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A few years ago, I had the opportunity, like many others, to play Granblue Fantasy Versus, and I must admit that I put it aside after a few sessions. There were a lot of unnecessary systems for a fighting game that took away my desire to continue with the story, and the online left something to be desired. Even when I played the versus mode, I didn’t feel confident to try new characters, and sadly, I abandoned the game. Now, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is here, and it removed everything that overwhelmed me initially. It made this installment an excellent entry point for new players and one of the best fighting games I’ve tried in years.
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising – Fixing What Was Broken
I’ve always been a person who buys an anime-style game as soon as I see it. You can imagine my excitement when I saw that Granblue Fantasy Versus had come out a few years ago. I didn’t consider it a bad game, but it didn’t grab me. Hoping for an installment where I could beat enemies quickly, the title constantly put me on hold. There were systems for leveling up, a lot of grinding, and other things that made it feel like a chore. But now, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising has fixed this and given us a fighting title with a good story, excellent characters, and some of the best combat systems I’ve ever experienced.
Story: As Vast as the Sky Realm
First of all, let’s talk about the plot. Usually, for many fighting game lovers, this is what matters least to us. It’s nice to get to know the characters beyond the two sentences they say during a fight, but it’s not something that keeps us up at night. Well, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising delivers a surprisingly good story and to the degree of an RPG that hooked me for hours.
While the game is a sequel, only chapter three of the story is the new addition. The first two chapters are the original plot of Granblue Fantasy Versus. Fortunately, those who played the first game can skip them and go straight to the new content. In my case, I decided to play the whole thing because, as I mentioned, the prequel overwhelmed me with too many systems in its RPG or Story Mode, and I abandoned it.
You take the role of Gran. A Skyfarer who travels through the Sky Realm, a world full of floating islands where each has its own ecosystem. Here, it is implied that our cast has had many adventures, and if you’ve played the original Granblue Fantasy, it will make more sense. On a random trip, Gran decides to visit an old friend only to realize that she has turned hostile and is attacking them. This gets worse when they see this happening to all the crew members, and it is up to him to free them and find out who is behind the chaos.
Frankly, the best thing about this Story Mode is that every time you free one of your friends who is being controlled, a tutorial mission unlocks for you to learn how to use the character. Of course, this is accompanied by a short story for them, which makes it more immersive. This was something very organic and refreshing to see, which in turn made me find my main character to use in the online mode. While other games in the genre attempt the same thing, here, it felt like an intradiegetic tutorial without slowing down the story.
As for the new plot, I don’t want to make spoilers, but I’m conflicted because as much as I loved it, it also left me wanting. The original Rising story introduces new characters, but not in a good way. Versus has many beat ’em-up moments and boss battles with interesting mechanics that each introduce a new cast member. The new chapter is full of text and few fights. Now, I have nothing against too much dialogue. I love JRPGs, but this is a fighting game, and I wonder if the new chapter justifies a price increase for something that doesn’t give much to fans of the franchise.
Overall, it’s a great plot that could be a JRPG on its own and would work great. Sure, if this was the only Versus game and not a sequel. It works for me, who abandoned the original game and waited to experience the full story in the sequel. But I can imagine that previous fans will not be happy with almost 20 new episodes where there are less than ten fights, and it’s sold as a sequel.
Gameplay: Perfect for Newcomers and Veterans
While I might not be the best fighter, I enjoy spending time on these genre. Yes, I have played many of the recent ones, but eventually, I put them aside because the more you advance, the more complicated it gets to remember combos, inputs, etc., and it can get frustrating. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising offers an excellent entry point for new players and gives tools for veteran ones. It caters perfectly to casual and hardcore gamers.
Initially, the game is very familiar to others in the genre. You have your heavy, light, and medium attacks. The difference here is that instead of having an extensive list of combos, there are very few to memorize, and it all comes down to the special abilities. By pressing R1/RB and some directional buttons, you can perform said moves with cooldowns. And like many other fighting titles, you also have a bar that fills up and allows you to make an ultimate move. While simple, this is where the balance comes in between a friendly system for new players but with a certain degree of difficulty to master.
To give you an example, finishing the Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising story can be as simple as pressing two buttons. Even the hard mode is relatively easy. But when you move on to PvP, this is where each player’s skill comes in. Rather than easy-to-remember combos, it’s all about timing.
Here, you must wait for an opening to get in some punches and overwhelm opponents with moves until you get them into the corner. This has been one of the few games where I didn’t feel frustrated when fighting the same character repeatedly because everyone uses it differently. Something that doesn’t happen in Street Fighter 6, where Ken has a single combo that works and ruins anyone’s day. Rising is a pick-up-and-play title that allows anyone to become an expert without Arcade Sticks or other gimmicks.
Also, there are more things to do outside the PvP mode and the story. There is the Arcade mode, which, although short, is an excellent feature to test a character in some battles. And for those who want more relaxed fun, there is a game mode almost identical to Fall Guys that is a great way to unwind after losing eight times in a row. Still, there’s not much for someone who wants to have fun alone. Something like Seasons from Mortal Kombat 1 would have made this game perfect, but sadly, single-player fans will be left wanting more.
Lastly, I only had a few bugs in the Story Mode. I played the game in Japanese because I felt the voice acting was better. I’m not saying the English voiceover is bad, but the lip sync threw me off. And to my surprise, some subtitles didn’t appear, leaving me confused about what some characters were saying. Since the story is a big part of the game, more care in that area would’ve been great.
Graphics & Audio: Flawless in Every Way
For me, the most significant victory of Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is its visual style and music. I want to focus on the graphics first. This is a 2.5D anime-style game, similar to Dragon Ball: FighterZ or Guilty Gear. However, for me, the memorable character design sets this title apart from others, which brings Square Enix-like illustrations and an iconic color palette for each cast member and stage. From whites and pinks to blues and reds, they all mix together to make something pleasant to the eye. Plus, the game has many colors you can unlock for your fighters, so you don’t have to stick with one.
Furthermore, the music is, hands down, the best of any fighting game. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising features composers such as Tsutomu Narita, Yasunori Nishiki, and Hidenori Maezawa. They have worked on games such as Octopath Traveler, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Super Smash Bros., Xenoblade Chronicles, and many more. So, you can imagine the caliber of the music for this release. While every track is fantastic, the best ones are in the boss fights. Nothing will make me forget my fight against Bahamut and listen slowly as the music enters with vocals. It’s a JRPG moment brought to a fighting game, which a few titles can pull off as intensely as this one.
Conclusion: A Game Worthy of the Major Leagues
Honestly, I didn’t think that after having games like Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising would make me a fan of the genre. While there isn’t enough content for the single-player mode, and it has minimal flaws in the story, the multiplayer part is amazing due to how flawless the fighting systems are. Personally, I can’t wait to pick up the controller again and send my opponents flying into the beautiful blue skies of the wonderful world of Granblue Fantasy, which I hope will only improve with future DLC characters and content.
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is available on PS5, PS4, and PC (Reviewed).
Review copy given by Publisher.
