The new free to play online battle royale, My Hero Ultra Rumble, was finally released on September 28th, and I spent my whole weekend playing it. You enter a match with seven other teams of three players and fight to be the last team standing. No different than typical battle royale gameplay but players choose between their favorite characters from “My Hero Academia.”
The controls take a little bit of getting used to, but once you understand how to use certain characters alongside their weaknesses and strengths, it becomes really fun. I’ve been using Deku, as not only is he my favorite character, but he’s also one of the most versatile in terms of having great mobility — along with perfect ranged attacks that do high damage when maxed out. This game takes the battle royale genre and creatively adds features that elevate the experience. For example, there are level up cards you get from eliminating other players — or from gold chests that you can use — to level up the three main abilities every player has. Those being alpha, beta, and gamma, up to level 9, where they become broken and winning fights becomes easier.
I really enjoy the design of the game, with there being seven named locations for the 24 players to drop into, the different classes for the characters, including assault, support, technical, strike, and rapid, which makes the matches complex. I was in a chaotic fight against Mt. Lady when she transformed into her giant form, making the battlefield more chaotic. All I could do was laugh at how ridiculous the situation was, yet it was so much fun.
The only issues with the game right now can be accredited to the fact that its new, as there are many characters that are considered broken. Deku is one of them but there’s also complaints about Bakugo, and Todoroki. I myself have been complaining about Shigaraki and Dabi. I expect there to be patch updates coming soon, as certain characters with range and mobility dominate other characters without them. Overall, it wouldn’t be impossible to win without using a well balanced character, as the game is pretty crafty with how everyone’s quirks work.
Not all the characters are available as you start the game. First, you’re given seven characters and through a daily free ticket trial, you can use any character that you don’t have at least three times before they’re officially unlocked. Most of the characters in the game can be unlocked through obtaining character license tickets, which you can buy in the shop. Certain characters like Momo, Kirishima, and Ibara can only be unlocked through a roll system, where you have to get enough stars to exchange for them. However, if you don’t want to grind, you can purchase the in-game currency and unlock everything to your heart’s content.
Fans across many media platforms have been complaining about how there isn’t any crossplay, as you can only play with people who have the same console as you. While I anticipate it will arrive in the near future, I want to cherish my time going against players at a similar input as me — mainly with the controller — as keyboard and mouse controls offer advantages that controller players can’t keep up with.
Anime games are very hit or miss. The only timeless ones are the titles from the Dragon Ball and Naruto franchises. That said, I’m confident that this “My Hero Academia” game has made a strong case as a game that will be played for years to come. Players will be able to look back at it fondly, unlike the typical dumpster fire anime games. If you have a Switch, Playstation, Xbox, or PC, I implore you to download it, as it’s free to play. I promise you won’t regret it.
