Better Luck This Time

Launching only a few months before the pandemic shook the world, Granblue Fantasy Versus was a fighter that was doomed to fail. Not only was it a fighter based on an IP not so familiar in the states, it also had a bad netcode that made playing online a chore. With the pandemic shutting down the FGC scene for locals and even majors being relegated to being online only, despite the handful of ardent fans, it was a game that never truly took off.

However, luckily, Cygames and Arc System Works are not ones to be discouraged easily and have followed up with a sequel that massively improves in all areas creating a compelling fighter that I expect to see featured at EVO for many years to come.

The story mode also includes the chapters from the original title alongside the brand-new chapters.

MSRP: $49.99 (Free version available with limited features/characters access)
Platforms: PC, PS4/5
VO Selection: ENG/JPN
Played: 20~ hours

Following the events of the previous adventure and epic encounter against Beelzebub, Gran/Djeeta and their crew find themselves facing an even greater threat.

As noted in the review of the original, I have no experience with the mobile game “Granblue Fantasy” and know very little about these characters outside of what I learned during my playthrough of the original. Having said that, I do appreciate the amount of work they put into the story mode with the full VA available both in JPN and ENG. The story mode also featured unique boss fights that can’t be found anywhere else which was nice to see. However, as was the case with the original, the fighting game controls just do not work very well in the context of a 2D beat-em-up and I found controlling the character to be unwieldy and not very fun.

In terms of the single player content outside of the story mode, there isn’t very much with arcade mode pitting me against a set number of opponents and fighting a boss at the end which can differ based on my performance. Luckily, the training mode is fairly robust in terms of tutorials but I found the combo challenges to be limited and I would have liked to see additional single play modes like a challenge, time attack or more.

As I find myself not having the time to focus on online matches, having more interesting single player modes where I can play and pause at any time would have been great.

The bosses in the story mode look quite impressive, I just wish the story mode combat was more fluid and fun to control.

As for the meat of the game, the combat has seen an overhaul in multiple ways, much of which is re-balancing and quality of life improvements, but the biggest new additions are the “Raging Strike” and “Raging Chain”. These moves are limited by a set of 3 bravery points that are given to each player at the start of each round. A Raging Strike can break the guard of an opponent and Raging Chain can be used to spend some meter to follow up on the guard break for juicy damage. The opponent has the option to spend their own bravery point to counter the initial guard break, but this only applies if they have bravery points left to spend.

As these attacks are relatively slow and can be spot dodged on reaction, it’s not a tool to throw out whenever but as a way to force the issue against particularly defensive opponents or as combo extenders, they work very well. It adds another layer of potential to both offense and defense and is a welcome addition.

As was previously, the main selling point of GBVS:R is in how easy it is to pick up and play. Between the special button which can be used to execute every special to multiple ways to use auto-combos, I could spend ten minutes in training mode with almost any character and take to the lobbies and hold my own to some degree.That is not to say the game lacks depth as there’s a lot to consider in moment to moment gameplay with all the options available both offensively and defensively.

While GBVS:R is a simple game to pick up and play, it is by no means devoid of depth.

For example, using an S-version of any of my special moves would put that move on cooldown for a few seconds making it unavailable to use normally. So when confirming a combo, I had to consider if the extra damage or knockdown in this moment was worth not being able to use that special during my next set of pressure strings. I had to always be mindful of what moves I’ve put on cooldown and switch up my pressure according to the options available to me. On top of that, I had to juggle my meter usage for Ultimate skills and bravery points for potential Raging Strike guard breaks or combo extensions.

It seemed like a lot to consider at all times but after a few hours, it started to click, and I gradually became better at keeping track of all my resources.

The online mode is greatly improved with solid netcode and some fun additions.

In terms of online play, I’m happy to report that the rollback netcode worked well during my testing. Whether I was playing in the lobby or in private rooms, I found the majority of matches played to feel smooth and the handful that felt bad were few and far between. The inclusion of cross-play is a big win for the player base, and I had no trouble finding matches regardless of the time I decided to play.

I was also surprised to see a Fall Guys-esque battle royale mode where a bunch of players tackled a series of mini-games to see who could come on top and while it’s very much a “We have Fall Guys at home” kind of deal, it was entertaining enough for the few times that I played it and a welcome distraction from just playing player/ranked matches.

I also found leveling characters and unlocking new colors/weapon types to be enjoyable and as I was able to just directly purchase cosmetics with in-game currency, I was able to get my Seox looking sharp and deadly after only playing for a few hours.

The arty style and designs of the character in Granblue are quite nice!

In terms of the PC port, it is as barebones as it comes with wonky resolutions during boot, limited visuals options and no DLSS/FSR support to speak of. I even had to edit a config file just to make the characters models smoother. Arcsys Works unfortunately has a bad track record with PC ports of their games and the trend continues.

Also, it’s also worth noting that there is a free to play version of the game that allows the player access to Gran and a rotation set of characters to use online which work nicely as a demo. However, the character pass including 6 characters to be released within the next year costs a whopping $49.99 which is the same price as the game’s MSRP which is severely overpriced compared to its contemporaries’ season pass. Even their own game, Guilty Gear Strike offers the same number of characters and is priced at $24.99 which is a much more reasonable asking price.

I expect this price is set to encourage people to buy the Digital Deluxe version of the full game, but this is a terrible way to go about it as it will only serve to keep the player base from sticking with the game in the long term.

My fall guys experience coming in clutch.

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is a redemption and course correction that the series sorely needed to compete against some fantastic FGs out on the market already. If not for the overpriced DLC and lackluster single player content, it could have been “THE” anime fighter to beat. As it stands, it’s one I’m sure to go back to play from time to time and eager to see played at a high level during the majors coming later this year.

Fun Tidbit – I was recommended to try Seox as a rush down character that was simple to use as I didn’t want to spend too much time getting proficient in this game and I ended up sticking with him during my 20~ hours of playtime.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.