Bloody Roar, known as Bloody Roar: Hyper Beast Duel in Europe and Japan, is a fighting video game originally developed by Raizing (now Eighting) as an arcade game. It was later adapted for the PlayStation by Hudson Soft and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. The arcade version was released on July 7, 1997 and was titled Beastorizer in North America. The PlayStation version was released in Japan on November 6, 1997, in North America (under the title Bloody Roar) on October 31, 1997 and in Europe on March 1998. Bloody Roar is the first game in the Bloody Roar video game series and was followed by four sequels on multiple platforms. The game's story centers on a group of warriors known as "zoanthropes", who have the power to transform into half-human half-animal "Beasts", and the Tylon Corporation, and underground organization that seeks to use zoanthropes as mind-controlled weapons. The game received generally positive reviews from critics for its originality and graphics, while the audio received mixed opinions. The game's success resulted in its re-release for The Best range on October 14, 1999. The game was re-released on the PlayStation Network in North America on August 20, 2009.


Also in series

Bloody Roar 4
Bloody Roar 4
Bloody Roar: Primal Fury
Bloody Roar: Primal Fury
Bloody Roar 3
Bloody Roar 3
Bloody Roar 2
Bloody Roar 2

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Fantastic start to an underrated and--sadly--completely dead fighting game series. Right out of the gate you get 60FPS, tight controls, simple inputs, tons of mods and secrets, and a (for the time) brutal 3D fighting game with animal transformation that further enhance and expand combos and damage potential.

This was on the shortlist in my FGC 2024 journey and it didn't disappoint. The tight controls and sheer polish on this 1997 release is, frankly, shocking, but good lord did I have an absurd amount of fun with it: incredible footsies, lethal combos, hilarious ring-outs, and tons of blood along the way. Can't wait to see what the future of this franchise held before it silently faded away on the GameCube and Konami locked it away for good, swallowing the key.

Really dated but still fun original iteration of the series. Pretty barebones but is pretty quick for hopping into 1v1s. If you could only play one I wouldn't pick this one. But its good for its time.

feels like there's no inputting happening sometimes with certain characters

How Bloody Roar Series Shaped the Fighting Genre - Retrospective

https://youtu.be/KQAHWZty13c

Ridiculous fighting game, but fun ridiculous. lol You basically transform into animals while fighting and then transform back into humans, certainly a unique idea for a fighting game, controls are responsive on par with Soul Calibur, the movement is on par with Virtua Fighter.