Genre: RPG
Developer: ARTDINK CORPORATION
Publisher: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment
Release Date: Sep 12, 2017
Edited by KnightAvenger
Accel World VS. Sword Art Online Deluxe Edition is an action RPG from ARTDINK CORPORATION and published by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment. It incorporates very popular anime franchises and brings them together in holy matrimony. There are waifus, lolis, and husbandos all around. Timeline-wise, for Sword Art Online, it takes place after the second season when the team returns to ALO after the adventures of GGO. As far as the Accel World part of it, I have no idea where in the timeline, as I have never seen any of the anime or other games for the series. However, the game has made me want to hunt down and watch the series to find out more about it. However, enough about that; let’s dive into why you’re reading this-for info on the game, mechanics, and story.
The first thing I need to discuss is the poor resolution settings the game has. There are only two options for resolution. With windowed mode, there are 1920×1080 and 3840×2160. However, full screen has the full range of options for resolutions. It’s like the devs wanted the game to be played only in full screen. As a streamer who prefers windowed mode in games, this came as a let down. That is actually the only single complaint I have about the game itself. I, literally, had no other issues with the game, which is rare for me.
Now, as far as the story goes, the game starts out with Kirito, Asuna, and Yui out on a picnic as a family until monsters start spawning in an area that they are not supposed to be in. It is here that the game launches into a wonderfully done tutorial that is easy to follow and does a great job of explaining the basic mechanics of the game. We will get more into the mechanics later, but, for now, let’s continue the story. Things happen and then there is a system-wide alert warning players of an impending maintenance that was not previously announced. Yui heads off but Asuna and Kirito realize something is up and head after her, only to be stopped by a mysterious robotic figure in mostly black. After a short fight, they break through, only to have Yui kidnapped and imprisoned in a tower with seven mysterious holes.
It is here you meet the villain for the game who summons a massive monster that forces our heroes to retreat to another field. More things happen and the world of ALO is changed, as the world of Brain Burst (AW’s game) begins to integrate on some level. Without spoiling the story more, the purpose of the game is to fight the kings of Brain Burst so that you get a key which will unlock the tower and allow you to save Yui. It may sound simple but there is a lot that has to happen between the start and the end of the game. There is indeed like the unlocking of 30+ playable characters along with 30 hours or more of story content. There are also tons of side events and quests that are not part of the main story but add fluff to the game, such as an event where Liz invites Silica and Asuna on a special quest to get some materials which unlock alternate outfits for them.
Speaking of which, all the SAO characters have alternate costumes-some good, some ok, and others just bleh. There is one really funny one for Kirito, which is his GGO avatar, as it is, well, very feminine. It was actually cool they gave it to him, though. The characters from each series play differently in terms of mechanics, such as the SAO character having the ability to fly whereas all but two of the AW characters cannot fly and travel via a high jump. The way their gear works is similar and yet different as well. I didn’t play around much with the AW characters because I did not have any attachment to them. I did use Asuna, Leafa, and Silica for the most part while playing.
Let’s move onto the juicy stuff combat and skills, which honestly made the game for me. To begin, for each character, you have some spells, skills, and player-like levels. Each skill can level up as well. Of course, some skills a character learns depends on the weapon they use. Take Asuna, for instance; her starting weapon is a one-handed rapier but she can also use bows and one-handed swords. Thus, if she equips them, she will learn those skills from that weapon instead. Also, the skills can be different ranks. For instance, for the starting abilities for any SAO character, you have two rank one skills and rank two, which is a finisher-type skill that gives you a special animation. You can also chain skills together for increased damage leading to devastating combos.
Moving on from skills, let’s talk about the audio/visual aspects of the game. First off, I want to say the game has about 98% of the text voiced. I honestly think that the only people who don’t have a voice line are the random NPC’s in the town. Through all the audio I encountered, I did not encounter a single glitch or something that did not sound right at all. The character animations, still images for story points, and costumes were all on point. There were even jiggle physics for the more amply endowed of the SAO females. The only thing I had a slight issue with, visual-wise, was that I wish they would have put more effort into level design and the town. I just think that it, overall, could have had more detail. It’s not a negative but it’s not exactly a positive, either.
Ok, let’s recap everything for those who love to skip to the end of a review instead of reading through the entire thing. First off, the game is about the two game worlds colliding and the heroes solving the issue. Secondly, there are some very poor resolution settings for the game that make it almost impossible to play at anything other than full screened windowed or full screen itself. The game had a really good tutorial right off the bat and the story started off with a bang. There is a great skill system in place within the game. Last (but not least), the audio and visuals were pretty on point. Thus, it is worth it, I would say-hell, yes-for the price.
Pros:
- Great story
- Good combat mechanics
- Almost completely voiced
- Jiggle physics
Cons:
- Very poor resolution settings
- The game re-uses environments and other graphical assets from a previous game
BoxCatHero gives Accel World VS. Sword Art Online Deluxe Edition a Drastik Measure 8.4 out of 10 (84)
Accel World VS. Sword Art Online Deluxe Edition is available on Steam for $49.99 (USD).
