Fighting Games Friday: Under the Night and In-Birth Again
I’ve made no shortage of posts about Tekken 8 for several Fighting Games Friday posts undoubtedly being read by hundreds across the internet. I have, however, made a shortage of posts about the other fighting game releasing a mere 24 hours before this one: Under Night In-Birth II: Sys:Celes. (I’ve also typed the title enough that I can write it without researching it first, though that doesn’t stop me from double-checking it.) The game that will win this bout between the fighters in terms of popularity and sales will be obvious, but this game is bound to hold its own as an attractive niche alternative.
As the name implies, this game is the sequel to the previous Under Night In-Birth installment that received a few successors over the years. This is the title French-Bread is now tackling following the successful Melty Blood: Type Lumina, the game they took a break from the UNI series for. Like the previous game, Arc System Works is handling the publishing duties and promotion, which is why this title’s release is being treated as a larger event. It’s even getting a physical release.
The game will launch with a semi-staggering 24 characters. That’s good for the starting roster of a fighting game sequel, but I used “semi-staggering” there because this is very much a sequel to a lower-budgeted fighting game. This means the game is using the same base sprites as the first game and its version successors for its returning characters, which will include many of the same animations. Several of those familiar faces will have new normal and special techniques to distinguish them from their prior counterparts. Combine these with the backgrounds, and this will make for one of those titles where only those intimately familiar with the first game and following this title’s miniscule promotional campaign can tell the difference between these titles visually. I will simply not tell you which side of the fence I fall on.
Reusing the same sprites as the predecessors gives UNI2 one particular benefit: Everyone Is Here! As in, everyone from the previous games has returned. This includes Londrekia, previously introduced in *breathes* Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r]. (You bet your ass I had to look that title up.) Guest characters Sion Eltnum Altasia from the Melty Blood series and Akatsuki from Akatsuki Blitzkampf also return.
UNI2 adds three new characters. The biggest is Kuon the Aeon, the overarching antagonist in the series who’s finally being made playable. It’s close to an equivalent of Asuka R. Kreutz, who was finally made playable as downloadable content in Guilty Gear Strive. Kuon is so important that he’ll have to be unlocked in the game, though an early unlock is included as a preorder bonus, because that’s normal for game releases these days. The other two new playable characters in UNI2 are more valiant in the game’s story. There’s Kaguya Seikaiguu, who’s part of the same Executioner team as fellow valiant figure Orie Ballardiae, who’s close friends with protagonist Hyde Kido. Last is Tsurugi, who’s also a close friend of Hyde. The main character makes a lot of friends, is what the story details are suggesting here.
The biggest new gameplay feature in UNI2 is a simplified combo system. This is similar to the likes of the Persona 4 Arena games and Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle through how characters can execute full combos with multiple presses of one button, the EXS button in this game’s case. This will help returning fans ease back into the game, with all the returning members of the roster having new techniques with the additional animations.
The player base will have an easier time using those new techniques online with the addition of rollback netplay for the best connections. This isn’t a big surprise considering French-Bread was introduced to the concept with Type Lumina, but it’s nice that players will be able to smoothly play against opponents without the need for local play or a hacked version of the game. Online play in the beta testing session was reportedly smooth. If Tekken 8’s online play arrives in as underwhelming a state as teased through its closed beta sessions, with Katsuhiro Harada viciously defending it online, at least you’ll have one new fighting game to play online. Maybe this game’s release timing is strategic after all.
Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes will arrive on January 25th, next Thursday, on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC. It’s unlikely that the Switch version’s online will be on par with the PlayStation and PC versions thanks to the sheer number of people on the system playing through Wi-Fi. The game won’t have cross-play outside the PS5 and PS4 versions, so there’s a unique risk with buying the version on Nintendo’s hybrid console despite the attractive prospect of shifting between console and handheld play. French-Bread is likely to rely on downloadable content as they support the title over the next several years, similar to Type Lumina. This will contrast with releasing future versions like the previous UNIB installment and its updated iterations.
This title does have a Season Pass, characters on which should be revealed soon. Whether French-Bread will be as generous as they were with Type Lumina with providing free character DLC remains to be seen, but that’s the hope you should keep your fingers crossed for.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
