I don't know the first, second, or third thing about Read or Die. All I know is that Yomiko "The Paper" Readman absolutely rules. She's an introvert who loves books more than people and destroys evil with paper. At least, that's the assumption I'm running with. Yeah, I uh... I probably should've watched the anime series or read at least a little of the manga. Thankfully, my ignorant self won't have to get educated, because there exists a video game adaptation. It's a doujin-soft that goes by the name ElePaper Action. Get it? It's like Elevator Act- of course you get it. Released in 2005 by EasyGameStation, players step into the shoes of Yomiko or the Paper Sisters to fight through 7 thrilling stages of 2.5D action.
I'm not 100% certain, but I think that this is a beatemup. Maybe the "proper" description is strategic action simulator. For starters, if your first instinct is to bum-rush every enemy you see, then you'll probably have a bad time. Yomiko has a basic combo attack that locks down most adversaries she gets close to. However, getting close is part of the challenge, since enemies will employ both superior numbers and projectile weaponry to keep the bibliophile grounded. Players who can't manage their paper or utilize the proper skills for every situation will just have to keep retrying the stage until they get it right. This isn't an especially difficult game, but it still has a learning curve to it.
Let's start by digging a little deeper into Yomiko Readman's toolkit. She has six different skills that are swapped between using "button 3". This is a three-button game, and they can be mapped to whatever control scheme works best for you. I'm old-school so I went with Z, X, C. If Z is the melee attack, then X launches whichever skill that is currently enabled. All of them cost a certain amount of paper. The most powerful skills are the costliest. There's a simple projectile that's good for chewing through enemies and/or eliminating their bullets. Shields work exactly as they should, creating a wall of paper. Useful if Yomiko is surrounded or as a stepping-stone to reach higher ground. The homing attack throws a bunch of paper, hitting anything nearby multiple times. Perhaps the most consistently effective skill is the spike-trap. Throw this at a group of bad guys and laugh as they're impaled. Well, maybe save the laughing for later and instead use the opportunity to mop up weakened foes or get away. Finally, a giant airplane can be summoned for big damage. It's usually too prohibitively expensive for me to bother with. Still, I imagine a ElePaper Action speedrunner has some amazing tech that utilizes it.
The enemy variety isn't amazing, but they're all designed with purpose. Robots use their heavy form to stop the heroines in their tracks, pelting them with bullets and lasers if they're not immediately dealt with. Soldiers come in multiple flavors. The Delta Force wannabes keep their distance, so their guns do the hard work. There's almost always one jerk in front with a shield. They're often grouped up, making them great spike-trap fodder. The Rolling Thunder goons - named because they're dressed eerily similar to those baddies from the Namco classic - pack heavier firepower. Their machine guns spit gobs of bullets in your direction. They can also carry flamethrowers or special blue-fire weapons designed specifically for destroying paper. Finally, clumsy maids will spill tea all over your clean paper, rendering it useless.
No matter how you decide to handle these foes, speed is emphasized over most everything else. Every stage is timed, and those playing practice mode can repeat stages to shave seconds off the clock. Skillfully employing each of Yomiko's skills at the right moment to swiftly eliminate foes is pretty satisfying. Oh, but don't get the cute idea to rush past everyone. They will follow, creating overwhelming pincer attacks that'll ruin your splits and potentially your life. The first few stages are straight-forward, but the game gets a little more creative (and dangerous) in the second half. One stage takes place on a moving train, and it's pretty easy to get pushed in-between cars and be sent back to the beginning. This stage also has a time-limit, adding more stress. It's short though, so at least it's hopefully not a lot of stress. Oh, and yes, there is an obligatory shmup stage and yes, it's actually decent. Anyone familiar with the genre will have an amusing time.
The Paper Sisters play very differently from Yomiko. You control them as a group, with Anita (the smallest) taking the lead with her strong melee capabilities. Michelle supports from a distance via her bow, and Maggie performs the costly skills such as creating shields, tornadoes, or a paper-tiger. Well, it might be a paper-wolf. It's a little hard to tell. Seeing as how the game defaults to this trio at the character-select screen, I believe they're intended to be the "easier" playstyle. Personally, I started with Yumiko, so it took a little bit longer to adjust to the triplet's method of fighting. Paper management is particularly essential here. Tempting as it may be, wasting everyone with arrows will leave Anita without any protection during the most heated situations, and that could lead to a Game Over. Altogether, they're not my preferred way to play this game, but I appreciate what the dev-team was going for.
ElePaper Action is a charming little game. It does justice to its source material by giving its heroines some fun weapons to play with as well as plenty of hot-blooded action. There's some depth in replaying stages, but you'll likely have had your fill after a couple of hours. My only gripe is that everyone could've used another half-second or so of invulnerability after getting knocked down. Otherwise, I'm glad this exists so that Read or Die fans could have SOMETHING. There's probably an alternate dimension with a Devil May Cry-like PS2 game that kicks monstrous amounts of ass. Shame.
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