Review: My Hero Academia: All’s Justice Is A Fun Arena Brawler For Fans And Newbies Alike

Debuting in 2014 as a manga series before reaching new heights thanks to a strong animated adaptation, My Hero Academia has stood out in the last decade as one of the biggest modern additions to the popular anime canon. A fusion of superhero aesthetics, YA dynamics, and anime bombast, My Hero Academia has a charming core that makes it quickly appealing. There have been spin-offs of the series and adaptations into other media, including plenty of video games.

The latest of these, My Hero Academia: All’s Justice, manages the tricky feat of appealing to both diehard fans and uninitiated gamers by being a very fun fighting game. The showy effects, striking character design, and crisp graphics all elevate the underlying strength of the combat mechanics. While there are aspects of the overall single-player experience that can be a bit frustrating, there’s a lot to like about All’s Justice and the way it brings the show to life.

Bring Down The House

My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is a great fighting game for fans and newbies alike, even if some of the minor elements of the overall product are shaky. The best part of My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is the bombastic and zippy combat, which serves as a flashy and team-oriented take on the shonen series’ distinct visual style. A fusion of superhero tropes and classic anime archetypes, My Hero Academia‘s cast lends itself well to big super moves and powerful counters, making it a great fit for a video game adaptation. All’s Justice combat drops players (sometimes alone, sometimes with allies as backup) into an urban environment and lets the player run wild. Combos can be devastating bursts of light, nearby cars can be utilized as unexpected traps, and players will burst through walls to deliver a massive punch at just the right time.

The variety of combat options for each character lends itself well to experimentation in the gameplay, especially if enemies are using the Just Guard mechanic to bounce combos right back at the player. Especially if players can catch an enemy by surprise with a sudden tag-in, the combo system can feel rewarding and weighty. There’s a speed to the fights that makes each encounter feel like an honest replication of the typical shonen-style combat in-game. The colorful graphics and clear character design only enhance the experience, lending the combat a feeling of authenticity. At its best, All’s Justice feels like you’re directing a fight scene from an anime, which is exactly the kind of experience this type of game aims to encourage.

A Hero’s Life For Me

For the most part, All’s Justice works really well as a love letter to the anime series. There are a lot of opportunities for players to explore the lore of the series and experience it firsthand, whether that be in the direct story mode or in the more open-world Team Mission mode. The story mode does a good job of showcasing the primary narrative of the series through a number of encounters and battles that recreate famous major moments. Especially for someone who has never fully dived into My Hero Academia, it’s a great way to experience the plot with some fun gameplay that highlights different kinds of character playstyles.

Similarly, Team Missions mode is a good way to introduce other characters and playstyles, thanks to its open-world missions and structured battles. This mode does suffer a bit of repetition, though, as well as a few buggy moments that threw off the experience. The difficulty curve in these modes can also cause some serious whiplash, as straightforward encounters can give way to seemingly impossible challenges. There’s also a wealth of background options available for players who want to learn more about the characters, but that is largely locked behind benchmarks in the single-player campaigns. While the actual gameplay and combat remained compelling, the single-player modes could have probably used another pass to bring in a bit more variety to mission types.

Find Your Quirk

My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is far from the only anime-inspired arena fighting game, with plenty of Dragon Ball, Naruto, and Demon Slayer titles utilizing the mechanics to replicate the sprawling battles from your favorite series. My Hero Academia does a good job of slotting into that approach, especially with the way it can turn urban environments into sudden battlefields. The visuals give the game a crispness that makes for an easily compelling spectacle, and the quick-paced nature of the battles lends itself well to creative combos.

When the game is a pure fighting experience, All’s Justice is a blast. While the single-player content is a bit more shaggy around the edges and could benefit from some balancing in future updates, there’s a lot to like about the series. If you’re a fan of the hit anime and manga, then this is an ideal game recreation of that experience. For players who only have a passing familiarity with the franchise, My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is still a fun experience that benefits from the solid fighting game design and bright visuals.

Comicbook.com was provided a PS5 copy of My Hero Academia: All’s Justice for the purpose of this review.