Tag Archives: Fighting Game

The Last Blade 2 Review

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This is a fighting game that I had definitely never heard of before but it sure is fun. You feel like they put some extra effort into this title relative to the average fighting game. For starters there are some fun illustrations here for the story aspect. There is a real ending when you beat the arcade mode. Not just a quick picture or something but a true story. The opening is good as well and I really liked the vibes here. The characters all have great designs and movesets.

I never played the original Last Blade but the fact that this one continues after the first title is a good thing. You can feel the continuity here all the way through. The lines and twists would hit harder if you had any kind of context for them but I’m still glad to see them around. The game has vs mode aside from arcade of course but there isn’t a ton of content here. So the story that we do get really goes a long way to making the game be more memorable. The genre has a lot of competition and even back in those days there were always a ton of games being churned out left and right. So what that means is that you needed to try hard in order to stay ahead of the curve and that’s not easy.

I’m surprised you don’t see this game series around more nowadays since I feel like the game would do well. It had that anime feel to it and the actual gameplay is fairly fast paced. It’s your classic 2D fighter all the way through and the characters deal a whole lot of damage. So if you take the wrong combo you will be knocked out almost instantly. Of course by the same token that means you just need to land a good hit and you will be the one claiming victory. So definitely don’t give up, if you strike hard and fast then you will always have the ticket for victory. The game is really about proper spacing so you definitely need to be careful when you throw a strike.

I approached the title with my usual button mashing style which I have to admit worked rather well here. Most opponents are just unable to stop my combos but some matches did take me a while. I will always stand by the fact that games were simply way more difficult back in the day than they are now. Games in the present could mostly be blasted through at any point but for the older ones you really had to work at it. Easy mode itself could be a little difficult at times.

The graphics are pretty good like I mentioned earlier with the illustrations. The soundtrack isn’t very memorable but you win some and you lose some. The writing is also where the game really stands out, there are a lot of great lines here. The characters really have no chill and will deliver some of the biggest verbal smackdowns that you have ever seen. Seriously I was impressed but also a bit nervous at just how hard these guy went. It’s the kind of dialogue you won’t see as often nowadays because it can tow the line but I think it works out since these guys are villains. It also gives you an incentive not to lose. If you lose then you’re just going to have to put up with that.

Overall, The Last Blade 2 is a pretty fun game. It’s always cool to find a hidden gem inside the PSN+ like this. It may not be a title that changes everything that I ever knew or anything like that but it’s fun which is the important part. I always enjoy fighting games quite a lot so this is another one that I can then add to the list. If there was to be a new game for the series on PS5 or something I would definitely check it out. This setting with full blown cutscenes and everything would be absolutely intense! I know that’s probably a longshot though but either way I would recommend checking this game out at least. It’s a real blast.

Overall 7/10

Dragon Ball Xenoverse Review

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Xenoverse quickly became a sensation around the globe for all of the cool time travel antics and I can absolutely see why. It’s a really fun game even if I have some questions about the gameplay itself. It’s cool to see all of the characters around and in general it’s a fighting game with a lot of effort put into it. Definitely a game that you won’t soon forget and I’m eager to see how the second game goes.

The basic plot is that Terry ends up getting recruited into the time patrol. Trunks desperately needs his help in order to correct the timestream and stop a bunch of nefarious villains from doing whatever they want with the world. It won’t be easy but he is ready to do what needs to be done. The villains have plans of their own though and all it takes is for us to slip up once and then it’s all over. Time as we know it will be finished! While there are some gameplay mechanics at work, it is funny how Trunks has the main character doing all the work though. He almost never steps in to help even though that’s his entire job. Like what is he even doing? I don’t really get it, it just seems like an oversight. I would have put him in to do something at least.

The actual story is really fun though. I do wish they would go a bit more out there with the story though. Think of it as less of a what if and more like the villains just power up the iconic DBZ villains in critical moments. So you beat them up and then things go as planned. The only exceptions to this are when you battle Mira and Towa which are always a lot of fun. You should ignore the power levels for these things like the main character holding his own here when they’re at least SSJ3 level but you are still having trouble with Saibamen. One head canon I’ve always had is that your strength scales to the era that you’re in. I actually think this would make perfect sense and be rather brilliant.

