Developed by French Bread, Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[st] is an updated version of Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late, a 2D fighting game that first appeared in Japanese arcades back in September 2013, and then later released for the Playstation 3 during the summer of 2014.
The Playstation 4 release of Latest comes packed with all the content, fighters and tweaked game mechanics of its arcade counterpart, resulting in a rock-solid fighter worthy of the praise it receives. Latest contains a significant amount of changes, including the way the player earns Grind Grid (or GRD) and Meter during the course of each round.
The Transfer State gauge has also been tweaked with a slight speed increase, even though it will decrease based on the amount of time the player receives damage. EX specials consume a small amount of CrossCast Veil Off Gauge when the player’s fighter is low on health. The goal here is to increase neutral play and yomi. It should also be mentioned that the length of GRD Break (when using Guard Thrust) has been adjusted to increase the Blocking and Shielding of the player’s fighter.
Where the character roster is concerned – all twenty fighters have received new buffs to increase their range, allowing for a variety of new combos during gameplay. This feature not only makes the fighters appear more distinct, but it also provides an easy-to-use, casual-friendly system where newcomers can pick up a joystick and perform combos with ease. But that doesn’t mean the game lacks depth, though. Latest includes well over 100 tutorials where the player can learn a variety of moves for each character.
The gameplay has remained virtually unchanged since the Playstation 3 version. In Arcade Mode, after selecting a fighter (and reading through a few cut scenes), the player is sent through nine random matches before encountering the final boss. Combat is based on a three button attack system – Weak (Square), Medium (Triangle), and Strong (Circle). The X button is reserved for EXS action.
As mentioned earlier, the combo system is very easy to learn. Characters like Akatsuki can easily produce 6, 7 and 8-hit combos by rapidly tapping either weak or medium attack, followed up by strong. Special attacks are based on the well-established half-circle, quarter-circle control scheme used in most 2D fighting games. The Infinite Worths EXS attacks are some of the most impressive moves available in-game, filling the screen with bright, psychedelic colors, large explosions and fancy attack maneuvers. Basically, it’s more of the same, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Gamers who grow tired of Arcade Mode can experience the provided ‘Chronicle’ mode, which includes over ten hours of gorgeous cut scenes delivered in a visual novel format. (This mode explains the on-going battle between In-births and Voids respectively.) If this isn’t enough, Latest also includes local co-op and online matches via the Playstation Network. The game’s online community isn’t as large as, say, Street Fighter V or Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite, but it’s big enough to find opponents for most matches.
While not the sequel fans were expecting, Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[st] does an admirable job of addressing gameplay issues, while also implementing new features that were absent from the Playstation 3 version. This is one update worth buying, especially for fans of the series and anyone serious about 2D fighting games.
Mike Pittaro
Platform: Playstation 4
Developer: Arc System Works/French Bread
Publisher: Aksys Games
ESRB: T (Teen)
Price: $39.99
Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[st] Official Website:
aksysgames.com/unist/
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |  |
| Beautiful 2D graphics and sounds. | |
| Sound | |
| Loud explosions, screams and great voice acting enhance the experience. | |
| Gameplay |  |
| Gameplay has remained virtually unchanged since the Playstation 3 version. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Under Night In-Birth Exe: Latest does an admirable job of addressing the gameplay issues that plagued its Playstation 3 sibling. | |
