Game review: My Hero Academia: All's Justice (PS5)

Fighting games come in a lot of different flavours that cater to specific types of audiences. People like my brother prefer traditional 1v1 matches like those seen in recent Tekken and Mortal Kombat games. Others might like the fast-paced action of tag-team matches like the enjoyable Marvel vs. Capcom series.

There are also 3D or 2D perspectives that change the gameplay drastically. For the recently released My Hero Academia: All's Justice, the game is a 3D anime brawler that features epic 3v3 battles and a lengthy story mode that follows the narrative of the original anime.

Before I begin talking about the gameplay, My Hero Academia: All's Justice graphics are quite impressive. The game takes place in open arenas, and the character models look like they have been ripped straight out of the anime.

Not to mention, the game mostly performs really well on a base PS5 system. During normal 3v3 gameplay, the game mostly runs at a stable 60fps at all times. The only time the frames might drop is when you execute cinematic finishers. As for the resolution, the game runs at native 4K and looks gorgeous.

As for the core gameplay, My Hero Academia: All's Justice plays similarly to many recent Dragon Ball Z video games because it has an over-the-shoulder camera viewpoint. As aforementioned, the game levels are arenas so characters can run around as freely as possible, unlike in 2.5D perspective games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat.

However, the biggest difference here compared to Dragon Ball Z is that the characters don't usually fly, so the fights are mostly grounded. Another thing that impressed me is that the move list for each character is identical. You don't have to remember different move sets as you do in the Tekken games.

For example, every character can jump using the X button, while Square and Triangle control their basic punches and kicks. You can then initiate a character's unique move by pressing the Circle button. Every character has their own special powers, so it pays to try out which one you like the best.

If I'm playing as Izuku Midorya, his special ability is a whip that can attack opponents from a short distance. Another unique character is Tsuyu Asui, and she has the same abilities as a frog because she has a long tongue.

My favourite character in the game, though, has to be Ochaco Uraraka. She has the ability to conjure up meteors for some reason, and it's cool to spam her attacks on her opponents.

The game also has something called a 'Plus Ultra' move, which is each character's cinematic finisher. When the bar is full on the bottom of the screen, you need to press R1 and Circle to initiate their ultimate move.

The other special move that each character has is their 'Rising' form. In Dragon Ball terms, this is My Hero Academia's version of turning 'Super Saiyan' because it gives characters better strength and more special moves to execute.

The last thing you have to know about the controls is that pressing L2 or R2 lets you tag in your partners. There might be a cooldown period you have to wait for because you cannot keep tagging in and out all of the time in this game.

In terms of game modes, there's a ton to explore in this game. First of all, there are the Training and Tutorial modes that should get you up to speed with the game's controls and fighting mechanics. Obviously, this is where most beginners should start if you have never played a My Hero Academia game before.

The 'Battle' mode is where you can play fights against the CPU or a second player in your own home. You're free to set how long each battle will last, as well as the difficulty of your opponents if you're playing against the CPU. Similarly, you can also choose 'Network' mode to play against online players.

Other modes in the game include 'Archive Battle' and 'Missions'. Archive Battles lets you play iconic fights from the original series, while 'Missions' are special team-up battles that you can partake in.

The 'Story' mode is the main single-player campaign where fans can relive the epic 'Final War' storyline from the anime/manga. The fights in the story mode can be very unique because not all of them are 3v3 battles.

Sometimes you could engage in 3v1 battles against the AI, or you could be pitted against the odds in difficult 1v3 battles instead! Not to mention, the story mode does not have a difficulty setting, so you will have to work hard in order to make it to the end.

The only thing I did not like about the story mode is that the game does not do a good job of telling a new fan like me what the heck was going on. The game assumes you should know the characters and story already, and some of the cutscenes didn't make sense to me.

The other thing that will annoy people is the lack of difficulty settings in the story. Some of the fights can be unfair, and the CPU can block or avoid all of your moves all of the time as well.

The cutscenes in the story mode are also disappointing because they are mostly static images rather than scenes from the anime. The last Demon Hunter game I played did a better job of putting in actual cutscenes and letting me know what was going on for newbies.

Overall, My Hero Academia: All's Justice has a fun and fast-paced 3v3 mode, with decent graphics to boot. The only thing holding the game down is the disappointing and difficult story mode.