Then we have the gameplay which on its surface looks like the Budokai Tenkaichi series but it’s actually quite different. It’s hard to describe but there’s not much hit stun on the attacks and your special moves have less build up. So it’s all in real time without the quick animations to halt progress. That works well enough but it does mean that they feel a bit less special. I also feel like I was not playing the game properly because I would pretty much never use special attacks. I mainly focused on hand to hand the whole time all the way through the whole game. I had to stop several times to grind out level ups but that’s how I played the entire campaign. I know there is no way the game intends for your standard punches to be the most effective attack so something went wrong there.

It definitely made for a lot of tense battles though since all it takes is for the enemy to land a surprise hit once and you lose half your health bar. So definitely keep that in mind the whole time because things can get very ugly very quickly. Make sure you buy the latest equipment to increase your stats and always have some potions equipped. When you level up you get 3 attribute points as well so I recommend putting it all into one stat. If you split it up then it doesn’t make enough of a difference to be worth it. You really just have to commit and go all in on something. Trust me, it’s really the only way to make any of this work for you. You can certainly still win of course but it’ll be tougher and you will need more skill.

In team fights, make good use of your teammate as a distraction and then hit the opponent from behind. This helped me a whole lot in some of the fights. Another thing to note is that you shouldn’t go too fast. At times I would take the enemy’s health all the way down but I couldn’t win until the heroes finished their speech and so the villain had time to land lots of extra blows. Be careful about that and in general the super armor is hard to deal with. The toughest levels are when you are outnumbered since it is really hard to hit an enemy without someone else hitting you. So for these moments I recommend a lot of run and gun tactics.

The graphics are definitely really good here. The game actually looks significantly better than Jump Force and yes that is a bit of a direct shot on my end. What really impressed me though was the soundtrack. There are so many incredible themes here, I have to Youtube more of them later on. It holds its own against Budokai Tenkaichi 3 in that area and I never thought I would be saying that. There are a lot of good rock themes and danger type tracks that fit in perfectly with the series. Trust me, you’re in good hands with this one.

It goes without saying that there are tons of modes for replay value here. The multiplayer mode is obviously a huge one with limitless content but then you’ve also got dozens and dozens of parallel quests to work through with other story scenarios. You don’t want to miss out on those and there’s also a lot of DLC type quests if you’re interested in that. Basically, this game has dozens and dozens of hour of fun and is the kind of game you will keep on picking up from time to time.

Overall, Dragon Ball Xenoverse is definitely an elite game. The gameplay is top tier and there are tons of villains and opponents to take out. I didn’t even touch on most of the bonus content during my playthrough so it’ll be fun to go back to all of that at some point. The game really pays solid homage to all DBZ fans and you will not be disappointed here. It’s a high quality game through and through. I am definitely looking forward to seeing how the second game fares. From what I’ve heard it is one of the definitive titles in all of Dragon Ball so I’ve got to see this!

Overall 9/10

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4: Road to Boruto Review

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The Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series has always been one of the top tier, elite video games of our generation. The amount of playable characters and attention to detail is absolutely uncanny! I don’t think we’ll ever see another Naruto game that can quite compete on this one’s level. It’s really the full package and a perfect end to the Ultimate Ninja Storm series. Way I see it, all other games are spinoffs until they announce a Ninja Storm 5. If you’ve been playing the series already then you know what to expect but if not, lets just say that it’s about to blow your mind!

The game picks up with the war and takes you through the rest of the series up through the first sequel movie. So it covers quite a lot of content. For the first time the series does take a few shortcuts with more anime type clips rather than doing all of the cell shaded cinematics. As you get deeper into the game it goes back to normal though. They’re both good of course but seeing the whole thing in the game’s animation style does get you a little more invested so I loved seeing that style. The story is a bit shorter than the last title but when you through in the Boruto part I would say it’s about the same length. I liked the way the story also diverges with both the Naruto and Sasuke paths. I had fun alternating to try and keep it all as chronological as possible.

The gameplay is that of a 3D fighter. You pick 3 fighters and then try to dominate your opponent in close quarters combat. You can switch fighters at will or use them as assists. The characters all have great combos and the final smashes are as cinematic as ever. Each fight is very fast paced and fluid. It’s some of the cleanest 3D fighting you will ever see. We also have the quick time events for the story mode battles and even a few alternate gameplay type moments like the Kaiju type fights. Those are always fun as well although I’m not nearly as good at those. Getting S ranks there feels like an extremely difficult task if you ask me.

