Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds
Phantom Breaker Battlegrounds introduce you by giving you screenshots of how the game looks like, and they definitely nailed the presentation. And also, KURISU??!! Boy, I gotta get this!
Ahem…
This game is beat ‘em up game, a game where you control these 4 main characters with their own unique movesets and style. Although it seems like a simple premise, the gameplay has a greater depth in it.
You get to choose 4 main characters that has the similiar story but different dialogue for each story mode of the 4. There’s Mikoto, your typical swordsmaster; Waka, The Voloptuous Boobs Shrine Maiden; Itsuki, The Chuunibyou Protector of Justice (?), and Yuzuha, the flatty agile ninja. Each of them have their own attacks, button commands, and weakness.
– Real player with 32.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Beat 'em up Action Games.
Did someone say classic?!?! That’s exactly what was delivered in this Retro 2D Sidescrolling Pixelated Beat’em Up.
This game brings back the good old enemy killing spree gig. With over 8+ characters each with their own fighting gimmicks and combos the games brings hours of fun. The games also features musical DLC for the old Arcade cabinet feel. The online multiplayer and local co-op also allows for so good ol’ family fun.
Ok, Let’s get down to business. The replay value on this game is only worth as much as the player gives it. If your a completionist and/or love to play Sidescrolling Beat’em Ups then this game is definetly a game you should be playing. I recommend the game for action game veterans or old school gamers. You’ll really get your money’s worth. It’s not a game for you to sit and play through but to play over the course days and months. It’s a loveable classic that you can keep coming back to. The more you let it breathe the more it stays fresh.
– Real player with 20.0 hrs in game
Gaijin Troubles
It’s awesome. It has really great, beautiful graphics, cute characters and really fun gameplay. I also absolutely love the soundtrack. especially the music that plays when you’re out and about just walking around. I love this game so much. So much that i did a speedrun of it! The game is a little laggy though, but it’s most likely my PC lol I’ll admit though, the lag actually allowed me to clip through some things in my speedrun :)
– Real player with 10.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Beat 'em up Sexual Content Games.
I mean, it’s tremendously flawed with poor hit detection, troublesome camera, unwieldy fighting system … but it’s still kind of fun in a dumb way, primarily because it’s schoolgirls. Check it out if it’s on sale, you’ll have some fun with it.
– Real player with 5.0 hrs in game
Fairy Bloom Freesia
A cute and simplistic browler for one player. That’s pretty much it. Fairy Bloom Freesia is one of those games, which just don’t give you enough material for a long and complicated review. It has only five basic levels, on which you should survive a few waves of enemies (at least one of which usually include protecting so-called vortexes, which will probably be harder than fighting bosses). Talking about bosses, every level comes with one. They’re all different, but not unique enough to make you actually remember them. The story is cute, dramatic, but, as everything else in this game, is way too straightforward, simple and generic.
– Real player with 66.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Beat 'em up Action Games.
Fairy Bloom Freesia is a game that is played in a 2D plane but with 2.5D graphics. People would call a beat-em-up or hack n' slash with bits of platforming and RPG thrown in. I must say that I was not expecting anything out of this game (curiosity finally struck since I had bought the Edelweiss' Fairy Bloom + Ether Vapor Double Pack, mainly for Ether Vapor) but I am glad as all hell I spent the extra $3 for that Double Pack.
Gameplay involves fighting mobs in arenas, between each day you can invest the mana you earn to learn new normal moves or unlock special moves, any of which can be assigned to neutral, left/right, down, or up + special button. There is a decent amount of customization thanks to the freedom of assigning special moves in this fashion. Lots of combos are possible out of everything you can put together. The game is fairly challenging, and ramps up really quick so a personal tip from me to you: forward + basic attack cancelled into a guard is a quick effective move that can be done repeatedly which is good against big enemies or bosses not stunned by regular hits. You net hits and have the ability to block shortly after your attack when needed but there is some technical prowess to it if you want to do numerous cancels in a short period of time.
– Real player with 33.4 hrs in game
ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 4
Was really enjoying the game, and then the game ate my save and 3 hour progress. Don’t recommend.
– Real player with 54.6 hrs in game
Very satisfying combat. Although I would recommend Reshade for the graphics as some ambient occlusion and contrast go a long way for this game’s visuals. Also, this game is a bit short on content, definitely worth it if it’s on sale however.
