A Grand Melee
Knights, dragons and pixies are iconic to high fantasy. Stories of armored heroes doing battle against titanic monsters and terrifying villains alike are familiar ground for gaming. These are rarely seen in fighting games, however, which is where Granblue Fantasy: Versus on the Playstation 4 achieves a unique aesthetic niche within the genre. The vivid 3D anime graphics are iconic to fighting games of Arc System Works and work wonderfully to bring this world to life. It also follows a pedigree of unique and approachable combo mechanics, allowing universal appeal. These elements add up to create a fighting game experience that hardcore fans can excel at immediately and new players can understand simply, which is achieved by adding RPG elements to the fighting game ecosystem.
Royally Inspired Gameplay
Fans of the MMORPG genre may be familiar with the term “rotation,” or a cycle of moves or skills your character uses to achieve maximum combat efficiency. This concept is the unique core of the combo system in Granblue Fantasy: Versus and gives the fighting game genre at large accessibility akin to the likes of Super Smash Bros. Pressing R1 and any direction will result in your character performing a special move, which can be done after successful attacks to easily create devastating combos. You will be able to perform these in no time, as pressing the Light, Medium or Heavy attacks while close to the opponent creates an autocombo with a follow-up opportunity. These elements give the game a World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV feel during offense and creates an easily accessible atmosphere for newcomers of the genre. Added security comes from the Guard button, which can be held instead of back to block and combined with a direction to dodge either in place or forward. Each character also has a unique attack button, which offers a self-explanatory signature move at the touch of a button.
Combat flows in a slow, deliberately paced fashion that is akin to last years Samurai Shodown. Moves can be used simply and to deadly effect, making far-reaching normal hits potential blow-up situations using your R1 cooldowns. When delved into the combat system proves to be deep and rewarding, as the hits have weight and combos feel devastating, which creates an exciting combat flow that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The online play is also great with a satisfactory connection. This makes Granblue Fantasy: Versus exciting and fun till the last swing.
A Mythical Cast of Colorful Characters
The eye-grabbing fantasy visuals come to life with the cast of inspired characters. From spunky young knight errant Gran to the ironclad black knight Vaseraga, the game is not short on fantasy staples for the die-hard fan. The cast proves to be more than this, however, when characters such as the flamboyant luchador Ladiva or the tiny queen-at-arms Charlotta enter the fray and add fun charm to the solid tropes. The backgrounds are beautifully animated with exciting round transitions that keep the action flowing backed up by a fun soundtrack. The solid voice acting makes the anime cutscenes feel authentic, which adds a layer of incentive to the rather uninspired RPG Mode.
The RPG Mode in Granblue Fantasy: Versus is a lackluster feature compared to the rest of the game. Since your character switches direction rather than backing up, executing special moves manually as to not burn the R1 cooldown can be frustrating. These blunders do not occur in other game modes that offer traditional 2D fighting, making the Arcade Mode the premier single-player experience. While disappointing, it does little to detract from the overall quality and surprisingly innovative control scheme that anyone can pick up and play. The full effect of these controls can be experienced in the training mode, which goes so far as to offer on-screen visuals for tons of different specifications such as real-time input tracking.
Fit For A King
Granblue Fantasy Versus is a fighting game experience like no other. It is an attempt at a fusion of genres using an inspired aesthetic to create a unique and accessible fighting game experience. Using the RPG concept of cooldowns to simplify controls for new players while simultaneously opening up the opportunity for veterans to explore its depth is ambitious and well-executed. The calculated and deliberate flow of combat creates a tension-wrought atmosphere that pops like a rocket when the combos start flying, as shown by the flashy anime visuals during Super Moves and cooldowns that show off the beautiful detail in each character.
All of this comes together to make Granblue an experience you can easily fall in love with. Simple interest may turn into fevered lab work when a character clicks, pushing you to exploit the simple mechanics to find devastating combos. When you get the chance pick up Granblue Fantasy Versus, because anyone who gives it an honest shot will find the games’ accessible depth endlessly rewarding.