So you can expect to spend at least 10-15 hours on the story. After that there is also an Adventure mode with tons of content and also good ole survival mode. Don’t expect this to be easy either. The survival mode actually gives you a good run for your money and the intimidating thing is how long it can be. For example one trophy is to defeat 30 opponents in a row so if you get sloppy or make a mistake 25 opponents deep, get ready to start from scratch. The trophies here definitely look very difficult. Certainly achievable as long as you train your skills though but I imagine you will be here for a very long time before you are able to knock it out.

It almost goes without saying but the graphics here are absolutely top notch. It’s great to see Naruto and the gang on the PS4. It’s really night and day compared to other games where Naruto has appeared in like Jump Force. The colors here are so vibrant and there are a ton of cool animations that aren’t just recycled among characters. The soundtrack is also pretty good. I tend to like all of the themes even if there isn’t any singular track that really stood out for me.

In terms of character balance the game seems to do a pretty good job. Some characters just seem to have final smash animations that are too long. Like you should be able to dodge or block their final smashes every single time. Rock Lee and Might Guy are two examples of this. Meanwhile some characters like Sasuke in his End of Series version are extremely useful and will hit the opponent almost every time. It’s pretty much a cheatcode in survival mode and I highly recommend using him. You can just keep on using the final smash over and over again for quick victories. Of course that does mean watching the cinematic over and over again so I hope you really enjoy it.

I’d also like to note that the fact that there are so many unique dialogue quotes for the final smash depending on your opponent is really cool. Again, it’s all the little things that help to really make this game stand out. If they could squeeze in an easter egg then that’s exactly what they do. I’m sure there are a bunch of little things that I haven’t even noticed yet. In fact, that’s a guarantee since there are a bunch of bonus missions and side quests that I haven’t even stepped into yet. So yeah this is the game that just keeps on delivering.

Overall, Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is definitely an elite game. One that should not be underestimated at any cost. I highly recommend picking this game up immediately if you don’t already have it. It’s really the gold standard of what an anime fighting game should be like. Any series would certainly be super proud to have a title with this amount of professional development behind it. The content justifies the price many times over as well. Naruto will always be remembered as one of the most iconic and influential series of all time and titles like this do the legacy justice.

Overall 9/10

Jump Force Review

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I remember how disappointed everyone was after this game came out. Everyone was super hyped for the initial trailer and everything but the actual game sort of fell flat. I get it because the game could and should have been so much better. That said, I would still call it a great game. You get to have your favorite Jump heroes all teaming up and interacting in the story and the combat works well for the fighting aspect. Ultimately, I’m glad we got this game and I’m confident that a new one would be vastly improved since they can build off of their mistakes.

The basic story is that all of the Jump Worlds are converging with the real world. The heroes are all rather confused about what’s going on so they turn to a random organization where the head is confident that he can fix this. Goku, Naruto, and Luffy lead the 3 main teams and together they have to recruit the rest of the jump heroes and save the day. The new villains have these mysterious cubes and a dark book that allow them to make fully functional clones of all the heroes. Things are going crazy real quick so they have to be stopped.

The first thing I would note off the bat is to completely ignore the power levels here. Trust me, they make absolutely no sense here anyway. Goku, Naruto, Kenshin, etc. Everyone is portrayed to be at about the same strength and the same goes for the villains. This is all just to get all of the characters together but I do think that they should have tried a little harder to make the plot make sense. It really wouldn’t have been that hard you know? So the writing is pretty bad here but it’s still fun to see the characters around. The script makes them all sound a bit generic at times so you don’t get to see their character personalities shine through, but again it’s all just an excuse to see them running around. The story is rather weak but at least it has one. A lot of fighting games don’t even have that.

The gameplay is naturally what you are really here for and no worries, that part is really solid. It’s a 3D title like the Ultimate Ninja Storm games although it isn’t quite as polished as those since those are the golden standard across the video game industry. You use quick combos, power moves, and ultimate attacks to take down your opponents. You can freely change between characters mid combat and a big focus here is on timing. You can dodge and even counter attacks by clicking the escape button at the right time. When you do this, the enemy is always allowed to respond as well so then it becomes a back and forth game until one of you messes the timing up. This is pretty easy to do since the window you have it smaller each time. All it takes is a slight hesitation and you are out of luck.

In terms of graphics, the art style hasn’t aged all that well but the game still looks good. It was going for a hyper realistic style which as you can expect doesn’t translate very well for all of these colorful characters. It was definitely a very questionable design idea. The attacks all tend to look very flashy though although that is a double edged sword. The one weakness to the gameplay is that the cinematics all last just a smidge too long which adds up as you are playing each match. They should have cut the timing on those.

