Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax is similar to many other 2D fighting games. Your main goal is to reduce your opponent’s health bar to zero and knock them out, thus netting yourself a victory. It’s up to you to use your character’s different combos to achieve this goal, while also avoiding your opponent’s combos and attacks. The main story is told through the Arcade Mode and once you pick your character from among the cast of twelve playable characters, you’ll find yourself fighting for the dreams of everyone against the monster who wishes no one to have dreams or hopes. There’s two different stories players can experience, with the Arcade Mode being the original story and the Dream Duel being new for the console port. Fight hard, and don’t let your dreams be just dreams!
Before we can dive into anything else, you’ve got to go through the Main Menu. Once you leave the Title Screen, you’ll be on the Main Menu and there isn’t anything complicated or hidden about it. The first option you’ll see is the Story Mode, which houses the two main stories players can experience and I mentioned those in the previous paragraph. The next option is the Versus Mode and here you can go 1 on 1 against a computer player or a friend if you have an extra controller. Next up is the Network, where you can go online and compete against other players. The Challenge Mode allows players to enjoy different game types with special rules, such as Score Attack or Survival. The Training Mode lets you practice different characters and set special rules, such as infinite Climax Gauge or have the computer dummy perform an action. Customize lets you customize characters colors or change your online plate by purchasing different things with points earned from other modes. The Special Mode lets you check out different visual art for characters or music tracks and the Options lets you change different settings in the game. Pretty standard list, really.
Fighting Climax is far from complex. The battle screen will show your character and the enemy character in your respective corners. You can choose which side of the screen you’ll be on when you select the game mode you would like to play. The health bar is displayed next to each character’s portrait to the top left and right of the screen. Your job is to deplete your opponent’s health bar before they deplete yours and this is where the fun begins. Your primary attacks will be Weak, Medium or Strong attacks and they are labeled as A, B, and C, which translates to the (Square), (Triangle) and (Circle) buttons, all respectively. You can press the (Square) button to perform a quick but weak combo, while pressing (Square) then (Triangle) then (Circle) will perform a quick three hit combo. You move your character by using the Left Analog Stick or the Directional Pad. Pressing forward twice quickly will let your character dash while pressing back twice will make character do a back step. If you press up or down quickly, your character will maneuver through the air faster as well. The (R1) and (L1) buttons are used for combinations of the three attacks, with (L1) being the A and C combo and (R1) combining all three buttons. You can jump by pressing up on the Directional Pad or Left Analog Stick and if you hold back or away from your opponent, your character will automatically guard. It took me a long time to figure out how to guard.
An important aspect of battle is knowing your strength and also having some backup. Fighting Climax allows players the use of a support character to aid them in battle. Supports can be summoned during the battle by pressing the (X) button and they each have two attacks they can use. Players can choose which attack by either pressing (X) by itself or pressing forward then (X). You can see which support you picked by looking under your character’s icon. The support character’s icon will be present and it also shows whether or not your support is available by greying out after calling the support or being fully colored if they are available. Supports are a great help in battle and each support brings something different to the table. Learn your supports well and use them to combo with your main character’s combos to create some devastating techniques.
One of the most important gauges on the screen is the Climax Gauge. You’ll find it at the bottom of the screen and it fills over time or if you’re being aggressive. You can hold up to five stock in the Climax Gauge and use it to augment your Special Moves to do more damage or unleash a devastating Climax Art to deal some heavy damage to your opponents. You can also use the Climax Gauge stock to perform a Support Cancel which calls in your support character mid combo to deal some extra damage. The Reflection Guard uses a certain amount of gauge based on the situation and can be used by pressing two of either the (Square), (Triangle), or (Circle) buttons. Keeping a few stock in your Climax Gauge is never a bad thing, so try to stay aggressive, but don’t get yourself killed over it.