– Real player with 45.9 hrs in game
River City Girls
TL;DR if you don’t want my extensive review;
+Presentation is gorgeous
+Gameplay feels right and responsive
+Combos are fun to explore and execute (speaking of non light-spam combos)
+Several playtroughs feel rewarding and I enjoyed beating the game 100%
-Entering an area, light attacks, and picking up an item are all mapped to X. Will be awkward to get used to at first, but didn’t feel clunky for me after a while
-Game’s story is rather short (this does make repeated playtroughs more bearable and fast-paced however, so it’s usually a minus sometimes a plus)
– Real player with 22.9 hrs in game
No one kidnaps our boyfriends!
The beat ‘em up genre is one genre that I barely stick my hand into. I guess none of them really caught my eye lately and I never was interested in them as a kid (well except the Scott Pilgrim game, but I was late on that front) nor were any of my old friends. I do vaguely remember playing one in an arcade, but that’s it. I never really thought about beat ‘em ups unless someone else brought them up. However, once I saw the trailer of River City Girls it immediately caught my eye. Despite (obviously) not ever playing a River City title before, I just had to play River City Girls.
– Real player with 21.1 hrs in game
Princess Kaguya: Legend of the Moon Warrior
Pros:
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Protagonist and rabbits are cute.
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Japanese style music with Japanese theme. Awesome for me.
Cons:
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Easy level is still too hard, might dishearten players.
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Annoying and frustrating enemies. Too many of them in each area.
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Some enemies rather cheat players.
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The story is too short; only 4 chapters. (in my view, Rabbit dojo mode is not interesting)
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The price is quite expensive. Not worth purchasing if it’s not on sale or not in a bundle.
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Looks like it can’t remap buttons when using controller. (I play with a keyboard, quite awkward)
– Real player with 9.7 hrs in game
This is a fun little game that feels like a mash-up of Samurai Warriors crossed with the old 4 Player Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from the arcades way back in the day with the fable like elements of Okami tossed in.
I love the character designs (Kaguya is adorable), the music is great, and the attacks (both normal and special) are really impressive - I mean come on, a rabbit archery brigade just looks hilarious.
Now, the movement is a little stiff in that it is strictly 4 directionial, but once you start to get used to that, the game does become a lot easier to navigate around in. One other thing worth mentioning is that while playing, try not to button mash like you might in say Samurai Warriors/Dynasty Warriors. Button mashing will get you creamed here (you can’t move an attack at the same time); so keep your attacks light so you keep your feet moving and you’ll have a lot of fun with Princess Kaguya.
– Real player with 7.4 hrs in game
UPPERS
After having finished the game, I can say I had an absolute blast.
Memories of Kenka Banchou flow back in to me…
The slower combat turned me off a bit at first, but I began to love the way each hit felt impactful, and it was satisfying seeing the goons get launched like fireworks at Voltage 3. Later on I awakened to a partial dash-cancel combo which added a whole new feel to the combat. Main complaint is directed at multiple combatant fights, as you can easily get stun-locked when playing on Hard Mode. In addition, the time interval between enemy attacks seems to be just a little shorter than your light-attack combo, leading to enemies constantly interrupting your combos unless you switch targets.
– Real player with 57.5 hrs in game
First off, I actually liked the game itself, the problem here is the port of it.
According to Marvelous, this game is “fully remastered in 1080p, 60FPS”.
Well, I can’t say that is true at all.
If you were expecting better graphics than the PSVita with upgraded assets, then forget about it, this game rather than being a remaster is just a simple port and it doesn’t look any better… and sadly, as a port is not a very good one.
Main issue is frame-rate, I run this on a i7-8700K, 16GB of RAM and a GTX 1060, and at some points the game is a PowerPoint slideshow. The game runs at pretty unstable 60fps and sometimes it has 15fps-like moments. This doesn’t mean it’s unplayable, I actually have cleared the main story and have about 70% of the achievements, that being said, the game itself it’s pretty fun and addictive, problem is that it’s not very comfortable to play it like this.
– Real player with 17.6 hrs in game
5 Force Fighters
]Overview
5 Force Fighters is a fast-paced, indie fighting game with flashy combos and a combat system that boasts universal offensive and defensive options. A cast of 5 teens, each gifted with elemental forces, who know nothing of each other, find themselves with a common goal – to stop Ken Sangre from enacting his tyranny.
Combat Features
4 Buttons for Fighting - Weak/Light, Chargeable/Heavy, Force, and Grabs.
Super Force Meter - This meter allows for super moves to be achieved. They are extremely crushing to your opponent.