Speaking of time, get ready to see the loading screen a whole lot. I haven’t seen loading screens this long in a very long time. It’s sort of like Sonic 2006 for PS3. There are loading times after every battle and between every cutscene. For some reason the cutscenes are often broken up into multiple chunks so you will play 30 seconds, loading screen, next 30 seconds, loading screen, etc. It just keeps on happening which really keeps you busy. You want to have something on hand to multi task with during the load times.

That aside, the story is fairly lengthy though. It’ll definitely take you upwards of 15 hours to clear the campaign and aside from that there is a ton of replay value with all of the bonus missions. There are tons and tons of those to a super impressive degree. There is also a level up system so getting all of your characters to level 99 will take some time. It actually does make a difference in your stats so I recommend grinding those levels up as much as possible. Getting the Platinum trophy looks like it would be exceptionally difficult so good luck if you are aiming for that one.

Overall, Jump Force is a great game but one that is carried almost entirely by the gameplay. The modes around it can be rather lackluster and really don’t do justice to the overall premise of the game. This should have been one of those games that really wow’d you, you know? I should have still been talking about this game for years and years to come. Instead, there isn’t much reason to play it while better fighting games exist. The best you can say for it is that the game has a really fun cast of characters. That is certainly true and it will always be the main hook here but it also shows you how incredible this would have been if they had tried a little harder. So this may sound like the harshest 8 star review I’ve written but that just speaks to how much promise was here.

Overall 8/10

Sugoi Hebereke Review

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It’s time for a game that’s a bit on the odd side. It’s okay but ends really fast. There are only a few levels before it starts looping so your best bet here is definitely the multiplayer mode and even then I’m not sure if it’s really going to keep your interest all that well. But hey I might be underestimating this one just a tad.

Basically you are playing as a bunch of little animals and you fight each other. The gameplay is that of an overhead fighter. The level starts off with a 1 on 1 fight but then as you progress through the game you get a 3 way free for all and then a 4 way free for all. You want to really make sure that you are dishing out the combos and heavy blows early on or you will quickly be left behind. I found the best thing to do was to focus on one opponent until you have him completely defeated. Then move onto the next one. Rinse and Repeat until you’ve finally taken everyone down for the count. It’s much easier this way because the computer isn’t great at head on fights. It is great at landing sucker punches and hits from behind though. When that happens then you are really in trouble.

That’s pretty much it though which is why I don’t put this game much higher. There’s really not much to it here at all. The gameplay is really simple so you will have the hang of it in no time but there is no depth here. It is truly a button masher/brawler all the way but one of the simplest ones that I’ve played. The character cast is quite small so don’t expect a lot of variety there and the same goes for the stages. It feels like the bare minimum amount of effort was put into this title and that’s a shame.

The graphics aren’t bad. At least they do look decent so I won’t say that the game cut any corners here. Could it look better? Yes of course but it’s not bad and that’s the important thing. The soundtrack is supremely forgettable of course but that’s really to be expected. A game like this one isn’t usually going to wow you in that department. Really what should make this game a success is the gameplay and to do that they needed to add more attacks or something. The game needs a hook because right now it doesn’t have one.

When you’re fighting the opponent you’re just thinking that you could be playing Street Fighter instead. Maybe if the story was super good then having it be translated would have helped but even then I have my doubts. I don’t get the feeling that there was much of a story from how short the cutscenes are. So that just means that the game is really out of luck on all sides. I’d play a modern reboot that added a ton of features but as it is this just feels like an incomplete game. If you play it, I guess I’d say to think of it more as a proof of concept. Not a full fledged fighting game. Then you can at least have fun thinking about how you would have tackled some things differently and what content you would have added.

Overall, This is a decent game but it is hurt by the lack of content and replay value. Ultimately there isn’t a ton to do here at all. You won’t be playing this for more than an hour and if I spent any money on the game then I would probably be very disappointed. As a free title with the Switch Online it’s not bad but I still couldn’t call it particularly good. This game will have to put in some work before I can really put it on that level. So, check it out if you’re curious but it doesn’t really hold up next to the others.

