A Soul Reaper’s Rumble?
The last time I played a BLEACH game (BLEACH: Brave Souls, to be exact) it ended up costing me over £200. You see, I thought that the characters and the world that the game introduced to me were pretty interesting, so I bought an issue of the manga, and the rest is history.
Now, having read all the manga multiple times and watched the anime, I feel qualified to review another game. Step forward BLEACH Rebirth of Souls, the latest in the list of licensed games from TAMSOFT CORPORATION and Bandai Namco.
From Manga to Mayhem
Billed as a fighting game, basically, what Rebirth of Souls does is cover the early part of Ichigo’s story; pretty much anything before the Thousand Year Blood War arc. So, can this game live up to my expectations as a BLEACH fan?
We’ll kick off with the presentation first of all, and here the news is excellent, as it is like playing an episode of the anime, with a very strong look to the characters and everyone being instantly recognisable. The animation is equally impressive, and while the arenas that we fight in seem to be fairly generic, for a fighting game, everything is as you would like it to be. The flashy moves you can pull off are very good indeed, and all in all, if you’ve watched the anime, you’ll feel right at home here.
The sound is also very good, with fully voiced cutscenes and suitably impressive fighting effects, whether you are fighting Hollows in the story or other characters in the multiplayer modes. All in all, the presentation really works well.
A Substitute Soul Reaper’s Saga
Story of the game will be familiar to any fellow BLEACH fans out there, following Ichigo Kurosaki, a teenager who can see ghosts. One day, he is visited by a Soul Reaper called Rukia, and due to events ends up with her powers and the title of Substitute Soul Reaper. From here, the story gets weirder and much more involved, covering Ichigo’s attempts to save the world, basically.
This game follows the arcs of the manga all the way up to the start of the Thousand Year Blood War arc, and so there is a good amount of contant to go at. The story is presented at great length, and quite often the cutscenes are so long that my Xbox had gone into standby state and was flashing info up about nearby achievements by the time we were ready to actually fight. I didn’t mind this, but the cutscenes are skippable if you don’t care for the unfolding narrative.
Konpaku Clash: BLEACH Rebirth of Souls’ Fighting System
Now, the actual fighting action is where we go next and the story mode of the game follows the manga closely. It has you step in to take part in key battles in the timeline, hopping around to cover a lot of ground very quickly. Whatever, the battles are usually quite interesting with it all reminding almost of a Smash Bros type way of playing. Let me explain.
Each character we either play as or fight against in BLEACH Rebirth of Souls has a stack of Konpaku, literally translated as Soul containers. In order to win a bout, you have to reduce your opponent’s Konpaku to zero.
Just to make things even more complicated, each Konpaku has a health bar, known as Reishi. Reducing the Reishi to a suitable level will allow you to unleash a powerful move that can reduce the Konpaku count by several (each character is different in this regard) and obviously, while you are trying to do this, your opponent is trying to do the same to you.
There is a lot more to the fighting system than this (and a trip through the tutorial is very much recommended) but this is the basic aim. It matters about the enemy you are fighting too, as large enemies require more battering before a special move can be unleashed, while human type foes can require less. Broad brush strokes, but hopefully you get the idea.
Story Modes and Multiplayer Mayhem
There are a few modes to go at as well, with the Story mode following the action, and in here there are also Secret Stories that flesh out the back story a little. These can help us understand why certain characters act in certain ways, and are well worth playing through.
Sticking with the offline modes for a moment, there are also missions to take part in, which challenge us to defeat a certain number of enemies using a single character. This gives us a lot more of the collectibles than the story mode does, and since these items can alter the way that our character is built, it is all very interesting. There is also the opportunity to fight against friends in couch play, without having to venture into the online wilderness, and this also works well.
BLEACH Rebirth of Souls’ Network Performance
Working less well are the various online modes, as while there is no shortage of players to have a ruck against, the netcode seems to be running a little slow, and the input lag is usually enough to help you to lose.
Of course, the online players have had time to find all the characters that are way overpowered (*cough* Captain General Yamamoto *cough*) and so you really need to be awake to succeed. Even then, too often it seems that your fate is in the hands of the internet connection gods, and this does spoil things somewhat.
A Great BLEACH Game, Even with Online Hiccups
But in all, BLEACH Rebirth of Souls is a great entry into the BLEACH universe. The story is well done and while the online side of things is a bit of a mess (not all the game’s fault, as online players will always adopt anything that lets them win) you’ll find plenty of fun within.
You don’t even need to be a BLEACH super fan to enjoy the action, but the game has clearly been made by people who care about the series, and this shows. Now where’s the Thousand Year Blood War arc?
Your BLEACH Links
Unleash Your Bankai as BLEACH Rebirth of Souls Slashes Onto Xbox, PlayStation, PC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/unleash-your-bankai-as-bleach-rebirth-of-souls-slashes-onto-xbox-playstation-pc/
BLEACH Rebirth of Souls – Can You Reverse Your Fate? – https://www.thexboxhub.com/bleach-rebirth-of-souls-can-you-reverse-your-fate/
Buy BLEACH Rebirth of Souls on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/bleach-rebirth-of-souls/9PJK7WPHWM8L/0010
There’s a Deluxe Edition – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/bleach-rebirth-of-souls-deluxe-edition/9NZVGKSVXM8G/0010
And a big Ultimate Edition – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/bleach-rebirth-of-souls-ultimate-edition/9NLH3QH09FKF/0010
