Review: Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising May Not Be for Everyone

I delved a bit into the original Granblue Fantasy mobile game and even its later anime adaptation, but neither of them ever truly stuck with me despite the intriguing characters and premise. I honestly feel the same after playing Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising, but it at least offers some gorgeous 2D fighting worth checking out for certain players.

Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising bills itself as a sequel to the 2020 hit fighting game, and some of the data from that game carries over for existing fans. It also contains almost all of the content from the original, plus some new characters and modes on top of that. Suffice to say, there is quite a lot to unpack in this game from the lengthy singleplayer campaign to the breadth of online multiplayer and training options.

Without a doubt, I find the overwhelming amount of content to be impressive. But I also find much of it feels pretty standard or even a bit bland. Take the lengthy single-player campaign, for instance. Its cutscenes and voice acting look and sound great, but the actual story itself felt like a snooze. It only worsened when the story progressed. Players go throughout different missions with a UI similar to a mobile game where you select your missions, then embarking on them. The gameplay follows the 2D fighting game style, but in these awkward missions you scroll through the environments as you walk.

The awkward dashing and other mechanics in this game feel fine in the enclosed 2D normal fighting matches, but it doesn’t feel right in these mission-based areas. The mission objectives often feel uninspired and dull as well. It usually involves “take out these random easy enemies to level up and continue to the next story cutscene.” As such, I got bored with the campaign quite fast.

But the heart of this game remains the actual core fighting mechanics. After all, most players will likely spend their time battling against others online. I had decent success most of the time with finding opponents to fight against, but I will admit there are some issues with the netplay. Even with a hardwired connection and a decently fast speed, the game feels a bit laggy at times.

That said, whenever I got into an actual match and truly got to experience what Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising can be, it feels and looks fantastic. Outside of my gripes with some of the movement controls like dashing, everything from the various combos for each character to their different weapons to the moves you can pull off feels smooth.

I also appreciated the simple button combos for newcomers like myself. This makes the game a lot easier ,and I was able to feel like I actually could stand toe-to-toe with some of my opponents. This helps this game feel more accessible gameplay-wise than some other fighting games, even if everything else surrounding the title doesn’t feel as accessible or interesting to a newcomer like myself.

In addition to the gameplay, the stunning visual effects and art style for this game also gripped me, which looks akin to the anime series. The gorgeous 2D artwork for each playable character and environment looks hand-drawn. The detail is incredible and it has such gorgeous visuals that I like just admiring the effects sometimes. This is the type of game that looks so pretty when two players who know what they’re doing go at it.

That said, I will admit Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising is not for everyone. It isn’t for me, as the sometimes filler-like content bloats the experience but, ultimately, feels bland. But the positive is some fighting game fans or existing Granblue Fantasy fans may enjoy this title. It has some solid accessible features. But, unless you played the first game, you should probably check out the free version and see if it is up your alley first.

Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising is available for the PS4, PS5, and PC.