I’ll be honest, when I started playing Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, I genuinely thought it was BlazBlue. I mean, it’s a high-octane anime fighter from Arc Systems. Can you really blame me? All kidding aside, I was generally unaware of the Granblue franchise, probably because it debuted on mobile in 2014 when the whole landscape was a microtransaction-fueled garbage fire—it largely still is, but that’s beside the point.
But it appears the franchise has garnered some degree of notoriety, with not only a full-fledged RPG just around the corner but an enhanced version of a pretty beloved fighting game. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising could have been a solid update of its predecessor, maybe just adding a few new characters and some added modes, but it actually goes a step beyond to be one of the more fun fighting games I’ve played in a while.
Thankfully, for someone who is unfamiliar with the franchise, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is incredibly approachable. Naturally, my first instinct was to dive straight into the Arcade mode and choose whichever fantasy anime character either looked the coolest or had the coolest weapon, but through a pretty compelling Story mode, the game not only gives a brief account of the Granblue Fantasy story, but it also creates a unique turn of events for this game.
“Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising could have been a solid update of its predecessor, maybe just adding a few new characters and some added modes, but it actually goes a step beyond to be one of the more fun fighting games I’ve played in a while.”
When the main characters, Gran and Lyria, go to meet their friend Katalina, they find she has suddenly turned her allegiances against the two and to the once-fallen Erste Empire. As they travel the land, they find other former allies turned against them, and together, Gran and Lyria need to uncover the root of the chaos that is engulfing the land. The game’s story does a great job introducing new players to the many unique characters of Granblue Fantasy but also offers something a bit new for those already familiar with the franchise.
Not only that, the game’s story mode has a unique structure that evokes the style of a side-scrolling beat-em-up with RPG elements. While players will engage in traditional battles with named characters—in proper tournament fighter fashion—there are also several quests where players will need to cut through multiple soldiers, monsters and other enemies in order to proceed. Doing so can unlock equipable skills to better benefit Gran in battle.
But let’s get to the real meat of Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising: the updated controls. Similar to Street Fighter 6, controls have been made much more accessible by mapping special attacks to a single button combined with a direction. This makes performing more complex combos much easier to navigate, and since each character has their own unique playstyle, skills and weapon, none of them sacrifice nuance for simple controls. I personally became a big fan of Narmaya, whose magical katana could take many shapes, and her ability to swap between a sheathed and drawn stance gave her so many unique abilities and combos.
Furthermore, as far as I can tell, this is the default setting in Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising. Unlike Street Fighter 6, which offers both the Modern and Classic controls, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising bakes this into the core of its experience—not giving greeted advantage to those who can handle/master the complex controls while still throwing a bone to those who prefer the simpler ones. To this end, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising not only consistently feels fair, but it also feels like a proper evolution of the “traditional” tournament fighter.
But it’s not just the refined controls that are added in this expansion. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising introduces the Grand Bruise Legends, which creates a fun little lobby filled with minigames for players to pass the time with or even compete in. Unfortunately for me, while writing this review, none of the online features were fully active, and I didn’t get a chance to try out Grand Bruise Legends, but I’m looking forward to giving it a go when the game launches.
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising both looks and sounds amazing as well. By this point, Arc Systems pretty much has “make it look like an anime” down to a science. In cutscenes, characters move with a distinct reduced framerate that gives it a more animated feel, but they maintain fluidity and style during combat. Characters are incredibly designed and pronounced against painted backgrounds that are extremely detailed and bursting with life. The soundtrack is incredible, too, mixed hard rock with orchestral compositions that capture the whimsy of the fantasy setting, and the intensity of fast-paced combat.
“Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising not only consistently feels fair, but it also feels like a proper evolution of the ‘traditional’ tournament fighter.”
However, if I have one gripe with the game, it’s a bit in the presentation—specifically character interactions at the start and end of combat. While a lot of work has been put into giving each character unique dialogue depending on who they’re paired with, one character in particular is the real standout: Lowain. Lowain gets the most attention of any character—showing him having a huddle with his two buddies at the start of a battle and either riffing, making in-jokes, or trying to come up with a strategy. At the end of every battle, they celebrate their victory at a pub—sometimes cheering the battle or recounting it like it was a story.
Lowain was the first character I tried—looking the most like a fast trickster before I moved to Narmaya—and I was genuinely excited at the prospect that every character would get dramatic animated openers and closers like him. But after trying almost every character, he seems to be the only one, and while every other character does have an animated intro, they just get dialogue read over a static image of the end of their victory animation.
However, that minor complaint aside Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is an absolute gem of a fighting game and a genuine step forward in the wake of Street Fighter 6. If you love the franchise, are remotely familiar with it, or are just looking for a new fighting game to add to your library to play in between SF6 rounds, then this is surely one to check out.