Potential Meter - Use the unique Potential Force meter to trigger a burst that will send your opponent flying – then you can activate a special power. You can choose 1 out of 5 of these potential forces at any moment.
Critical Counter - This can be used only when blocking. If timed perfectly, you’ll avoid your opponent’s attack and do a counterattack that gives you the advantage by applying hitstun to your opponent.
Chargeables - This has a three level system (lvl 0, lvl 1, and lvl 2). By holding the direction of your choosing, and the chargeable button, the power of this move increases with each level, causing devastating damage.
Force Moves - These can be cancelled into most moves at the cost of meter. This is a flexible combo tool – the bread and butter of 5FF. If you think it will land, it probably will. Some Force attacks can be further enhanced by burning even more meter.
Rollback Netcode - Rollback netcode will provide a very smooth online gameplay experience.
Game Modes
Local and Online play - Fight someone right next to you, or a person across the globe.
Training Mode - Improve your combo game with a little bit of practice.
Story Mode - Follow the stories of Cocoa, Pebbles, Blaine, Pomme, and Stralechi as their reasons for fighting change to meet the ever evolving chaos incited by the Bloodless.
Challenge Mode - HAVE FUN PLAYING MINI GAMES. OR ELSE.
Gekido Kintaro’s Revenge
Gekido Kintaro’s Revenge is an okay Beat ‘em up game, so it’s time for the story.
After stopping the evil Kintaro, our hero Tetsuo returns to his sensei’s house were all is quiet for a year. But soon his sensei feels a dark, ominous and evil presence returning, he sends Tetsuo to a faraway farming village outside the city to see what it is.
Now let’s talk about the likes. The game play was simple, but fun. Some of the enemies were cool looking. Game was not too hard and the cutscenes were nice to look at. Survive mode in the game was okay.
– Real player with 5.3 hrs in game
I was craving a simple beat ‘em up and the colorful retro graphics of Gekido caught my eye. I have to say I sure am glad it wasn’t more expensive as I frankly hate this game. The stages and enemies were designed to make every death feel incredibly cheap and infuriating. Every trap is guaranteed to hit until you know their exact placement ahead of time, and even then it’s a toss as they appear just off the screen so you often can not be precise enough. Both the enemy AI and your own combos tend to place you overlapping an enemy sprite, rendering you incapable of striking that specific enemy regardless of the direction you’re facing, while the said enemy has no issue striking you. The jumps are imprecise and will leave you wondering whether you should keep trying or if the gap really is just too big. The hit boxes on some objects make absolutely no sense (a falling rock will hurt you even though it misses by a half an inch on the screen), and the game even has a habit of forgetting to let you move after you clear the screen of all enemies making you restart the stage. Do yourself a favor and replay Streets of Rage 4 instead if you need a simple but properly made game.
– Real player with 5.0 hrs in game
One Piece Pirate Warriors 3
So I really wanted this game for months, but the price was too steep for me. When it went down temporarily in November, I jumped on the chance to buy it. Now that I have had a few months to play it, here is what I think.
I don’t really care for the whole argument about shading, brightness, or any of that. But there are some drawbacks with the graphics. First of all, most of the common “cannon fodder” enemies have their heads moving away from their bodies. I mean it is really easy to see that the heads are simply not attached and are weaving away from the bodies. I thought that was kind of annoying. To add to this, you will often see their weapons floating right next to them rather than being held. On the plus side, it kind of makes you feel like you are killing a bunch of Jedi or Sith, just pretend those weapons are being held by the Force. However, part of these faults can also be found on major characters like Kuro, Aokiji, Usopp, and Ivankov but with these guys the problem is the hair. With Kuro you may find his hair floating a few inches away from his head, making it seem like he is bald. After a few moments of laughing it became a little annoying. As for the others, the dynamics between their head and their hair is annoying in that the hair will often move independently and block your view of the character’s faces. It may not seem like much for some, but I was really aggravated by that.
– Real player with 218.4 hrs in game
02.05.2016 REVIEW
Disclaimer:
Due to disagreements with certain users who kept indirect insults as a priority matter, I am enticed to post the following notice: This review is based on my personal experience with the game from approximately 90 hours of playtime. There’s also an edited part elaborating this in the bottom.
tl;dr review:
If you’re a One Piece or Dynasty Warriors fan, buy the game. If you’re not a big fan of either and are expecting something state-of-the-art or unique, pass on it.)
– Real player with 147.3 hrs in game