Ever wanted to relive your childhood, or need a refresher before a new wave of Bleach arrives? Well, you can do that and more through Bleach: Eternal Soul! Take a trip down a strawberry-coloured memory lane through the GameCenter app.

CALL UPON YOUR SPIRIT POWER

Bleach: Eternal Soul is an official mobile adaptation of the titular Bleach anime, faithfully following the plot with the original Japanese voice actors reprising their roles for the game. While you may have previously followed Ichigo and co’s growth through the manga, then anime, you can experience their stories first hand in your palm. Not only that, you get to execute all their moves with a simple yet effective real-time combat system.

Have you ever wondered how some characters could synergize with each other? Wonder no more when you can put together a team of your favourites or simply the strongest together and see them take down all your foes. Both stills from the original anime and the game’s own but still highly recognizable artstyle blend together to show you the world of Bleach that you can easily explore whenever, wherever you go.

THE HIDDEN SIDE OF THE MOON

As a game, Bleach: Eternal Soul gets room to tell the story everyone knows and loves in a different way. You get to run around as Ichigo in familiar places with a little more that its source material did not get to. It’s that bit more immersive since you have the control to walk around in these spaces, talk to the characters and continue with the story.

The real-time action combat works much like quick time events, where you need to time it right to get the optimal combo chain, and thus multiply your damage potential. Find the rhythm and tap it on time to the indicator to unleash your characters’ powers! If you just need some time off, there is also Auto battle that won’t necessarily keep the combo, but does mean that it’s easy to have the game take over for you whenever you need it.

There are multiple game modes to keep you occupied, including:

• Seireitei Challenge: A “roguelike” mode, where you can recruit temporary characters to help you fight through several floors utilizing random buffs for rewards
• Idle Exploration: Idle mode so that you can get materials even when you’re not online
• Soul Society Orders: “Challenges” that encourage a large roster of characters so that you can send them off exploring on their own
• Battle Arena: A PVP mode to test your team against other players and see who’s got the better strategy

You can raise anyone you get to the highest level so long you keep playing through the game and claiming your rewards from missions, so don’t miss out on collecting your favourite characters and make the dream team your younger self always wanted. Maybe you’ll also get to see characters in a different light.

RETURN TO BLEACH

So, why now? Why is this the best time to relive your memories through Bleach: Eternal Soul? After all, it’s been over ten whole years since the first anime finished airing.

Well, as self-respecting Bleach fans, you surely can’t miss out on seeing the conclusion of the manga animated? That’s what you’ll be getting with the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War anime adaptation that’s scheduled to begin airing 11 October 2022. That’s only a couple of weeks away! The original series was a juggernaut of its time, and being able to get a closer, more personal retelling of the anime through a mobile game is what I’d consider an easy way to quickly get reacquainted with the characters you may not have seen for a long time.

There’ll be plenty of goodies and events to help you along the way before the Thousand-Year Blood War anime. Through the game’s global chat system, you’ll also get the chance to discuss the past and present arcs with like-minded people.

What are you waiting for? Be sure to check out Bleach: Eternal Soul through the GameCenter app and reconnect with the past.