>>11815696 (OP)Compared to everything else that was out at the time, it was pretty brilliant - the perfect party game. Played it and Soul Caliber pretty regularly with uni friends when it came out, countless good memories.
Things HAVE moved on, though. Played it again when the collection came out, and it's pretty dated. It doesn't feel as smooth as it did, and the 6 stages now feel too short. It's also palpable how little they cared about any kind of plot or scenario.
But I played it with my nephews and neice the other day, and they loved the characters (the chef in particular, weirdly) and the chaos of it all. So I guess it's still got something.