If you’ve played an anime-based arena fighter in the last few years, One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows will be quite familiar to you. It’s not very deep and it gets quite repetitive, but climbing the Hero ranks as your own character and fighting iconic heroes and villains is still quite fun for die-hard One-Punch Man fans.
One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows
Developer: Spike Chunsoft and Bandai Namco
Price: $60
Platform: PS4 (reviewed), Xbox One, and PC
MonsterVine was supplied with a PS4 code for review.
I’m starting to think that “anime arena-fighter” is its own genre at this point. From Jump Force and Saint Seiya to One Piece and Seven Deadly Sins, it seems like all the hot franchises are getting games like this. One-Punch Man is no exception, for better or for worse. While I had fun with A Hero Nobody Knows, I can’t deny that it’s very shallow and repetitive, and likely appealing only to big One-Punch Man fans. The fanservice is pretty damn good though.
A Hero Nobody Knows follows the story of One-Punch Man’s first season, starting with Vaccine Man and ending with Boros. The big difference is that you are wedged into the plot as a third-wheel to Saitama and Genos. I actually think that’s the funniest and most One-Punch way to approach an avatar-based plot, as Saitama would absolutely not care if you follow him around, while Genos would think of you as a nuisance to his training. Still, if you know the plot to the first season, don’t expect any surprises. Quite a few scenes are very faithfully recreated, from Saitama forgetting about the limited-time sale and Mumen Rider being an absolute legend against Deep Sea King. Even the legendary Saitama “ok” is emulated to perfection, with Saitama looking 2D only for that one moment in the story. Still, the side-quests are all very basic “fight a monster” stories, so I wouldn’t come to A Hero Nobody Knows expecting a new story or perspective.
The gameplay of A Hero Nobody Knows is pretty basic. You and up to two allies fight against up to three enemies 1v1 in a 3D space until one side wins. You have light and heavy attacks, special moves that are learned from famous heroes, and a mode-change that alters your appearance and power. There are multiple fighting styles to level-up and master, from telekinesis-based combos to Kid Emperor’s robot backpack style. This variation can be fun, but a few types end up feeling far more powerful than the others. Using a new style can also be a pain, as you’ll have to level it up if you haven’t already. Without any leveling, a style will only have one special move slot, no transformation available, and sometimes more limited combo options. I do wish progress transferred between similar styles, like Machine Types A, B, and C, but jumping between styles at least gives you something to mix-up the gameplay whenever you choose to. No matter your style, combat almost always boils down to the same combos and grabs, which can get old before the story is done.
“Yes, attacks don’t make you flinch and you end the battle with a single light attack, but the comedy of just ending a battle immediately while Saitama looks completely uninvested never wears thin.“
You learn special moves from heroes like Bang and Fubuki by doing missions for them and befriending them. These can be fun, as they often have you dressing up to fit in with the Blizzard Bunch, or having to bring a weapon to hang with Metal Bat. Seeing the side-characters of One-Punch Man react to your own hero’s growth is fanservice incarnate, especially since you can become super tight with Mumen Rider, who is objectively the best character in the franchise. Still, these missions become incredibly repetitive, as they just boil down to “fight a horse-headed monster” or “fight two fish monsters.” The same goes for the Association and Branch side-missions, which are identical but without the fun background involvement of named characters.
Then there’s Saitama, whose style somehow never gets old. Every time I had the option to play as Saitama for a mission, I got excited. Yes, attacks don’t make you flinch and you end the battle with a single light attack, but the comedy of just ending a battle immediately while Saitama looks completely uninvested never wears thin. You’d think beating the last boss in two seconds would be unfulfilling, but it’s one of the highlights of the game, just as it is in the anime.
The customization in A Hero Nobody Knows is quite impressive, though you’ll still see hundreds of people online just dressing as Saitama for some reason. You can make your hero look as cool or as goofy as you want using pieces of other characters’ costumes or some of the more casual clothing the game gives you. My self-styled hero, Lazy-Guy, wore tokusatsu-inspired pants, boots, and gloves, with a sweat jacket and headphones covering the rest of him. Ready to fight evil if need be, but not really wanting to. Until he transforms, that is. Then he’s in full armor with a serious anime face, a ninja mask, and a lightsaber. You can do so much silly stuff with your avatar which feels in-line with the One-Punch Man universe that I think any fan will get a kick out of it.
Visually, A Hero Nobody Knows is half-baked. Some characters, like Saitama and a good chunk of the side-heroes, look great and identical to their anime counterparts. Nameless NPCs, monsters, and quest-givers can look pretty wonky, as they don’t fit in with ONE/Yusuke Murata’s style. That, and they just look generic, as though they were pulled from another anime game’s HUB. A lot of the animations are similarly off, with the best ones seemingly reserved for Saitama. A lot of his goofy expressions are meticulously remade in the game, which is at least appreciated.
The Final Word
One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows is your standard anime arena-fighter. Combat and missions are repetitive, and the visuals are incredibly mixed. Interacting with the world of One-Punch Man and creating your own character is quite fun, as is combat at first, so the game is likely still worthwhile for huge fans of One-Punch Man. Otherwise, you may want to skip this one.
MonsterVine Rating: 3 out of 5 – Average
