Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel - Game Review

Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel - Game Review

Genre: Fighting
Developer: Examu
Released: February 2, 2016

Price: $30/40 - PS3/PS4
Supplied: Purchased via PSN
DLC: Yes - 2 characters and a costume pack - DLC characters are free for the first month

Introduction
I must confess that I do not know very much about any of the licensed characters in this game from Nitroplus.  However, this is a fighting game, and an affordable one to boot, and I felt compelled to check it out.  My first impressions are that it definitely feels a lot like other games pushed out from Developer: Examu who is most well known for its Arcana Heart series.

We get 12 characters default + 2DLC as well as 20 assists.  Each Assist varies in function and its usefulness will change based on the character chosen.  They also have little stars on their portraits to show which partners are recommended for your chosen character.  The Assist's primary function seems to be combo extension for the player to do the really punishing and bone crushing damage.  Oh yeah, did I mention the damage in this game is extremely excessive?  It can scale to hilarious amounts.  Almost to the point that it invalidates the concept of Life-Leads.  Players can also die from chip it seems.

Each character gets a default 18-color palettes to choose from which is not too shabby at all.  Also, the announcer stood out to me because of how totally goofy it sounds.

This game opens up with Super Sonico and her band-mates jamming.  It has a fully animated sequence and the song is fully voiced and it introduces all of the characters in the game.  When you get to the main menu you get a further introduction from Sonico herself.  This alone is a pretty nice touch of flavor that shows a lot of love from the developers.

Options
The main menu offers up all your basics: 2 Story Modes(Story/Another Story), Versus, Score Attack, Training, Network, Gallery, and Options.

The options menu is unfortunately not very robust but it does include enough basics to get you by.  It does, surprisingly, support a Voice Chat volume slider, though, which is a nice touch.  All keys are rebindable, except the L3/R3.  There are a lot of commands for this game as well.  It is a 5-button game at its core with many compound button actions so if you play on a pad you will likely have to set a lot of macros.  Screen adjustments are also present should you require them.

Training Mode
Training mode looks almost too simplistic at first with extremely limited options, but it does, in fact, have more than one page.  You can easily switch between these like many other games with the L1/R1 keys.  Why they have no page numbers or other labels is beyond me but it's what we get.  It has all the basics like Information Display, Command List, and Dummy Controls for various situations(this includes recording and playback).  It also has a Reversal option, which can be used to have the dummy poke out with the Normal Attack of your choice to check for gaps in pressure or setting up potential Frame Traps.  It also, thankfully, includes the in-mode character/partner/stage selection ability from Aquapazza.  A fantastic feature for testing things quickly and efficiently.

It also saves all of your previous settings so you can easily pick up where you left off.

Netplay
Network mode is also fairly bare-bones on options.  Offering your typical game modes of Ranked and Player Matches, it also has options to accept invites, see player data, and ranking.  The Player Match options for room building are extremely limited, offering only Room Size, Private Slots, Rounds, and a simple but serviceable Connection filter.  This mode does support microphones so you can talk among your friends and share ideas and laughs.  The netcode/netplay in this game is extremely stable from my experiences.  I have only had one disconnection but I have never had even a tiny bit of lag.  Your mileage may vary but I would say this is probably a very safe bet.

I should also note that, while there is technically a feature to record/view replays, I believe it only works on Ranked matches.  So, if you are like me, and literally never play Ranked, you will find it difficult to record matches to upload to YouTube or anywhere else.

Controls
As far as how the gameplay actually is, I would have to say that it feels somewhat sloppy on a pad.  The overall basic inputs read very well overall.  However, I am not sure what kind of input buffer or reader this game has but I come away with many missed/wrong inputs when trying things like your basic Reversal or even Half-Circles.

One thing I feel compelled to mention is the choice of command selection for certain attacks.  Ignis, for example, has a 421X command(Reverse DP) for her Arrow Trap ability.  The funny thing is that there are no 214X(Quarter Circle Back) commands in her arsenal.  Why go with the more complex input over the simpler one?  This is not uncommon across other characters either.  It can affect match quality in small but crucial ways.

Mechanics
Now we come to the game's unique mechanics like Infinite Blast(Burst), Vanishing Guard, as well as its more common ones such as Ukemis.  Basic movement options include: one jump, and one aerial jump or a jump and an aerial dash.  You can also super jump but will only have access to one aerial dash as a result.

The game's Burst mechanic has 3 variants: Gold, Red, and Blue.  Gold lasts the longest, then Red, then Blue.  Each of these builds a bit of meter and regenerates a small bit of health.  Gold is used in neutral state, Red is used while juggling the opponent(and freezes the opponent in place for a time), and Blue is used for defensive purposes while being juggled.  Bursts cannot be used while being thrown, being hit with metered specials, and assists.  The game does not cross out the icon to show you this, it just has to be learned.

There is a limited Canceling system but it involves using assists.  Using an assist puts the player back at neutral or near neutral.

The game's D button allows for a variety of actions.  The most important being Vanishing Guard(4D) is similar to the advanced guarding systems to many other fighting games(in form, not necessarily function).  However, this one is very effective at allowing you to punish your opponent.  Successful Vanishing Guards on the opponent leave them wide-open to counter attacks and lethal combos.  The only real drawbacks to it are that you cannot switch block while performing it, and you also cannot break throws.  Other functions of the D button include: A forward dash which has limited invulnerability(5D), a short hop(2D), and an extra aerial roll which can be added to the end of a standard aerial dash(5D while airborne).  Last, but not least, it negates any chip damage you may receive.

Recovery on the ground is possible but only in a neutral state.  The game does allow Recovery in the air but does not protect the player, they are vulnerable to being reset.  However, the player can roll forward or backward during an Aerial Recovery and can also attack and move as if they were only jumping.

There are no throws available during any amount of Block Stun that I have found.  If there are exceptions they most certainly are not of the basic variety throws.  I have not literally tested everything.

The game does have a Counter Assault/Dead Angle/Blowback/Guard Cancel system.  While being pressured just press 6E and you will burn one block of meter and push the opponent off of you.

Counter-Hits exist and cause a lot of hitstop in the game.  They are almost distracting.  The A-button cannot cause a Counter-Hit and the severity of the Counter-Hit seems to increase as the buttons ascend in power.

Conclusion
For this game's price, it is not that bad.  The game's combos can scale to absurdity, though.  Players can deal such huge amounts of damage that having any amount of life over your opponent could be almost irrelevant.  The Vanishing Guard system seems to be almost too powerful.  It has the potential to shut down any kind of pressure from the opponent and open them up to insane amounts of damage.  The only way around it is to mix in a lot of throws.

The barrier to entry does not seem like it would be very high, but until the player can learn how to deal the huge amounts of damage and understand how to avoid being punished all day long by Vanishing Guard they will have a difficult time against more experienced opponents.  If you can find some people that are about the same skill level as you, some of these issues might not even be that relevant.

Also, little things like the weird inputs used for certain attacks and being unable to save Player Match Replays really damage this game's overall appeal.

Recommendation
Despite some of the grievances I have with the game, I have still had a lot of fun with it.  If you want some flashy over-the-top matches with crazy damage and easy combos then you might want to look into it.  If you are looking for something with a little more depth and with a competitive edge, I do not think this will fit the bill.  The damage can swing back and forth in huge amounts at the drop of a hat.