There are a lot of video games based on popularanimefranchises, including everything fromOne PieceMusou games to aNarutoarena fighter. Of course, the majority of anime games tend to skew more towards the fighting genre, something I’m personally not terribly fond of, but that’s understandable. After all, only fighting games can cater to the unparalleled destruction of shōnen anime likeDragon Ball Z. It would also be hard to include so many important playable characters, each with distinct moves, and not be a fighting game.
While there are numerousamazing anime games, there was one series that has gone a tad underrepresented in the gaming space. It had a few adaptations in the early 2000s for the Wonder Swan and PlayStation 1, and later a few games that were exclusive to Japan, but practically nothing in the West. Fortunately, it has finally received its very own fighting game, and I was genuinely excited. However, that excitement has quickly dissipated asI suddenly find myself extremely worried about its future and the state of anime games in general.
HUNTER x HUNTER NENxIMPACT Is Reviewing Badly
It Has 54 On Metacritic
Despite being based on one of the greatest anime of all time,Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impactis reviewing poorly. Early previews had it tagged as one of thebest anime fighting games, but the full game didn’t hold up. It currently has a score of 54 onMetacriticand a disappointing Mixed rating onSteam. The majority of criticisms seemed to be levied at the game’s pricing. While some agree there’s a fun fighting game withinNen x Impact,it is buried beneath low-budget limitations, which are, in turn, exacerbated by its high price.
These limitations are pretty apparent the moment you boot up the game.Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impacthas practically no meaningful single-player content to speak of, meaning it is a pretty poor introduction to the anime or its roster to newcomers. That wouldn’t inherently be an issue if the online multiplayer worked, but, alas, it does not. All of these issues are compounded by the fact that the game’s roster is incredibly limited at just 16 characters. While they’re all impressively fleshed out, it still pales in comparison to its direct competitors.
Nen x Impactneeded an edge to stand out among the morecreative anime gamesreleasing right now, and it just lacks one. That, frankly, worries me quite a lot asI believe there is potential inHunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact, at least down the line. It already faces a common problem found in low-budget anime fighting games, and I was sincerely hoping a sequel would fix that. Poor word of mouth and bad reviews could see a swift end to that, meaning we may never get the roster aHxHfighting game deserves.
NENxIMPACT’s Roster Is Too Small
There’s Only 16 Characters To Choose From
Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impacthas taken the same disappointing road that most anime fighting games take. Rather than delivering a strong, meaty roster from the outset with the most obvious characters included,it has instead chosen to give players just 16 to play as. While the 16 chosen make sense, there are a plethora of other characters who would be more than suitable for the game’s roster. Considering it is only getting four additional fighters in the DLC, we won’t get to see even half of the best characters from the anime.
This is becausemost anime fighting games save their bigger rosters for future sequels. As there’s little room for innovation - you may as well keep the core mechanics from the first game - the only thing they have left to offer is more characters. If they want to make a sequel, they’ll need the roster to sell it with, and that means holding certain characters back for the first game.Demon Slayer’sfighting game did this, with thesecond game doubling its roster. The same happened with theMy Hero AcademiaandNarutofighting games, too.
Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impactdoesn’t even have the excuse that the rest of the anime isn’t out, meaning there wouldn’t be enough characters to pull from. The anime wrapped up in 2014, and while it didn’t cover everything - the manga has been on and off for the past decade - there are more than enough characters from those earlier arcs to create a sizable roster. However, as aforementioned,Nen x Impact’sbad reviews mean it’s unlikely to get a sequel, unlike theexcellentMy Hero’s One Justice 2, so we’ll probably never see that version of the game.
NENxIMPACT May Not Get The Sequel It Needs
Any potential future sequels forNen x Impactcould be canceled if the game sells poorly. Considering the game had an all-time peak of 277 people at launch on Steam, according toSteamDB, it seems unlikely that it is selling particularly well. That probably isn’t helped by the game’s high price tag, which, again, is a huge point of contention for many and almost put me off buying it - my love of Hisoka trumps any amount of money. For context,Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicleshad a peak player count of 7,995, according toSteamDB.
The only saving grace is thatNen x Impactis published by Arc System Works, the folks behind the incrediblyinventiveMarvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, as well as numerous other anime fighters. That kind of backing, coupled with the overwhelming love of the IP, could be enough to get at least one sequel. I genuinely hope that is the case, as the core gameplay is strong enough that were it to have just that little bit more content and a few extra characters, it really could be one of the bestanimegames of all time.
