When I started reading manga over ten years ago, there were three series that were known as the big three of Shonin. Naruto, One Piece and Bleach. It always seemed that Bleach was the one that got the short straw, with a rushed ending and an anime that didn’t get a proper ending. Fast forward to the last few years. We can finally say that Bleach is back with its Thousand Year Blood War arc and the successful return of the anime. BLEACH Rebirth of Souls is the first major game in ten years to bring Ichigo and friends back to consoles and PC, but will it live up to expectations?
Awaken (To the Threat)
BLEACH Rebirth of Souls is the grand return of the legendary Bleach anime franchise to the world of video games. The game is an arena fighter that promises a deep and original combat system. As in most fighting games, the aim is to reduce the health bar of the opposing hero to zero. However, it’s presented in a new way. The developers at Bandai Namco use some key components that “every Soul Reaper should know” by introducing the Konpaku system. This is the number of stock lives your character has. It is the top bar on your screen during a battle. The main goal of a fight is to get this bar down to 0. You can do this by dealing damage to your opponent and lowering the bar below it: the Reishi. When you have dealt enough damage, the Reishi meter will turn red. You can then activate your Kikon move, a flashy cinematic display of strength that removes Reishi stocks.
The combat itself is more straightforward. You have quick attacks, flash attacks and signature attacks that work in a rock/paper/scissors dynamic with each other. You can also reverse moves, which use the Spirit Power meter on the bottom screen to teleport behind your opponent or use character-specific fighting moves. To replenish this resource, simply land your normal attacks.
Last but not least is the Spirit gauge. When it is full, the word “Evolution” will appear. This allows your character to enter an awakened state. Soul Reapers can then tap into their Bankai, Arancar transformation, etc. You can even continue filing the Bar Op afterwards. Entering the Sublimation state. Both of these states make your character more powerful and allow you to knock away more Konpaku stocks.
Death and Strawberry
Another major focus of the game is the story mode. In BLEACH Rebirth of Souls, you can play through the story of the manga. It starts from the very beginning in the Replacement Soul Reaper arc and goes up to the Arrancar arc. The story is divided into chapters. Each chapter starts with a cutscene showing you the general setup for a battle, and ends with a battle against a Hollow or other enemy.
This isn’t the only mode though. You can fight against NPCs or friends in local battles, and even take the fight online to play against other players from around the world. Unfortunately, I was only able to connect with another player once. I couldn’t find any other online opponents, even after tweaking my search settings to be more open.
Conflicted Composition
There is a big difference between the presentation and the execution of all the concepts in BLEACH Rebirth of Souls. Even the combat system seemed complex when it was explained to me. I quickly discovered that this wasn’t the case. I quickly got into a flow of blocking, teleporting and charging my opponent from behind. Most fights began to feel repetitive, even when I started using other characters.
I played as Ichigo, Kenpachi, Renji, Grimmjow and a few others. Most of them felt the same before they evolved, just straightforward rush characters that were slightly faster or slower than the others. After the evolution was triggered, the changes were greater, but most of them just got a different look. Grimmjow losing his sword and slashing with his claws was a nice change, but the move set just stayed close to the original. Renji’s Bankai Zabimaru was the most impressive transformation. His sword turned into a giant snake, zooming the camera out and swinging with devastating strikes. It’s a shame there weren’t more characters who changed like that. Early Bleach has some cool characters with powers that aren’t sword-based, and some of them are included. But most of those characters, the most prominent being Orihime Inoue, didn’t even make it to the final roster. I hope the DLC can fill in those gaps in the roster.
The story mode also feels hollow (pun intended). It begins with the same scene as the manga and anime. With Ichigo beating up some teenagers who are disturbing a memorial for a little girl who died. The opponent isn’t shown, you just hear him scream. Then you immediately jump to Ichigo meeting Rukia, skipping the introduction of his sisters and father. You hear his sister scream and go outside to fight the Hollow that attacked the family. Not letting you bond with them and raising the stakes before you fight your first Hollow and become a Soul Reaper. The next chapters skip Orihime’s and Chad’s backstory and show you a still of their backstory. It’s a shame, because these battles were emotionally charged in the original story, and Chad is already one of the playable characters. The moment I realised that the story mode wasn’t what it was promised to be was the third chapter. Here you learn that Ichigo’s mother was killed when he tried to save a little girl when he was younger. The scene then immediately cuts to the Hollow, who used the girl as bait to start a fight. Any semblance of narrative development is lost. It’s a shame that the developer hasn’t done anything original with this mode, because Bleach oozes coolness in every part of the original story. If the story is a big part of your reason for buying this game, I would suggest you just read the manga or watch the anime.
Conclusion
BLEACH Rebirth of Souls aims to be the big return of the hit manga and anime series to video game form. The eye-catching visuals and impressive design make you feel like a powerful Soul Reaper with flashy combos and devastating finishing moves. It’s a shame that the attention to detail hasn’t carried over to the execution of the story mode. The combat system may look complicated, but it soon proves to be repetitive and lacking in strategy. If you just want to play as one of your favourite characters from the series, you’ll certainly have a good time, but don’t expect to be blown away.
