Hardcore Droid
  • Home
  • Spotlight
  • Reviews
    • Action
    • Strategy
    • RPGs
  • Most Hardcore
    • Devices
    • Gifts
    • Gadgets
  • About Us
  • Clue_2023_Edition_00_title
    Clue 2023 Edition Review
  • Android-OS-Customization
    Beginner Basics of Android OS Customization
  • smartphone-gaming
    Mobile Revolution: The Impact of Smartphone Gaming on Online Casinos
  • NFL-24-on-Android
    Unlocking Madden NFL 24 on Android: A Game-Changing Experience
  • Android MiniAir Cover Image
    Roccat Vulcan II Mini Air Gaming Keyboard Review
  • Royal Cooking by Matryoshka
    Royal Cooking Review
  • Canadian-Mobile-Casinos
    The Security Behind Canadian Mobile Casinos
  • Tears of Themis Four Main Men
    Oath to Joy Event Coming to Tears of Themis
  • addictive-puzzle-games
    The Nine Most Addictive Puzzle Games on Mobile
  • android-13
    Everything You Need to Know about Android 13 and Why It Matters for Gamers
  • Dragonheir: Silent God title
    Dragonheir: Silent Gods Out Now
  • Knightcore Sword of Kingdom Official Promotional Artwork
    Strategy RPG Knightcore: Sword of Kingdom Opens for Global Pre-Registration
  • mobile-live-casinos
    How To Find Mobile Live Casino Sites With The Best Bonuses
  • mobile-esports
    Mobile Esports Ascend: Unpacking What It Means, Its Impact and Challenges
  • gaming-the-future
    Is Gaming the Future of Education?
Hardcore Droid
Hardcore Droid
  • Home
  • News
    • News
    • Spotlight
    • Interviews
    • Consoles
  • Reviews
    • Action
    • Adventure
    • Strategy
    • RPG
    • MMOs
    • Racing
    • Indie
    • Hardware
  • Best Of
    • Top 10 Games
    • Best RPGs
    • Best Action
    • Best Puzzlers
    • Best Strategy
    • Best Indie Strat
    • Best Indie RPGs
    • Most Hardcore
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Game Jobs
    • Archives
    • Attributions
    • Opportunities
  • Action
  • Reviews

Sword Art Online Variant Showdown Review

  • February 25, 2023
  • Trevor Wells
SAO VS feature image
Spread the love

Welcome to Cross Edge

Sword Art Online Variant Showdown or VS is an action RPG developed and published by Bandai Namco. Who is celebrating ten years of the critically acclaimed Sword Art Online anime based on the light novels by Reki Kawahara. Players get to play their favorite characters from the series and take on familiar monsters in a whole new game.

Sword Art Online VS gives players an original story set after the Alicization arc. Kirito and his friends play a brand-new VR game; Cross Edge, where it’s rumored that losing a fight to a mysterious player causes memory loss. Kirito and company investigate these rumors to unravel the mystery of said player. Most importantly Kirito must level up to find the truth.

Sword Art Online Variant Showdown gameplay

Link, Start, Whatever

The basic premise of Sword Art Online Variant Showdown  is completing each stage. You take three characters into each stage. You gain new characters from scouting. This is the equivalent of summoning characters, a trait that most gotcha games share. You trade in-game currency for each summon or as the game calls scouting. You fight various monsters from the series through each stage swapping from one character to another.

Each character has two character-specific sword skills that need to cool down for an allotted time after each use. The three characters you bring into the stage are each able to equip three cards to raise their power in various ways. For example, When Kirito uses a card named “to you, my beloved.” He gets a skill cooldown bonus of minus five percent when an enemy is inflicted with the sleep status. You are graded every time you complete a stage. This is based on how much damage you take, how fast you complete it and how many combos you rack up.

Sword Art Online Variant Showdown blends a fast-paced action game that at times feels like a fighting game due to the importance of timing. Timing when to use character skills and when to switch characters is often the difference between victory and defeat. The controls VS use are pretty basic and for a game that needs perfect timing, it is frustrating. I wish VS employed controller support because a game that wants precision needs accurate controls, something that VS is lacking. If I use a sword skill on a monster, I need that skill the exact moment I input it on the pad. Often a failed attack is the case. However, with additional enemies on the stage gamepad inputs vary.

