Review: Granblue Fantasy: Versus is a solid, but imperfect fighting game
This fighter has great combat, but a disappointing roster size and story mode.
Image: Arc System Works
Spinning out of Granblue Fantasy, the wildly popular mobile game with gacha mechanics, is Granblue Fantasy: Versus. You know your franchise has made it when it gets its very own fighting game.
Granblue Fantasy: Versus is a fighting game developed by Arc System Works, the developer behind great fighting games like Dragon Ball FighterZ and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle. There’s a lot of talent behind this series shift from RPG gacha-style gameplay to 2.5D fighting gameplay, so it’s no surprise that the game sticks the landing… for the most part.
While Granblue Fantasy: Versus’ story mode disappoints and its roster size is lacking for its price point, the game still boasts an attractive art style and fun, simple combat. Fans of the franchise will likely not be disappointed - but newcomers should read on.
What’s RPG Mode?
One of the crew's friends has turned against them - but why? | Image: Arc System Works
Granblue Fantasy: Versus comes with a story mode, titled RPG Mode. RPG Mode draws heavily from the game’s lore - which is padded with material from the original mobile game, as well as Granblue Fantasy the Animation (an anime series). As a result, if you’re not familiar with Granblue Fantasy and just picked this up because Mortal Kombat 11 is getting old, you might feel really lost in RPG Mode at first.
RPG Mode takes players to a couple of different locations as they battle through combat encounters and chisel out bits of the story in between levels. The game takes place in a medieval-fantasy setting, and begins with characters Gran, Fenia and Ferry returning to a familiar place expecting a warm welcome. What they get instead is a violent betrayal from an old friend, Katalina, and they begin chasing after her while trying to figure out what went wrong.
If you're expecting big and pretty cutscenes, you might be let down by this story mode. | Image: Arc System Works
RPG Mode is essentially this game’s story mode. It serves as a long, drawn-out tutorial of the game’s gameplay mechanics, but it isn’t an origin story. The main cast of characters have been through a lot together by this point already, and you might feel a little lost in the beginning as they refer to events you have no knowledge of. The game does ease you in with a few character descriptions, but in a frustratingly minimal way - which doesn’t help you get invested in the story whatsoever.
While story modes for fighting games typically involve one-on-one fights interspersed with lore-filled cutscenes, RPG Mode is more of a beat ‘em up type of deal. Much like Streets of Rage or Battletoads, players will have to fight through waves of enemies, and the odd boss or two. The actual gameplay mechanics don’t get changed up much, however. You’re still making combos, blocking, dodging and making use of your specials - and getting some good practice out of all of it too.
There are some RPG mechanics in this mode - such as swapping out weapons for ones with higher damage stats. | Image: Arc System Works
Honestly, while RPG Mode ended up feeling like a mediocre addition to the game, it does serve as a solid entry point for players to pick up the fundamentals of its combat system. That’s just about the best thing I can say for it. Players who want to dive right into the combat can safely skip it.
Fight! Fight! Fight!
The learning curve of combat in this game isn't too steep. | Image: Arc System Works
The meat of Granblue Fantasy: Versus doesn’t lie in its story mode, but in its standard Versus Mode. This is the game mode that fighting fans are looking for, and it has its fair share of strengths and weaknesses. One of said strengths is just how accessible this title is as a fighting game. Oftentimes, it can be hard to master the right combo chains and movesets in complex fighters, which can make multiplayer games an especially daunting task if you’re not confident with your skills.
Fortunately, Granblue Fantasy: Versus is probably one of the easiest fighting games to pick up that I’ve played yet. It has the grounded rhythm of a Street Fighter game, mixed in with the approachability of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. There are plenty of tutorials available for players to master the roster’s characters, but the basic controls are pretty easy to get a hang of as well.
You can join online lobbies, which require you to choose cute and customisable chibi versions of your characters to roam around in. It's a nice touch! | Image: Arc System Works
For example, specials can be executed in one of two ways. You can either do a typical button combo - turning the stick up and pressing the attack button, for example - and that will trigger your character’s special. You can also map those special moves to specific buttons as shortcuts - which means that instead of potentially whiffing your button presses, all you have to do is press R1, and then follow up on the enemy.
There is a trade-off, however. These specials enter a cooldown once used, but you can shorten that cooldown by not actually using the button shortcuts. Basically: take the harder route, and you get a shorter cooldown which gives you an advantage in battle. You don’t have to be great at fighting games to pull off specials here, but if you pick up the right skills…you’re rewarded for it.
To play in competitive ranked mode, you'll have to do a couple matches against bots, after which the game assesses your skill level. | Image: Arc System Works
Most of the game’s fighting mechanics are presented this way. High skill ceiling, but low barrier to entry. It’s not going to be the most satisfyingly complex fighter to play, but a pretty art style and some slick animations will keep you coming back for more matches. However, while we’re on the point of replayability… we need to talk about the roster of fighters.
Let’s talk about DLC
Just 11 Characters? At least you'll be able to find your favourites rather quickly. | Image: Arc System Works
Granblue Fantasy: Versus has some pretty striking characters in its roster - which makes it a whole lot of fun to play with and against them. They also offer different things to people who tend to gravitate towards certain playstyles in fighting games - whether you like to get up close and personal, attack from afar or rely on a strong chain of combos.
Granblue Fantasy: Versus launched with a frankly disappointing roster of 11 (plus one unlockable in RPG Mode) fighters. For comparison, Mortal Kombat 11 launched with 24 playable characters. One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows launched with 28. Dragon Ball FighterZ launched with 24. A full roster of just 11 characters in a fighting game is shockingly inadequate, no matter how you cut it.
At least the characters are still diverse in terms of personality and gameplay. | Image: Arc System Works
What doesn’t help is that the game already has a paid season pass on offer with five extra characters. You’d have to shell out for a more complete roster, essentially. It feels like these five characters were held back simply to milk players for more money, especially since the first of those characters released so close to the game’s launch date. If the game’s story mode made up for the small roster size, that would be one thing - but it absolutely does not.
Verdict
You might want to wait for a sale on this one. | Image: Arc System Works
Granblue Fantasy: Versus is a great fighting game for those newer to the genre, while experienced players will still find plenty to enjoy in the game’s combat mechanics. This is the rare fighting game that tries to appeal to everyone, and for the most part succeeds.
Unfortunately, this success is severely undercut by a roster lacking in numbers and a mediocre story mode. The game is also plagued with loading screens, which can get incredibly grating after awhile. I recommend picking it up on sale, when the price actually matches the content this title offers.
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.