One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows Review
One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows
Publisher: BANDAI NAMCO
Developer: Spike Chunsoft
Genre:
PEGI:
Comments:
As a fan of the show by the same name, as well as a long time Mortal Kombat enthusiast, I could not wait to get started playing One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows. At first, it seemed like a match made in heaven. While some aspects of the game were more in-depth and impressive than I would have suspected, others were equally less impressive than I had hoped. Let’s dive right in and see what awaits us in One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows!
You begin your journey in One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows as with so many others, on the character creation screen. After you create your very own, passably customizable hero, along with given and superhero names, you are quickly tossed into the world of the up and coming hero. You begin as a lowly C-ranked hero, and you roam around the map collecting quests (to fight) which will it turn offer you EXP to boost your ranking, as well as other currencies which help your character development. After completing enough of the quests, you unlock different areas of the map and start collecting city contribution points.
The graphics in A Hero Nobody Knows look shockingly similar to the anime, which I must give the developer full credit for – this is no easy task when converting a movie or TV show into a game (just ask any Disney-inspired game). While looking good, with flashy animations and smooth-flowing combos, the fighting system is, well, quite confusing at first. The harsh realities of being a low-level hero with stronger heroes as your backup are less exciting than it may sound, although it is enjoyable watching Saitama come in and drop your opponent with the titular “one punch”.
Your support’s arrival is time-based, and the better you perform in your fights, the faster your backup will arrive to help you finish the fight. I found I would often either have finished the fight or lost it long before my timer had concluded and Saitama had shown up to assist, making the use of him as your Arrival teammate impractical to say the least. This is not to say the entire system is poorly designed, I just wish I got to put in more face-time with the shows main character, that’s all.
As fighting games go, its depth is slightly lacking when comparing it to a Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat or Tekken title. Stocked with the default light attacks, heavy attacks and satisfying combos abound, even the well-executed animations cannot stop the focus from being distracted by the RPG elements present in the game. These include changing your hero types and killer moves, all of which are unlocked through progression and can be used to tweak the combat style of your hero. The inconsistency of strategic successful can lead to intense bouts of frustration and will keep you on your toes as you must constantly adapt your playstyle to the fight at hand.
Unfortunately, instead of bridging the gap between fighting game and RPG, One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows can often feel like the game that fell into the cracks between these monolithic genres. That being said, there are certainly upsides to this title. Fans of the anime’s comedic style will be pleased to know it has been carried over into the game and this, for me, is one of the best parts of the game. The points awarded upon mission completion can be put towards increasing your hero’s health and power, which does offer a sense of progression otherwise lacking.
Overall, One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows is a game that will appeal mostly to fans of the anime who also enjoy fighting games. If you are someone who fits smack dab in the centre of that Venn diagram, then look no further – you will find plenty of enjoyment here. For everyone else, it is certainly entertaining enough to compel one to complete the campaign but after that, there is very little to retained wide-spread interest for those who don’t find themselves in the ‘diehard fan’ category.