Arc System Works Game Reviews
Mini Review Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact (PS5) - Shonen Showdown Falls Short
Right idea, wrong budget
Hallelujah, praise the anime gods! Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact is a manga adaptation that’s not your average arena brawler, but instead an actual fighting game. Not only that but publisher Bushiroad has recruited Marvel vs Capcom 3 dev Eighting to transform the oft-on-hiatus shonen story into a three-on-three brawler...
Mini Review Dragon Ball FighterZ (PS5) - Anime Fighter Is Still Godlike, Despite Dodgy Online
Your wish is granted
When Dragon Ball FighterZ first released in 2018 for PS4, it was hailed as one of the greatest anime fighting games ever made — and rightfully so. Crafted by the genre experts at Arc System Works, FighterZ was and still is a masterclass in how to adapt an existing franchise. The team-based brawler is both highly accessible on...
Mini Review Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (PS5) - Re-Released, Rollback Fighter Is Top Tier
Rise again
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is essentially an enhanced re-release of the ill-fated Granblue Fantasy Versus — a really good fighting game that had its competitive scene smothered by the coronavirus pandemic, while shoddy netcode meant its online community was all but dead on arrival. Rising, then, feels like a deserved second chance...
Review Dragon Ball FighterZ (PS4) - One of the Best Anime Fighters Ever
Super Saiyan Godly
Republished on Wednesday, 11th January, 2023: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of January 2023's PS Plus line up. The original text follows. Ever since Dragon Ball FighterZ was revealed, it feels like the hype train has never stopped rolling – and for good reason. A Dragon Ball...
Review Granblue Fantasy Versus - Superbly Crafted Fighter Is a Joy to Play and Behold
Sky's the limit
Republished on Wednesday 31st August 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of September's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. A fighting game adaptation of the immensely popular mobile title, Granblue Fantasy Versus stands as yet another shining example of developer Arc...
Review DNF Duel (PS5) - Explosive Fighter Is Impressively Easy to Pick Up and Play
It's time to DNF Duel
Taking popular free-to-play titles and transforming them into fighting games is becoming a bit of a trend, isn't it? Following in the footsteps of Granblue Fantasy Versus, DNF Duel is based on South Korean action RPG Dungeon Fighter Online. Its character roster is made up of playable classes from the source material —...
Ride the fire
Guilty Gear has always been massively underappreciated as a fighting game series. The franchise, which first threw punches on the original PlayStation all the way back in 1998, has steadily accumulated an incredibly loyal fanbase over the last couple of decades, but it's never been able to crack a more mainstream crowd. And that's a...
Review The Missing - Stunning Storytelling Leaves a Lasting Impression
Beauty that comes in every shape and size
Famed videogame director Swery65 has always been best known for his projects that err on the weird side. Deadly Premonition became a cult classic last generation thanks to its utterly bonkers tale of Greenvale and its inhabitants, while D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die is another wacky soap opera that will...
Review BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle (PS4)
Double down
On a surface level it's easy to look at BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle and dub it Arc System Works Asset Reuse: The Game. In some ways that snarky title is disappointingly accurate, but it ignores the effort that's gone into making this stylish 2D fighter a lot of fun to play. Tag Battle features characters from four different...
Review Slice, Dice & Rice (PS4)
Cut short
Slice, Dice & Rice is a fighting game without any of the fluff. In most cases one hit equals one kill, and so the mind games that we typically associate with the genre are pushed right to the forefront of the experience. Do you swing and hope that your opponent walks straight into it? Do you jump and catch them off guard? Or do you...
Review Guilty Gear Xrd: Rev 2 (PS4)
Can't stop the rock
Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- is a masterful fighting game, and if you've been hankering for more of Arc System Works' gorgeous brawler, then you probably won't want to miss Guilty Gear Xrd: Rev 2. An expansion to REVELATOR - which can either be purchased as downloadable content or as its own standalone release - Rev 2 adds a...
So-Sōsetsuken
Let's start by addressing the title. Double Dragon 4, funnily enough, takes place shortly after the events of Double Dragon 2, which is somewhat confusing. Then you have the fact that this is, in fact, the twelfth iteration of the series, including ports and crossovers, and many will argue that Super Double Dragon is technically the...
