This game review is powered by Honor Play with it’s Kirin 970 AI chipset | 6.3-inch Fullview display | GPU Turbo
Developed By: KLabGames/SiamGame Mobile
Published By: SiamGame Mobile
Reviewed On: Honor Play (Android)
“Bankai!”, a famous verse from one of the biggest Manga and Anime title of all time, Bleach. Bleach is a title that is no stranger to Anime and Manga lovers. Followed by the success of Bleach Brave Souls, Bleach Mobile 3D is the latest mobile game instalment, a joint development between KLabGames and Siamgame Mobile.
I came across this game on Facebook ads and initially, I was a bit sceptical if this game is an officially licensed Bleach game or just another wannabe. After looking into the details, indeed this is an officially licensed game and the gameplay videos attracted me enough for me to try it. Bleach Mobile 3D is an action RPG, where players will control their characters in the team of 3, and fight their way thru each mission by attacking or using skills. The controls feel familiar even though I was just into the game for less than an hour, a similar battle mechanism was used in a few other action RPG (Dynasty Warrior: Unleashed, Honkai Impact 3) that is quite famous and successful on the mobile platform.
Bleach Mobile 3D uses a rather unique art style and graphic in this game. The graphic of this game doesn’t give any huge wow factor, but it gives a lot of nostalgia feelings as it feels like we are watching the Anime all over, except we are in control of the characters movements and battle. On top of that, the game uses original Japanese dub in this game which makes it felt that we are in the world of Bleach. The core of the game is playing thru the story mode, starting from the 1st chapter, which talks about how Ichigo get his Shinigami power. My mind started to have a lot of flashbacks of scenes from the Anime when I was playing thru the story mode, and it triggers my intention to revisit the Anime.
Other than the story mode, the player has a lot more other activities that they can do in this game. The game uses “power” to indicate the player’s capability. Each stage has a power figure to indicate the difficulty of the stage. If the player’s power is below the suggested power required for that stage, it means the player is still under power and might not able to win. There are several ways to increase power, the most straightforward way will be obtaining higher ranking characters. Characters can be obtained from Gacha system that uses a summon ticket, which can be obtained by either achievements or micro-transactions. Each character comes with a grade, from R to SSR to indicates the rarity. The higher the rarity also means the better the character will perform. Each character has its own level and the player can raise their level by feeding with exp orbs.
There are several other upgrades in the game that will increase the characters’ capability and increasing the “power” figure. Each of those upgrades requires certain materials and it can be either farmed or purchased from the market with in-game currencies. Most game modes and actions in the game require stamina, which will be replenished over time. Seretei Contest is a mode that is similar to the arena from other mobile RPGs, where the player will form a team of 3 and compete against the other players. The combat in this mode is automated, the player will not have control over their characters. By winning a higher rank opponent, the player will progress in their rank to a higher position.
The game does feel feature packed, but at the same time, it requires a lot of grinding in order to achieve higher power figure to compete in both story mode and Seretei Contest. Player’s power figure is at the mercy of the gacha system if one is able to obtain a powerful character in the game, or they are stuck with subpar characters while trying to climb in ranks. Fortunately, the gacha system has a guarantee system which guarantees for a character for every 10 summons, which increases the chance of getting good characters.
Verdict
The story mode is well made that delivers the story in an almost identical graphic to the Anime, at the same time with original Japanese dubs that makes it even more interesting. However the amount of grinding required in this game can be tiring at times, it takes a while to complete the daily achievements as well as farming those needed materials needed for upgrades. Seretei Contest is the only PvP mode in this game and there is no doubt that Players that paid in micro-transactions will gain a huge advantage over those that don’t. The game is still fun nevertheless when the player is there just for the story mode.
Score: 6.5/10
