Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising is a Rising Upgrade
I have reviewed several Souls-like and RPGs but I have never reviewed a fighting game, so I was super stoked when we were to be given a review code for their latest fighting game, on behalf of Cygames. I have played a lot of fighting games, but nevertheless, this is still an exciting entry to the franchise for me.
This is Muranagi of EXOSIA Project bringing you my review of Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising!
[Introduction of the game]
Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising, developed by Arc System Works, is a 2D fighting game released for
consoles and PC and serves as the sequel to Granblue Fantasy Versus. It
is based on the browser/mobile game IP of Cygames Inc., Granblue Fantasy.
[Graphical Delivery]
Most of the assets used in this game are the same as those of its
predecessor, but it still holds up pretty well. The blend of the colors is
nice and balanced while having touch-ups and upgrades to it. A great example of
this would be the emphasis on visual effects which adds up to the oomf of
each attack. Being an Arc System Works title also means it has the same magic
of 2.5D as other titles like Guilty Gear Strive and Dragonball FighterZ which
only works in the favor of the game. Other improvements from the previous game
include corner indication which is a visual guide for players to know if
they’ll be on the corner already or not.
[Music]
I’m a huge sucker for anything that is instrumental or symphonic and the
in-game music truly brings the game to life, most especially when you’re
already playing it. There’s quite an exploration kind of sense to it and yet a
tinge of wanting to go on an adventurous battle with your buddies. The music in
this game fits the game and there is never a bland moment because of it.
In addition to that, each individual character theme tells us a story of
every character in the game, whether they’re shy, chill, or demeaning. One
example is Avatar Belial’s theme— you can really feel the tension and how
menacing Avatar is! These are the amazing ways the game uses its music!
[Gameplay]
As mentioned earlier, this is a 2D fighting game where the platform is
just flat, as opposed to 3D fighting games which utilize an entire 3D space. As
someone who got used to playing 3D fighting games, it was a bit difficult for
me to adjust to playing Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising at first, but I also
quickly got the hang of it since combos here are much simpler, in contrast to
other games. I was used to remembering long inputs, but this game barely has
any of those— perhaps only for high-level, optimized combos, surely— but
starting off, having non-lengthy combos is fine!
At first glance, it is a very straightforward fighting game but there is
more to it. The game may be simple, but it takes time to adjust, especially if
you come from a different fighting game like I did. There were some different,
welcomed changes from the first game that made this game easier for newcomers
like me such as the addition of Ultimate Skills which are enhanced versions
of your standard skills. They deal additional damage and may be used as a combo
extender or closer depending on your application.
There’s also the Brave Point mechanic which acts as both an
offensive and defensive option for players, starting with 3 each round. These
may be used to activate Raging Strikes causing a guard crush in addition
to removing 1 Brave Point to your opponent and you may follow up with a Raging
Chain to combo off of it by exhausting 25% of your Skybound Art Guage.
Finally, there’s also the Brave Counter which you can perform as a
defensive option during blocking or guard crush, exhausting 1 Brave Point.
All of these are pressed with just 2 buttons, M and H!
Lastly, and quite controversial, is the change of technical inputs of
skills not having any more differences from simple input commands. For me, it’s
a good change that slowly bridges the gap between pros and newcomers!
[Content Value]
The game has a few game modes in Offline Mode such as Versus Mode, Arcade
Mode, Story Mode, Training Mode, Replays, Journal, and the newest Figure
Studio which you can collect different figures of playable and non-playable
character models to have more detailed look at the model or make dioramas of!
Unfortunately, that’s pretty much it. Much of the game’s content is locked in
Online Mode such as the Gacha otherwise known as Draw Tickets, Community
Feature, Rupie Shop where you can buy different character colors, skins, and
weapon skins, Character Levels (otherwise known as Character Passes), and of
course the ever-so-advertised Gran Bruise mode.
With that, I’m quite dissatisfied with the lack of offline content, maybe
add an Endless Tower Mode, similar to that of a Survival Mode, as an addition
so there may be a variety of modes in the game. For now, I’m hoping that there
will be more content in the game as it gets released moving forward for offline
mode.
With its price of $49.99 for the Standard Edition and $74.99 for the
Deluxe Edition, I’d say that it’s a very reasonable price as you get what you
pay for. The game even includes the previous game’s DLC as part of the base
roster and then some for this iteration of the franchise. My only gripe is that
there should be more offline modes. But hey! Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising has a Lite version with rotating characters and access to Gran Bruise mode, so even if you don’t buy the game, you can still play the game!
[Conclusion]
Overall, the game is really interesting and I’m sure you’ll easily get
hooked on it. I’m not into 2D fighting games but I surely enjoyed my time with Granblue
Fantasy Versus Rising, and although the offline mode’s lacking, you can
still have fun with your friends playing the game.
[Extras]
