izigame.me

This is my game of the year
When i first saw this game, i thought to myself ''meh, generic anime characters''. I don't even watch anime, so interest already wasn't that high
But hey, there's a free version... Why not try it
It just clicked pretty fast, and after a friend bought it i caved in as well
I can now say that this is one of the most complete products i've bought on launch, and it feels like it was built from the ground up with raw quality
No seriously, gacha games must be making bank because this game is just... Truly something else. I guess it was probably built off the backbone of the previous title, but as a newcomer i have no context for that
The game has probably the most visually impressive graphics for any anime game out there, character models ingame are often more visually appealing than their illustrations, expressive and emotive personalities, lots of vocals everywhere during battle, good and diverse soundtracks, clean and no overcomplicated menu or redundant buttons, good lobby systems and private room features, cute chibi avatar, and there's so many of ''the little things'' that improve the experience
This isn't a ''raw'' looking game, or a ''mechanical'' feeling one. There's always glitter on the screen and pleasing visuals, the game feels and flows good, it's just... Very nice. Not rough around the edges anywhere
There's also tons of collectibles and other stuff, and you lvl up fairly quick, while having lots of levels, which is great for consistent unlockables and keeping dopamine going
Story mode is sort of a visual novel with some 2D arcade-style gameplay. It's not just you versus some character, there are knights to fight and giant bosses with multiple health bars and mechanics. Don't get too sold on this, it's not super fancy and repetitive, but it still holds good polish, and the visual novel is animated with 3D models and fully voice acted
Also, the game offers full voice acting in english as well
This game allows you to use both simple and technical (or modern/classic, or however you want to call it) inputs, and i've come to GREATLY appreciate this system, because i like to mix and match the two as i'm learning. It's easy to input technicals in training mode, but hard to clutch it live
The only three faults with the game i can really find is training mode is worse than Street Fighter but provides the necessary features you'd need, there is no indication of connection quality to whom you fight (don't care, i'm european and out of nearing 300 matches i only had two laggers), and also you currently can't derank unless you are S-rank (or A, don't remember) which is fairly high, and leaves many people stuck
Whether this games' fighting style will appeal to you or not is not easy to articulate in a written review and you're better off watching content online to make your mind on that
But you are actually in denial if you think this isn't a high-quality product. Whether that quality is to your taste or not is another thing. I cannot understate how impressed i am with this game just as a product on its own