Fighting Climax is here to make all of your fan fiction battles come to life!
You remember that one time when you asked the video game gods to put all of your favorite anime and video game characters into one awesome fighting game? You didn’t? Oh well, Fighting Climax is here and it is everything you didn’t even know you asked for.
At it's surface, Fighting Climax is a beautiful game. From the menus down to the battle combos this game does not disappoint visually. All of your favorites are there, well, that is if you have been watching modern Anime for the past 10 years. Sword Art Online and Durarara in the same game?! Yes please! All of the character sprites are very reminiscent and spot on with the character designs of their respective shows with variations that add to the fan fiction fueled drool fest that is this game.
So we get it, this game is beautiful, but how does it play? Well I am glad you asked! Fighting Climax is a powerhouse of a game. A large variety of characters, party combinations, and attack combinations makes this game incredibly immersive. I am by no means a fighting game expert but I have played my share and I would absolutely say that this title has outshined my last few ventures in the the genre. Basic gameplay is similar to Guilty Gear, Blazbu, and other fighters of the sort. Short light novel scenes accompanied by fights in progressing stages.
While playing the game you first choose your character from a very diverse and impressive cast of modern Anime and video games “Who's Who”, if you will. This game also implements an “assist character” that you choose to accompany you in battle. This character will provide assistance in combos a lot like the Marvel Vs Capcom Series. Although none of the assist characters are playable as main characters, it is still a nice way to incorporate a larger roster.
The game is flawed in a few aspects you might expect from a portable fighter. During larger combos and animation scenes there is slight lag. A few of the combos feel unresponsive at times, leaving you frustrated and discouraged. But when you do pull off that Climax attack it makes everything right with the world, that is if it actually connects. At times while playing this game, I felt like the hit box parameters were a bit “selective”. The only other flaw I could really bring to light is the lack of a learning curve. There is not much instruction, aside from practice mode like most fighting games, but where this game gets a little frustrating is in the fact that your first two matches will seem like child's play, followed by Gill from Third Strike.
I would say this game is a great collaboration of modern anime culture and how in depth fighting games have become. I think anyone who hasn’t played much of the genre will be able to find their footing and maybe step out of their element and enjoy what they find, while fighting champions still enjoy it's tried and true mechanics and diversity.
This Gamer gives it a 4 out of 5
Fighting Climax is available on PlayStation 3 and Vita. Thanks to Sega for providing the game for review.