Image: BYKING/Bandai Namco Entertainment
If you’re one of the many fans of My Hero Academia, you’ve not been too badly catered for thanks to Bandai Namco’s One’s Justice and its sequel. It’s been more than half a decade since My Hero One’s Justice 2, though, so the arrival of yet another My Hero Academia game is very much appreciated. Its name is My Hero Academia: All’s Justice, and for fans of the franchise it’s assuredly the biggest and best yet.
Being a game based on an anime, it perhaps won’t come as much of a surprise that My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is a flashy brawler with dramatic story scenes and epic fights, much like its predecessors. Thanks to the power of current-gen consoles and PC, however, it’s the most visually pleasing take on the franchise yet, and the action is silky smooth. But what’s most impressive about the title is how much content it has to offer.
My Hero Academia: All’s Justice features four standout modes, each one offering hours upon hours of action-packed fun. One of them is of course Story mode, which allows players to relive the Final War storyline. Those who jump into Story mode will find that it’s split into many episodes, allowing its many dramatic scenes and thrilling battles to be enjoyed in a piecemeal manner. It’s truly one for the fans, though, as newcomers will simply find themselves confused by everything that’s going on. There’s the occasional difficulty spike to overcome, too.
Accompanying Story mode is Team Up Mission mode, which allows players to explore an open world. Taking control of Izuku Midoriya, this substantial mode presents a newly created story in which players inhabit a virtual space designed to aid the development of their heroic abilities.
The missions here are pretty meaty, with multiple objectives and optional side-quests to be sought-out and completed. They don’t all simply revolve around fighting, either. During the span of one mission, you might also find yourself racing through checkpoints or trying to find people or lost items, for example. They’re not the most exciting, then, but they’re mostly worth working through for the rewards.
By completing missions in Team Up Mission mode, players will also unlock new content in the Hero’s Diary, which can be found in My Hero Academia: All’s Justice’s Character Memory mode. This allows players to go hands-on with all 20 members of Class 1-A, taking part in never-before-seen character moments. And that’s not all: new bouts in a mode called Archives Battle become available as well, letting players relive iconic battles from across the full story of My Hero Academia. Needless to say, there’s a lot here to get through.
And of course, this is all on top of the obligatory Free Battle mode, which allows two players to fight locally or one player to go up against the CPU in bespoke match ups. Throw in a roster of over 50 playable heroes, and you’re spoilt for choice.
All of these modes would be pretty useless if the gameplay wasn’t up to scratch, and thankfully that isn’t the case. To put it simply, My Hero Academia: All’s Justice’s combat system offers flashy, fast-paced fun, even if if doesn’t stand out from other anime brawlers all that much. As you’d expect, you have a standard attack button which forms the basis of your attacks, but each character then also has a number of unique quirk abilities which can be used, making them stand out.
Midoriya makes use of a whip, for example, while Katsuki Bakugo can effectively create explosions via sweat. To further complicate matters, when a gauge is filled players can enter a Rising state in which they’re faster and stronger, while another gauge enables the use of super attacks and more. Again, it’s flashy, but there’s some depth for those who wish to take the time to master its systems.
Ultimately, it’s the fact that battles are primarily team-based that makes My Hero Academia: All’s Justice stand out in the anime brawler space. You’ll generally have access to three characters, and will be facing off against another team of three, and the battle isn’t over until all members of a team have been defeated.
With you able to switch between team members at will, an element of strategy is introduced, as you might choose to switch your characters out depending on who you’re currently fighting against. It also presents additional combat options, such as switching characters to capitalise on an opening after blocking an opponent’s attack. Needless to say, you’ll want to try all of the available characters out and find your dream team.
All in all, My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is a generous treat for fans of the franchises, offering multiple ways for players to relive some of its iconic moments and spend time with its myriad of characters. It’s just a shame that it doesn’t do more to welcome newcomers, as they really will feel lost if they jump in, especially when it comes to its story mode. But those simply after some anime-based fighting fun will still be able to eke some enjoyment out of it.
My Hero Academia: All's Justice Review
My Hero Academia: All's Justice truly is a treat for fans of the franchise, offering multiple substantial game modes and a huge roster of playable heroes and villains. It's not all that welcoming to newcomers, however, and its Team Up Mission mode isn't always all that exciting to play through.8out of 10
We like…
- Lots of modes
- A fun, fast-paced fighting system
- A huge roster of fighters
We don’t like…
- Newcomers will feel lost
- Team Up Mission mode can be a little dull at times
This review of My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is based on the PS5 version, with a code provided by the game’s publisher. It’s available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
