I wish I could say that I had a good time with this game, but as a single player arcade experience, it kinda sucks. A lot of the characters in the latter half of the arcade run are just way too obnoxious, and combo you into oblivion that it just feels cheap to fight against. From supers that feel way too overpowered to ridiculous combos the CPU can pull off after stage 5; the game just feels like a gauntlet of super boss fights that need to be exploited over learning the game. It doesn't really help that a lot of the cast feels very geared toward specialized niche roles in fighting games only to face the same kinda boss rush as everyone else, and just feeling rather hopeless when it comes to certain fights. Like the arcade run, at a certain point feels like it's all about rock / paper /scissors in terms of interaction that there isn't much fun to be had, and if a character is ill equipped or you don't have enough knowledge on how to use them you're basically flushing all your quarters down the drain.

Thankfully, the actual basics and combo system are genuinely stellar. The way that basic attacks and special moves combo make this game feel far more artistic in it's fighting expression than most fighters I've played so far. On top of that, the button layout and use of simple commands make for a very intuitive learning curve that feels like a proper pick up and play attitude. All the characters have fairly unique movement too, and play different enough that it feels like a proper robust roster despite being relatively new, as it's only the second version of it's game series.

Akatsuki Blitzkampf certainly has an interesting style to it, and while I wish I could understand any part of it's story, it still remains quite expressive. All the characters feel unique to play with, music has good pacing to it, and the backgrounds give a very rustic vibe. If you're looking for a new fighter to play, I don't think you could go wrong with this game, just don't expect to have as much fun by yourself as you would playing against others.

Reviewed on Mar 19, 2024


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