Granblue Fantasy Versus
  

 

Granblue Fantasy Versus launched in early 2020 with an initial roster 11 characters, with 5 additional DLC fighters being added in the first Season Pass. A second Season Pass in 2021 added another round of newcomers. The English version of Granblue Fantasy Versus has a full English dub via western localization, making it the first game in the Granblue series to have one. Most of the English voice team are the same acrors from Granblue Fantasy: The Animation.
 

 

The original Granblue Fantasy JRPG was released in 2014 by Cygames, the studio behind collectible card game Shadowverse. In an effort to recapture the glory days of JRPGs onto smartphones, Cygames hired legendary Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu for the soundtrack, and artist Hideo Minaba (known for his work on Final Fantasy V, VI and IX) to illustrate amazing artwork for the series. The JRPG series is rich with lore and nearly 100 or so vibrant characters... so it'll be interesting to see which characters make the cut to the modern fighting game spin-off.
 

 

In addition to being a full-fledged fighting game with the expected modes, GBVS features a 2D side-scrolling "RPG mode" enabling players to fight hoards of enemies with local or online friends. RPG mode features a single-player campaign where players collect weapons and power-up their characters. In RPG mode, players will fight against a variety of enemy types, including huge boss fights against "Primals". New weapons players collect in RPG mode are also be displayed in-game — visually changing a character's weapon to an alternate design. Characters and weapons can be leveled up and unlock new abilities and effects.
   

 

A closed beta for Granblue Fantasy Versus took place on PlayStation 4 from May 31st through June 1st, 2019. The first playable beta included 5 playable characters: Gran, Katalina, Charlotta, Lancelot and Ferry, along with two stages and fully functioning online lobbies with avatar customization and more.

 

Page Updated: February 25th, 2023 Developer(s): Arc System Works Publisher(s): Cygames   XSEED    Designer(s): Yuito Kimura                     Producer Tetsuya Fukuhara           Director Hideo Minaba                  Character Design Artwork By: Hideaki Sawada Hideo Minaba Platform(s): PlayStation 4, PC Release Date(s): Feb. 6th, 2020                 PS4   Mar. 3rd, 2020              /   PS4   Mar. 13th, 2020           Steam   Characters:  Gran, Katalina, Lancelot, Ferry, Lowain, Charlotta, Ladiva, Percival, Metera, Zeta, Vaseraga, Chaos Bringer, Narmaya, Soriz, Djeeta, Zooey, Cagliostro, Yuel, Anre, Eustace, Seox, Vira, Belial, Avatar Belial Featured Video: Related Games: Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, Guilty Gear -STRIVE-, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-, GGXrd Xrd REV2, BlazBlue: Central Fiction, BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, Under Night In-Birth EXE:Late[st], Blade Strangers, Battle Fantasia, SoulCalibur VI, Samurai Shodown (2019), Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, DNF Duel     Gameplay Engine    Story / Theme    Overall Graphics    Animation    Music / Sound Effects    Innovation    Art Direction    Customization     Options / Extras     Intro / Presentation     Replayability / Fun     "Ouch" Factor     Characters     BOTTOM LINE           First Impression: We're living in an era where beautiful 2.5D fighting games by Arc System Works are the NORM. There are so many to choose from now, that many fighting game fans don't even seem to care or notice how great these games look... well, guess what. They should. Granblue Fantasy Versus might not have the "name recognition" of other top fighting games, but I think fighting game fans would be making a big mistake to skip out on this one. Just because there's a new Guilty Gear in 2020 doesn't mean GBVS doesn't have a chance to shine as well. I had waaay more fun than I was expecting with the PS4 beta (and I was expecting to have some fun). GBVS might actually be the "most fun" ASW fighter I've played in quite a while. The ultra-intuitive 2D gameplay almost feels more like (good) Street Fighter than the likes of Guilty Gear... with more solid, less "floaty" gimmicks over your typical anime fighters. Movement feels slow-ish at times, but promotes calculated decisions, smart neutral game, and paced out specials / projectiles (anti-spam). The "limited usage" special moves system feels solid. Throw in CVS2-style "SNK groove" dodging and KOF style dodge-rolling... and GBVS feels like a surprisingly unique yet familiar 2D fighter that I want to play more of. It's a match-up heavy game... with catchy character movesets & unique play-styles. All characters even have unique pre-fight interactions with each other! All this... and I have yet to mention the gorgeously crispy visuals, with an art style knocking it out of the park. I get "positive vibes" from this game so far. GBVS has tons of potential. For me, it's much more artistically & aesthetically refreshing than the likes of Dragon Ball FighterZ and the 26 Gokus in that game. Granblue's character designs are something different, make sense for a fighting game, and are worth checking out. Prior to the game's announcement; I became familiarized with the Granblue art style and JRPG-inspired characters. Even though I've never played the RPG, I generally like the designs. Cool characters... and not trying too hard like some others I've seen in recent years. On that note... and as history has taught us time and time again: a fighting game is an excellent way to introduce characters to a brand new audience! Granblue reminds me of my beloved Final Fantasy 9 in terms of visual style and designs (as intended). As big fan of Nobuo Uematsu and FF9, it's understated how cool of a collaboration this game actually is. Granblue is rich with lore, intriguing characters, and even interesting "crossovers" with other series. The crossovers even include SNK's own Samurai Shodown and Capcom's Street Fighter! Granblue series artist Hideo Minaba has already illustrated a variety of well-known fighting game characters for past events in the RPG. Is it possible we could see an actual SNK or Capcom character crossover in Granblue Fantasy Versus?! I've gotta admit, I do have my fingers crossed. Arc System Works launching yet another new 2.5D fighting game in 2020 might seem like overkill, but in my opinion, is a pretty wise decision. I think Granblue Fantasy Versus will offer something distinguishably different in terms of gameplay, visuals, and overall experience. My only gripes are the DLC prices, which seem a bit steep. The online mode also doesn't feature rollback netcode, so the enjoyment of the game competitively (long term) is hindered unless they find a fix. ~TFG Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen                                Click Here for all Character Artwork! Click Here for all Posters / Box Artwork! FOLLOW    ON:                             TFG NEWS CHARACTERS GAMES