A game-breaking virus invades video game worlds and each world needs a gamer’s help. The only way to save each world is by the most obvious way possible: card deck-building! That is what Super Bullet Break is all about. Originally a phone shooter game created by Japanese studio BeXide Inc., Super Bullet Break is the next step for the series. How much has changed from being a shooter to card building? Here is my review.Â
In Super Bullet Break, you play as three different girls who are great at different gaming genres. You get a message from a mysterious girl named Nayuta who needs your help to gain control of a rampaging, game-breaking virus that causes mayhem in seven different video game worlds. Being the “chosen” gamer you are, you unselfishly agree to the task. You go to each world, destroy the big bad virus boss, and save the day. One would think this would be an easy task to complete, and they would be completely wrong. Super Bullet Break can be unforgiving when you traverse the world.Â
Each world has three stages in it. Each stage is randomly generated every time you play, so it’s never the same when you explore them. The goal is to gain unique cards (or anime waifus) called “bullets” along the way in each stage, then defeat two sub-bosses and a final boss of the world. Here is where it gets interesting. Each stage is a giant grid map, and you must decide the best path you need to get to the end. Throughout the journey on the stage, you strategically pick your battles, obtain items, and land on unique squares where something really good or really bad can happen to you.
While doing all of this, you must also keep an eye on your personal health. Your health does not replenish after each battle. That also includes fighting the bosses. Because of this, getting to the goal can get a little tricky. In my initial playthrough, I failed so badly because I am an offensive juggernaut when it comes to RPGs. Super Bullet Break had me take back a step and made me strategically pick my fights.Â
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I love the battle system in Super Bullet Break. Each world has around 60 bullets to choose from a pool of over 160 bullets. Within that pool, you can create decks that can be very defensive-heavy, offensive-crazy, self-healing oriented, and so much more. On top of that, there are several bullets that have special abilities that will allow special damage or different status effects that can help you survive fights. Obtaining the bullets can be the tricky part. Everything in Super Bullet Break relies on the luck of the draw. You can either purchase a card at the shop, which can be very expensive, or you could go into battle and win to get a chance for a great card.
The battles that you get into sometimes are not so easy. Depending on the difficulty of each battle, the chance of getting a legendary card is higher. Battles themselves are rated easy (a 1 star), medium (2 stars), or hard (3 stars). Once you get the feel of what bullets can genuinely do, it gets easier when constructing your deck. The bonuses comes when your deck is built with certain attributes, groups, and more, causing ridiculous combos that take off a ton of damage. The learning curve to understand this is not that long; however, I would not be afraid to fail the first couple of times to get the hang of it.
Super Bullet Break does a great job of keeping a player interested in what is happening to them with a very engaging battle system. However, the dialogue in this game slows the momentum down. I understand that this game was made in Japan, so the translation may not be directly applicable to North American gamers. Several times, the dialogue was trying to be funny but came off flat. Mostly, I just wanted to skip and fight the next incoming mobs. The storyline in RPGs is vital to me. The way Super Bullet Break implements its story is a little weak. However, it did not deter me enough to stop playing because getting to the goals in each stage was fun. I welcomed the challenge to go through the grid, which did not disappoint me.Â
The different video game worlds you go through in Super Bullet Break have fun niches. The first world is a fantasy RPG world, so most of the NPCs that you come across act like the stereotypical characters you talk to in an actual RPG. There are seven different worlds to choose from. My personal favorite is the dating sim world. If you have any first hand knowledge of playing that genre of games, you are in for a treat.
I enjoyed the art style of the bullets in Super Bullet Break. It feels like most of the great art style is put into the different waifu bullets you can collect. Most of the character art is mostly recycled from its predecessor game, Bullet Break. I am unsure if they added new characters for Super Bullet Break. One thing is for sure, I wish there was more variety of monsters that you face. Many times the mobs that you face are just different colors to show that there’s an elemental change or status attribute. Â
Overall, I had a fun time playing Super Bullet Break. I think that this game is not for everyone. There will be times that you will get frustrated and definitely multiple times that you will die horribly. If you persevere all of that and make proper adjustments, a level of satisfaction sweeps over you and makes you want more!Â
