The first ever gameplay footage of the upcoming Versus-style fighting game, Hunter x Hunter Nen Impact has been unveiled ahead of its Evo Japan 2024 show floor appearance. Fans have been anxiously awaiting this gameplay reveal so that they could finally confirm that it will be a traditional fighter, and from the looks of it, it will be.
However, some fans are sharing concerns with the game’s visuals already, and with the reveal of this title’s character select screen, there are also other concerns on social media that are starting to surface. Not only did we get our first look at said character select screen, but some fans were quick to notice that there doesn’t appear to be many character slots available on it — especially considering typical rosters for Versus-style games.
A full batch of gameplay footage was revealed today that not only featured a handful of pro fighting game players showing off the game, but provided a look at the six currently revealed characters. Fortunately, the character select process was on display here, so those who watched the new gameplay were given their first look at the character select screen too.
As mentioned previously, there are currently six revealed fighters for Hunter x Hunter Nen Impact. So far, we have Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Leorio, Hisoka, and Netero as confirmed playable characters.
What’s interesting, though, is that the build being used for this gameplay (which is likely the one that will be on the Evo Japan show floor this weekend) has what looks to be a full set of character slots on it, with the majority of them being locked as these fighters haven’t been revealed just yet. While all of that makes sense, those in the fighting game space know that if an early build of a game has more slots than just the characters available, it is very likely indicative of the number of characters the launch roster will have.
And this brings us to the concerns from fans.
Hunter x Hunter Nen Impact is a 3v3 team-based fighting game and is reminiscent of Versus-style games such as Marvel vs. Capcom and Dragon Ball FighterZ. Games in this genre generally boast larger character rosters as a means of providing enough variety to make the experience enjoyable for fans.
Because you have to select three characters for a team and the combat sees another of your other fighters jump right into battle if your point character gets knocked out, having more playable characters to choose from is extremely important for variety’s sake. This differs from a different style of team game such as King of Fighters, where you do pick three characters up front and your selections are important, but you only have one character fighting one of your opponent’s characters at any given time with no way of swapping out before your point fighter gets KO’d.
One of the most popular Versus-style games we’ve seen in recent years was Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, which saw 50 playable characters on its roster — 25 from the Marvel side and 25 from the Capcom side. Dragon Ball FighterZ as it stands right now has 44 playable characters, but initially at launch it started out with 24 fighters to choose from.
Looking at the Hunter x Hunter character select screen, we see 16 character slots, with two additional slots dedicated to random select for one fighter and random select for an entire team. It is very likely that the plan is to have a smaller launch roster size and see it fleshed out later with DLC, but 16 fighters certainly feels on the lower end for a Versus title at launch.
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While that number does feel low right now, those who are concerned should keep in mind that additional characters will almost certainly be joining the cast via DLC after launch. It’s VERY early to make judgements on the game right now, so lets see where it goes as we see more and as development continues.