Review for Granblue Fantasy: Versus. Game for PC and PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 06/02/2020 The version for PC came out on 13/03/2020 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 03/03/2020
When the Yokohama Tiger roars, it's time to grab the Pads, grab the Arcade Sticks, and hit it off. Arc System Works has always been synonymous with 2D fighting games, and has returned to remind us of it by giving us a new anime fighting title: we are of course talking about Granblue Fantasy: Versus.
After the excellent Dragon Ball FighterZ and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, it's time to distance ourselves from the Tag titles to return to one-on-one clashes, following the path of simplification traced in recent years. Because in recent times, in order to revive the fighting game genre, the choices of the company from Yokohama have shown us the interest in creating new titles that are alluring to newbies, but abundantly complex to arouse interest in veterans of the genre.
Before going into the complexities and simplifications of Versus, it is necessary to take a step back to examine the roots of Granblue: originally released in 2014 for mobile in the east in its rolistic incarnation winking to the genus Gacha, from Granblue Fantasy was originally a series of light novels and even an animated series.
The plot tells the story of the protagonist Gran who, accompanied by his faithful dragon Vyrn, she will find herself experiencing a succession of exciting battles, adventures and betrayals, complete with a maid in difficulty to save. The evocative setting offers us a setting of flying ships and islands suspended in the skies, with an evil empire at our heels, a mystery to be revealed and a desperate search. If we add to all this the splendid Cel Shading dress of faux 2D from the Arc System engine, we can only delight in a succession of encounters and clashes.
Although the plot in the fighting genre plays the mere role of a narrative background, with its contradictions and perplexities, this is not the case. Granblue Fantasy: Versus is in fact distinguished by a highly articulated RPG campaign, full of dialogues and films, fully redeeming the legacy given to him by his predecessor and hybridizing it with his warlike nature. During the unfolding of the campaign we will in fact be called to take up arms in a series of 2D side scrolling levels, definitely Hack and Slash, where we will be offered hordes of enemies to take down and massive Bosses to face.
Together with the growth of the characters, trivially structured in levels, this mode rests on the well-oiled hinge of the evolution of the equipment. In fact, we will have to invest our loot in order to enhance the weapon in possession, enchant it with skill and constantly bring it back to level 1 in order to subsequently enhance the statistics beyond its limit. The elemental nature of weapons means that we will often have to adapt our equipment to deal with the weaknesses and resistances of our opponents, giving us that pinch of grinding capable of flavoring the original recipe.
Although the RPG mode never touches the complexities of the genre, it gives valuable help to newbies by offering a natural progression full of tutorials, able to perfectly prepare the player for the multiplayer battles for which the title is intended. Particular attention is paid to newbies in Granblue Fantasy: Versus, with a button dedicated to simplifying the inputs which, by combining the combos of the attacks, will allow you to perform the classic Hadoken and ShoryuKen without having to enter the respective commands manually.
In Versus we see the very solid formula made up of weak, medium, strong and special attack. The combination in order of increasing power of these attacks, tying a special move at the end of the sequence, is the game skeleton on which the title is based. The novelty in terms of gameplay is instead linked to the special moves: we are used to being able to perform these amazing attacks in their three most classic incarnations, where the use of the move in a powerful version would have canonically consumed a "bar".
No bars for special attacks, in GranBlue Fantasy: Versus, but a Cooldown system of the moves, able to make us launch our specials at will in light and medium incarnations, but forcing us to experience precious seconds of recharge in case we choose to release its full power. This particular trick will often see us choose between maximizing damage or choosing not to give up part of our kit and limit ourselves to a more reasoned and moderate gameplan.
The ability to connect the attacks together to generate combo or juggle if you prefer, is sanctioned and limited by "proximity". In Versus our attacks will therefore change based on the distance from the opponent, allowing us to connect the moves only when we are really close to the enemy, proposing a title with a solid neutral, where we will play and feel a lot every single step that separates us from the opponent.
With a Roster at launch of just 14 characters (2 of which belong to the Season 1 DLC) we are far from the pharaonic multitude of fighters proposed by competing titles, yet the gameplay diversification is enormous. There is something for everyone: from the rushdown character to pure zoning, to those who rely on a game of tricks. If you are looking for a particular style of play, we can assure you that you will surely find an incarnation on the roster that suits you. Here the experience of Arc System Works really makes itself felt, and in its simplicity Granblue Fantasy: Versus has nothing to envy from the most populous roster of its rivals.
Don't expect mileage combos, instant air dashes or special keys to snap the distance between you and the opponent as seen in Dragon Ball FighterZ, the only tool at your disposal to cope with a game of zoning will be entrusted to your reflexes, running and the dodge key. The dodge will allow you to perform a short dash able to give a few moments of invincibility and pass through the enemy bullets, or to disappear for a few short frames in place, so as to insert yourself in the offensive of your opponent.
The fateful dilemma that accompanies every fighting game - and establishes its vitality - naturally concerns the solidity of the Online sector. You can breathe a sigh of relief, because during our online tests, Granblue Fantasy: Versus has proved solid both in the direct challenges against our friends, and in the encounters held in the friendly multiplayer lobbies. Different speech when you go to face geographically distant players, where we have systematically lost a few frames.
Granblue Fantasy: Versus rewrites the rules of the 2D fighting game and does so starting from the basics, offering a simple title, sparse of fancy flights and solidly based on the fundamentals of the genre. Although the most avid fans of juggle systems may turn up their noses, the validity of the title is beyond any possible doubt. Versus seems to take its cue from all its predecessors, proposing a reasoned and well-paced neutral game, with a lot of super to connect to its combos. This simplicity offers a title accessible to all, where the improvement of one's style of play inevitably passes through the consolidation of the universal bases of the genre, valid bases in all the other titles and often suffocated by too intrusive contour systems.
► Granblue Fantasy: Versus is a fighting game developed by Arc System Works and published by Cygames for PC and PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 06/02/2020 The version for PC came out on 13/03/2020 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 03/03/2020
