Beginning life as a viral webcomic in 2009, One Punch Man is a celebration and dispatch of superhero fiction. Its aptly named creator envisioned the story of a hero who was already the best. Tired of being able to defeat every enemy he faces with a single punch, the protagonist Saitama worries more about missing supermarket cabbage discounts than impending global threats. The joke is that even though our eponymous hero's power level is unmatched, he's so unable to live that everyone thinks he's a budding loser. A world full of ridiculous heroes and terrifying monsters wreaks grazing destruction around him, while Saitama struggles to pay for his next meal.
In the wake of a hit anime adaptation, Spike Chunsoft's One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows offers a double-edged sword. The characters and stories in this universe are so hilarious and cool that playing them in a game is a tantalizing prospect. However, how can a story, in which a hero can defeat anything with a single blow, be a lasting experience?
The developers manage to solve this problem by making the game a single-player RPG. Rather than going the traditional hunter route, you create a custom character and find them in a narrative that incorporates all of the main Hero Association players and parallels the events of the series' early arcs.
Much like the recent Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (and the XenoVerse series), you run around doing errands for citizens in peril, leveling up your character, and unlocking quests to advance the main story. Raising your “Town Contribution” level makes you available for story missions, which helps you climb the hero rankings. Predictably, most quests involve combat, and that's where you'll spend most of your time.
Battles are three-on-three battles that pit you and the heroes of One Punch Man's camp against a gallery of demons, mutants, and aliens. An arena brawler with 3D movement, the combat mechanics are simplistic yet satisfyingly explosive. Sadly, the show's epic fights aren't fully realized here, due to some ropey visuals. But the developer does its best to recreate the beautiful art of Yusuke Murata (who oversaw character design for the game). Attacks hit with resounding force, while throws and “killer moves” unleash special attacks of devastating style. News bulletins appear on the screen to report incoming events that cause danger in the arena, adding even more danger and additional tactics. A well-timed dodge triggers a dramatic evade animation, and you can sprint towards your opponent with speed straight out of the anime. It's clunky and imprecise, but definitely a blast.
As exciting as battles can be, there's a somewhat tedious loop to the urban sections of the game. Quests are punctuated with fun distractions like designing your apartment and exploring absurd customization options, but that can't not distract from repetition. Even the social system, in which you befriend big stars in the Hero Association, is a bit hollow. The fights are worth it. It's so much fun to launch stylized attacks and watch these quirky characters do their thing.
Then there is the “hero arrival system”. This is the other method Spike Chunsoft uses to justify a game that stars Saitama and doesn't take seconds to complete. Allies enter the battlefield some time after combat begins. You see them in the corner of the screen, comically sprinting to your aid, eventually arriving with a slogan and kicking your enemy in the face. Once present, you can switch to them and enjoy their many benefits. Successful combos take seconds off the finish clock, so bringing an inevitably more powerful ally into battle should be your priority.
The titular starter always seems to be late, as his timer is painfully long. If Saitama is in your corner, you're essentially one player short unless you can evade your enemy and run out of time, which is no easy task in later fights. Most of his story mode encounters are scripted and it's always a highlight.
When the hero no one knows finally enters the arena, it's like someone turned on God Mode. Saitama is invulnerable, meeting even the strongest foe with a growl and an annoyed face. Any attack button is an instant finisher, his killer moves just add to the comedy (supermarket discount special!), he doesn't even flinch. It's the central gimmick of the game and it mostly hits its mark.
Alongside Saitama, there's a roster of colorful heroes and villains to battle outside of the game's story modes. the horizon. There's a decent mix of combat style templates (all of which can be applied to your custom hero), but some are way better than others.
All-rounders like Mumen Rider have mobility and decent attack power, while Brawlers are slow but hit hard (fear the Tank Toppers). Wielders of weapons like Metal Bat and Stinger feel somewhat overpowered by range and speed in spades. Then there are the big guns like Genos, Silverfang, or Mosquito Girl, with her wild sweeping attacks. It's a shame and an embarrassment that you have to wait to meet these characters in your hero's journey before taking them into battle, as they are undoubtedly the biggest draw. Elsewhere in the main story, you can interact with other players in town areas. Challenge them to battles, issue them like crazy, or just laugh at their crazy outfit.
Speaking of which, online battle vs battles are frantic and messy affairs. Giving your opponent a thumbs up can result in a series of devastating killer moves that will revive your team. Even before release, the servers have a healthy population of terrifying enemies.
As for Saitama, he can be enabled or disabled in PvP. Most people seem to prefer the former, which is a humiliating loss, capping a sustained beating with a punch into the stratosphere. There's a huge selection of online features, including ranked team modes and avatar battles.
Ultimately, rich as it is, the overall One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows experience is a professional adaptation with a unique hook. It doesn't look great, with bland arenas and a lackluster hub area that suffered significant framerate drops during our gameplay. The main story is offbeat but repetitive, while combat is impressive but lack depth. The enemy AI is predictable and the difficulty is uneven, especially in missions where you have to survive until another hero arrives. The cracks are starting to show online too, with the chunky fighting style and (deliberately) revolutionary addition of the title character frustrating as much as it excites. Players can escape and close in an instant and the timing of the two seems too erratic for network matches to be truly enjoyable.
All grievances aside, any fan of this series will revel in what the developer has tried to do here. It's seriously funny (the Tutorial-gushing lecture is a highlight), the main characters are lovingly crafted, and the depressed "hero for fun" Saitama is a great value. It is therefore a sham that it suffers from similar shortcomings to other recent adaptations published by Bandai Namco.
Conclusion
In One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows, becoming a hero for fun isn't all it takes. Saitama is a hilarious game-breaking gadget that pays off solo, but online it only leads to frustration. Elsewhere, the main story mode has a lot going for it, but there's not a whole lot of variety. Fans will mostly enjoy the writing and the fighting, but newcomers might miss it.
- The abilities of the fighters are spectacular
- Saitama
- True to the spirit of the series
- Lots of customization options
- Visuals are missing
- Saitama
- Ropey AI
- Some performances
Not bad 6/10
Scoring policy
Review of copy provided by Bandai Namco
