First arriving in arcades in 2007, Battle Fantasia has now
been spruced up and brought to the PC market. The last time we played the game
was back on the 360 a good few years ago so it seems a surprise that Arc
Systems have decided to revive it so many years later. There are some improved
visuals and other minor tweaks but this is really the same game as before just
now available to a new audience.
The thing that sets Battle Fantasia apart from other games
in the genre is its visual style. The game has a more comic book look than its
stable mates such as Gulity Gear and Street Fighter. It’s reminiscent of games
such as Dark Cloud and certainly creates a colourful and imaginative world. The
backgrounds are especially good with lots of moving elements and the character designs
aren’t too shabby either with a host of unique looking fighters. To accompany the
visuals is an epic sound track and voice over. It brings to mind Soul Calibur and certainly
sets you up on an epic fantasy adventure.
While the look and feel of the game are refreshing and very
enjoyable they can’t quite mask the fact that the actual fighting is somewhat
generic. The 3D models moving along a 2D plane struggle to create any real sense
of speed or flow and matches can appear sluggish and somewhat predictable.
The systems at work aren’t particular deep or inspiring
either. Aside from the ‘Heat Up’ mechanic (where you put your character into a
sort of super mode), there’s nothing here that hasn’t been done before (and most
of the time a lot better). The
characters themselves do redeem the experience somewhat as they are a little different but bouts lack the intensity you would expect more often than not. Currently
the game is also suffering from real network problems with lag and disconnections
an all too regular occurrence.
The single player options are what we have come to expect from
fighting games now. You have the standard arcade, training and survival modes
and a story mode which further develops each characters adventure. Aside from a
few extra lovely looking comic scenes this doesn’t really offer much different to
the main arcade mode though but is an enjoyable way to experience the lore of
the world.
Despite the games faults there is something endearing about
it. The art style and presentation are of such a high standard that we found
ourselves sticking with it for far longer than we probably would have
done otherwise. There are little things like characters having hit points
instead of just the generic energy bar and the epic sounding voiceover that show
that thought has gone into trying to make something that’s stands out in a
crowded market.
Overall, if you love fighting games then there is some fun
to be had with this due to the fact it does a few things a little differently and
has a unique look to it. We didn’t find it particularly deep or exciting over a
long period of time but certainly dipped in for short bursts to experience the
fantasy atmosphere that it whips up. It’s certainly not a bad game and there is
so much potential here that a sequel would be welcome, but at the
minute it’s hard to see it being played for long when there are so many
alternatives already available. The fact the net code is currently in a real
mess certainly won’t help it either.
Overall 6/10
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