Each of the Knights of the Zodiac are almost entirely identical in battle.

Each of the Knights of the Zodiac are almost entirely identical in battle.

Though Brave Ultimate will undoubtedly attract many fans of the anime from which the game draws its characters and story, even diehards may have a difficult time finding anything to like in this bland brawler. In fact, the source material often proves to be one of Brave Ultimate’ many burdens.

Players are dropped into three different periods of the Saint Seiya story, featuring events that take place somewhat late in the anime’s lifespan, with no introduction to Saint Seiya’s characters or the events that have taken place previously. Bad translations coupled with decisions to minimize localization for western markets and refusing to introduce its own characters or the events that brought them into the action depicted in Brave Ultimate makes elements of the plot difficult for some players to follow.

Characters are given to sudden outbursts of nonsense during cutscenes, when not regurgitating anime tropes. Indeed, Brave Ultimate is a showcase of anime cliches. Some fans might attempt defending Saint Seiya by rightfully stating that it inspired many of the anime conventions we are familiar with today, but Brave Ultimate’ plot does little to frame itself within that context.

This lack of context extends into the gameplay. There are no tutorials or optional challenge modes to introduce you to the combat, though that proves little hindrance, as it becomes apparent quickly that a tutorial isn’t needed to master what little lays beneath the mediocre surface. Though the single player campaign allows the player to control almost all of the Saints featured in the anime at various points, unlocking them for use in other modes, each of the Knights of the Zodiac are almost entirely identical in battle.

The Saints are all the same speed, do similar amounts of damage with their attacks, and have a noticeable lack of variety in their movelists. Many of the Saints are little more than palette swaps of the same character. Customization options can be unlocked that can later be purchased for the player to “upgrade” their Saints, but many of these universally applicable changes are barely noticeable in combat. There’s next to nothing to make one character stand out compared to his fellows, outside of some middling variety in their ranged attacks.