Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax Review

Crossovers are all the rage these days. Capcom and Nintendo might be the masters of their craft, but SEGA has plans to shake up the anime world with Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax, a crossover fighter featuring some of the biggest names in anime. Will this game take you for a ride, or should you keep rocking elsewhere?

Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax Review

Ever played a 2D fighter? You’re already ahead of the game with Dengeki Bunko. In true 2D fighting game fashion, battles play out with a bevvy of combos and quarter-circle moves. However, Dengeki Bunko cribs notes from some of the greatest fighters out there. Persona 4 Arena’s auto combo system is present here, allowing players to mash out combos by continuously pressing a single button. Guilty Gear’s “Roman cancel” system is also in place for certain characters, allowing players to cancel out of combos and jump into others. Even the assists made famous from The King of Fighters make an appearance. As a result, the game feels instantly familiar while still remaining fresh.

However, the biggest wrinkle to Dengeki Bunko’s fighting game system is its counter system. Unlike Street Fighter’s parries or Garou’s Just Defends, the counters present here are more akin to the ones found in Super Smash Bros. By performing a specific action, opponents can be baited into attacking, leading to even more damage. It leads to a more defensive style of play, one that makes reading your opponent absolutely crucial. This is the hallmark of a true fighting game, one that the fighting game community absolutely devours.

If anything, the only thing that could make Dengeki Bunko’s system even better would be an air dash and ukemi system. Some characters may possess these skills, but removing them from certain characters’ repertoire of moves sometimes makes the whole shebang feel slower than it has any right to be.

But what about the fanservice? No need to worry there – Dengeki Bunko has that in spades. Characters from Durarara!!, Oreimo, Sword Art Online, and even The Devil is a Part-Timer! make their playable debut here. All are lovingingly recreated from their respective series, with some of the most creative fighting game moves to date (UFO catcher supers, anyone?). SEGA’s stable of characters also gets some love, with to Sonic, Valkyria Chronicles, and even Virtua Fighter present.

Everything in Dengeki Bunko is tied together with its story mode. Presented in a light visual-novel format, each character speaks with their opponent before and after each match. There is an overarching plot with the nefarious Zersumu, but almost all encounters play out the same. Still, it’s interesting to see how each character reacts to certain situations. A Dream Mode is also present, which shows a more varied set of dialog choices between the characters, tailored around each specific character. It’s a real treat for fans of the respective anime series.

Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax is a tribute to SEGA, fighting games, and some of the hottest anime properties out there today. The fanservice may bring all the fans to the battlefield, but the deep fighting mechanics will keep them around for weeks (if not months) to come.