Breakers practically screams Street Fighter Alpha clone. That's not a bad thing because Street Fighter Alpha isn't a bad game. But there isn't any real innovation to speak of in this game. The best way to describe Breakers is as a fighting game that ripped bits and pieces off Capcom fighters and characters and combined them in its own way. The exception being the fencer Pielle, who seems to be ripped from Charlotte of Samurai Shodown. Entertaining, but not original.

Graphically the game is solid, but not remarkable. The characters are decently sized and fluidly animated. Everything generally looks colorful, but nothing stands out. In fact the backgrounds look a little bland compared to the amount of background animation in other Neo Geo fighting games. The animations for super moves are pretty impressive though. The shadowing effect when characters get dizzy is also good looking, and the game's final boss uses the shadowing to good effect as he trails a thin stream of shadows everywhere he moves.

The sound is generally of good quality. Characters have a variety of sound clips and the music is good. There's one thing that stands out though: Pielle's sound clips are just terribly annoying. They're definite candidates for the cheesiest sound clips ever for fighting games, and really contrast with the otherwise good quality sound in the game. If Visco had set out to deliberately record a set of sound clips that would grate on gamers' ears every time they're played they couldn't have done better.

Breakers' fighting system is rock solid, with the controls being very smooth and responsive. Even though there are only eight characters to choose from they are interesting and unique. Unique, that is, within the game itself. Button mashers can succeed in the game to a point, but beating the game requires a good amount of skill. The AI is no slouch, and even on the easiest levels will readily use super moves when they're charged up.

Breakers is a solid fighting game with refined gameplay, which unfortunately doesn't offer anything new. Perhaps if Visco had spent the time they used thinking up alternate character names in coming up with innovative gameplay elements instead the game would have been better. Anyone who likes the Street Fighter Alpha system and wants more will be pleased with this game. Anyone looking for a new experience though won't find it here. ~ Kyle Knight, All Game Guide

Average graphics that get a boost from the nice looking super technique animations ~ Kyle Knight, All Game Guide

The sound would have gotten a higher rating had Visco not used such an awful set of sounds for Pielle ~ Kyle Knight, All Game Guide

At its core is a solid and enjoyable fighting engine ~ Kyle Knight, All Game Guide

Eight characters is a bit low ~ Kyle Knight, All Game Guide