Post by Bramblett05 on Sept 21, 2014 21:47:16 GMT
Ark Systems Works are back at it again with another helping of anime ass-kicking and how does it stack up against the others? Well.......
Ark and Akysys, you know the minds behind Guilty Gear Series as well as Blublaze have brought over a fighting game that will work your hands as well as your mind because this will have you holding buttons and twisting whatever way to bust out the moves. The gameplay is the same kind of anime fighter you know and developed a love/hate sorta thing with, but difference is that you also have a creature with you as well who is based on the tarots.
The game isn't full screen but that doesn't hurt the game at all, in fact it works really well with a thing called links which shows your character in certain situations like hurt,when you won and others that really serve no purpose but gives you something to try to complete as each character has a good bit to unlock. What I found odd was no tutorial like mode that Blublaze had since I never played the series before. The language is all Japanese with English subtitles and while I wish I could hear what they say in battle or before a match it's all about the action. There's a normal mode and simple (though I wish both covered their own move list) simple is pretty simple but still a bit tough to get use to. There's a story mode with an after story mode that is best played after you beat the regular story with everyone. There is training but you get thrown in but with training options you can change. There is online with the ranked/player match which is really all you need in multiplayer.
Survival Score Attack is a fun mode as it's you against the others and no getting health back after matches. Trial is a mode where you do objectives to complete a match which rises up the challenge. They did add a mode from the mobile version called Card Of Glory that adds some main story/sub story to the characters that was introduced on mobile.
The sound is a rocking soundtrack that is easy to get into and doesn't distract from the game at all. The voice work is pretty solid with the story as well. Story is pretty big for a fighting game (guess some said the same for Guilty Gear at the time). It's more on the lines of Blublaze as it's told through multiple games and it can be hard to understand. The detail shows really good with the characters but not so much the spirits though still looking great, didn't get the detail the characters did.
Loading is long for a 2-D fighter (more than most) but isn't really a problem after a few battles. There is lots to unlock that could bring the game's value of replay to just about Blazblue's length and of course trophy seekers will be trying to get the platinum.
Final words: A game series not well known here offers great fighting gameplay and unlockables and is a great game for fighting fans. Loading times are there but as noted, it's not bad after a few battles and is a great fighter once you get used to the controls. The artwork is great to see and Arc is on a roll and wonder what will be next.
Score: 8.5/10
Pros: Great hand drawn detailed characters and lots of variety
Good length fighter with lots of unlockables to get.
Cons: loading times can be troubling
Difficulty can be super easy to outrageously hard.