Under Night In-Melty B...Okay, let's just call it another Anime Fighter.

[Frequency]

NOTE
Please tell me if I broke a rule or something with the images and all that good stuff. ONWARDS
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Man. Has it been years since I last came here. Hi, all. I'm Tatsuma, the resident fightan game playur here (no one else seems to share my passion for them but we're not gonna talk about that), and before I get on with this review, I just want to let you all know what you're getting into. HINT: I'll spoiler tag it if you don't care, but it won't be long.

Spoiler:

A while back, I was working on a guide for Persona 4 Arena for the board, and it started off decently enough, but it lacked a lot of things, typically...time? That and I lacked information about the characters as compared to now. Now that I've done a couple events, hit up dustloop, all that good stuff, I can confidently say that that guide is gonna get done, except it will be converted into a guide for the new game, Persona 4 Arena: Ultimax. So for those who like Persona 4 Arena, stick by me, and I'll have a guide up for that too. As far as what it has to do with this review, I'll make sure that all questions and whatnot get addressed right here now that I'm actually more versed in the field and not a slobbering moron. Will I make a walkthrough/guide for this game? Ehhh maybe not. We'll see.

Alright! Now that the boring crap is done, let's get to the review of...

Now with Pictures! Dynamic review voices not included in this package.
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• Under Night In-Birth? Sounds like some weeb game. And why is the main character so edgy? Anyway, what's it about?

First off, Hyde isn't edgy. That's Se-aaaaaah, anyway.

To be completely and utterly honest, since I can't read Japanese, we aren't covering the story right now. The game is only out in JP right now (If there was a reason to stop reading this review, here is one of them, go make an omelet or something) and so as such, is in a language I cannot understand. If you really, and I mean REALLY care about the story, https://in-birth.wikia.com/wiki/Under_Night_In-Birth_Wiki is your best bet. DO NOT USE THIS AS A PRIMER FOR THE GAME TECH THOUGH. THEIR FRAME DATA IS OFF AND IT JUST OUTRIGHT SUCKS RIGHT NOW. USE MIZUUMI.

• Uh...okay. So is this made from someone famous or is this just some indie game born and raised in #TheStruggle?

The game is made by French Bread. They made Melty Blood. Melty Blood is a fighting game based off of the renowned Visual Novel, Tsukihime. Next question.

• Oh, neat! Alright, get to the juicy bits. Mechanics, flow, all that good garbage.

Note: Chaos Sucks. A LOT.
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Alright, so let's break this down. Thanks to this picture here, I can explain most of the mechanics and whatnot in ONE GO.

Spoiler:

SWEET.

Under Night (UNiEL, UNiB) plays in a 2D fashion, like most fighters. It's got your basic things, blocking, overheads, jumping, all that stuff...the basics. Simple right?

WRONG
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Now let's talk about the advanced mechanics. Notice your super meter bars. See how there are two halves? But wait, it says 30.41 meter....that looks mathematically wrong! What were those Japanese coders doing?! Well, for one, in this game, you have two, yes, TWO meters. IN ONE. Tl;dr, you hae 200 meter available to you instead of 100. This allows for maybe 2 supers in one combo, or access to your IW (Infinite Worth, basically your 200% Meter super), Veil Off (Which is basically OVERDRIVE-er, infinite meter for a short amount of time) or extra meter to Shield-wait, shields?

Shield is another advanced mechanic in this game. What shield does is it basically lowers blockstun for you by a bit and acts as a pushblock giving you more time to punish a move, more options, maybe some breathing room for you to mash dp amiright~~~, whatever. It takes meter though. So be careful. Speaking of meters...let's talk about the one in the middle of the screen. You see it? Yeah? That's your GRD (Grind? Grid?) Vorpal. (Vorpal????) Grid Vorpal goes up and down depending on the flow of the match. Walking Forward, attacking, doing assault (Which is a hop done by pressing Forward+X, every attack is an overhead in this state), and is lost by walking backwards or backdashing. Blocking gives you some however, and shielding gives you more. You can also charge it by holding down D. Having GRD allows you to Chain Shift, which resets your position. It serves as a cancel, except you can also do it from neutral, or in the middle of an opponent attacking you when there's an opening. Pretty cool stuff. Oh, and a Guard Cancel/Guard Break/Whatever you call it. Also, every character has their own unique skill by pressing B+D (you'll learn these things), like Akatsuki's Parry, Nanase's Double Jump, or Orie's high jump!
Now then. Onto the rest of the review!
Mechanics: 10/10

• How's the soundtrack? Is it funky or is it Mongolian Country Music?

