Special Features presents: Girls X Battle (or how I spent part of my hiatus)

Well, hello there. This is going to be a completely different and probably highly unusual post for something that I never thought I would be doing here. Okay hang on, I can already hear you asking this: “What are you talking about, this is just another post about anime right? There is nothing unusual about that right? “ Well…erm…no. While it is partly about anime, this is actually a post about a videogame. Hello? Is everyone still there? No I have not gone completely mad, and I also haven’t been replaced by my evil twin clone brother (though I admit that is what an evil twin clone brother would actually say). No worries, it’s still me, but allow me to explain for just a few seconds how I came to write this completely insane post. Well most of you know by now that I went off on a two month hiatus and just came back a few weeks ago. It was a necessary choice, and one that I did not make lightly.

Oh no, not this hiatus crap again. I am out of here!

During that time while waiting for my father to get his surgery, most of the time I felt sad, down and pretty much without energy. There were days I only spent time watching videos on YouTube and doing nothing else. One day though, while I was browsing through the appstore on my Ipad, I came across a game that was called Girls X Battle. (For all of you thinking pervy thoughts right now, no it’s not that kind of game…ughhh). What drew my attention to it was the fact that it seemed to have an anime feel to it..a lot in fact. So, as I had nothing better to do anyway I decided to download this free game and see what it was about. And I am glad that I did. This may sound strange but when you are in such a dark place, sometimes really simple things can at least help you pass the time. As this game did for me. I became completely addicted to this one, with it’s simple while at the same time pretty cool looking graphics, awesome gameplay and the enormous amount of content it contains.

This girl is called Javelin. She is my number one girl, and she is lethal!

So what exactly is this game about? Well if you are looking for a deep storydriven game, I would advise you to skip this post and go check something else out. There is a campaign mode, where you follow a storyline, but basically this game is about collecting animegirls  powering them up and using them in battles. (Wow..I wonder why the game is called Girls X Battle). When the game first begins you will gain your first battlegirl and she takes you trough a small tutorial explaining the basics of the game and granting you access to the so called academy. As much fun as that part is (there really is a huge number of girls, and you will cross paths with new ones every week), what I really like about this game is the enormous number of features it contains and that open up when your academy grows stronger.

The main menu. It’s from here you can start all the action: no…not that kind of action, sigh….

Just when you think you have seen everything something new appears which you can explore. There is a player vs player mode, where you can battle agains other players with your own team of girls. A study where you can read stories, visit your girls (and eventually even marry them..erm in the game that is) and which you can customise to your heart’s content. You can join a guild where you can help out other players and of course fight guild battles. There is a workshop where you can create items that make your girls stronger. The list goes on and on. The biggest draw to the game however is powering up your girls, and of course discovering new ones. Every time you gain a new one it takes shape in the form of a cool looking card that you can add to your collection. I currently have 81 of them, and there are supposedly over 150 of them right now, with new ones being added to the roster nearly every month. While this game looks super easy (and it is), there is actually a very deep strategy element to it.

My team, fighting the good fight!

And that comes in the form of finding out which girls work best with each other. Some teams are stronger than others, and can defeat players that have a much higher level. It takes a lot of experimenting and fine tuning, but that really is part of what makes this game so much fun. So are there any downsides to this game? Well…yes. This game is free to play, but ofcourse as with many of these games you can also spent money on this one that allows you to progress easier and buy more girls. Sometimes you will encounter players that are simply unbeatable because they must have spent a small fortune on the game. But, I do have to say this game really can be played without ever spending a single coin on it. There are always weekly events that offer gifts in some form or other that are free for everyone. Girls X Battle is a game that you will enjoy especially if you love anime. There are a lot of easter eggs hidden in the game that refer to well known anime series. The girls themselves are very cool as well, and even though there is a very small element of fan service no one will be offended by it as that really isn’t the focus of the game and it really is totally harmless.

I just had to throw in yet another picture of Javelin 🙂

So, if this post is not enough to convince you to try this game out, just download it and see for yourself. I am not responsible for getting you addicted to it though. If you do decide to give it a whirl, be sure to look me up. Use my invite code: 1142b349989ef, while you are at it. I am called Dorine Ivy in the game (sadly Raistlin was already taken and this is a totally random name) and I am playing on server 142. Well if there was something I had never ever thought would happen it’s me writing a post about a videogame. But, well there you have it. What’s that? You still believe I am Raistlin’s evil twin clone? Well I guess I now have to get back to writing “normal” posts again to convince you of the truth. Then again…I don’t think I ever was very normal in the first place. Thank you for reading, and see you soon!