Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax is a 2D arcade fighting game co-developed by Ecole Software and French Bread, and published by Sega of America. Released in Japanese arcades on March 18th, 2014 , the console release celebrates the 20th anniversary of ASCII Media Works’ Dengeki Bunko imprint, which features popular characters from various light novels. Initially, the Japanese console version(s) of Fighting Climax received an update back in July that contained additional characters and rebalanced gameplay mechanics. The North American release of Fighting Climax comes with said update.
The game includes a roster of fourteen fighters (all from eleven different light novel series and two Sega franchises) and twenty-three assist characters that lend their support similar to The King of Fighters 2000 by SNK-PLaymore. The fighters themselves herald from a variety of popular Anime adaptions, including Durarara!! and Sword Art Online, to name just a few. It’s worth noting that all characters are voiced by their respective actors from a variety of Anime, providing a level of fan service never before seen in a fighting game. Fighting Climax also uses a variety of backgrounds from popular Sega franchises, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Valkyria Chronicles and Virtua Fighter.
Like most 2D fighters, Fighting Climax comes with a variety of game modes. Aside from Story Mode (which contains the arcade mode from the coin-op), the player can battle the CPU in single match ups in Versus mode or test their skills in either Score Attack, Time Attack or Survival mode respectively. Any character art or music that unlocks during the game can be viewed from the Main Menu via the ‘Special’ tab. Moreover, gamers looking to brush up on their 2D fighting skills can do so by using the available Training mode.
The gameplay is similar to modern 2D fighters such as the Arcana Heart series by developer Examu. Fighting Climax uses a three button configuration for attacking (i.e. weak, medium and strong), and a fourth ‘support’ button to summon an assist character. These assist characters can only be summoned when their ‘Support’ gauge is filled. When an assist character is used, their attacks can compliment any combos executed by the player. The Climax Gauge is also important, as it builds up from the player attacking. Once this gauge reaches its maximum, the player can execute powerful Impact Skill attacks or perform Blast Attacks to interrupt their opponent’s combos.
Fighting Climax’s combo system caters to gamers of all skill levels. While the system is flexible enough to allow massive 50+ hit combos, it also rewards less experienced players that experiment while playing. For example: rapidly tapping Square button (weak attack) and Square button (medium attack) in succession results in an instant 4 or 5-hit combo depending on the fighter being used. Experimenting with the attack buttons usually results in high damage custom combos (a feature that is uncommon in most fighting games).
The game also benefits from having online multiplayer, but the available community is rather small. Incidentally, the gamers that do play Fighting Climax are some of the best ever to grace a fighting game. Sadly, the online netcode provides a seemingly unstable environment riddled with lag. There are occasions when an online match is lag free, but it’s quite rare.
Despite some flaws, Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax is one of the better fighting games for PS Vita. The vibrant graphics, smooth animation and simplified combo system make it an easy pick for any gamer’s Holiday wishlist. Just don’t expect seamless online play.
Mike Pittaro
Platform: PS Vita (Also available on PS3)
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
ESRB: T (Teen)
Price: $29.99
Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Official Website: http://fightingclimax.sega.com/
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |  |
| Gorgeous 2D sprites and backgrounds | |
| Sound |  |
| A likable soundtrack and plenty of well-known voice actors. | |
| Gameplay | |
| The controls respond well and the combo system is easy to use. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Despite some flaws, Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax is one of the better fighting games for PS Vita. | |
