Granblue Fantasy Versus Review – RPG Fighter MV

Granblue Fantasy Versus is a highly accessible fighting game that uses its visually distinct characters and fairly limited movesets to its advantage. Though the story is repetitive and the online can be a bit spotty, the simplified combat and excellent visuals make Versus an excellent starting point for fighting genre newcomers.

Granblue Fantasy Versus
Developer: Arc System Works
Price: $60
Platform: PS4 (reviewed)

MonsterVine was supplied with a PS4 code for review.

It surprised me to hear, upon this game’s announcement, that Granblue Fantasy Versus is based on a mobile game. That’s probably because we hadn’t gotten the game in the West at the time, despite it being a major title on the other side of the globe. I can understand why, as the characters are all appealing and the world is colorful and seemingly full of adventure. It all translates to a fighting game quite well, outside of RPG Mode.

The story of Granblue Fantasy Versus seems to assume you know about the world, or at least the basics about its characters. An ominous group of shadowy fiends is turning young Gran’s friends into foes. Hounded by a thought-to-be defunct Empire that wants to experiment on his friend, Gran must free his allies from their hypnosis in order to defeat the mysterious evil that threatens the entire world. It quickly falls into a routine of going to an island, fighting various thugs, battling against a soon-to-be friend, and finally brawling with a huge monster. The first few times are fun, but it becomes very repetitive, especially without any particularly interesting story hooks to grab you until after the main story’s ending.

The gameplay of Granblue Fantasy Versus makes up for its plot, as it’s smooth and easy to learn. Special moves can be performed with variations of R1 and a directional button in addition to the usual button inputs. Auto-combos are also available for each main attack button, and the majority of characters only have one ultimate attack. While it could be argued that this simplicity makes Versus a bit too simple, I found it to still have enough depth to be quite enjoyable. I wouldn’t want every fighting game to adopt these same mechanics, but I think they help make Versus a good entry-point for people who aren’t typically good at traditional fighting games.

“Visually, as is the case with all of Arc System Works’ fighters, Granblue Fantasy Versus looks incredible.“

The one problem with the gameplay comes in the story mode, which seems to be split on whether it’s a beat-em-up or a fighting game. In story battles, you can turn around to fight enemies on either side of you, with blocking relegated to a trigger button instead. This is strange, as 1v1 fights (which make up most of the game) require you to hold the opposite direction that your character is facing in order to block. If you were to start with the story to learn the basics of combat, you might be confused. Since one of Granblue Fantasy Versus’s selling points is its accessibility, this decision could be fairly misleading. The strong tutorials outside of the story are great counters to this, but it still serves as needless confusion.

Multiplayer works moderately well, though I had some lag issues here and there while facing off against other players online. If RPG Mode and multiplayer aren’t your thing, there are also various combo challenges for each character. It’s fairly standard stuff, but it’s fun enough and it serves as a good place to practice.

Visually, as is the case with all of Arc System Works’ fighters, Granblue Fantasy Versus looks incredible. The stages and characters are lively and full of bright colors, while the animation is smooth and reminiscent of a modern anime series.

The Final Word
Granblue Fantasy Versus has a few issues, but it’s an excellent game for fighting game newcomers and people who want a simpler fighter for a change. The story is thin and repetitive, but the varied characters and strong visuals mostly make up for these issues.

MonsterVine Review Score: 4 out of 5 – Good