There's a lot that I don't like about Mugen Souls Z but there's also a lot that I absolutely love. I didn't play the first game but when I found out about Z coming to the Switch, I did some research and to me it looked like a game that perfectly balanced video games with anime nonsense. As a fan of both games and anime, I really wanted to see what that would be like so I went and picked up a copy.

GRAPHICS: 6/10

I didn't care too much for the visuals that are there when you're running around. The 3D models don't look all that great and some of the environments were pretty lackluster. Some of the battles were a mixed bag too, with movement feeling a bit clunky at times. I did however really like many of the static images. Character designs and backgrounds during cutscenes were really good. There's also a few animated scenes that are really good. If the 3D aspects were better, I would have loved the visuals overall.

SOUND: 9/10

The sound aspect of Mugen Souls Z was easily one of my favorite aspects of the game. Nearly all of the characters have voice acting and I absolutely love all of the voices that they sent with. I've played many JRPG's in my time and a lot of them use serious kinds of voice styles outside of gag characters but with Mugen Souls Z, the actors embrace the silliness of the what they're saying. The soundtrack is also really good, the opening theme sounds like your standard anime opening and it's an absolute banger. Many of the other songs that play throughout the game are also fun and upbeat.

GAMEPLAY: 5/10

When it comes to gameplay, there wasn't all that much that I enjoyed. It's kind of like Disgaea where there's a massive level cap and there's a ton of content, but a lot of the combat feels broken. There are two types of combat, the first being your standard RPG fare. The combat itself is okay and pretty engaging but visuals and performance will make it feel slow at times and you might go long periods of time without even encountering an enemy. The other type of battle are between massive ships and robots in space but these are so boring. There's no engagement and it feels entirely luck based.

STORY AND CHARACTERS: 10/10

This was the main reason that I kept playing through the game. Im okay with poor visuals and lackluster gameplay when the story and characters are this much fun. The game wants to be silly and it does an excellent job at that. I really had no clue what was going on at the start of the game since it's a continuation of the previous game but I loved reading and listening to everything the characters were saying. In this game, the Goddess who conquered a bunch of worlds in the previous game is looking for more but things don't quite go her way. As a result she loses her power and a new cast of characters join the team from the previous game.

The game is a bit slow at the start because of all the old and new characters and backstory that gets dumped on you all at once but the way the lines are delivered makes everything worthwhile. There were so many times that I laughed and I fell in love with a few of the characters right away.

ADDICTIVENESS: 5/10

I don't really think this would be a game that you would want to play over again because of the combat issues that I didn't really care for. The only reason to play again would be for the story, character interactions, and general silllines but having to do those robot battles again and suffer through some of the movement issues would be a pain. It's a great experience the first time around that can last quite some time though.

DEPTH: 10/10

Mugen Souls Z will definitely keep you occupied for a long time if you can get past the gameplay mechanics. There's so much to do, a ton of dialogue, and an insane level cap that will keep you playing forever. You can beat the game in around 30 or so hours but you can easily spend more than 100 hours in it. This Switch version also restored content that was censored in the original game and has all of the DLC which adds even more content.

DIFFICULTY: 4

The game is not hard at all but will require some patience on your end. If you reach a part that's hard, all you have to do is do a little grinding here and there to make yourself stronger. But the luck based battles in the robots can become infuriating and very time consuming if you make the wrong choices. Sometimes the clunky feeling while you're in normal combat can slow you down enough to miss a bit or take extra damage. But other than that, the game is pretty simple.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you aren't a fan of anime shenanigans, then Mugen Souls Z will not be for you and you'll probably find that it's a bit hard to get through. But if this kind of silliness is right up your alley, the characters, story, humor, and sounds will keep you going until You've beaten the game. It's definitely a really fun experience if you're into comedy and it was one of the two games that I played in all of 2023 with the best humor. The game is also a pretty decent price because it's $40 and the sweet spot for hours played will probably be around 40 to 60 if you're enjoying the experience. So you should definitely give it a shot if you like this kind of game. You can also wait for a sale if you're still on the fence because it looks like sales might be frequent for this. My overall grade for Mugen Souls Z is going to be a 7.5 out of 10.