While its great to see fighting games make a comeback in this generation of consoles, I feel that most of them don’t really offer anything new. That is until mobile game developer CyGames and masters of anime fighting games developer Arc System Works banded together to create something a bit different: a JRPG that not only resembled classic beat em’ up games like Princess Crown but doubled as a fighting game. The result was Granblue Fantasy: Versus for the PS4 (the version we are looking at) and PC. Can a mobile game developer and a fighting game developer find a way to bring the best of both worlds together? Let’s find out.
Smooth sailing
Artwork is amazing- One of things that CyGames is known for in the Grandblue Fantasy mobile game is the amazing artwork. Yes its anime style, but the 2D art is very detailed and is reminiscent of art in fantasy/fairy tale books. Everything, though 2D, looks like its flowing with movement. Granblue Fantasy: Versus is in 3D, so you would think that Arc System Works would have a hard time with translating this kind of art style into 3D. Not so as not only do they have plenty of experience with making 2D fighters look 3D with Unreal Engine 4, but they too have also developed a fighting game that has fantasy/fairy tale artwork, Battle Fantasia.
JRPG and fighting game in one- Developers often take two different genres and meld them into one game. We’ve seen RPG elements in FPS games, visual novel elements in fighting game, FPS mechanics in RPGs and so on and so forth. Granblue Fantasy: Versus does it a bit differently. In addition to the various traditional mode you find in fighting games, Granblue has a unique mode called RPG mode. In this mode players will go through an original story, facing off waves of enemies in a beat em’ up/hack n’ slash format, upgrading characters and their weapons along the way. This is reminiscent of games like Princess Crown, Dragon’s Crown etc, in which these game are RPGs but have fighting game elements such as combos.
RPG mode teaches basic fighting skills- A really cool side effect of playing though Granblue Fantasy: Versus’s RPG mode is that it teaches you the basics of its fighting system even before you even touch its extensive training mode or the fighting portion of the game. The RPG mode uses the same fighting system as the fighting portion, so as you play through the RPG mode you’re learning the basics and putting them into practice from the get go. These skills then can be improved on even further in training mode. The only different between the two modes is that the characters used in RPG mode level up and do not in the other modes.
Very extensive training mode- Another thing that ASW is also known for is their very extensive training modes and Granblue Fantasy: Versus. In fact I thing it’s training mode is one of the most extensive modes I’ve seen in any of their fighting games and other fighters in general. This is done under its mission training mode. There’s basic mission which goes into more detail teaching players the game’s fighting system. Then there’s skill practice where it teaches how to use skills, the game’s version of special moves. Combo practice takes what players have learned so far and has them practice combo strings for different characters. Match-ups is a mode that I don’t think I’ve seen in other fighting games but should be in them. This mode has player go up against different fighters and teaches them how to handle them when the pull off certain moves. This greatly helps player to be able to recognize and counter them when facing a live opponent, though it doesn’t take into account set-ups and the unpredictability of a live opponent. And then there’s the glossary where the game gives explanations to terms used. This is very helpful to those new fighting games and those who need a reminder.
Huge lobby system- Arc System Work fighting games are known to have some of the best lobby systems in any fighting game in my opinion and Granblue Fantasy: Versus is no different. So far it seems to be more of the more bigger lobby systems in any of fighting games that ASW has developed. Not only does the game allow you to select the region and area that players what to fight in, each area has 40 lobbies, with each one supporting up to 64 players. It even has a message board that players can start and respond to threads before entering the lobby.
Unlockable content with mobile game- Granblue Fantasy from what I understand is a very popular mobile game in Japan and now here in the West. And like many other popular mobile games that cross promote with different other franchises, Granblue Fantasy has content that can be unlocked. In Granblue Fantasy: Versus there are a couple of serial codes that can be used to unlock content in the mobile Granblue Fantasy game. Getting these code require beating the RPG mode twice and purchasing the first DLC character pack. This is a pretty cool way to promote the mobile game for those who have never played it before.
Bad turbulance
Bad release timing/lack of players- As much fun Granblue Fantasy: Versus is, it released at a very bad time in my opinion. Usually the first few months of the year are pretty dry in terms of triple A releases, with indie games and smaller third party developer releasing their games around this time. With releases such as Animal Crossing New Horizons and Doom Eternal just released and Final Fantasy VII Remake and Resident Evil 3 coming out next month, gamers are going to flock to those releases en mass and leave behind Granblue. This sucks for the game as it was announced a while back it would be one of the games headlining EVO 2020 so it would get a big boost. Or would be headlining, as it was recently announced that EVO 2020 would be canceled due to the spread of COVID-19. This is not a slight against the game, as this is just the nature of the industry. With all this there are not that many players online filling the lobbies. The most populated lobbies that I’ve seen are the LA and NY lobbies in the North America region and even then the lobbies are not full.
Granblue Fantasy: Versus is an interesting case of taking to different genres and putting them together in one game, not as a hybrid or combination but each having their own modes but using the same fighting system abit with some tweaks. The artwork is amazing and highly detailed, the RPG mode actually teaches the very basics of the fighting system, and the very extensive training mode takes those basics learned and helps further players skills. The lobby system has to be one of ASW biggest ones yet, with tons of rooms and regions to choose from. However due events out of their control, there isn’t that many players online. Still that shouldn’t dissuade you into checking out the game.
8/10
