Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle is a fun and content-packed game that is easy to learn but tough to master. There are some performance issues and some needless fetch quests, but the card battles are a blast to play and the characters are fun to follow. Whether you’re new to Shadowverse or already into it, Champion’s Battle is just plain fun.
Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle
Developer: Cygames
Price: $50
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
MonsterVine was provided with a Switch code for review
When I previewed Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle last month, I talked about how much content was in only the first few chapters. As I played it further for the sake of this review, I found that there’s not only even more content as the game goes on, but a fun story to be had as well. Keep in mind, I knew nothing of Shadowverse before, so the fact that this title managed to reel me in is pretty impressive.
In Champion’s Battle, you play as your own avatar in the world of Shadowverse. You’ve just moved to a new town, where you’ve made friends and learned how to play the Shadowverse card game. In order to save the school’s Shadowverse club, you have to win nationals, which means raising your rank and winning various tournaments to become the best Shadowverse player around. Along the way, you meet all sorts of wild characters, from pro players to underground Shadowverse thugs, whom you often befriend on the way to the top. It’s honestly like a sports anime but with cards, and it works really well in that regard. The characters are tropey, but in an earnest way that adds a lot of charm to your ragtag group of friends.
The card game itself is where Champion’s Battle really shines, as it’s very simple on the surface, but rich and full of ideas as you delve into it. Basically, you want to reduce your opponent’s defense points to zero by attacking them with your cards. There are seven different deck classes, each of which uses different mechanics to secure victory. Playing around with different decks is really enjoyable, and you’re encouraged to do so since each deck has its own level-up rewards. Some decks are more aggressive, while others involve slower victories or more complex strategies. I would frequently switch between decks, and I never got bored of playing Shadowverse thanks to the wide variety of different playstyles.
“I shouldn’t have so much fun opening packs, but I can’t help it. Cygames just makes it too exciting.“
There’s no shortage of opportunities to test your skills and try out new decks, as there are seemingly countless opponents and unique ways to play Shadowverse. You can develop relationships with different characters through doing sidequests with them, which provides you with new dialogue to further develop the supporting cast. If that wasn’t enough, you can do puzzle battles that task you with solving problems using specific decks and hands, as well as win-streak challenges that reward continuous victory with loads of cash to buy new cards with. Buying new cards is a thrill, as you look at one card at a time upon opening each pack. I shouldn’t have so much fun opening packs, but I can’t help it. Cygames just makes it too exciting.
There are some issues with Champion’s Battle though. The two main problems are the performance issues outside of card battles and the frequent fetch quests. The performance issues mainly consist of pop-ins in dialogue scenes and while roaming outside of battle, as well as the occasional slowdown. As for the fetch quests, there are simply a few too many barebones side-quests that had me going from one spot to another over and over again. It’s monotonous and takes away from an otherwise interesting game, so I wish a bit more thought was put into these quests.
“The card art is fantastic, and it’s fun to see different interpretations of mythical figures in this anime style.“
Visually, Champion’s Battle is alright. The anime-style works for the models, though their movements are a bit janky. The cutscenes, both the 3D animated and 2D animated ones, are well-done and spice-up the mainly text-delivered game a good deal. The card art is fantastic, and it’s fun to see different interpretations of mythical figures in this anime style.
The music and voicework in Champion’s Battle are quite well-done. The English voice acting is quite spirited and enthusiastic, which sells the exciting atmosphere of Shadowverse rather well. The music is just as lively, with some truly bumping tracks that get you in the mood to throw-down at a children’s card game.
The Final Word
Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle is a jam-packed digital card game that combines the charm of a shonen sports anime with the addictive and deceptively deep strategy of the Shadowverse card game. It has a couple of technical hiccups and some boring quests, but the charming characters and breadth of content make it worth checking out for anyone looking for a new card game to dig their teeth into.
MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