Review Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters: Daybreak Special Gigs (PS4)
Hits some good notes
Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters: Daybreak Special Gigs is billed as an enhanced version of the original Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters, which was released to Western audiences only last year on the PlayStation 3 and Vita. The story, played out as a visual novel, is developed through chapters, and is a fairly formulaic affair. New...
Review Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- (PS4)
Cometh the hour
Those that played Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- (Sign from here on in) uncovered a fighter with depth, fun, and personality; one that introduced real rewards for aggressive play while also boasting defensive options beyond the genre norm. This bodes well, then, for the Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- (Revelator, from here on in) - a newly...
Review BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend (PS4)
Extended for your pleasure
With BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend, Arc System Works' much admired 2D fighting series has arrived on the PlayStation 4, bringing its 28 characters to duke it out on Sony's newest console. Is this a good thing? In short, yes, it is. BlazBlue games are crafted with care and attention, and this pays rich dividends for...
Review XBLAZE Code: Embryo (PS Vita)
Embryonic
A visual novel prequel to the BlazBlue fighting games, XBlaze Code: Embryo has been available on the PlayStation Vita in Japan since July 2013, and North America since June 2014. Having finally reached European players, has it been worth the wait? The premise of the game is relatively simple. The main character, Touya, is faced with a...
Review Damascus Gear: Operation Tokyo (PlayStation Vita)
Grinding gears
There's a really neat premise at the heart of Damascus Gear: Operation Tokyo – a downloadable title that's destined to be completely overlooked by most. In a post-apocalyptic future where mankind's on its last legs and Japan is little more than a smouldering ruin, machines known as Rage stalk the desolate landscape, scouring...
Review Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters (PlayStation 3)
Scooby Doo, my waifu
One of the really great things about visual novels as a format is the utter lack of effort that you have to exert in order to make the most of them. While games packed full of stressful situations and an immersive, highly tactile experience are brilliant, sometimes that's just a little too much. You want to relax,...
Review Fantasy Hero: Unsigned Legacy (PlayStation Vita)
Nothing but a fantasy
If there's one thing that the PlayStation Vita seems to be in abundance of, it's JRPGs. Not all of these are great, of course, but some of the more popular ones will keep you occupied for hundreds of hours or more – particularly the sensational Persona 4 Golden. Sadly, time is a rude mistress that waits for no one, so if...
Review Arcana Heart 3: LOVE MAX!!!!! (PlayStation Vita)
Girl power
When a game title has five exclamation points, there should be no doubt that it will attempt to blow your mind with a furious amount of explosions and wow moments. Arcana Heart 3: LOVE MAX!!!!! is certainly in your face, focusing on large full screen specials that will blind you with brash colours, while still maintaining classic 2D...
Review Magical Beat (PlayStation Vita)
Rhythm stick
The goal of Magical Beat is simple to learn, but incredibly difficult to master. It’s a bit of a mix between Lumines and Tetris, where you have to drop blocks known as beatons to the beat of the music. There’s a Beat Sync Gauge which provides a metronome and information on the current tempo of the track, but it’s much easier to...
Review BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma (PlayStation 3)
Burn bright, burn blue
BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma is the latest game by Japanese developer Arc System Works. It’s the third title in the 2D fighting series BlazBlue, and takes place after the events of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift. The release was originally conceived as an arcade game, which deployed in late 2012. It then received a PlayStation 3...
Review Persona 4 Arena (PlayStation 3)
Velvet boom
Atlus has had to bear the brunt of much criticism from gamers due to its decision to region lock Persona 4 Arena, giving eager European fans no option but to wait a frankly preposterous length of time for the game to release. There’s no denying, however, the quality and brilliance of Arc System Works' take on the fantastic Japanese RPG...
Review BlazBlue: Continuum Shift EXTEND (PlayStation Vita)
The deep end of the pool
After the original BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger wowed fighting game fans with its amazing depth and character variety, developer Arc System Works took things a step or two further with its follow-up, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift. Not only did the follow-up continue the in-depth fighting experience of the first release, it also...
Review BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (PlayStation 3)
Developed by Guilty Gear's Arc System Works, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is a fresh break for the company after countless re-releases of the fighting franchise they're best known for
It's a 2D beat 'em up, released on the backfoot of the genre's re-emergence, and it feels fresh. With a 12-character strong roster, each with their own unique fighting...