Overall 5/10

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 Review

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The Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm games are some of the greatest titles of all time. The amount of dedication and work that went into these is absolutely crazy. The developers clearly had a lot of passion for the series and it shows in the attention to detail here. You’ve got extra gameplay styles that appear briefly to switch things up even if just for one level and then you’ve got a ton of cinematics and quick time events. It’s been great reliving the Naruto adventures and it also serves as a reminder for why Naruto will always be one of the Big 3.

This game covers the start of Shippuden all the way through the Pain arc which is a pretty impressive amount of content to go through. Each chapter has a big boss battle at the end with full quick time events and everything. You really see Naruto get stronger and improve his craft with every boss battle. While they can’t quite cover everything, a ton of events are covered to the point where you could really play through the game as a newcomer and get what’s going on. I haven’t seen a story this detailed since DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi 3 which is still in the hall of fame for story adaptions like this.

I really enjoy the quick time events because you don’t see those quite as often in games anymore. They help add that cinematic feel to the game and also put your skills to the absolute test. You have to be able to hold your own here or it’s all over. You also get a bonus for doing really well at the quick time events. If you get the maximum star rating then you unlock a little secret cutscene. It’s only a few seconds long but it feels good to get this. It’s like a feather in your cap for really focusing up and doing what had to be done. I felt really good about it at least.

The actual game is fairly long so you should be satisfied with the content. It’s at least 10 hours to complete the story and there is a post game/many side missions to complete as well. Throw in the trophy hunting and you will be busy here for a very long time. There’s a good amount of replay value and the Platinum is very achieveable so it gives you something to really work for. Then of course there is the fact that this is a fighting game so you can have fun playing against other opponents for hours and hours as long as you want. There is no real reason to stop after all. Each battle is unique and the gameplay system is a lot of fun.

I didn’t talk much about that but this is your classic 3D combat style. It goes into more detail than other fighting games though. Each character has up to 4 different normal combo based on which way you hold the control stick. Then you have all of their Ninjutsu, some can use aerial ninjutsu and of course you have the final smashes as well. They’re all very cinematic while not taking too much time away from the gameplay. You also have your awakening mode and of course a lot of ways to use shuriken and other projectiles to your advantage.

Yeah the gameplay holds up exceptionally well here. I also can’t forget to talk about the graphics which are excellent. The fact that it looks better than a PS5 game like Jujutsu Kaisen says a lot. The character models are on point and so this helps to enhance the fights that you are seeing in the cutscenes. A lot of the time it’s like you are watching a movie here. Then you also have the futile battles like Jiraiya fighting against all of the Pains and the gameplay intentionally makes you helpless there. I thought that was a really good way to handle that.

So if you’re a long time Naruto fan then you will get an extra kick out of the game but any non fan can see the dedication as well. The soundtrack is also really good and there is a lot of variety here from the various level themes, stage themes, etc. Every aspect of the game is absolutely exceptional. With the game being this good you may expect this to be a super long review but in a way that’s why it’s short. I feel like it’s easier to go on and on when a game is bad but when it’s excellent there are only so many ways to say that it’s amazing you know?

Like after a while it would almost be like I’m talking in circles. The character cast is super large, there are a ton of stages, a ton of content, etc. The quality of life features are great, the only thing it is missing is quick travel and that’s a super minor thing in the grand scheme of things. I really can’t come up with any negatives here because the game is so much fun. There’s no way to do it justice without just going in and playing it. You will quickly see how much heart it has. It’s like the anime version of Super Smash Bros with how much is fit into this game. It really is one of the gold standards for video games in general and I can see why the series is so well respected.

Overall, Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 is an absolutely incredible game. It goes the extra mile in every way possible and will be known as one of the definitive Naruto experiences. Of course it has sequels which will likely keep up that same level of quality so I look forward to playing those soon. I’ve even started one of them already so you can tell that the hype got to me. I had to be ready for that marathon! If you don’t own this game yet then you should absolutely change that as soon as possible!

Overall 9/10

Override 2: Super Mech League Review

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Override 2 is a pretty fun game. It really keeps the same gameplay style of the first game although in this case it does remove the story mode entirely which is too bad. Instead you just play through a lot of tournaments and stand alone battles. It’s more like what you would find in a Tennis game where your career mode is really just about racking up wins. It works well enough in a sports context but in a fighting game like this you definitely want to see a little more. Particularly since the first game had the whole invasion plot. Ah well, at the end of the day the gameplay is the true make or break point here.

