Blade Strangers Reviews
Will you be picking up Blade Strangers, or do you have it already? What do you think of the game? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter, and keep an eye on Rice Digital for more coverage of both fighting games and other Japanese titles.
Eschewing the Byzantine systems of many modern anime fighters, Blade Strangers invites fans weaned on early 90s arcade fighters back into the fold.
For $39.99 Blade Strangers is the kind of game where you will know right away whether or not it is for you. It’s not a hardcore fighting game which is fine since it’s really not trying to be one. This is just a fun little game to appreciate some of the lesser known characters in gaming and give them some spotlight. For that, Blade Strangers is a lot of fun, however that does mean its audience will likely end up being very limited. While it can provide a few solid hours of fun, its lasting value will depend on how much you enjoy the characters featured here. If you are someone who really enjoys Code of Princess or Umihara Kawase, you should check this one out and can probably add half a star to the review score.
You'll get a quick dose of fun from it, but quickly move on to something more fulfilling in the fighting game genre soon after.
Blade Strangers is a less-than-unique fighting game with excellent graphics. Unfortunately great visuals alone don’t make a fun game. If you have an affinity toward the characters and don’t mind a paint-by-the-numbers fighting game, then definitely pick this one up.
While Blade Strangers is a perfectly competent fighting game it will struggle to find an audience. Too simple for fighting fans, too niche for kids and not enough story for fans of the source material, it simply fails to meet the mark.
Decent. That's the only thing that comes to mind when thinking about Blade Strangers. Besides the novelty of being able to choose amongst indie game characters from Studio Sanzensen and Nicalis, there's nothing special about this fighter, other than the fact that it's built in such a way that it makes it a perfect entry for genre greenhorns.
Blade Strangers isn't an outright terrible game; it just doesn't feel like the concept ever got off the ground. While characters retain their charm, story suffers from a lack of originality. There is also a distinct lack of depth, as combos are fairly straightforward, with some moves using repeated inputs adding unneeded mistakes. Add in lackluster and in some cases awful sprites and it's an experience that really comes down to if you like the characters enough to see them in a new setting. If this is enough, then you might like this, otherwise it's a paint by numbers fighting game that doesn't do anything well enough to stand out beyond the fact notable characters are present.
This is a fun, accessible fighter that casuals can jump into that also has depth that more seasoned fighting fans will appreciate. It's definitely worth checking out.