We play the Asian version of the new ArcSystemWorks. An option for all audiences.
Granblue Fantasy is a glitter franchise in Japan. Your JRPG proposal for mobiles and browsers is a success (and rightfully so). Behind him, names like Uematsu and members of projects as important as Final Fantasy 6 and 9 for what is a key title: the concept of gatcha game is not understood without Granblue Fantasy. Now the license is expanding, and one of the areas that it tests is the genre of the fight with this Granblue Fantasy: Versus, developed by ArcSystem Works (BlazBlue, Guilty Gear or FighterZ among others). And to get the idea of the importance of the license, not so well known in Europe, just one detail: Versus' debut in Japan meant sales during its first week superior to titles such as Tekken 7, Street Fighter 5 or Dragon Ball FighterZ. Some days ago we are playing the Asian version of the title, scheduled for early March in the United States and with no specific date for Europe. And we have it clear: if you have an interest in fighting games, Granblue Fantasy: Versus is a great opportunity. For three main reasons we will develop below.
A great gateway: accessible to all
There are not a few competitive players who cry out to the sky with certain facilities that fighting games are giving in their new installments, such as simple mechanics to execute or already well-commanded autocombos. But it is true that Granblue Fantasy: Versus knows how to fit this correctly. The title has autocombos, yes; and it has shortcuts to launch the specials with the press of a button. Or it has a guard button instead of defending by pressing back, which is also available. It has, in short, two systems: the traditional or technical and the accessible.
This allows it to be a huge gateway to new players who are attracted by its story mode or its audiovisual section. In addition, he does it with some intelligence: using the specials with the shortcuts penalizes us with a greater cooldown before we can use them again. A way to be friendly to new ones and not be a handicap for the traditional player.
Competitive and different from other ASW
Despite these accessible features, it is proving to be a highly competitive game with a lot to scratch. The combat system is more leisurely than other games of the company, more like a Street Fighter 4 style title. It has combos of a certain requirement but they are not eternal, it has several house brand mechanics (instant block, air block and air throw, button destined to unique actions per character, super attacks when we have less than 30% of life and one per combat …) and the feeling is that we only have a few days with the game in the market, without having landed in the west, and he is already getting a lot of juice. The potential at medium-high levels seems most attractive for the coming weeks.
Adventure and RPG with a first-class anime style
That the will of Granblue Fantasy: Versus is to approach the competitive scene, and there we have it already confirmed in the EVO 2020 and do not rule out that as one of Sunday's main event, it is evident. That the franchise's entry beyond mobile phones wants to be as transversal and large as possible, too. Therefore, among all the modes that it brings, we want to focus on the adventure with RPG touches that it offers us.
The titles show us a campaign in which we started controlling Gran, the protagonist of the license, who tries to understand why one of his great allies is against him. This is only the first chapter. What we have before us is a game that mixes us fighting with the mechanics of the fight title with a beat'em up staging: enemies that come to us from both sides and that we have to eliminate (hence we have put option to block with a button), final bosses with several life bars and devastating attacks and rewards depending on how we finish the missions.
All this spun with dialogues of various kinds, video scenes worthy of a more than remarkable anime (the visual style and the soundtrack that accompanies the game at all times) and with several RPG elements. We can get weapons and level up, switch between them according to the element they have for each type of mission, equip extra skills, support partners, play cooperatively, buy in a store all kinds of elements and, of course, overcome all kinds of missions in the different locations that we will be visiting while we level up and improve to face new enemies, bosses and others. At the moment it is not a difficult way in its early hours, but it does have enough incentives to continue with it.
Many of these elements are inherited from the powerful original mobile role-playing game of the franchise. The concept of the elements, the currency of the game, the sounds of the menu … All this has moved from the original work to the fighting game at hand.
There is a lot of fabric to cut with Granblue, many debatable elements (such as the business model known before going on sale) and modalities and hours of play to deepen, but something has become clear to us in these early hours: it is a good way to Get close to fighting games if someone is doubting. And it seems to meet the most demanding. Hopefully the final date will be announced in Spain to be able to follow it closely. Worth.
