The F2P Experience: Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising
by William Hernandez
New fighting games being free-to-play isn't something you see every day. It's a risky model after all as once you allow players to get into online matches then you've basically provided them 80% of the experience of the full game; suddenly, it becomes hard to sell players on paying $50 just to get a few more features. For a somewhat niche series like Granblue Fantasy, though, it actually makes some sense as for why they decided to make a free edition.
First of all, the dedicated fanbase of the series is likely to pay full price for Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising regardless of there being a free alternative. That's money that Cygames depends on. What makes a greater difference from their perspective is the general consumer who likely has never seriously considered playing a game like Granblue before. Fighting games depend on casual players the most and there's nothing more attractive to the casual audience than a free look at a game. When you can get players invested in trying out the different characters and then build upon that interest even more with DLC (2B is a pretty strong pull, let's be real), you can make a substantial profit off of people who would have never tried out your game otherwise.
All that explanation for its existence aside, let's talk in more detail about what the free-to-play experience is actually like in Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising.
Learning the Character(s)
One of the most apparent negatives to playing the free edition is the lack of character choice. Players are limited to just 4 options at any given time. One of them is Gran who is permanently available and the other 3 get rotated out on a weekly basis. So if you really want to play as a specific character that's not Gran, you're going to be out of luck for long stretches of time. If you want to learn someone new just for the week, though, nothing's stopping you. Players have all the necessary facilities to train and practice their combos as is available in the full game. While it makes the most sense to learn Gran to the fullest, you're never forced to play as him even if he is the only constant option. If you like switching up mains often, then the rotation might not even be too big of an obstacle. It could become a built-in excuse to try out something different. Some characters have very similar playstyles so experience with a certain somebody can also prove helpful when learning someone new to you. And just because you can't select a character, doesn't mean that they don't exist at all within your game. You can actually acquire customization options like skins for characters out of the rotation. Playing through the story, you'll actually be able to put those skins to use somewhat which I'll actually get to now.
Deep Introduction
When starting up the story, I think it's fair to say that most players aren't expecting anything particularly profound or long. Dragon Ball FighterZ, for example, is a 27 chapter campaign and that can definitely be considered long for a fighting game. Considering the fact that free players here in Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising only have access to the first part, assuming that there will be little to play through seems fair. But here's the thing, that assumption is very wrong. Part 1 has about 40 chapters by itself. That's not an insignificant time sink. Even if you don't have much care for the general gameplay loop of a fighter, the story might actually be a captivating point of interest which is definitely not typical. There are callbacks to the previous game, but it's not essential that you know of any of the past events. While the story does have traditional 1v1 battles, there's actually a good amount of combat styled in a beat 'em up manner. A few waves of enemies leading into something even grander. The game eventually gives you a CPU partner to fight alongside and that kind of reinforces the feeling. Since you don't technically play as the partner character, the game allows you to use anyone who has joined you in the story. Pictured below should be Katalina in a color I bought specifically for her. So yeah, you'll encounter the other characters from the roster and actually somewhat begin to understand who they really are beyond their appearance. If you've got a couple of hours, doesn't hurt to try it. Definitely adds some substantial appeal to the free edition.
Gateway Fighter
Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising is fairly beginner-friendly. There aren't a whole lot of overly complicated mechanics, dodging gives players a genuine option against projectile spam, and the game doesn't really necessitate demanding inputs for combos. It may have the aesthetic of an anime fighter, but it plays a lot like a traditional fighter. It differentiates itself slightly with how important weapons are to the combat, but you'll only really feel the difference when it comes to spacing. The game overall flows at a good speed. Enough time to think throughout the match, but a quick enough pace that it never really gets boring. While you might encounter some extraordinarily lame players who are happy to slowly chip away at your health, I'd say that the majority of matches feel heavy in terms of action and that's all you can ask for to feel satisfied. Speaking of fighting other players, I should mention just what options are available to you. The answer is...almost everything. While you can't set up a custom room, you can fight players online and you can actually find your friends in lobbies as well. The ranked match experience is 100% available to you and does not discriminate between the free and paid editions. In fact, I'd recommend ranked matches over casual ones if you're still learning the game. Otherwise, you might end up like me - combo food for someone with a lot more hours in the game. 90% of online matches feel silky smooth so that shouldn't be a worry at all. Just make sure that the game has put you in the right region.
Whether you have lots of experience with fighters or have never really gotten into one before, Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising is totally worth checking out. The only thing that the free edition will cost you is your time. If you like what the game has to offer, it's totally feasible to keep playing even without paying. And if you really like what the game has to offer, consider buying the full game. There's no pressure when it comes to commitment so take whatever action you deem appropriate. We'll have to wait and see if Cygames made the right financial gamble, but releasing a free edition is undeniably a player-friendly decision that should be taken advantage of.
