Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising Review

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is a stylish 2.5D fighter and the follow-up to the well-received 2020 title, Granblue Fantasy: Versus. As a big fan of the previous game, I was excited to jump back into this gorgeous world and duke it out with some of the most visually striking characters seen in a fighting game! But is this less of a sequel and more of a glorified expansion? Or will I be once again drawn in thanks to the intense combat and great fighting mechanics?

Just like its predecessor, Versus: Rising has a generous helping of single-player content with the included story mode. Embarking on a journey through the skies, you’ll play as several of the game's characters, with cutscenes and dialogue sections sprinkled in between the many, many battles. These aren’t just one-on-one fights either, with many of them pitting you against numerous foes at once; it almost feels like a side-scrolling beat ‘em up!

Much of the narrative is a retelling of the previous game’s RPG Mode story, but most of what made that mode feel more than just a series of battles (levelling up, stats, and bonus missions) is absent in this iteration, making it feel like a downgrade. With the new tale being a shorter experience to play through, those looking for a fully-fledged sequel to Gran’s adventure may be left disappointed.

Without spoiling the story as a whole, whilst it isn’t an incredibly gripping tale by any means, for a fighting game to even have a narrative-driven single-player component, it’s hard to poke holes in the often cliché-ridden dialogue. There’s fun to be had, and the fantastic voice acting helps keep the player somewhat engaged, but don’t expect an epic tale to be told, especially if you’ve already experienced the majority of the story in Granblue Fantasy: Versus.

There’s a lot to love about Versus: Rising’s aesthetics, as the entire package is nothing short of stunning: vibrant colours and incredible visual effects elevate the anime styling to another level. Every character is highly detailed and superbly animated; clothing flutters and whips about during the fluid attack animations, with particle effects lighting up the fighting arena as you dish out damage. Environments are also full of personality, with lots going on in the background, as well as things like leaves drifting past in the foreground. It all looks like a painting come to life, and I frequently forgot that the fighters are 3D models, not 2D hand-drawn characters that wouldn’t look out of place in an anime!

Moving on to the audio side of things, this is just as stunning as the visuals. The music consists of your standard fantasy orchestra pieces, with some impressive scores heard throughout the story and during battles to get you fired up! As mentioned earlier, the voice acting is rather good, and regardless of whether you choose the default Japanese voices or the English dub, the cast definitely feels more real thanks to the emotion evoked by the actors.

Versus: Rising is a four-button fighter, combining light, medium, and heavy attacks with each character's unique attack. It’s very accessible to those who perhaps aren’t great at fighting games whilst also having a combat system deep enough for genre veterans to learn every nuance. You’ve also got the standard block and throw moves (the latter of which seems very tough to evade this time around) alongside a dash for closing in on your opponent. Attacks can be modified by using them in combination with a directional button, leading to a low-attack or an overhead weapon swing, for example.

Those are just the basics, and though they may get the job done, they certainly don’t look half as flashy as the various Skills and Arts available! Starting with skills, each fighter has their own specific one that can be altered by pressing a different button at the same time as activating the skill. Then there are Raging Strikes and Brave Counters, which use up a Bravery Point but can help you gain the advantage in an instant! Last — but certainly not least — are Skybound Arts (which evolve into super versions once your health reaches a certain threshold) that not only look incredibly stylish but will absolutely devastate an enemy’s health bar. It certainly may seem like a lot, especially to those not used to fighting games, but the simple control scheme certainly helps alleviate the need to learn outrageously long combos or crazy button inputs. Experimenting with different characters is definitely recommended to find one that best suits you for the game's online component.

One issue with the previous game was the slim pickings of the base roster. Thankfully, Versus: Rising remedies this with 28 fighters to select, and with them all feeling different to play from one another, I spent a lot of time in the training mode to prepare myself to go head-to-head with other players online! Although online matches are available straight from the main menu, it was a lot more enjoyable to run around the 3D lobby with my chibi-style avatar and join games this way. That said, there is presently a noticeable drop in frames when wandering around this area, so it may be less of a headache to just use the main menu.

There is, thankfully, little to no slowdown or frame drops when going up against other players, which is essential when it comes to online play! There are the standard casual and ranked match options, and despite the game not having a full public release, I didn’t struggle to find any games. Then there’s Grand Bruise, which is a fun collection of mini-games with your avatar that essentially feels like a watered-down version of Fall Guys. I appreciated these amusing diversions (especially after getting beaten down by a much better player) and hope more will be added in the future, but for now, it’s a great way to blow off steam after a particularly embarrassing defeat.

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising has a decent amount of content and should keep fans busy for a long time. Even if you’re not much of an online player, the story mode (provided you haven’t played the previous title) and endlessly replayable arcade mode do make for a good time if you want to go solo. Whilst not feeling like a true sequel — mainly thanks to the rehashing of an already-told narrative — the upgrades to combat and new fighting mechanics make this one of the most stylistic and fun 2D fighters I’ve ever played.