REVIEW

UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH Exe:Late[st] Review

by Jake Stewart, February 20th, 2018

Arc System Works has proven time and time again that they know how to make great fighting games. Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[st], despite having an extremely unnecessarily long name, is no exception. I was already a big fan of the previous installation of Under Night, and while Late[st] doesn’t add a whole lot to the formula, I personally believe it to be one of Arc System Works best titles.

You may know Arc System Works for their work on Blazblue, Guilty Gear, Dragonball FighterZ, and pretty much every other good anime-styled fighting game out there. But, it seems that Under Night is one that has consistently flown under the radar, which is truly a shame.

Many fighting games often have deep lore within their characters and their world, and Under Night certainly follows suit. Before Late[st], the previous installations only told their story through short cutscenes in the Arcade Mode, and often times it was difficult to piece together the story this way. Under Night clearly had a lot of thought put into the story, but just didn’t explain much in-game, which left a lot of terms and events to be referenced with no explanation. Luckily, this has been remedied in Late[st] for players that really care about why these characters are beating the hell out of each other.

This new story mode has been dubbed as Chronicles, which tells the stories of every character in the game through Visual Novel segments that act as a prequel to the Arcade Mode. If you’re a fan of anime-type games, you likely won’t be a stranger to this style of Visual Novel storytelling. Each character’s story takes place over multiple chapters and actually contain quite a bit of content. Rolling through Chronicles from start to finish can add somewhere around 10 hours of time in-game, and that’s entirely separate from the time you actually spend playing the game in other modes.

For those who are into playing a fighting game for the fighting (who actually does that?), Under Night has plenty to offer here as well. While being an extreme novice when it comes to fighting games, I still found myself able to put up a fight. Under Night’s structure has a very solid “easy to learn, hard to master” sort of gameplay. This allows players from any sort of skill level to participate, without having to spend an absurdly long time learning how to pull off a single move.

In the same vein, Under Night’s overall design seems very suited to those that haven’t already become a master of all fighting games. The special moves and combos are much easier to pull off than something like Street Fighter, something that I can certainly appreciate. Often times, a move can be pulled off with three directional inputs, and a button press. Not all of them are this simple however, those looking for a challenge can find moves with up to 7 directional inputs and multiple button presses.

Another great feature for the newbies is an expansive tutorial mode. Not only does this delve deep into Under Night’s own fighting mechanics, but also expands on common professional fighting game tips, such as invincibility frames. As previously mentioned, I like fighting games but by no means am I any good at them. So I found plenty of useful knowledge to be gained from this tutorial, and definitely saw an increase in my skill after completing the entire mode.

Other modes within the game include the aforementioned Arcade Mode, which follows a light story for the character of your choice as they battle through 10 stages that become progressively more difficult. The Arcade Mode quickly became my favorite, as I really enjoyed following the storyline for all the different characters, and learning how each move set compares to one another.

With the inclusion of four new characters in Late[st], there is now 20 characters to choose from. While the combinations and button presses are ultimately similar across the 20 characters, they still play wildly different from one another. From quick, small characters with short range, to giant, slow characters with massive range and everything in between. This difference in how each character performs leads me to believe that anybody could pick up a controller and find a character that spoke out to them after playing a few rounds. While I had my personal main, Eltnum, there still were plenty of characters that I loved to go back and play as, just to experience their move set once more.

While performing like a fairly standard fighting game, there is still some interesting things that Under Night does to change up the mechanics. One of which is the GRD system, which is a bar that is shared by both fighters. As you are moving and attacking, the GRD will fill in your favor, increasing the effectiveness of your attacks. If your opponent lands a hit, it will drain the GRD and begin filling on their end. Along with this is the EXS meter, which is your “super” meter of sorts. This also fills from attacking, as well as from being attacked. Using up some of your meter, you can increase the effectiveness of your special attacks, as well as perform your character’s unique ultimate move.

While the fighting mechanics are certainly stellar, the portion that I believe Under Night truly shines through the brightest is the presentation. In similar Arc System Works fashion, the pixel art used on the characters is absolutely beautiful. Every animation is fluid, every color is vibrant, and every single bit of the visuals is just stunning. The character sprites along with the 3D background creates a unique and amazing 2.5D visual experience.

Along with the visuals comes an absolutely killer soundtrack. Every single character in the game is given their own theme, and after a few rounds through the Arcade mode, you’ll start to remember them by heart. Each theme song matches the respective character’s personality down a tee. From Linne’s majestic and relaxing theme, to Hyde’s loud and intense theme, the personalities have been captured very well within their music.

The only thing that would stop me from recommending this to every fighting game fan, is if you own the previous title already. Late[st] adds the Chronicle mode, as well as four new fighters to the game, but may not be worth it to somebody who doesn’t have interest in playing through the Visual Novel bits of the game. For someone like myself who loved the game, wanted it on PS4, and enjoyed the VN portions it was a great upgrade, but it may not be the same for everyone.

Ultimately, it’s a crime that Under Night isn’t as popular as some of Arc System Works’ other titles. Personally, I believe it to be their title with the most interesting lore, visuals, and music. If you’re a fan of anime, fighting games, visual novels, or even just a great soundtrack, I would recommend checking out Under Night In-birth Exe: Late[st]