Platform: PC / Xbox 360
Developer: 07th Expansion, Alchemist (Xbox 360)
Genre: Fighting Game
Release: 2010 (PC), 2011 (Xbox 360)
After my review of Umineko No Naku Koro Ni (Umineko: When They Cry) comes Ougon Musou Kyoku! Also called Golden Fantasia, this 2D fighting game based off Umineko is also produced and released by 07th Expansion. Being able to fight alongside both Battler and the evil Golden Witch Beatrice herself in this alternate universe of Umineko once again, it’s time to spin a whole new tale with the mysterious events revolving Rokkenjima Island!
I was sold with this game at first sight because of the fact that it’s a decent fighting game supports up to 1080p Full HD resolution, and not show even a single crappy pixel from both the 2D characters and 3D environment while playing! As the game launches, it begins with a dark yet nice Victorian-esque opening that introduces the ten playable characters.
It has a 2 vs 2 battle system- you get to select among Battler, Ange, Beatrice, Virgilia, Eva Beatrice, Lucifer, Ronove, Shannon, Kanon and Siesta 410. In the 1.10 patch, Jessica Ushiromiya is added in the roster of characters, but cannot be played in the Arcade Mode.
We get three modes: Arcade Mode, where you get to pick two characters and play through a number of battles, and get an ending depending on the pair you choose; Versus Mode, where you get to fight with a friend, AI, watch replay matches or even play online with people from all over the world; and Training Mode, the place for you to hone your skills and also find out about those glitches in the game that bring about infinite combos.
Click here for the English translations in the Options and Training menu, as well as how to play online.
The computer AI is quite good and worthy enough to beat the crap out of you. And I have to say that in the Arcade Mode, the AI gets harder and harder to beat as you progress- not to mention irritating you without fail by spamming you with their long range moves. Ronove and Virgilia are usually the ones who get on my nerves.
The controls are quite easy to learn- all characters have those hadoken, shinkuu-hadouken, shoryuken and their reverses quarter-circles and half-circle moves that just differ depending on what final button is pushed (A, B, C, or a combination). There’s also the mandatory jump, dash and reverse dash (but sadly, there’s no aerial dash.) And jumping is almost silly in the game since you can’t block when you do so it renders you completely defenseless from any kind of attack. Though at least there are special moves you can do whilst in the air.
You can swap characters with the D button, also called ‘Touch‘, and you can do it in various ways (others require using the directional buttons): whether while standing, blocking, receiving damage, dashing or when performing a combo. You can make use of these options to beat up your opponent in the most brutal way you can you can think of.
Then we have the unique and super-ish moves called the ‘Meta-World’, which is activated by pressing the A+B+C buttons simultaneously. This consumes a minimum of one bar of your SP Gauge. Besides changing the background of your battlefield dramatically after enabling it (which looks so cool with inverted-like colors), you will be entitled to use your powerful supers, called Meta Supers, absolutely free of cost. You will also activate the unique abilities your characters possess – for example, Battler’s Resurrection (restores health) and Beatrice’s Infinity SP (perform one super of any kind for free).
There’s no English patch yet that’s been released for this game, though I’m really wishing that a team of techie Umineko fans are on the works. If Melty Blood has such a patch (the whole visual novel + fighting games at that), then there’s a high probability Umineko will have one as well. I hope, since I really want to know more about the story and what the characters are talking about!
Besides the nice game-play and awesome graphics, I also have to give my respects to the wonderful music and voice acting that comes along with this Umineko masterpiece. Yes, there are noticeable flaws, but we also have to consider that they didn’t release any beta version of this game. If you love Umineko, then you have to try this out!
RATING: 7.2/10
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