Welcome to our review of One-Punch Man, the manga turned into another manga turned into a hit Netflix series and now the game!
One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows is an action fighting game set in a universe where threats are daily occurrences and heroes the sole hope against annihilation. Saitama the main protagonist, is a hero that can obliterate even the strongest foes with a single punch, a situation that bothers him to no end. The game will feature 3 vs. 3 battles, where players can form powerful teams using many familiar faces, the first confirmed playable characters being Genos, Hellish Blizzard, Mumen Rider, Speed-o’-Sound Sonic and Saitama.
In story mode, you are a new hero, trying to make your way up the ladder to become a respected hero that will earn his or her keep in the world of One-Punch Man. I chose a female fighter named Erika, got her a yellow jacket and started my endeavours as a hero.
After the smaller tutorial, you are introduced to your first fight that you should win rather easily. The tutorial bot is fun to spar with and it teaches you all the basic fighting moves. As you progress down the story, you will be able to assign several new moves to your fighter and I equipped a new super skill as soon as I could.
As this is your typical manga to game conversion, you know what type of fighting game to expect, but there is just so much more that will get your blood pumping. Special attacks, over the top animations and unexpected occurrences that may or may not include meteor showers or exploding bombs, the game holds up quite well in the unexpected side of the genre.
But there is more, as this game is originally a manga that is being remade as a manga to look nicer and more appealing. This game is based upon the art style of this second iteration. The awkward heroes and all the impressive enemies make up for a great atmosphere and needless to say I actually follow both mangas and have really enjoyed the Netflix series as well.
The majority of these fighters, however, is not the cream of the crop when it comes down to fighting games. One-Punch Man is a very decent game with a lot of side quests and the main storyline that progresses on the slower side. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, side quests are never really that boring which is always a bonus.
I will spoil a little about one of the side quests I had fun with. At one point, you meet the hero called Stinger in the shopping district. He had plans to do a costume play with another hero dressed as a monster, but obviously that guy was sick so you need to fill in to help out. Stinger is so much faster and better than you, I barely got any real offense in. While it was literally not the meaning of this side quest to win and beat Stinger, it was a fun little side quest that made me giggle.
I do feel mostly lovers of the title will enjoy this series as much as I did. Still can not shake the feeling that my love for silly shizzle from Japan like this franchise is at times clouding my impression of games like these.
But in all fairness, I did have a fun time, both at the preview gaming session when the preview build still had some bugs and even more so now that the game runs so smoothly. One-Punch Man is not the game with a lot of depth or lore, it is pure basic humor based upon the premise of a guy that hates it that he has become such an amazing fighter and nobody knows who he is.
In conclusion, One-Punch Man is in my humble opinion mostly a game for lovers of the franchise, despite being a decent fighting game. The lore and feel of the manga is all there and if you loved the series, you will love this game.
