For the past decade, ‘My Hero Academia’ has been a gaming staple, especially for my young son as he began exploring the world of anime. This time around, instead of sitting on the sidelines watching my son fall in love all over again with Izuku Midoriya and the class of 1-A, I get to don my best full cowling face and go Plus Ultra in the latest offering developed by Byking Inc. and published by Bandai Namco, ‘My Hero Academia: All’s Justice’. Without further ado, let’s raise a fist to the sky and dive headlong into the battles of this review.

‘My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is the super-powered 3D arena fighter where your favourite characters from the My Hero Academia franchise are brought to life in their latest and most powerful forms, framed within a refined battle system. Detroit Smash your way into a variety of game modes, team up with fellow U.A High class mates from class 1-A in original scenario-based Team-Up missions held in a virtual space, and relive the final war storyline while playing through the Story mode, and face off against your toughest opponents while playing through various Archive Battles, just to name a few.

Firing up the game for the first time, Byking Inc. is wasting no time throwing players into the thralls of battle by pitting our fan-favourite Izuku Midoriya against one of his toughest opponents, Shigaraki, as a warm-up. This small intro fight rolls out the red carpet and gives players the smallest of sneak peeks into the sort of battles that they are yet to face. Once the fight has concluded, you will be transported to the town plaza, a virtual space created specifically for the game, where ‘All Might’ will be awaiting your arrival. Talk with ‘All Might’, and he will once again take you under his wing to show you the ropes and get you on your way to becoming the greatest hero you can be. There is certainly no shortage of things to do within this main stage area. Here, you are not only able to access the different game modes, but you will also be able to interact with many U.A High Class mates and Pro Heroes. Who knows, you may even find some pretty cool collectables while you explore the area.

Being the sucker that I am for the incredible storytelling in My Hero Academia, I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into Story Mode. Here, players will progress through the events that unfolded throughout the final season of  My Hero Academia. While I try not to give too much away, I do have to say that playing through each of these epic battles in a non-linear, branching story board style is a brilliant way to tie all of the events together.

Unfortunately, it’s not all epic battles and ‘Plus Ultra’ finishes. Some missions have some vocal dialogue amidst the fighting, which can become a little off-putting, mainly because if you’re playing well enough, the fight could be over before the conversation is complete. I almost see this as a missed opportunity for a cool mid-battle cut scene. I loved progressing through the story; each battle you face gives the feeling of consistent growth in strength and personal development with each character. I get the same feelings while watching the anime series, so as a fan, I’m extremely grateful to see such a faithful representation of the original works.

Before we dive into the other game modes, let’s talk combat and movement. There are 2 control modes players can use while playing. The first method, “Normal Control”, is geared toward new players who may not be comfortable with fast-paced fighting games like this. The game does a brilliant job linking each button press together and chaining skills into effective combos with destructive power. I quite enjoyed this method at first, though after seeing the same combo for the hundredth time, I felt it was time to spice things up and try out the more advanced mode. “Manual Control” mode lets players select their moves and combinations based on the situation.

This allows for a deeper action gameplay experience that leans more into expressive and unique fighting styles and combos. The only issue that I have with any of the movement outside of the arena fights is that while using young Midoriya’s blackwhip swing mechanic, I find that the character will drop, and the whip will stretch too far downward, which makes reaching higher buildings feel frustrating and near impossible.

After finishing up the Story mode, my next mode of choice was to take on the Team-Up Missions. In this mode, players will take on a series of objectives, challenges, and fights set up as if they were U.A. High training exercises, within an original script created for the game. I really enjoyed how much this mode made me feel as if I was part of Class 1-A, taking on a typical day in my hero training. I found myself in constant reflection on my failures and learning from my mistakes, especially when chasing the coveted S ranking, awarded for completing a mission with a high points score. The first few missions achieving S rankings are fairly straightforward: simply finish the fight and take as little damage as possible.

Achieving S rankings will get a hell of a lot harder to achieve as you progress. I highly recommend exploring the level and interacting with fellow U.A. High class mates and Pro Heroes who will join you on your quest as assist characters.

Assist characters will give you a range of buffs to your team, increasing damage output, increasing healing, and even taking decreased damage, just to name a few. Assist characters also act like a continue, so if you fail a mission or lose a fight, you will lose an assist character, so that you may try again.

