Release Date: 12/01/2011 (Japan and Asia)
Cost: $102 (JP version), $87 (Asia version) depending on site, Amazon US has them for $130 and $99 respectively
System: Playstation 3
An epic fighting game with a high tier price tag, lets see if it is worth the price.
Gameplay 10/10
It basically handles the same way as next plus, stellar arcade style ms vs ms gameplay but with a nerfed ND and cancelling, all units can shield block now with some having limitations on when a unit can shield block. EX mode is the super mode which buffs up your ATK, DEF, reduces boost consumption, and some units can do an EX attack. Everything is unlocked save for DLC Hi Nu so you can play any mode you want with every non-DLC MS you want, the modes offered are Arcade, Free Battle, Trial Mission, and Player Battle which is online.
Graphics 10/10
Stellar graphics, sometimes the CG movies do lag from the awesomeness though, I think the PS3 can barely handle such an extreme game even though the System 357 board is PS3 based, there is most likely something in them that the PS3 doesn't have.
Sound 8.8/10
The in game sounds are great a bit too low in the volume category for my taste in some instances, but the major problem in the Custom BGM, it really suffers from the low sound, if you put in sound without adding gain to it, it will sound like an MP3 on 90 kbps or 15-22.050 Khz. If you are planning to use custom sound download Audacity which is a freeware sound editing program and increase gain on your music, it is also recommended you export your stuff as 16 bit WAV or 16 bit FLAC for the best results once you added gain although I've managed to have good sound with gain from MP3s as well but they had no clipping at normal levels either and were 48 Khz. The sound problems in the arcade version were fixed as well.
Controls 10/10
Whither you are using a PS3 controller or an arcade stick the controls rock your socks off, you can customize them to your liking exactly like in Next Plus or you can stick with the default and pick up and play this game, you'll be fine either way. I know many are using arcade sticks but I'll stick with the controller, it's working for me just fine. Just use what's comfortable and available to you.
Fun Factor 10/10
This doesn't need much explaining, with arcade mode, trial missions, online player matches, and free battle, this games promises 1000's of hours of gameplay. Coupled with DLC both free and paid at a cheap rate which has been announced (See my blog Hop's Imports n' More for details), you won't be bored.
Overall 9.76/10
Difficulty: Reasonably Hard
There is a very noticeable and significant spike in Ai difficulty compared to Next Plus, Easy is Hard mode if even that and gets harder in the other difficulty levels. It will take some adjusting for people who played GvG and Next Plus because the difficulty comes at you at the start and will shock you at first, however everything is unlocked save for Hi Nu which you need to have a first print copy and input a code in the JP Playstation Store so don't worry about unlocking stuff. You can get stellar cpu fights even on the "Easy" and "Normal" modes. I recommend this game for all who love a challenge.
Is it Worth the cost: Yes like with any fighting game, it often is worth more than the purchase price, this is no exception.
Import Friendliness (1 being completely import friendly, 5 being not import friendly): 1.5/5
This game is very import friendly, almost everything can be figured out with little to no Japanese knowledge, the trial missions although straightforward in nature may require some intermediate Japanese knowledge but can be done with trial and error like everything else.
