The three stars are all very different - they were designed by Tetsuya Nomura of Final Fantasy fame, and a great deal of detail seems to have gone into their development. Volt is slow and powerful, a large character with a suitably deep voice and a pair of horns. Kou are faster but not so strong. When the three team up, they find themselves working against the sinister Mikado Corporation, the company leading the space exploration programme and hoping to develop a new form of energy. None of the characters is what they seem - the elusive Dominque and her captors are linked with each of the three leads in different ways, and each character has a past the others do not know about, which is unveiled as the story unfolds and in snippets of dialogue flashed up during load screens.
Story mode involves guiding the bouncers through an adventure to rescue the young girl.
Each stage of the game is introduced with an elaborate cut-scene revealing more of the plot and the characters' connections. At each stage you are then asked to choose which of the three bouncers you will control, and after another brief scene focusing on that character, you will have to fight your way to the next area. The beginning few levels are quite short, involving team battles with groups of enemies in a particular location. As the story develops, however, your characters will find themselves needing to explore and run around, some of the later levels becoming quite a challenge on just one life bar. The computer controls the two bouncers you choose not to play as, though some levels will see your chosen fighter separating briefly from his friends.