Wait, how would you know what that sounds like? Well anyway, the OST for UNIB is pretty chill. Character's themes are distinct, from Linne's piano medley with a touch of trance, to Merkava's Wavesteppy like theme, to Hyde's "I bring the synth to the party" main character like theme. All in all, a good listen for the ears. AND THIS GAME LOOPS WITHOUT ACTUALLY RESTARTING THE SONG.
OST: 9/10

• Is it fun? How about for the casuals? We all can't waste our lives in fighting games like you.

Well ouch. Anyway, it's fun enough. I mean in higher competitive play, you'll notice the HUGE barrier in tier lists (Hint: Don't play Chaos or Akatsuki or Seth) but if you're a casual, you'll enjoy the game just fine. It even has a auto-combo mechanic so you can feel like you're doing something even if you aren't!
As far as the game itself, it's just fine. It's smooth, fast, netcode is reliable, and is pretty good all around. Of course, there are issues that I NEED TO BE FIXED, but that's from a non-casual standpoint, and that's the view we're using, so there. I WILL say that once you try to do real combos, they can be pretty tough, and the execution barrier can be strict at times. But it's a fighting game! PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!
HOWEVER, there is NO challenge mode...which kinda sucks because that means you have to go out and look for combos. For the casuals, this is pretty bad. So...there's a point.
Fun Factor/Gameplay: 9/10 (It would be 8.5 but the satisfaction of doing this in this game is too real)
competitivelyIgiveita7.5-8
Casual Accessibility: 6 (This varies since Auto-Combo exists but what about when they leave? But then again, they won't be casual anymore, will they? Hmm...)
Learning Curve: 7

• Visuals? Effects? Does it look good?

Familiar with French Bread? Yes? 10/10. No? 10/10. Effects are smooth, nice, don't give you epilepsy (Porygon?), and it even has a gallery mode! AND it runs at 60FPS!
Graphics: 10/10

• GALLERIES? What else is there to unlock? How are the extras?

Sadly, you only got Survival Mode and Score Attack. No Abyss mode or anything like that. But you can buy Colors for your characters! That beats needing DLC, right? However, the score attack mode is easy, and survival gets boring. Oh, I forgot about Time Attack. Yeah. Time Attack. Least the gallery pictures are decent. And Hyde has the best colors in the game. But the extras in this game are severely lacking. Here's to more content!
Extras: 6/10

• How's the netcode?

Unless your opponent is on the other side of the coast and their net sucks, or they live in Japan (Which even then it's still decent), excellent. The game has lobbies, which is a plus. And you can even leave the match and return to the lobby if something happens between you and your opponent without LEAVING the lobby! I think that's really cool. But just note that the ranking system is weird, stupid, and it kinda sucks.
Netcode: 9/10. Instant 10 if wired.

• Final Verdict?

8/10

So far, I love this game. A lot. Honestly, it's a 9/10 on my end, but I have to be fair. I wish some things got thought out before the game dropped, but I digress. It's still relatively new, and things are still being discovered, but right now, it's a blast to play. If you're a casual, you'll appreciate the visuals, the auto-combo system, and the fun of the characters. They even added Sion from Melty Blood! But if you ARE a casual, getting into the game will take a bit of time and drive to get into the game. For the guys like me who are into FGs, this game is an amazing pickup. However, some characters get away with TOO damn much. (Thanks Gordeau, Linne) But I still suck at this game, so take my opinions with a grain of salt if you must. But overall, well worth the money I paid for it, which was...absolutely nothing since someone gameshared with me! Don't worry though, I went half with 2 people, so I supported the developers, thank you.

Word of advice though, this game can only be imported right now, so if you have ANY interest in getting this, I suggest hitting up PlayAsia.com. They have you covered. For those well versed in importing, know that the Hong Kong version of the game is cheaper, so go get it from the HK PSN if you can.
Everything else has been said...sooooo yeah! Have fun, and remember, fightan gaems ahr fun~
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