Arcana Heart Review

Arcana Heart provides half of your daily recommended intake of moe with less calories than the typical moe anime competitor. Examu’s all-girl fighting game brawled its way to North American shores in mid-April courtesy of Atlus USA. Eleven girls, each representing a different facet of moe otaku culture, duke it out in a fighting system highly reminiscent of the Guilty Gear series.

Each girl possesses their own full moveset performable via three attack buttons ranging from weak, medium and strong. Additionally, each girl has two different versions; The original and a tweaked version from the Arcana Heart Full patch. The differences change aspects of the gameplay but probably won’t be noticeable to the casual player. You also have a super meter for initiating devastating super attacks. This is all standard fare for a fighting game these days, but the main feature that distinguishes Arcana’s fighting system is the S Attack Button, which is solely dedicated to the homing system and Arcana special moves.

I’ll cover the multi-use homing system first. The first function is to home in on your opponent wherever they are. Particular uses for this are rushing, air combos on offense, and avoiding air combos on defense. The second use for the S Attack button is the homing cancel, which cancels your attack animation to let you extend combos; Think of it like the equivalent of a roman cancel from GG. The S Attack’s next use is guard cancel to help get you out of a pinch and take the offensive initiative. Finally, the homing meter has three bars that gradually fill up over time, so you must use these moves with discretion.

If you kept up with all of that, the girls team up with any of eleven different Arcana spirits to further bolster their moveset. Proper Arcana selection is the key to success as each has unique strengths and weaknesses to complement your fighter. Different Arcana offer a variety of projectiles, shields, and other more unorthodox attacks to bolster your arsenal. Bear in mind that each Arcana possesses its own moveset that includes super attacks. The game touts 121 different combinations, but in all actuality not every combination is recommended or useful.

I’m not going to beat around the bush here. Moe is the main selling point of the game. The system is sufficiently deep but nowhere near as engrossing as Guilty Gear, which still remains the gold standard for 2-D fighters. The S Attack button is also very touchy. D-pad movement has to be deliberately precise, which isn’t always possible in the middle of a heated battle, otherwise your intended Arcana special might unintentionally become a homing move.

That’s enough about the gameplay. If you’re still reading, let’s move on to other things. The graphics are crisp and smooth with no noticeable lag. It’s no Street Fighter II HD but is pleasant enough to look at. The music is largely forgettable. Nothing special in that department. There’s also a gallery for unlocking CG stills and watching the opening movies. Atlus did a top-notch job with the translation too. As much as I love SNK Engrish, I still prefer a translation that makes sense.

Edit: Upon doing some research I found out that the Japanese voice acting mysteriously got axed for the NA release. If this was a numerically based review, that would be points docked right there. It sucks but don’t let this fact be a deal breaker.

To wrap up this review; Arcana Heart is a fun 2-D fighter. Sure it has its share of flaws, but don’t let that stop you from playing a good game. This is a must buy if you’re into otaku culture or anything even remotely related to anime. If you’re still on the fence then I’ll appeal to the collector side in you. Remember that this is an Atlus game and thus subject to becoming scarce in years to come. Don’t be sad that the review is over. Here’s some fanservice to perk you up. May the moe be with you.

Screenshots from GamesRadar

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