Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer

A match between Gowcaizer and Karin Son

At the start of the game, the player can select from one of ten playable characters, then select an opponent. If the player wins the battle, he or she is given the opportunity to take one special move from the opponent (this is also possible in multiplayer battles). This mechanic is called the Trade System. If the player already has a special move gained from another character, the new special move he or she gets will replace the old one. However, if the player loses a match, should he or she ever continue the game, the player will be allowed access to older weapons earned from past enemies. This game mechanic is similar to the possibility to use other characters' special moves in BloodStorm, another arcade fighting game. One key feature is that if one character has little health remaining, he or she will be able to perform a desperation move to turn the tide of battle. It is also found in the Art of Fighting series, The King of Fighters series and Fatal Fury games starting with Fatal Fury 2.

A three-episode OVA series based on the game was directed by the game's character designer Masami Ōbari and animated by J.C.Staff. An English adaptation was produced by U.S. Manga Corps and made into an hour-and-a-half film titled Voltage Fighters: Gowcaizer the Movie. Four drama CDs, an image song collection, and a manga were also released. Similarly, Karin Son and Shaia Hishizaki were re-used in Angel Blade as minor antagonists.

The OVA plot goes deeper into Ohga's mysterious motives for granting Kaiser Stones to individuals, in an effort to stop the true evil force controlling him; a mysterious nihilistic entity formed by human thought and known as Omni Exist. In the OVA, Kyosuke is aided by a dog spirit called Kubira instead of a monkey one as in the game, Suzu Asahina has a separate armour form, and two Briders make a cameo appearance.

In Japan, Game Machine listed Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer on their November 1, 1995 issue as being the eighteenth most-popular arcade game at the time.[9] The game was met with generally mixed reception from critics since its release.[7][8] According to Famitsu, the Neo Geo CD version sold over 6,285 copies in its first week on the market.[10]

AllGame's Kyle Knight praised the artstyle, character designs and controls but criticized the audio, stiff sprite animations and fighting system, stating that "the game ends up being another run-of-the-mill fighting game."[1] Reviewing the Neo Geo AES version, GamePro's The Axe Grinder lambasted the unoriginal special moves, clumsy and silly-looking animations, unintelligible voice clips, and mediocre soundtrack. He concluded that the game is "a low for the Neo - and for fighting games in general."[2] Spanish magazine Hobby Consolas reviewed the Neo Geo CD version and regarded it as a very good fighting game for the system, praising the "Trade System" and visual artstyle.[3]

MAN!AC's Andreas Knauf stated that "Voltage Fighter does not keep what the energetic name promises, neither technically nor playfully." Knauf criticized visual department for the jerky zooming effect, unrefined screen scrolling and static character animations, as well as the audio and lack of ideas despite noting the ability to learn special moves from opponents.[4] A reviewer for Next Generation offered no criticism of the game's quality, but found its complete lack of originality to be unacceptable given that the Neo Geo already had an abundance of 2D fighting games in its library.[5] In contrast when reviewing the Neo Geo CD release, Superjuegos' Roberto Serrano praised the audiovisual presentation and gameplay but in the summary of his review, Serrano stated that "The Japanese company Technos has done a good job with Gowcaizer even though it lacks the necessary spark to achieve the success of other more renowned sagas."[6]

• Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer (Anime) at Anime News Network