There’s nothing worse than following a TV show through numerous seasons, only for it to shit the bed at the end. With so much greed and nonsense at the heart of everything, so many shows just stretch on forever until they limply flail over the finish line while letting out a shameful wet fart. It’s so rare to find a series that actually ends in a way that fans appreciate, but My Hero Academia did just that. As the dust settles on this iconic anime, it’s only right to celebrate the good times with a video game. My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is here to do just that, so if you’re missing Deku and the gang then this is the game for you.
For those unfamiliar with the show and manga, My Hero Academia follows the story of Izuku Midoriya – also known as Deku. In his world many people have quirks, which are essentially superpowers, and a huge amount of these people go to superhero school to become saviours to the masses. Deku and his classmates end up thrown into a war against evil before they’ve finished their training, and you’d better believe there are a whole host of epic battles, personal demons and heartbreaking moments they encounter in their fight for justice. It’s one of my favourite animes of all time, and importantly if you don’t want it spoiling in its entirety this isn’t the game for you.
There are a ton of different modes you can play in My Hero Academia: All’s Justice, and for the most part they are linked together. The game takes place in a virtual training ground that the heroes are using to get stronger, and in this world they have plenty of different ways to do so. Whichever mode you choose though you’ll be partaking in some 3d arena combat, which is a lot of fun and flashy as hell.
Fights in All’s Justice are reminiscent of a number of the Dragon Ball games (Tenkaichi fans unite) with a sort of over-the-shoulder perspective and lots of attack types and combos. The basic input mode is something I’d definitely recommend you start with, as it makes mashing the square button unleash easy combos while you worry about when to use all your special attacks. You have two different buttons for quirk attacks that vary massively between heroes, and a couple of meters to build up at the bottom of your screen which will grant you ultra attacks and a super mode which boosts you in some hugely impactful way. Even in early scraps you’ll feel badass unleashing walls of ice and rockstorms, turning invisible to trick foes, and punching opponents into oblivion, and that’s only the surface level of combat.
There’s so much depth to the fighting in My Hero Academia: All’s Justice. You’ll learn pretty early that blocking is crucial, but there’s also an attack that breaks through blocks, and a counter attack which punishes someone trying to do that to you. You’re also able to boost to dodge incoming ranged offense, or if the situation is really dire you can let out a burst of energy to push foes away that can’t be stopped (but you have a limited supply of). You can even tag in allies to avoid attacks and sneak in some unexpected shots as you do so. There’s so much back and forth in these battles, and those moments where you predict the next move of your opponent and land the finishing blow feel incredible.
Like most people playing an anime fighting game for the first time, I started by jumping into Story mode. This is one of the most “no frills” options when it comes to single player content, with a big ole flowchart of narrative to follow from the perspective of different characters. You’ll get to watch short anime cutscenes (with English and Japanese voice options) and see your favourite moments play out before taking on various villains. With seasons 7 and 8 covered it won’t take you ages to play through that story we all know and love, but this mode is not where the bulk of the content is.
That’s because Team Up Missions are really the star of the show. These missions take place in the digital city, and feature free roaming, parkour and Spiderman style grappling. Each mission sees you grabbing a team of up to three beloved characters, roaming a small open area, and competing main objectives and side objectives. They’re generally themed in fun ways, and because the characters all know they’re in a virtual world they can play different roles in these little stories. Often in this mode you’ll end up in battles against multiple foes at the same time too, which is an interesting change of pace.
One of the best reasons to play Team Up Missions are because they unlock new characters for Hero’s Diary mode. This mode is made up of silly side stories, where your favourite heroes will interact in never before seen ways. In reality they’re basically just more linear versions of the team up missions, but the charm of getting new interactions igniting old rivalries or providing a bit of levity in times of crisis is unmatched.
Another mode you’ll slowly unlock new content for sees you taking on battles from earlier seasons of the anime, which provides a nice reminder of moments you may not have rewatched in years. They’re pretty damn limited though, with about one to two fights per season of the show. There is of course a more standard versus mode as well, where you can take on the CPU, a friend or randoms online in tense combat. The selection of characters here includes pretty much everyone you could ever want to play as, and they all function in significantly different ways.
I had a fantastic time fighting alongside Class 1-A in My Hero Academia: All’s Justice, but the game does have a few elements that hold it back. You’re never really shown the best modes to jump into first, and the difficulty can vary pretty wildly without much warning (especially in Team Up Missions). The world you fight in can be a pain too, with random objects in the city like lampposts and fences often blocking ultimate attacks in a particularly frustrating fashion. It’s also a bit of a shame that the entire anime isn’t given more attention too, with the focus mainly lingering on those last two seasons.
My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is a wonderful way to celebrate the end of an era in the anime world. The combat is flashy, frantic, and fun, while still having the depth that fighting game veterans will appreciate. The amount of single player content on offer is incredible too, with so many varied modes to jump into. I’m still a little sad that one of my favourite shows has come to an end, but All’s Justice gave me more time with my favourite heroes and took some of that pain away.
