My Hero One’s Justice 2 Review (PS4) – Arm Breaking Arena Battles

No, you’re not having a stroke. My Hero One’s Justice 2 is the title of the latest fighting game from Bandai Namco. It’s an awkward to pronounce name for an oddly titled anime series. Seems pretty par for the course. Having only seen the first two seasons of My Hero Academia, however, the art style, tongue in cheek dialogue and story was familiar.

This was one built by fans, for fans. My Hero One’s Justice 2 oozes character as it throws you in the deep end with a fast-paced plot and even faster-paced combat.

My Hero One’s Justice 2 Review

The delivery of the story mode is similar to a lot of games based on an anime series. Comic panels supported by voice-overs and animated backgrounds set the scene for the next battle. These are complete with ‘powering up’ sequences that would last an entire episode.

Villains smirked as the told me I was pathetic and to give up now. Each new match had me anxiously waiting for my mum to yell at me to stop watching TV, put my shoes on and get in the car because I’m late for school.

After a very simple tutorial, you are thrust into an episodic battle against the Yakuza and their stable of bad guys. That story is short and sweet and at no stage did I feel particularly challenged.

Smash, Bash & Crash

It’s clear that the campaign is designed to introduce you to all of the characters and unlock some cosmetics. The real workhorse of My Hero One’s Justice 2’s gameplay is the Arcade mode. Like most fighting games, the real meat and potatoes are in challenging your friends. My Hero One’s Justice 2 is no exception.

The combat mechanics are simple, which isn’t a bad thing in a fast-paced visual bombardment of anime stylised punches, kicks and flips. My Hero One’s Justice 2 has done a great job of taking easy to understand controls and making them feel crunchy.

You feel every combo land, every counter feels perfectly timed and every ultra move feels devastating. I attribute this to the fact that the game’s animation style focuses on larger than life characters unleashing immense power at each other.

Take all the fireballs, ice walls and shadow punches, shake them up and then drop them in an open arena.

I can’t talk about My Hero One’s Justice 2’s mechanics without mentioning the stage upon which the battles happen. The arenas are quite plain and open, not a bad thing but I felt that more scattered bits of cover would have been nice. They just felt very big and open, I spent a lot of time chasing my opponent.

When I think of epic anime battle I think of smashing my opponent into cars, throwing them through walls and bashing them off the head with stop signs. My Hero One’s Justice 2 fell short of this, they mostly look like empty warehouses.

Stylin’

The art for My Hero One’s Justice 2 is what really carries the game. It looks clean and fans of the show will instantly recognise the characters. With cosmetic collectibles that tip their hat in tribute to the quirks of the show. The game is aesthetically pleasing.

As mentioned earlier, the story is told through comic panels isn’t groundbreaking but it is entertaining. However the animated cinematics are just a bit too long, I didn’t seem like they added necessary depth to the coming battle or raised the stakes. It felt they were purely there to keep My Hero One’s Justice 2 grounded in its anime roots.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with My Hero One’s Justice 2, it wasn’t groundbreaking and didn’t keep me coming back over and over again.

But it did make me smile, a lot.

The game delivers on what it promises, over the top action with ridiculous characters. It was big dumb silly fun and whilst it isn’t likely to remain a staple of my games library. It has earnt its place as a chilled-out party bash ’em up with friends.

My Hero One’s Justice 2 was reviewed on PS4 Pro using a digital code provided by Bandai Namco