It’s a classic 3D brawler where you can use standard attacks and power moves to deliver damage to your opponents. You can also use different items from the environment to deal damage as well so you always have a lot of options. That being said, your best option is usually to watch for the glowing circle on the map and get to it. The longer you are under the light, the more you can charge up your final smash meter. That ends up coming in a whole lot of use when you’re dealing with multiple opponents. There are different rulesets you can switch between in this game. You have the classic 1 vs 1, 2 vs 2, 4 player free for all, then you have tournaments which are 3 battles in a row, battles where you fight a ton of mini robots, and also a 4 player stay in the ring challenge.

The last one feels like it was inspired by Fortnite since you start taking a whole lot of damage if you leave the ring. Your normal attacks also don’t really deal damage in this mode so you mainly want to focus on grabs. Throwing your opponent out of the circle is a great way to win. In general the game is fairly easy on most of the lower ranks but I imagine that the more I play the game, the harder it will get. For the 4 way battles I would usually hide and let them knock each other out before jumping in. In the 1 on 1 battles I found it easiest to just keep using combos and they wouldn’t fight back much.

Ranking up in the mode is rather weird. You can actually move backwards if you aren’t careful by playing the same mode on a lower rank. This tricked me a bit on the way the mode works but if you’re careful you actually can continue to go up. I got stuck on D rank for most of the modes and it just wouldn’t let me go up though. I suppose I just have to keep on winning over and over until it sticks though. Ultimately I wasn’t sticking around quite long enough for that to do the trick.

The graphics for the game are pretty solid. They’re not out of this world or anything but I thought they were pretty good. The character models are nice and I liked the attack animations. The soundtrack is more on the bland side, I wouldn’t count on seeing any tunes that you really love. They’re more the basic type all around. At least in terms of content there is a whole lot here. You have to win tons of battles to get all the way to the top in career mode which will take many hours. The game tends to go for a fairly cheap price as well so that’s something to consider as well.

You do get a lot of value here. You will have the most fun if you have someone to play with of course but the 1 player experience isn’t bad either. The gameplay is good after all which is ultimately the main thing that counts. My version brought the Ultraman characters with it which was definitely a lot of fun as well. If the gameplay was just a little faster and more intense then that would have really helped the game out. I think part of the problem is the matches can take a little while and it’s not very cinematic either.

So it’s like you’re playing more of a retro fighting game as opposed to a PS4 title. Don’t let that scare you away though. If it was $60 then that would be spooky but that’s not the price at all so it really works out here. Aside from adding a Story Mode the other main change I would add is to give all of the characters more impressive final smash attacks. The current ones don’t even have cinematics or anything like that and those really add o the experience. Not having them just doesn’t make sense. It just feels like another power attack.

Overall, This is a pretty good fighting game. While there is a lot of content, I would say it still feels rather barebones compared to other modern fighting games though. The difference in quality is night and day between this and something like Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm or Tekken. Still, if you don’t compare it to other titles then it does hold its own. The gameplay is a bit different from those after all and there is always room for more 3D brawlers around the bend. I wouldn’t exactly be pre ordering a third game if it came out but I’m still glad to be playing this one. There was enough effort put in to make this one worth it.

Overall 7/10

Granblue Fantasy Versus Review

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It’s time for a great fighting game that knows how to combine solid gameplay with a good story. This game is really the whole package and that’s why it is so much fun. It’s always cool to see the Granblue cast returning once again. Throw in an excellent soundtrack and this is a game that you won’t be forgetting any time soon. So strap in everyone because you’re going to be in for a high quality time.

The story starts with most of Gran’s friends forgetting about him and Lyria. They’re going to have to beat the memories back into everyone but this will not be an easy task. For starters, all of their friends are quite powerful. Additionally, there is a mastermind behind all of this and if he isn’t stopped soon, all of reality will be destroyed. This may be their toughest task yet but Gran and Lyria know that they are up to it. Nothing can destroy the bonds that they have forged!

There are 40 levels in the game and they tend to be fairly short but there are a lot of cutscenes in the game which help it to end up feeling longer. We’re talking full voice acting here and also some complete cinematics. So you know that you are in good hands as soon as the story starts. There is also a lot of replay value to be found around every corner. There’s hard mode, tons of extra missions, and also some kind of tower mode. Naturally you also have the vs mode which would be the main mode for replay value. You could fight against other players for everyone as you test out each character and learn how to use their combos.

