REVIEW : Granblue Fantasy: Versus — Digital Deluxe Edition (PS4)
In Granblue Fantasy: Versus — Digital Deluxe Edition, power, skill, and spirit collide in a journey to find the real winner of the ring. Players can take on AI opponents or fight against human opponents in restricted or online two-player matches.
Now, legendary combat game studio ARC SYSTEM WORKS and Cygames are drawing up to bring the world to home console in an action-packed head-to-head fighter. Highlighting a colourful cast of their most famous “crewmembers,” each with a different fighting style that is easy to learn but hard to understand, Granblue Fantasy: Versus — Digital Deluxe Edition is formed to engage fans of Granblue lore and combat games alike.
Granblue Fantasy: Versus — Digital Deluxe Edition will incorporate an RPG Mode that highlights an all-new, unique story narrative through exquisitely rendered cutscenes. Players can perform solo or team up with a friend to fight swarms of competitors and challenging Primal Animals in exciting action-RPG combat. Additionally, RPG Mode highlights a complete upgrade system for characters and weapons that supporters of Granblue Fantasy should know right away.
In RPG mode, Granblue Fantasy: Versus — Digital Deluxe Edition acts as a 2D side-scroller, enabling you to move left and right to trade with groups of foes, and also enabling you to proceed to the right to advance the purpose. Battles are divided into journeys that span 5 islands and accomplishing any of 3 specific duties during combat, such as steering a specified number of special attacks, compensates you with a gold star for a task well done and extra loot. The last quest of each island is a cumbersome boss, which ups the ante and gives a fun change in the general slicing and dicing of trash crowds.
Journey end gives you the skill to level up your character(s) and weaponry. You have one main weapon equipped and an additional 9 others that add up to your total combat power. Weapons also have elemental properties, which influence how much harm you do to enemies. There’s a draw method that seems exactly as it does in the mobile game and takes excellent draw tickets obtained from quests, but only allows you to obtain additional weapons rather than figures and summons.
Also in RPG mode is a store run by the charming Seiro. Here you can purchase defences as well as living skills, which will give you an increased boost in action and are only accessible in this mode, and other bits and bobs.
Note that anything you do in RPG mode doesn’t flow into other modes. It’s reasonably short, taking you anywhere from 5-8 hours depending on how much writing you mash through, and how stubborn you are to get three stars in each challenge. Additionally, there are side quests that can be performed, which will fill out your time and remunerate you with bonus tickets and the like for your problems.
Finally, there’s an Experts mode that opens once you complete the normal RPG mode for the first time, supplementing some replayability.
This is the only game style that will unbar rewards for the Granblue Fantasy: Versus — Digital Deluxe Edition 5000 Crystals for switching it on normal difficulty and a Vyrn outfit for completing it on hard difficulty.
In arcade mode, you face off against a gauntlet of seven antagonists. You’re able to keep your enemy from the complete roster and the stress level at the start of the first match, but every following match is a preset pair of character and complexity. For example, you can begin at beginner difficulty facing Gran, but the next event could be versus a hard difficulty Lowain, a normal difficulty Katalina, or an extreme difficulty Zetta. That’s just an example, of course, as if you start at beginner difficulty, the next difficulty up won’t jump that quickly unless you continue to increase it as you go.
The available difficulty settings are as such: Beginner, Normal, Hard, Very Hard, Extreme, Nightmare You’re rewarded with Renown Pendants, a currency that can be redeemed for new BGM tracks and avatars to customize your online profile.
In versus mode, you can play freely against an AI-controlled opponent or a local player and choose your fighters as well as your stage and accompanying BGM. There are 8 scenes in total to choose from and you can set a hindrance for yourself and your enemy.
Need more training? There are two training modes–free and mission–which give you the chance to hone your skills. The former is, as it says, a free for all where you can just whale on a training dummy or spar with the AI, tailored to your preferences. The latter teaches you anything from the basics of character controls to the lighting fast combos you’ll need to lay a beat down on stronger opponents.
In online mode, you can take everything you’ve learned above and test your mettle against a live opponent.
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