GRANBLUE FANTASY: VERSUS
Going overboard with this airship of punch-up delights
We exclusively review Arc System Works’ latest fighter.
“EVERY CHARACTER HAS
THEIR OWN ACTION, WHICH MAKES A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE TO THEIR FIGHTING STYLE.”
Are you one of the 25 million players of the mobile game Granblue Fantasy, or a fan of the anime adaptation? Then you’ll love how Granblue Fantasy: Versus is steeped in nods and references for the devoted. But even if you’re not, Versus is a terrifically fun fighter. No punches, whip-cracks, or spear thrusts have been pulled by veteran fighting game developer Arc System Works (the punching bag behind Guilty Gear, Dragon Ball FighterZ).
The fighting fundamentals are simple, though not lacking in depth. Every character has light, medium, and heavy attacks using their weapons with r, w, and e respectively – though their fighting styles ensure each feels unique. When striking, tapping the buttons again can give you an auto-combo up to three hits. On top of that, moves can be altered depending on distance, or if you’re jumping or crouching. Every character also has their own action on q – things like parries, extra dashes, or even a health-boosting snack – which makes a massive difference to their fighting style.
COOL OFF
One of the biggest mechanical twists is the way characters’ specials (called Skills) work, and it’s a stroke of genius. The only moves that use meter are the full-power Skybound and Super Skybound Arts. Every other skill – your Hadouken- or Dragon-Punch-type moves – has an individual cooldown displayed below your health. You can activate all four by tapping u on its own or with a directional input. But there’s a lot of variation within that simple-sounding framework. You can
modify every Skill by pressing either we or at the same time to give it a stronger variation. For instance, Ladiva’s Headbutt Of Love does more damage with w, but gains the ability for a follow-up strike with e. Using these more advanced moves means the cooldown will take longer. So you’d better make it count.
The way each move is displayed also means you can see what options your opponent has, so you know what to watch out for or when’s the best time to strike back. All the Skill variations are laid out in the command lists, and are easy to execute alongside the auto-combo system. Pulling off a cool combo can be as simple as using Zeta’s medium auto-combo, hitting q to mash her unique spear attacks, then throwing out a Skill with u. All the skills have technical inputs too, more familiar quarter-circles or Shoryukenstick motions, and give the benefit of things like shorter cooldowns or extra chip damage, so are worth adding to your repertoire. It’s gran(d).
What’s great about Versus is how simple inputs and technical inputs coexist, with no part of the game design feeling compromised. The start of the story mode has a great tutorial that thoroughly explains things, and an exhaustive glossary lays out every move and fighting game term. Training mode has the works, from combo guides for every character to missions that challenge you to exploit opponent characters’ weaknesses so you know how to best them in a fight. At every turn Versus gives you the tools to make sure your fighting dreams aren’t part of that titular fantasy.
TALE WIND
The anime-like visuals really come to life in RPG mode, which is where Versus brings something new to fighting games. It’s an original story that has the skyfarer crew hopping from island to island trying to get to the bottom of why some people are having their memories altered. While the story is simple enough, it provides an introduction to the charming characters, and is packed with glossary entries and detailed art revealing more about the world, plus playable side-quests that delve into the backgrounds of the fighters.
Each quest you undertake on each island plays like a fighting game version of something like Dragon’s Crown or Streets Of Rage. Instead of always having your back to the edge of the screen you can turn at will, and have to take on mobs of enemies using all your skills. Along the way you restore the memories of other fighters by beating them, after which you can then play as them. As you fight you earn treasure – weapons that can be used to boost your attack (and can even be used to change the look of a characters’ weapons), levelling up like in an action RPG.
The larger boss fights are the stars of the show. These battles are ambitious, and each has unique mechanics.
“FIGHTING BOSSES FEELS EPIC – BOTH MECHANICALLY AND NARRATIVELY SATISFYING.”
In one the boss sits in the middle of the screen and we have to deal with spawning mobs of enemies, building our Skybound Art to break through the Big Bad’s shield and leave them vulnerable to damage, the music crescendoing as we do so. Another has us chasing them down as they fire laser beams at us, jumping through them to do damage. Rarely have bosses in a fighting game felt so epic – both mechanically and narratively satisfying.
BLOWING UP
And notice that “us”? That’s because RPG mode can be played entirely in co-op, either locally or online (or controlled by AI). It’s great to have such a novel story mode in a fighting game. Plus, as you unlock each character, you get a sense of how they handle in versus mode. It’s a brilliant introduction and a skyful of delights in its own right. Sometimes basic mob-based fights can get a little repetitive, but those thunderclouds are small (though it would be great to see the mode expanded in future updates). A hard mode and Tower Of Babylon challenge mode provide some extra tests of skill in RPG mode for those who want to master it.
Versus is always technically playful, while being one of the most accessible fighting games for new players we’ve ever tried. (We’ll have a complete review of the online aspect next issue, once more people are playing). Throw in the chunky co-op RPG story mode and the dev’s commitment to supporting the game for a while to come, and the sky really is the limit.