Last weekend at Anime Fan Fest Bandai Namco gave me the opportunity to play the new remake of Gods Eater Burst for PlayStation 4 called God Eater Resurrection. I am familiar with the God Eater series as I used to play the game on my Vita quite a bit before it got de-listed from PSN. I have also seen a few episodes of the anime, though unsurprisingly the game is much better. I was very surprised to see a localized playable build present, especially considering this was the first time this convention was being held.
The demo had 3 levels for me to play: a tutorial, easy and a hard mode. The tutorial was, as you expect, there to teach new players how the game controls. I played this first because I was curious to see how the controls were adapted from Sony’s handhelds to the console. I am pleased to report that they work incredibly well. The game just feels “right” on console. A game where you are fighting massive monsters that have the power to take you out in a couple hits should not be constrained to a small screen! A common complaint with the PSP version was that you did not have a 2nd analog stick, meaning you had to learn how to “claw” in order to move and control the camera at the same time. I should note that you can use both analog sticks when playing it on the Vita. Otherwise, everything controls exactly as I remembered it, including some of the more advanced techniques I remembered. The other two missions pitted you against Aragami, the main monsters of this series. After picking a mission you are allowed to explore the small hub, but in a limited fashion. You can select weapons and your gear and go to the gate to start your mission. No bullet customization was available in this build.
When people look at God Eater their first thought is often “Oh, this looks like Monster Hunter!” While it does share some similarities, God Eater is very much its own beast. The game plays at a much faster pace than Monster Hunter and your characters can do all sorts of crazy dashing and double jumps that the bulky warriors of that series only wished they could perform. You are also given team members in the mission to help you take down the massive monsters you will be facing within the time limit. One of the main unique mechanics is the ability to summon fangs out of your weapon to “bite” into monsters to enter Predator mode. During this mode you are temporarily powered up and can perform double jumps. You can also do this to gain special ingredients to develop weapons or items. One of the differences between this and the portable version is that when you bite the Aragami the screen is no longer covered in blood and guts. Maybe I am alone in this, but I felt toning that down lessened the impact and how dramatic that move was. The Aragami in the demo were very simple and straightforward to defeat, but that could be because I remembered all of their weak spots and where to attack them. Even in the so called “hard” mode I had little trouble getting through the missions. However, from what I remembered from the PSP game, the Aragami can get very difficult and aggressive late game.
Graphically, God Eater looks amazing! The game looked great on handhelds, but seeing it on a big screen was something else. Unfortunately, due to all the noise from the convention I could not hear any of the music being played so I can’t comment on whether Tearing up the Storm is still in the game. Fun fact: I had that song playing as I wrote this! Overall, I had a lot of fun with God Eater Resurrection and I really hope that this new release can introduce this game to a new set of gamers that missed out on it before. Sony does not have Monster Hunter on their platforms anymore. That means games like God Eater now have a chance to shine! I really really hope Bandai Namco and Sony pursue the right steps to make sure this game and the upcoming God Eater 2 get the praise and exposure they deserve! Be sure to check this game out when it releases in June, and if you can, re-download it on your Vitas while you wait. No joke, when I got home from the convention I re-downloaded the game and was reminded of why I used to like this game so much!
