This is probably the only time that I will ever say that I absolutely wanted to play a game that I’ve never heard of five minutes after I found out about it. It’s an odd statement to be honest but as a reviewer I constantly get exposed to titles that I probably never would have tried or knew existed until long after their release. This is not the case with the western release of Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax for the PlayStation Vita.
For those who don’t already know Dengeki Bunko is a Japanese imprint by ASCII Media Works that puts out light novels some of which have become popular animes worldwide including the likes of Sword Art Online and Durarara!!. The publication just hit its 20th Anniversary so what better to do than to bring some of the most popular characters into one place. Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax is a 2D fighter comprised of 18 playable fighters from several of Dengeki Bunko’s light novels.
One of my favorite things about Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax is that it has the obvious Super Smash Bros inspiration behind it but still is a completely unique approach to it to make its own. For starters, it is one of the most accessible fighters that I’ve ever played to date. The number one reason for this is that every character regardless of their move set is executed exactly the same way. Things are even easier of newcomers as button combos like activating your Blast or Trump Card abilities can be executed with a single button press. This probably won’t appeal to the hardcore fighting fans due to its simplified controls but for me I liked the option even as I tried to play it by hitting the proper button combos the old school way.
That doesn’t mean that Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax is a breeze to play though as the computer players won’t go down without a fight. Mastering your combos regardless of the ease of controls is crucial to keeping your opponents from dishing out their own combos. There are easily 3 or 4 characters that you absolutely want to stop dead in their tracks before they can attack no matter what character you’re playing. Utilizing Impact Breaks to break your enemies guard and using recoveries if your own guards are broken are only a few things that with keep things in your favor or help turn the tide if things aren’t going so great especially in the main story modes.
Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax unlike most fighters features two story modes: Arcade and Dream Duel. Arcade mode is the main act of the game where you find out why all these characters are in the same place forced to fight each other. While it’s not the most flushed out story there is some merit to it especially if you are familiar with the characters that you choose like Kirito which was my obvious first choice. Each character reacts to their opponents in the way that you would expect them to in their own worlds which someone who’s not into anime would miss out on. Players will go up against 9 opponents including the final fight with Akira from SEGA’s own Virtua Fighter.
Dream Duel however is probably my favorite mode and for good reason. Most anime fans out there have always wondered who would in a fight when it comes to their beloved characters much like the classic comic book fantasy face-offs that have been going on since practically since their very conception. The problem is there are very few media options available to actually experience what that fight would be like. Dream Duel is SEGA and KADOKAWA’s answer to at least some of these only thought about fights as you see how some of your favorite anime characters would react when talking to characters from another world and even the same world like with Kirito and Asuna from Sword Art Online. Players will face off against 5 predetermined fighters in this mode to keep things interesting.
Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax also features several of your standard modes that every good fighter can’t be without. You can engage in fights against the computer in Versus or go up against real players online in the Network play or locally with friends via an Ad Hoc connection. I managed to get a few matches in though my connection would drop every few matches or even right in the middle of a fight at times, but it was fun when things worked out. If you find yourself not quite up to par, there is a Training mode so you can brush up on your skills under a wide variety of conditions. A fighter wouldn’t be complete without a challenge mode and Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax has that covered with a Score Attack, Time Attack and Survival mode to test your skills in a series of fights.
The more you play Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax the more you earn credits to unlock character voices, color schemes and options to customize your player card so other players can see your personal style. As you play and mix and match the 14 main characters and the support cast of over 20 characters from some of the same worlds and even some that aren’t you will unlock the ability to see illustrations and buy new voices to here via the menus. There is a treasure trove of cool things to unlock for the diehard anime fans out there including signatures by each series core contributors.
Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax is a 2D fighter, so a lot of the staples are here including the 2D sprite characters are detailed and actually move rather fluidly in the heat of combat. The animations especially when pulling off big combos and supers blast moves looked nice and vibrant on the Vita’s screen. The game does feature very clean menus though the actual controls for navigating them aren’t exactly clear at times. For instance, it doesn’t tell you anywhere the Select button is how you back out of a character select screen when leaving a mode or when you want to change your character selection or the Start button is how you change the color of your character’s appearance before selecting your favorite character.
What the game doesn’t have to tell you is how good the stages look or how killer the soundtrack is. There are 10 stages to choose from all designed from SEGA franchise titles like Virtua Fighter, Sonic, Phantasy Star Online and NiGHTS to name a few. If you pay attention closely enough there are a few SEGA inspired designs throughout Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax including a certain character’s headdress in the story. The stills used to progress the story look great and still represent the art style that was used in their publications instead of changing them to fit a unified look much like Street Fighter X Tekken. Each stage had their own soundtrack based on the game that they represent though you listen to each track outside of matches via the Special menu which is really cool. The overall feel of the music ranges from bubbly J-pop to rock anthems which is perfect for this anime fighter.
In the end was Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax everything that I hoped it would be when I first heard about it? The answer to that question is…Absolutely. What really had me hyped was that I already knew who a lot of these characters were or had at least seen bits and pieces of most of these shows over the years to enjoy the effort put into the game by the developers. The mechanics make this a great entry level fighter for newcomers and anime lovers alike and there is still enough strategy required for the more hardcore fighter fans to appeal to a wider audience.
When it really comes down to it Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax is a fast paced, fun and flashy fighter that anyone can pick up and play without feeling like they are at a disadvantage. So, if you like fighters or want to try one out and enjoy just happen to enjoy anime then I definitely recommend picking up Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax today.
