is an action

Action game

Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...

/fighting

Fighting game

Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...

 video game from Bandai

Bandai

is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...

, released exclusively in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 on August 25, 2005. It has an original story based on the anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 series Cowboy Bebop

Cowboy Bebop

is a critically acclaimed and award-winning 1998 Japanese anime series directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, written by Keiko Nobumoto, and produced by Sunrise. Its 26 episodes comprise a complete storyline: set in 2071, the series follows the adventures, misadventures and tragedies of five bounty...

.

Story

The game follows an original story set in the Cowboy Bebop world. Events center around a search for a space pirate's treasure, a mysterious song called Diamonds and a mysterious organization that stands in the way of the Bebop's crew.

Gameplay

Playable characters include Spike, Faye, and Jet, each of whom are voiced by their respective voice actors of the anime series, while Ed provides objectives, advice and moral support, and Ein appears alongside Ed. Action occurs on foot with both hand to hand and shooting segments, often with small puzzles to solve, as well as items to search for (either essential to the plot or as bonus items to appear in the gallery). Certain sections of the game require piloting spacecraft and at one point a boat. Game play is punctuated by long cut scenes that develop the story. There is also a blackjack mini-game featuring Spike and Jet as rotating dealers; this provides a way to earn additional money to unlock bonuses such as songs for the music player and character profiles.

Music

The soundtrack is composed of music by Yoko Kanno

Yoko Kanno

is a composer, arranger and musician best known for her work on the soundtracks for many games, anime films, TV series, live-action movies, and advertisements...

, famous for her music in the series. Three unique songs were composed for the game and were released on the Tank! THE! BEST! album.