Once you’ve finished up with the Story Mode and Team-Up Missions, why not try your hand at some iconic battles from the original work, such as Deku, Iieda, and Todoroki’s fight with Stain, or Endeavour and Hawks’ battle against the High-End Nomu. This mode is definitely a must-play for any My Hero fans, even those who are curious about discovering some of the many epic battles that unfolded throughout the series, and are sure to have a great time. These fights are often more challenging than those of the story mode, so prepare yourselves to overcome the challenges that this mode will present to you.

When you’ve successfully overcome all of the challenges the previous modes have offered, why not spend some time at the cafe and check out the Hero’s Diary? This Character Memory mode is purely for the fans. Here you will experience the unknown lives of all 20 U.A. High Class 1-A students as you play through and watch never-before-seen episodes featuring these special character moments. I would also like to note that to play the two previously mentioned modes, you will need to unlock them via clearing the Team-Up Mission mode.

Speaking of unlocking things, there is an absolute abundance of items for players to unlock throughout their playtime with their favourite heroes. Customisation rewards are earned when a player completes certain unlock conditions. Most rewards can be earned by simply clearing a level, completing challenges, and achieving S-ranks, though the coolest looking ones you are certainly going to have to work your fingers to the bone to unlock.

Once unlocked, players can customise their costumes, change their voices and even dress up their offline and online profiles by visiting the clothing store while in town. I got a massive kick out of dressing young Midoriya up in Bakugo’s gear. To me, it just made Midoriya look a lot more badass, but that’s just my taste; if that’s not yours, fear not, because there are plenty of items that are sure to suit a wide variety of tastes.

Sadly, I have been unable to throw down in any online matches in Network Mode yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing how my skills stack up against you all when the game launches. All I can say is that if Network mode plays out as well as the Free Battle mode does, then we are all in for one hell of a fight.

When I haven’t been kicking the absolute crap out of the CPU opponents in Free Battle mode, which plays more like your traditional Vs battle, I’ve been spending a fair bit of time fine-tuning my combos and quirk moves in Training Mode.

Not only is this a great way to create and learn some pretty explosive, hard-hitting combos, but thanks to the ability to change the AI’s reactivity, I was able to refine my movement and dodging ability as well. As well prepared as I like to think that I am, I’m looking forward to being humbled in the arena when the game launches later this week.

The visual artstyle remains true to the anime in terms of colour palette, character models, and the majority of the level locations. I can’t help but let out an audible chuckle every time I win a battle with Iieda, his victory pose is pure quirky joy and fits well with his own social awkwardness portrayed throughout the early series of the anime. I truly believe that it is attention to small details like this that draws many anime fans to the video game adaptation.

Boy, oh, boy, what a soundtrack! This has to be by far one of the best game soundtracks that I’ve heard in recent years. From beginning to end, each piece hits all the right notes and is the perfect company, especially in the heat of battle. 1st Gear, 2nd Gear, Top Gear, Overdrive!, Detroit SMASH!!, ringing out amongst a cacophony of cinematic, anime-style music is honestly pure joy. However, there is a downside to the audio. Whilst most vocal dialogue lines are delivered to utter perfection, there were a few from All Might and Todoroki that just didn’t sound right, almost as if a different voice actor had been used on those lines. Sure, it’s not the end of the world, but I’m almost certain that there will be fans who pick up on these nuances as I did.

‘My Hero Academia: All’s Justice’ delivers almost entirely nothing but the best for the fans of the My Hero Academia Franchise. Even though the game does suffer a little with some quirky movement mechanics and some out-of-place sounding vocal lines, overall, Byking Inc. have delivered one hell of a fighting game. There are more modes than you can poke a stick at, which is nothing but a good thing for us. Gameplay is fast, fluid and challenging, no matter how you play. Whether you’re a fan of the franchise or just discovering it, this is a fighter that you’re not going to want to miss. With a final “Plus Ultra,” I bid you farewell until launch day. ‘My Hero Academia: All’s Justice’ Detroit Smashes its way onto PS5, Xbox Series consoles and Steam on the 6th of February.

Written by: Gary Nielsen