The gameplay is that of a 2D fighter so you should be fairly familiar with the different standard and special moves in the game. You have super attacks, and can use your special moves with standard ones for fusion type attacks. They work like Ex moves in Street Fighter. The movement combinations can take a little getting used to though. It took me until the end of the game to be able to reliably use my final smashes since you had quite a few buttons that you needed to click at the same time. It’s not something that you could just blink and ace in an instant.

The story isn’t very difficult, you should be able to blast through it. Just remember that you can level up your gear and abilities. I only did that twice during the story when things were starting to get close and each time I would really leapfrog past a tons of levels. So if the bosses get close, just do this and you’ll be good. In general all you need to do in order to win is button mash a lot. Gran has a really good 3 hit combo that leads into any special attack so keep repeating that as often as you can.

As long as you block the occasional counter attack then you’re fine. Especially since you can carry two support abilities with you. I recommend one for healing and one for increasing your attack. Switch them from little to medium as you progress through the game and they make a huge difference. It can just be hard to remember to use them but once you make a habit out of it, you will really be all set.

In terms of graphics, there’s not much more to be said here. The game looks fantastic at all times. They really went all out on the budge here and the cinematics are also really impressive. Trust me it even looks like a CG tv show. Then for the soundtrack, it blew me away with some of the themes towards the end of the game. You had really intense anime opening type music going on and it really makes the difference in having you get invested into the climax.

If you’re a Granblue fan then you will get an extra big kick out of the game but even if you don’t know the series, you’ll have a lot of fun playing through this game. It can be easy to take a great story for granted but many story games can only dream of having a cinematic adventure like this. It just doesn’t happen very often at all and I can absolutely confirm that it elevates the game to the next level. Yes, I would have still enjoyed the game without the story since the gameplay is very solid, but the story is one of the big reasons why I won’t forget the game.

In the story you play as Gran the whole time although I think I may have been able to switch later on. I just never tried so I haven’t actually gotten to try out the other characters yet. I’ll definitely need to do that at some point. Since every character has a final smash with a whole animation, it will be fun to see what the other characters look like. I’ll definitely be returning to the game to try and get some more trophies so that’ll probably be my chance to try the other characters since often times there is a trophy for playing as everyone.

Overall, Granblue Fantasy Versus is definitely a great game. I really enjoyed it and every aspect of the title felt like it had a good amount of polish. The main menus are good, the colors are striking, and it just feels really modern. At no point will you feel like you got the short end of the stick here. There’s just too much to have fun with. I know there’s an expanded pack/sequel of sorts in Rising so that might cause some to jump ship but otherwise this is definitely a game that you should be able to hang onto and enjoy for a long while. It stands out well among its competitors. As a last gameplay tip, just remember that you need to duck to guard low attacks as the final boss will try some cheesy attacks with that. He’s the one part of the game that actually is really challenging but odds are that if you’ve made it that far already you’ll be fine. Just attack him patiently and block as needed.

Overall 8/10

Killer Instinct Review

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All right it’s time for a fighting game! Those are always fun to look at. This one is definitely really old of course so it’s certainly not going to compete with some of the newer titles but it’s still pretty solid. It definitely feels like an old Mortal Kombat even though I haven’t played through that series. It just has the vibe you would expect from it. The edge is almost a bit funny with how old the graphics are.

So there’s no story mode or anything like that here. This is all about the fighting gameplay and in a way that’s really what you’re hoping for here. That’s why you are playing after all. The core gameplay is good and at the end of the day that’s why this game is pretty good. It’s got infinite replay value and the character roster may not be very large but all of the characters are quite distinct. My favorite character to play as was easily the guy made out of fire. He reminded me of the Human Torch and was really solid.

The gameplay does take a lot of getting used to in terms of using the combos though. For example, the quarter circle moves I mastered for Street Fighter don’t work here at all. I was able to button mash myself to a few reliable combos that would work but that was really it. Otherwise I just had to hope for the best. It reminds me of Tekken a little bit as well with how one hit can lead to an absolutely devastating combo. I make one mistake and the opponent would immediately counter by taking out half of my health bar. It’s definitely impressive but also rather scary. I imagine that tournament battles for this game would really end very quickly.

After all, a pro player could probably get even more leverage out of that initial hit than a computer would. I could be overestimating the depth of the game and maybe that wouldn’t happen but for now I would bet on losing 70-80% of my health after the hit. So make sure you guard and approach really carefully! That said, it’s a game that I know I would never be an expert at since it’s not like I would have played it much so I would just hold the L there. I didn’t really experiment with the other characters but I’m sure all of the movesets are fairly good.

