Everything You Need to Know About GBVSR

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is a sequel and an enhanced version of the original game Granblue Fantasy Versus. The release date is December 14, 2023.

A lot has changed in this edition, including major adjustments to the fighting mechanics. We get new characters and additional modes — so, it feels like a full-fledged release. 

At the same time, Rising brings something that GBVS had to deliver in the first place but couldn’t for some reason. That’s why it’s hard to take it as a new game, rather a refined edition.

Anyway, we at DashFight are super excited about this game. Granblue Fantasy really deserves its second chance in the fighting genre. And the FGC sure will put to good use one more well-elaborated anime title.

Let’s take a look at various details of Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising — everything you need to know about the game.

Origins: Granblue Fantasy

The fighting game is based on the Japanese multiplayer role-playing title Granblue Fantasy. The original version is popular but niche at the same time. It’s big in Japan, reaching the level of a social network in a deeply gaming/anime style. Granblue Fantasy is available on mobile devices (or web browsers), with millions of downloads and good revenue from selling in-game content.

At the same time, it is not as popular outside Japan — a lot due to localization mess and inconvenience of the browser installment. The developers are going to solve this issue by bringing a dedicated version for consoles and PC, Granblue Fantasy: Relink, which will be released on February 1, 2024.

The original gameplay is whirling around turn-based battles and vast options for character development. Many people compare Granblue Fantasy to Final Fantasy.

Even if the MMORPG itself is not really about fights, it still offers a very good basis for joining the fighting genre. The world is big and interesting. The variety of characters is impressive. Granblue Fantasy Versus used this basis nicely but it still was a somewhat under-delivering experience.

Granblue Fantasy Versus

The first fighting game was promising in some aspects and disappointing in others.

Accessibility of fights, a big roster with versatile archetypes, and general visual beauty — these are obvious achievements of Granblue Fantasy Versus.

A blank RPG mode, lack of multiplayer features, a too basic training mode, and somewhat limited movesets — these are examples of aspects where GBVS should do better.

We could discuss the pros and cons in more detail here, but we already published an article about that: Why GBVS Needs and Deserves the Rising Reboot.

As we are talking about Rising, let’s just say that Granblue Fantasy Versus turned out to be successful enough to create a solid fanbase (with presence in the esports dimension), and it has proven itself worthy of further development.

Gameplay Mechanics

Both GBVS and GBVS: Rising follow the tradition of 2D anime fighters.

One of the key features of their gameplay mechanics is the possibility to play with simplified input. Instead of quarter-circles + attack buttons, players can activate Special and Super Moves by directional buttons + attack (or, say, one quarter-circle instead of two). If you choose to use simplified Skill Input instead of traditional, Technical Input, you get a disadvantage, as a Skill (Special Move) will recharge longer.

The basic moveset consists of Light, Medium, and Heavy attacks. They can be linked into each other L>M>H, and each button can be “mashed” for an auto-combo.

In addition to this, every character has a Unique Action, which can be, for example, creating a shield with the following sword slash (Katalina) or shooting a clone projectile with the following teleportation (Seox).

For defense, players can use Evade in addition to Blocks. It may be effective for dodging projectiles.

Massive cinematic Skybound Arts (Super Moves) are a big part of the GBVSR experience. Not only are they damaging, but they also are simply epic in the animation department. Super Skybound Arts are advanced versions with bigger damage.

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising features an enhanced auto-combo, named Triple Attacks. You can change your third hit to overhead or low. It’s quite helpful for blockstrings, as the default auto-combo is minus on block, and you certainly want to open your opponent up.

Skills in Rising can be strengthened to the Ultimate Skills level to deal more damage (with more risk on whiff and block).

Raging Strikes are unblockable attacks that can be followed with Raging Chains. They are powerful but require a lot of the meter.

Another new fighting mechanic in Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is Brave Counters, an effective counter-attack.

The enhanced version of the fighting game offers vaster options for each character, and we can expect an even higher level of competition and even more fun in casual matches.

General Improvements

Rollback netcode and cross-play between PlayStation and Steam are two of the most important improvements in Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising.

Other worth mentioning new features are:

• An improved Story that includes the original RPG mode
• Online Ranks are linked to a character, which makes the multiplayer experience more fair
• Training Mode has many enhanced tools, such as frame info, character breakdowns, combo practice, and situational training
• Significantly better online lobbies with many entertainment options, including a collection of party minigames

All Characters in Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising

Every playable character from the original fighting game has made it to the sequel. Also, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising introduces four new characters upon release.

In general, the base game has 28 characters. New ones are highlighted in bold in our list.

Lunalu also has a slot in the character selection screen, but it's a unique way to choose a random fighter.

Game Modes

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising has game modes for offline and online fights.

• Arcade Mode — a series of fights vs CPU
• Versus Mode — matches vs another player offline or vs CPU
• Story Mode — three parts of the adventure
• Online Matches — Ranked and Casual. It is possible to create/join Room Matches online 
• Training Mode — special mission or a classic free training

Editions of Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising

The game is available on PlayStation 4 / 5 and Steam. There are three editions to choose from:

Free Edition

It’s rather a way to try out the game before purchasing it. The limitations are:

• Only four characters: Gran and three rotating
• Some features of the Training Mode are disabled
• Only Part 1 of the Story 
• No Room matches
• Only default online lobby avatars and skins
• Only Digital Figures in the collection of Figure Studio
• Three partners only (Gran, Vyrn, and Lyria)
• No cross-play data transfer
• Character level can be up to 80, and Legend level can be up to 40

Standard Edition

It’s a basic game with a full package of essential features. Something extra is:

• PSN Avatars

• GBVSR Pack: Granblue Special Item Set (if you purchase the game before April 30, 2024)

Deluxe Edition

It’s the biggest package available so far. The Deluxe Edition contains everything from the Standard one (the base game, PSN avatars, and Granblue Items), and a lot more:

• Early Access (up to 72 hours)
• 4 Color Variants for all 28 base characters
• 3 Weapon Skins for all 28 base characters
• Deluxe Character Pass Part 1, which includes 6 DLC characters + 4 Color Variants and 3 Weapon Skins for them, premium avatar Vikala (Yin), and costumes "Guider to the Eternal Edge" for Grand and Djeeta.

With all this info given, one question still remains. Will Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising be added to the game collection on DashFight? Perhaps… Stay tuned to our fighting games platform to be among the first to know.