The Granblue Fantasy franchise began its roots as a popular mobile RPG in Japan. In 2020, a fighting game variant entitled Granblue Fantasy: Versus was released, though the pandemic and bad net code ruined the game’s chances in the limelight.
Fast forward to now, and an updated version of the game, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, has launched. And it is everything the original title should have been.
Sequel or Upgrade?
While Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is marketed as a sequel, it is more of an upgrade to Granblue Fantasy: Versus. The game has a total of 28 characters, including all the DLC fighters from the previous title and four new characters. There will also be DLC combatants for Rising, so the roster will expand even more in the future. Each fighter has a star rating to indicate ease of use on the select screen, which helps players choose someone to start with before diving into a fighter who has more complicated moves.
The Story Mode is largely the same as Versus but does have a new chapter to unlock as you progress. The plot is decent for the most part, though it starts with all the main protagonists having established relationships. If you are not familiar with these characters from the RPG, you will be confused about what is going on. Regardless, the story develops briskly, and the missions contained within do a good job of teaching you the basics of combat. There are also abilities you can unlock that give you buffs during matches, which are fun to use. Most of the challenges are pretty easy, though there are boss battles you can attempt at a harder difficulty that will test your capabilities.
There is an Arcade Mode component, as well. It is pretty basic, with seven stages to clear and no fancy introduction or epilogue (you do unlock artwork for beating it). You can gain levels to unlock weapon skins and character colors, but it takes ages to do so. The neat thing is you can choose your first opponent from any of the game’s cast, with subsequent fights offering adversaries based on difficulty. I recommend going for Hard or above, as other difficulties I found too easy.
Show Me Your Moves
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising has an impressive Training Mode. Not only can you set up the training dummy with various presets, but you can also look up individual character guides. These give you access to each fighter’s command list, gauge skills, and explanations of their abilities. There are also basic combos for every combatant, though they do not automatically move on to the next when you complete one, forcing you to go back to the menu to choose. It is a little disappointing that there aren’t a lot of combos to practice, either. In the age of Guilty Gear Strive, where users can make their combos for the masses to try, and Street Fighter 6, which has so many to utilize, it feels like a step back. Thankfully, the in-depth Situational Training makes up for it a bit. This gives players basics, battle mechanics, multiple character strategies, and match-up training.
When it comes to the combat in Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, beginners and professionals will find much to like. There are Technical inputs and Simple inputs for every move. Technical usually involves things like quarter circle movement or charge attacks, while Simple uses L1, R1, and simple directions like back, down, and forward. It’s a great system because you can switch between them at any time during matches, unlike Street Fighter 6, where you have to choose one or the other before a fight.
Getting technical for a bit, every fighter has a variety of Skills to use, with a Base, Strong, and Plus version. There is also an Ultimate Skill, but it costs 50% of your special meter to use. Skybound Arts are flashy finishers that deplete 100% of your meter, and they have a Super version that can only be used when your health is below 30%. Finally, there are three Bravery Points each fighter has access to per round. You can use these to perform counters while blocking or use them to break an opponent’s guard (Raging Strike) and follow up with an attack that can lead to devastating combos. Using these Bravery Points lowers your defense, however, so it is a risk/reward-based system.
Why Can’t We Be Friends?
Switching to the online portion of Rising, there is a neat Fall Guys/battle royale clone you can play called Grand Bruise! It’s a nice distraction from matches. Gamers can choose from chibi avatars of the game’s cast and participate in a variety of minigames. I played through an obstacle course in one stage and fended off waves of enemies with other players in another. There was a game where you take/steal gold from other players and bring it back to your base, too. If you lose any activity, you can spectate. You will gain points toward goodies, regardless.
As far as online battles go, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising was a mix of good and bad. Lobbies were often full when I logged in, and it was hard to get a match going through that route. Using the Ranked Match option was way better. And it really must be said: rollback net code is a dream. In the simplest terms, it is a function that makes your online matches way smoother. My matches online went off without a hitch, with no lag or input delay. It felt like I was playing with someone right next to me on the couch.
The Final Verdict
If I am being honest, only two things irked me about Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising. The first is that, while the characters on offer are a nice mix of men and women, there is a lack of diversity in skin color. Sure, you can change a player’s skin color before you start a round, but no one is canonically ethnic. The second issue I have is that this is a $50 game with a $75 Deluxe Edition. With all the improvements it has over the original Versus, it would have been nice to have an upgrade path for people who bought the first game. At least there is a free version players can try out with a rotating set of fighters from which to choose.
Other than those problems, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is a great fighter for newbies and pros alike, especially with the option of Simple inputs. New mechanics like Ultimate Skills and Raging Strikes, mixed with the game’s beautiful visuals and anticipated features like rollback net code and crossplay, means you are likely to have a great time regardless of whether you are playing on Steam or PlayStation 4/5. I heartily recommend it!