While there is no story, I should say that the characters do get a quick ending writeup which was nice to see. It reminds me of the classic arcade endings from games like this. The graphics are fairly good. They may be a bit blocky but the designs are all distinct so I do think that the game did a good job in the end. The soundtrack is also decent. Not amazing or anything but I thought the variety was good considering that this kind of game could have easily just had like 4-5 tracks or something like that.

Naturally the replay value really depends on how much you like the gameplay. It’s pretty much infinite as I always say for fighting games since the experience will always be different but by the same token, that means it has to completely compete with other fighting games. A story based game has its own unique scenarios so it doesn’t run into that problem. I suppose you could say it’s one of those things where there are pros and cons to each genre. In the end though the common element is that each game must succeed on its own merits. In the end I would say this one does a good job so it gets the passing grade.

Overall, Killer Instinct is a pretty good game. The combat is really on point and while there is not a lot of different modes for combat, it is fine. The game is 100% focused on being a solid brawler and succeeds in that respect. There’s no story, nothing like that but you know that you can boot this up at any time and really enjoy a solid amount of martial arts. I would definitely recommend checking this one out. It’s a pretty fun blast through history, particularly since I was never really familiar with the Killer Instinct series all that well.

Overall 7/10

Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles Review

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It’s time to look at a game that was great through and through. It goes into way more detail than I would have expected from any adaption. It’s seriously impressive and the combat in the gameplay is good. I won’t say it’s quite on Naruto Ninja Storm’s level or anything like that but I was really satisfied by the end. It’s cool to be reliving all of the big event from the show and they even got the movie in here.

The story revolves around a kid named Tanjiro who needs to destroy the demon mastermind in order to turn his sister back into a human. Along the way he meets up with a bunch of quirky characters who have their own reasons for murdering the demons. Will the humans be able to triumph here or are they going to be quickly destroyed by the overwhelming number of the villains? The demons have regeneration and numbers on their side after all. Destroying humanity isn’t just a pipe dream for them but possibly an inevitability.

So the story is definitely a lot of fun and it has complete voice acting all the way through. In a lot of ways it’s like watching the anime all over again and they actually reanimated all of the scenes with the in game engine. There are 8 chapters in the game and most of them are fairly long except for 1-2 of them. All in all the game should take you around 8 hours give or take which is a solid amount for a fighting game. Then after that you have the vs mode which has endless amounts of replay value in its own right. That is the main focus of the game after all.

This is a 3D fighter so you can use your normal attacks, special moves, and of course your final smash. I often found that the best thing to do was launch the enemy into the air at the end of your combo which allows you to start a second combo. Rather brilliant wouldn’t you agree? The computer has a really hard time breaking out of that one at least. The game can get a little hard near the end, particularly the final level which is a whole league above the rest. Your opponent has constant super armor so you have to time your attacks perfectly. Actually that reminds me of the final level in Tekken 7 a whole lot. Still you will be able to knock it out in the end. You can also go the cheesy route and just auto recover your health. The catch is that you forfeit your right to an S rank if you do that.

The graphics here are very high tier as you would expect. The character models are all on point and you can tell that a whole lot of effort went into this title. The soundtrack is also really good with a lot of tunes grabbed straight out of the anime. It’s all the little things that really help to remind you that this game was a big deal. It wasn’t just thrown together in a few minutes or anything like that. I’d definitely like to see a sequel to this title at some point.

There’s also replay value in the story itself as you can talk to people and complete side missions. You’ll need to do that if you eventually want to obtain the Platinum trophy and I can safely tell you that this is in my bucket list of things to do. Could be a while of course but it’ll always be around. You also have a solid training mode to get used to the controls and other bonuses on the main menu.

After playing as a few of the characters in the story, I can safely say that Rengoku is my favorite character to play as. His fire abilities are really intense and I feel like he has more power behind his strikes than the other characters. I suppose that makes sense though as he is a Hashira and should feel way stronger than the average Demon Slayer. It’s still a shame he couldn’t get more fights in the series but we felt his strength either way.

Overall, Demon Slayer is a great fighting game. It has solid gameplay throughout but it also spent the time to actually come up with a grand story as well and I thought that was fantastic. It went the extra mile to really pack the game full of content and I’d say it worked out. This does stand out among the many anime fighters. At this point the only thing it’s lacking is a larger character roster and I’m confident that the sequel will build that up quite a bit.

Overall 8/10