Sword Art Online Variant Showdown art

A Missed Opportunity

As a long-time fan of the anime, I adore the world and characters. Sword Art Online Variant Showdown  lets me play as my favorite characters, while giving me an original story. I am the target audience for VS and unfortunately, Bandai Namco managed to only disappoint. The best part of Sword Art Online is the story, the entire story hides from its players. You have to search for it in the user interface. The controls are subpar and Sword Art Online VS just feels soulless, like a missed opportunity.

The animation is beautiful, the music is addictive and the Japanese voice acting is wonderful. I enjoyed spending time with old friends, although I couldn’t help but sigh and say “whatever” the potential Sword Art Online VS has is vast. Unfortunately, the execution is just a missed opportunity. On the other hand, it’s not the worst game in the Sword Art Online franchise however, that’s not exactly an endorsement either.

Is It Hardcore?
2

Nope

While Sword Art Online VS is not a terrible experience, the uneven controls and repetitive gameplay leave players with a subpar encounter.

Related Topics
  • Android Action Games
  • Android RPG
  • Free Android Games
Trevor Wells

Trevor is a writer and editor who has a vast passion for the art of storytelling. He has always been an avid RPG player ever since he could hold a SNES controller, with Super Mario RPG being his favorite game. When Trevor is not writing about games, he spends his time as the editorial assistant at Level Up Publishing. A small book publisher specializing in LitRPGs, a genre of writing Trevor knows well.

Previous Article
Tiny Auto Shop 2: Car Mechanic Title
  • News

Tiny Auto Shop 2: Car Mechanic Out Now

  • February 25, 2023
  • Michael Licon
View Post
Next Article
Magic vs. Metal Title image
  • Action
  • Reviews
  • RPG

Magic vs. Metal Review

  • March 1, 2023
  • Dave Weber
View Post
You May Also Like
Clue_2023_Edition_00_title
View Post
  • Board Game
  • Strategy

Clue 2023 Edition Review

  • Daniel DeAngelo
  • September 28, 2023
Android MiniAir Cover Image
View Post
  • Hardware
  • Reviews

Roccat Vulcan II Mini Air Gaming Keyboard Review

  • Dua Rashid
  • September 26, 2023
Royal Cooking by Matryoshka
View Post
  • Offline Android Games
  • Reviews
  • Simulation

Royal Cooking Review

  • Barbara Walker
  • September 25, 2023
Tears of Themis Four Main Men
View Post
  • Adventure
  • News
  • Simulation

Oath to Joy Event Coming to Tears of Themis

  • Allison Van Oirschot
  • September 23, 2023
Little Nightmares Official Cover Artwork
View Post
  • News
  • Puzzle

Little Nightmares Mobile Opens for Pre-Registration Ahead of Release

  • James Bell
  • September 17, 2023
Super Cat Tales: PAWS load screen
View Post
  • Indie
  • Platformer
  • Reviews

Super Cat Tales: PAWS Review

  • Mayra Reynoso
  • September 16, 2023
Dungeon Hunter Cover
View Post
  • Action
  • Interviews
  • RPG

Dungeon Hunter 6: Interview with GOAT Games’ Machine Ma

  • Divine Ekong
  • September 14, 2023
Heroes of Middle Earth Title Picture
View Post
  • Reviews
  • RPG

The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth Review

  • Trevor Wells
  • September 13, 2023
The Latest
  • Clue 2023 Edition Review
  • Beginner Basics of Android OS Customization
  • Mobile Revolution: The Impact of Smartphone Gaming on Online Casinos
  • Unlocking Madden NFL 24 on Android: A Game-Changing Experience
  • Roccat Vulcan II Mini Air Gaming Keyboard Review
  • Royal Cooking Review
  • The Security Behind Canadian Mobile Casinos
  • Oath to Joy Event Coming to Tears of Themis
  • The Nine Most Addictive Puzzle Games on Mobile
  • Everything You Need to Know about Android 13 and Why It Matters for Gamers
Meta
  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
Hardcore Droid
  • Reviews
  • Spotlight
  • Hardcore
Core Gaming on the Android OS

Input your search keywords and press Enter.