Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising

Since the initial release, fighting games have gone through a major shift. Granblue Fantasy Versus has too.

Finding its feet for a second round, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising comes out swinging. Delivering an exciting, accessible, and shamelessly sexy fighting experience - packed with dramatic action, fun features, and bags of personality. GBVSR is a major improvement over its predecessor, fully deserving of a spot among the new year’s heaviest hitters.

While Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising serves as a sequel to its predecessor, it still manages to feel more like what you come to expect from a remaster with upgraded content. That is not a knock on the game at all though, as the experience throughout is very satisfying across the board except for the removal of the RPG elements in Story mode. I had a lot of fun with the game’s fighting-based modes...

Whether you should pick up Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising ultimately depends on how you plan to play it. While there is enough content and modes here to keep single-player focused gamers entertained for a good number of hours, it’s those who are unafraid to go up against others online that will no doubt get the most out of it. From its rollback netcode to its new lobby system and Grand Bruise mod...

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising improves on the original in almost every way, and while not quite at the level of the very best in the genre, it still offers enjoyable fighting experience.

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is another great fighting game from Arc System Works with particular emphasis on welcoming new players to this infamously challenging genre. The presentation of the game, alongside how accessible it is to just pick up and play, will remain the game's biggest strength.

Whilst feeling more like an upgrade than a true sequel, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is nonetheless a deep, engaging fighter that is widely accessible for all skill levels.

However, it’s hard to feel like that alone, plus an expanded roster, justify Versus Rising’s existence, especially if you played Versus for any length of time. If you missed the original Versus, though, then that doesn’t really matter. Rising is an excellent fighting game, even when the narrative context flies over your head.

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is a fantastic 2.5D fighting game that, despite some of its flaws, provides players an almost perfect and complete package that most Granblue fans will likely be proud of.

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is a decent anime fighter and a clear step up from its predecessor, but it isn’t without its problems, some of which persist from the last game. I’m also not entirely sure of the longevity of the game, especially with how extortionate the Season 1 Pass is and the low install base this soon after launch, but fans of anime fighting games and the Granblue universe shou...

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 sen...

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising took what made its predecessor and Guilty Gear Strive so accessible and doubled down on it. Players can still opt to use the traditional D-pad inputs+button system to perform special attacks, but they are not limited to that. To perform an ability, all players need to do is press the right trigger and/or any directional input; and to use an ultimate ability, press b...