My Hero One’s Justice 2 (XBox One)

My Hero One’s Justice 2 is the latest title in the My Hero Academia franchise. The series has become a fan favourite since it was revealed and the games have been slowly releasing, this is the 2nd one we have received outside of Japan. Will the game be worthy of All Might or is it a total zero?. 

My Hero One’s Justice 2 follows the Anime/Manga through the Hero Licence Exams and the “Yakuza” arcs. Now if that means nothing to you then you already know the answer to if this game is for you.

If this already sounds appealing to you then you’re in luck, My Hero One’s Justice 2 follows both arcs with great accuracy and allows you to see events from the eyes of the villains too!  Not too shabby eh!. 

Visually My Hero One’s Justice 2 looks like a living anime, this is a sector Bandai published titles always nail and this title oozes the source material. From the presentation to the actual in game graphics this looks just like My Hero Academia, its colourful, impactful and demands your attention from the very get go.

The in game graphics are consistently smooth and of high enough quality it doesn’t take long for you to be drawn in to the world. The stages are true to the series but seem rather barren, especially after you’ve gone a round in them. The character models all look like they have been ripped right out of the anime and fortunately My Hero Academia has a lovely eccentric cast for them to pick and choose from. 

The gameplay is consistently smooth and fast paced, sidekick characters jumping in and stages crumbling around you just adds a cherry on that immersive cake this game is providing you. The original My Hero One’s Justice was a heavyweight in the presentation department, the sequel is not only a Super Heavyweight but easily the current reigning champion!. 

My Hero One’s Justice 2 features an exclusively japanese dub, not an issue for those of us who sub over dub but I know there are people who enjoy having it in English and unfortunately like the original, you don’t have that option here. 

This title features various modes for you to train your budding powers with, online battles, arcade and free battle are your bog standards for the genre.

Story mode is the meat of this package and as mentioned takes you through the 2 most recent arcs in the MHA anime. This is done in the form of story scenes then a fight, usually these are the standard 1 vs 1 to 3 vs 3 and anything in between, to spice things up though we have optional objectives which when completed unlock more stuff for the customizable section. 

The additional objectives are as diverse as you can expect from a 3D Arena Brawler, win with X% of health, win using such an attack, played any anime fighter recently you get the idea!. Once you’ve polished that off you can go through the story again as the Villians, same script, different roster, it lasts long enough and is a brilliant way to catch up with the story.

The other big time sink of a mode is Mission Mode. Here you set up your own Super Hero team, take on missions of clearing out maps and keep an eye on funds and health. It’s a little more strategic than the story mode and is a lot of fun, providing hours of extra single player playtime as you unlock, battle and improve your team. 

The roster on offer is much larger than that of the original game and I’m sure it’ll grow even larger with DLC when that eventually drops. The quirks of the characters mean for the most part they play differently and there isn’t too much cloning going on here.

Combat feels really really good, it feels closer to a traditional fighting game even if at heart it is a 3d arena brawler. Everything has amazing feedback, the combos are a little more varied and the sidekick options open combo opportunities even further, it may not quite have the depth of any Arc fighting games but it does provide the speciticle in buckets full!. 

While I’m not the biggest fan of the genre I am always open for the exceptions, fortunately My Hero One’s Justice 2 is one of the exceptions. It has one of my favourite rosters, controls and feels brilliantly, doesn’t stretch itself too thin with extra modes and just about edges out the competition with its presentation. It still doesn’t quite have the depth I’d like it to but outside of that I can’t get enough of the title and have spent alot of time on it and will no doubt go back many more times. My Hero One’s Justice 2 is an essential purchase for fans of the franchise, people who enjoy a good 3d Brawler and for superheroes in training!