You can always count on NIS America to keep on bringing on the anime goodness to North America. Specifically, it has released Mugen Souls Z for the Playstation 3, thus keeping this particular console alive as the next-gen enters the battlefield. You play as a character named Chou-Chou, who considers herself the Goddess of the Universe and has decided to conquer over 12 more worlds. Unfortunately for her, Chou-Chou happens to meet the Ultimate God named Syrma, who strips the latter of her powers.
As the game commences, you have Chou-Chou teaming up with Syrma in hopes of getting her powers back. The story is pretty much full of tongue-and-cheek as expected if you are familiar with anime. It can be ridiculous and appropriate for adults, but if you can appreciate the content matter, then Mugen Souls Z can deliver in terms of entertainment.
Looking at the graphics in the game, you get a nice display of anime-style artwork, which appear to be very extraordinary and pleasant to the eyes. The characters are detailed quite well with an appropriate blend of colours. When you look at the gameplay itself, Mugen Souls Z still delivers in the graphics department. The character models accompanied by some cell-shaded textures and smooth animations make this game shine. Even the action sequences have some crazy animations that makes the whole ordeal wild. While the background environments may not necessarily impress on the other hand, everything else will satisfy visually.
In Mugen Souls Z, you’ll be venturing each world as you activate story segments and come across a whole bunch of monsters. When such an occurrence happens, you can either face them or just plainly run away. In terms of the game’s battle system, you and your opponent make your move and actions as you take turns. To illustrate, you position yourself around the enemy after which you can choose your abilities or items before you actually make your attacks. It’s typical of game of this genre but it can also become repetitive in time.
Additionally, you can perform Linked Skills, which are basically team attacks that you pull with other party members. You can find crystals throughout the battle which serve to boost your abilities and improve on your characters’ stats and attributes. As such, you’ll soon realize that you need to devise an effective strategy in order to succeed, thereby remedying part of the repetitiveness plaguing this game.
Considering the subject matter of Mugen Souls Z, it should come of no surprise that you have the ability to enslave “peons†as you fight for control on your opponents. It’s a pretty neat concept that can get players interested, especially those who enjoy playing God. You also have the ability to create peons from scratch. But there is also a complete character creation that you can engage in. Thus, Mugen Souls Z does have quite a bit of customization that will have players coming back for more.
As for the audio behind Mugen Souls Z, the sound effects are appropriate and help to bring the action alive during the gameplay. On the other hand, the music can at times be pretty unimpressive and forgettable. In other occasions, the soundtrack can seem to be inappropriately upbeat when considering the situation you are in. I’m not saying that the songs are poorly orchestrated. However, the implementation could be a little bit better nonetheless.
Mugen Souls Z is one of those JRPGs that fans of the genre and anime could really enjoy. You have the plot and characters that can be pretty out there in terms of the humor factor, in which case, the enjoyment can be an acquired taste. I suggest you give this game a try before buying to see if it is your cup of tea. It can be a great game that will help to keep your Playstation 3 alive.
