[Bleach] Shinzui

Well guys, this is my first review. I chose to review Bleach: Shinzui by Cthulh. I am a retired pixel artist on the game and currently a Game Moderator, but I will not be biased.

Gameplay:
This game has very original concepts in terms of gameplay. When you first log in, you are greeted by a login screen that randomly features a picture of Ichigo Kurosaki or Grimmjow Jaggerjaques(?).


There is a chat box underneath the main action, but I will get to that later. Once you click the New button, you are taken to the character creation screen. It doesn't blow you away, but the simplicity is nice for me.


There are 5 races to pick from. Human, Soul, Quincy, Shinigami, and Hollow. There is a box beside the races that gives you some information on them, including a small sentence or two about it, what classes it can directly become, and it's special skills, if it has any. Then you can pick your skin color. Your basic Pale, Tan, Black, or Vampiric. You type in your name, pick your gender, and click Create!

I picked Human with Tan skin, and named myself Christopher.

It now asks you what hair you want. There are 32 hair styles, not including bald. I picked Kurosaki Ichigo. After hitting OK, I am teleported to what looks like Earth. An alert box pops up, introducing me to the game. Then a few more pop up, each title Game Primer 1, Game Primer 2, and Game Primer 3. There are more pages for other races. On the right, I see an output box introducing me to the game, and it also is where all of the "Say" chat goes. Below that is the "Say" input bar, and then my stats. This game uses Stat panels, but they aren't flooded. It is actually pretty nice. There are also buttons right above the stat panel.
From left to right:
Save; Return to Main Screen; Rest; PM; Who; Chat Channel Selection; Turn off Chat; Bug Reports; Help
At the very top left, I see an output box labeled Server Messages. At first glance, it appears that Events are shown here.


Now, I start walking around. Immediately I notice that I am gaining stats and leveling up as I do this! I am gaining Stamina as I walk, and Agility every once in a while. After a short while, my level is in the 30s. Let's go challenge me a Hollow! I notice that there are Hollows roaming the Earth. I find one with Blue markings that is named "Weak Hollow". On the way to him, I am killed by a stronger "Centipod" Hollow. I am turned into a Soul. I return, and the Centipod seems to have gone. I attack the Hollow...and find out the hard way that level 30 is not high enough. I did gain quite a bit of Hakuda and Health from the encounter, though. Now I start Reiatsu Training, by holding Alt+P. I gain Reiatsu quite fast, but it also drains fast. I have to rest a lot. I finally become strong enough, after much trial and error, to kill the Hollows. After racking up some kills, I go try to become a Shinigami. Here is where I will stop, so as to keep this post from becoming too long.


It is fun to train in this game, which I like. There is not much grinding, and it mainly focuses on friendly(I do emphasize friendly) Player vs Player action. There were many players willing to help me out. I give the Gameplay a 9/10.

Presentation:
I gave the Presentation a 5/10. This is mainly because of the icons. They are low quality, the buildings are square, and the grass is griddy. The interface is good, but could use work. The map work was fine, though. The maps were gridded off, like an RPG.

Originality:
Aside from Reiatsu training and a few other small things, the game is quite original. There is not much else to say here.

Overall:
I gave this game a 9/10. It is quite a fun game with a nice community. I myself have lost the time needed to play, but I do go on every once in a while to talk. I recommend this game to anyone needing a dose of originality in a Bleach game, but does not necessarily care about the graphics.