The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny is an especially interesting fighter that uses a plethora of unique characters, charmingly simple visuals, and tight gameplay to make a fun flashback of a fighting game.
The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny
Developer: SNK
Price: $8
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
MonsterVine was provided with a Switch code for review
Like I said when reviewing SNK Gals’ Fighters a few months back, I’m always down to play some NEO GEO classics, especially titles for the Pocket Color. There’s just this charming and inventive style to the platform that’s hard to find anywhere else. One game that encapsulates this vibe is The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny; a straightforward but exciting title that serves as yet another great little fighter on the Switch.
Beyond the Destiny has players choose one of several characters in the Bakumatsu era. There’s something amiss involving the guardians of the afterlife and Hell’s Gate, which separates the living and the dead. After fighting a gauntlet of foes, you face off against Shinnosuke Kagami as the sky opens up between worlds. The few short cutscenes you get are animated quite nicely, and the story is a pleasantly simple reason to cross swords with an eclectic cast of characters.
Combat is similar to other SNK fighters (the usual motion inputs all apply) with the length of button presses changing moves for certain characters. It’s very satisfying to pull off Secret Slash attacks, which are accompanied by some sharp art as your character strikes. For an old handheld console, it’s quite a fun experience to play Beyond the Destiny. Combat feels smooth and fast, while special attacks and heavy hits are suitably weighty. There are no gimmicks to learn, making it fairly easy to get into the game. Plus, the characters are all distinct in their playstyles, making each playthrough of the Story mode feel fresh.
“I’m impressed with how much fun content is unlockable in Beyond the Destiny, as it made me want to keep playing throughout my time with the game.“
Like with Gal Fighters, there’s a ton of stuff to unlock, which will keep you playing for quite a while. There are characters, endings, fun minigames, and more to keep you going through the story mode with each character. I’m impressed with how much fun content is unlockable in Beyond the Destiny, as it made me want to keep playing throughout my time with the game. If that’s not enough for you, there’s a creative VS mode that vertically splits the Switch screen in two to allow you to play against a friend.
There are a lot of fun ways to customize and alter your experience with Beyond the Destiny, from multi-colored and patterned NEO GEO Pocket frames to an old-school screen filter that I rather appreciate. You can rewind a set number of frames if you find a match to be difficult, which is a nice touch for the sake of accessibility. The later sections of Story mode can be tough, especially for newcomers to fighters, so it’s a handy feature overall.
The visuals and sound in Beyond the Destiny are great, especially given the console limitations. As previously mentioned, the few cutscenes are presented quite nicely, as are the sprites and stages. For such a small console, there’s a lot happening on-screen without ever feeling too busy. The lively stages are boosted up a notch by the jamming music, which perfectly suits the tone of the game.
The Final Word
The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny is a simplistic but thoroughly enjoyable fighter that makes the most of its unlockables, visuals, and soundtrack. This is the kind of game that is perfect for the Switch, and I highly recommend experiencing it for yourself if you’re a fighting game enthusiast.
MonsterVine Review Score: 4 out of 5 – Good
