Granblue Fantasy Versus was a flawed beautiful try at bringing the franchise to the fighting game world, and now comes Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, an attempt at a do-over to remedy its many flaws.

When the original was released, it was viewed with skepticism. On one hand, the title stood out among the rest with its gorgeous art direction and a uniquely approachable combat system, suitable for anyone trying to dip their toes into fighting games. On the other hand, the game launched with a dated delay-based netcode and a disappointingly small roster, leading to the online scene quickly becoming a ghost town.

Thankfully Cygames and Arc System Works do not shy away from criticisms and launched Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, a newer entry that revamped and corrected many of its predecessor’s issues.

For one, the game’s netcode has been updated from the dreaded delay-based netcode to rollback, while also introducing crossplay capabilities between PlayStation consoles and PC. Without going too deep into it, the introduction of rollback netcode is significant, removing much of the stuttering that plagued online matches. I can even connect all the way to the Japanese server without many connectivity issues, which was not the case with the original release.

Naturally, as a sequel, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising also includes all the DLC characters from the first game and bumps up the roster count from an unsatisfactory 11 to 28 total along with four new fan-favorite characters; Grimnir, Siegfried, Nier, and Anila.

Believe in Victory, Battle Engage!

As mentioned, one thing that sets Granblue Fantasy Versus apart from other fighting games is the rather approachable combat system and Rising kept all the basics intact. As a refresher, the control consists of three different basic attacks in the form of Light, Medium, and Heavy, as well as a dedicated button for unique actions.

This is where the combat system gets interesting because while the fighting games’ classic command inputs are still present, there are also simple inputs. Below each character’s health bar are four special moves being displayed, and by holding a direction and a button, you can unleash those attacks without convoluted motion inputs.

In general, light and medium specials will not set those moves into a cooldown state but heavy and unique will, and even consume a portion of your Skybound Art gauge. The aforementioned meter essentially builds up to your Skybound Art super move, pretty self-explanatory.

Fighting games had always been notorious for their tough barrier of entry, but the way the combat system is designed in Granblue Fantasy Versus made it a good choice for newcomers, focusing more on the fundamentals of footsies, reading openings, and setups rather than long strings of combos.

New Toys, New Fun

Of course, Rising also introduces new mechanics to freshen up the combat experience. There is a new mechanic known as Ultimate Skills, which sprinkled in some fresh twists to the existing special moves by incorporating a range of potent enhancements. These enhancements come at the expense of 50% of your special meter, but fret not as 25% of those will be reimbursed if the move successfully hits a target.

On top of that, there is Raging Strike and Raging Chain, which allows you to initiate unblockable attacks through simultaneous input with Medium and Heavy buttons together. These are powerful attacks but slower in execution, making them punishable but opening up combo opportunities when connected.

Tired of overly aggressive players? Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising also implemented a parry system called Brave Counter and by using Medium and Heavy attacks while pressing Block, you can counterattack opponents and initiate your combos. All these new mechanics are simple to understand but offer plenty of depth to the already robust fighting game.

Multiplayer Minigames

Following the recent fighting game trend, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising also presented its multiplayer mode in an explorable lobby where players can gather and hang out with customizable chibi characters. Like other similar games, players can head to the arcade machines scattered in the lobby to engage with other players in either Casual or Ranked matches.

This is not all that the multiplayer lobbies have to offer as Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising had also implemented plenty of minigames, such as the Rising Royale, which is heavily inspired by Fall Guys and Takeshi’s Castle. Aside from Rising Royale, there are many other minigames including Gold Brick Hoarder, Blast King, and Defense Force.

Story with JRPG Goodness

The story mode is one of the biggest highlights of the original and Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising kept it much the same, except with a newly added chapter that covers the events after the previous entry. This time Lucilius rose from the dead and posed as the new antagonist that Gran and his party had to face against.

The gameplay remains largely the same, where you go through a series of dialogues before facing off enemies in a side-scrolling format. If you are unaware, the story mode does lean into the RPG systems of the main game where weapons can be bought and upgraded, characters themselves gain EXP and level up, and there are also elemental systems in place.

That said, if you are a fan of Granblue Fantasy and hope to get more stories, you will be disappointed as the new chapter feels rather short.

Rock Solid Visuals 

The aesthetic of Granblue Fantasy has always been recognizable and distinctive, thanks to the guidance of the art director Hideo Minaba. In terms of visuals, Arc System Works already successfully translated the iconic style of the mobile game into Granblue Fantasy Versus, accompanied by beautiful illustrations and the studio’s signature anime-style cell-shaded 3D models.

When it comes to Rising, one may feel that not much has changed as the visuals already age like a fine wine. However, if you put both the original and the sequel side-by-side, you may notice significant visual improvements especially in aspects of animation, lighting, and particle effects during combat.

The visuals are, of course, accompanied by the stellar soundtrack by Stella Magna that was already quite beloved by fans in the original, once again amplifying the combat atmosphere with catchy rock arrangements of various memorable music of the main game.

Does it Rise Up?

One may assume that Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is just a re-release of the original with a few added content, but the many improvements brought into this entry marked it as a worthy sequel. Not only much of the issues that dragged the original down been resolved, but the new characters, stories, and mechanics gave the game a fresh coat of paint it truly needed.

The rollback netcode is something worth mentioning over and over again as one of the biggest driving forces of a fighting game’s longevity is the community and having stable online lengthens the game’s life.

If you are looking to get into fighting games, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is a good starting point as it has a very approachable and accessible gameplay system, complemented by a clear and comprehensive tutorial.

Unfortunately, if you have already owned the original, there does not seem to be an option to upgrade the game to Rising, which is a piece of very disappointing news to learn, especially if you have also purchased all the DLCs.

All in all, I would without exaggeration say that Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is the definitive version of the game and is worth a try.

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising was reviewed on a PlayStation 5 and the game is currently available on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC via Steam.

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising

Publisher: Cygames

Developer: Arc System Works

Release Date: 2023-12-14

PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam

Rise to the challenge in Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising! This powered-up revamped sequel to GBVS is more enjoyable and accessible than ever before. With simplified input options, even newcomers can engage in thrilling and strategic matches!