Blade Strangers Launch Edition - Nintendo Switch

Nice to have these mostly indie game characters featured in their own fighting game. The controls are generally streamlined to make it easier for casual fighting game fans to pull off special moves, but there's still enough nuance and technicality for general fighting game fans to enjoy themselves. A recent update to the game has improved the character art, so the strangely intentional pixelization of the initial version of the game is much sharper. I do wish there was more content to the game, and the appeal of the characters will largely depend on your familiarity with the different game franchises represented in this title. Overall it's a decent fighting game if you know what you are buying into. It didn't resonate much with me, but I'm happy to have it in my collection to play with my kids.

"Blade Strangers" is a 2D, one-on-one fighting game which features characters from Nicalis games. Notable inclusions are Solange from "Code Of Princess", Shovel Night, Isaac, and Quote/Curly from "Cave Story." Simplistic compared to other 2D fighters, "Blade Strangers" ousts the traditional complicated special move commands in favor of single direction inputs plus a special attack button (think Smash Bros.). This is a good thing for the Switch, since the standard Joy-Cons are not fighting game friendly. Don't assume it's a complete cake walk, though...there are definitely combos that require creativity and finesse that'll give veterans of the genre a bit to chew on. The standard array of modes are present (story, arcade, survival, online), but "Blade Strangers" falls short in the story and graphics department. The hand-drawn profile pics of the characters look great, but during play the animations are pixelated and appear as they were upscaled from a PS2 game. With around 14 characters and a lower price tag, "Blade Strangers" is a respectable entry-level fighting game. While it can't compete with the likes of "Samurai Showdown", "KOF 14", or "Street Fighter 5", it makes for a decent casual fighter on the go. NOTE: This launch edition comes with a manual and a keychain bonus. Very nice!

Whether you were a beginner or an experienced with fighting games, this game has a little bit of everything for everybody! The move sets may be basic, but they are easy to pull off and definitely make an impact the more you play. This is a great game for those who find the controls difficult to wield another fighting games, such as street fighter or Mortal Kombat. If I had one complaint, it would be that the game is a bit short but definitely has a lot of replayability. Recommended!

If you’re new to the often impenetrable world of twitch-style brawlers, this serves as an ideal way to learn the craft and feel powerful without too much work. Not every one of its crossover fighters gels as well as the others, but it’s still an empowering experience for beginners and intermediate fight fans. However, if you’re looking for a purposefully nuanced combat system with a bit more bite, you’re probably best sticking with BlazBlue’s mechanical purity.

I pre-ordered this game based solely on some of the characters appearing and I was not disappointed. It's one of the most fun and accessible fighting games I've played in a long while. The character art is great and the animation is smooth. There's a lot of stuff to do here from Arcade to Story to Challenges and lots of new colored outfits and some extra characters to unlock. The story sucks, but I kind of expect that in fighting games. Veteran fighters may find this one too simple and shallow, but I really enjoyed it. I would recommend cranking the difficulty up a notch. I'm not really an ace at fighting games and I still found it a bit too easy.

Its not perfect and the voice acting is still only in Japanese but the game is still fun with friends. The story mode makes zero sense to me but has replay ability because it has different conversations between characters depending on who you chose to play the story as. I bought the game because the crossover character roster is great and I like Nicalis games in general.

Nicalis publishes a lot of great indie games and this one is no exception; except that the game itself isn't as polished as, say, the Blazblue series for 2D fighters. However, Blade Strangers is still a fun game and taking this on the go is very good (maybe better than playing in front of a tv). The launch edition goodies are included like with every Nicalis release, so for fans looking to something else than Street Fighter, give this a try.

I was expecting a second rate, forgettable fighter with niche characters, but what I got is pretty legit. Not a whole lot of people are playing it unfortunately, but if you like any of the series represented, or want a more "traditional" fighter, Blade Strangers is worth a look, especially at its price. Some of the rock tracks are pretty good beats too. It still feels a bit bare bones in modes and some sprites are suspect, but I like it lots.