Gaming as a service has become both a blessing and a curse during this past generation. While some games don’t hinder the overall experience with the point of squeezing every last penny out of the consumer, others are actually made with that greedy purpose in mind. Mobile games have been placed on the forefront of the argument against gaming as a service, yet the accessibility and general fun of the more popular mobile titles disperse most criticisms – case in point: “Granblue Fantasy”.
Released in 2014, “Granblue Fantasy” has stood the test of time as a Japanese-born “gacha” game that gained enough popularity to be adapted into an anime series and, now, a 2.5D fighter with acclaimed developer Arc System Works at the helm. Considering the amount of effort it takes to usually be decent at an Arc fighter, I was rather perplexed as to how the developer would be able to convince the mobile audience to invest in a game completely devoid of what makes its source material so enjoyable; all the while questioning if the gameplay would be interesting enough to keep a dedicated fighting gamer invested. It’s time to soar into the bluest skies while gaining some first impressions of “Granblue Fantasy: Versus”.
