

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a video gaming website that hosts guides and other resources, as well as an active Internet forum, message board forum. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and has been owned by Fandom (website), Fandom, Inc. since October ...

''Rakugaki Showtime''
at

Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time (maga ...

''Rakugaki Showtime''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rakugaki Showtime 1999 video games Enix games Fighting games Japan-exclusive video games Multiplayer and single-player video games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation Network games Treasure (company) games Video games developed in Japan