Yawara! 2

Based on the manga and subsequent anime series Yawara: A Fashionable Judo
Girl , this game can be considered a sequel to Yawara!, since its events
take place after the conclusion of the previous story line. This time, the
player controls Fujiko Itou, one of the original series’ heroines, an admirer
of Yawara. After having won a major international competition, Yawara feels
she cannot bear the fame, longing to return to normal life and leave judo.
Shocked by this decision, Fujiko decides to train herself and become a judo
master, in order to convince Yawara to come back.

Unlike the previous game, which was entirely a “digital comic”, Yawara 2 has
three different gameplay modes. The Japanese-style adventure part plays
similarly to the predecessor and to most other games of this style: the player
has a few verbs to choose from a menu; choosing all of them one-by-one
invariably advances the story. This part is heavy on non-interactive cut
scenes.

Another gameplay mode is a quiz featuring questions related to the original
series; the player has to choose the correct answer among four available ones,
and a wrong answer leads to instant Game Over.

Finally, the so-called “Battle” gameplay mode is a judo fighting game. It
plays similarly to other fighting games (even with its own story, versus, and
two-player modes), but instead of the usual punches, kicks, jumps, and special
moves, the player is only allowed to execute authentic judo moves and play by
the rules. Many moves involve rapid pressing of different buttons. The player
controls Fujiko, and in the versus mode is able to choose to fight fictional
champions from the original story line.

Beside these gameplay modes, the game features an extensive Yawara! -related
database, with character profiles, information, and even the titular heroine
giving a cooking lesson.