Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising Review in Progress

Granblue Fantasy Versus was one of the titles from Arc System Works that surprised us the most when it came out three years ago. After games like Guilty Gear Xrd and Dragon Ball FighterZ, it was a nice topping that included accessible mechanics and a great gathering of stars from the gacha RPG series by Cygames. Now, we have the advent of a new version of GBF in the form of Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising, an entry that aims to introduce new mechanics and a new coat of paint to an already solid fighting game.

But that’s not all, though. Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising aims to improve many things brought by the original. Additionally, it seeks to try to go for an all-new Free-to-play model where most of the options are available to all players with a rotating cast of characters available for the players who want to try and duke it out against their opponents in fierce battles through the newly brought Rollback netcode. Is this version of the game better than the original? Absolutely. Let’s start digging out the reasons as to why that is.

One of the first things people might notice is the touch-ups to the game’s mechanics. Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising features two new mechanics that see players sacrifice some of their meter to perform devastating moves to either get in or break through their opponent’s defenses. The game’s ease of access allows players of any kind to easily get their kicks and have their share of the fun, too.

Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising has become the breeding ground of Touch-of-Death combos now, where a single mistake can cost players the entirety of a round if the player performing the combo plays their cards right. These combos are a beauty to see in action, and the visual fidelity brought by the renewed graphics in the game makes even the most hardcore action game enthusiast blink.

From the start, I believed that the new mechanics would make the meta change drastically, and the community didn’t disappoint thus far. Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising offers plenty of options for all kinds of players. With 28 fighters available from the start and a rotating cast of 3 fighters in the Free-to-play branch, every player will always have a new way to experiment with their favorite fighter.

Now, while I am happy with the new changes to the battle mechanics in Granblue Fantasy Versus, I also have to say that a little bit more could’ve been done regarding how it introduced its new mechanics. Not even the revamped Story Mode does the new mechanics justice, as it focuses on each character’s individual abilities rather than on the universal mechanics. While Training mode is great for priming players, I feel like not many players will find themselves going towards it since it doesn’t seem attractive to your casual player who wants to be taught while engaged in a story fight or while playing in Arcade Mode.

Going back to what I was talking about regarding the new mechanics, just because you have the new ability to perform ToD’s doesn’t mean that you’ll be completely out of options if you get hit. Most of the ToDs are reliant on the executor having access to their Skybound Arts, which require a full meter to use. In reality, most of the mid-game will have the quick selection of combos that the original game had.

Something that still annoyed me is that they retained the auto-combo mechanic for all of the hit attacks. Each of the Light, Medium, and Heavy attacks can also lead to auto-combos if the button is pressed multiple times. While this is meant to help newer players, it, more often than not, can be a hindrance for other players, especially for those who have a habit of multi-pressing inputs.

Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising’s main additions include the fabled rollback netcode and cross-play features. The review copy of the game issued to us didn’t have access to the online capabilities of the game, and, as such, it’s the primary reason why this is still a review in progress rather than a full-fledged review with a score attached.

Still, the introduction of rollback and cross-play should raise a few eyebrows for the fighting game community at large, especially since Granblue Fantasy Versus was one of those fighting game darlings that a lot of people agreed needed the function. It’s a shame that the original version of Granblue Fantasy Versus doesn’t have access to this game-changing feature, as it means that players who have the previous version of the game have to shell out a bunch of buckaroos just to gain access to the 28-character roster once again or wait until their favorite characters are part of the free game’s rotation.

Once I test out the online functions of Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising and its online modes, I’ll be able to talk a bit more about how well it stacks up when it comes to stability and its new online feature called Grand Bruise Legends! which sees players compete in a Fall Guys-styled series of minigames.

Overall, Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising is a perfect expansion to what already was an excellent Arc System Works game. It’s a game that provides a lot of new content for newcomers while also using a new model that allows new players to get in without being afraid of having to pay a premium for a character roster.

There’s plenty of content for those seeking to shell out the cash, however, and that’s the best part. Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising offers plenty of content for both its single-player and multiplayer components to justify its price tag and its new mechanics and highly refined visuals are just a beautiful sight to behold.

Reviewed on PC (code provided by the publisher).