Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed

Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed is a button-mashy, overly simplistic fighter that's aimed at young kids but doesn't even manage to lift its game enough to satisfy a junior audience on any level outside of very basic fan service. There's a serious lack of modes or variety here, especially for the not-insignificant price tag, and what is included is let down by a lazy story mode and some shockingly simple enemy AI. Serious Zoids fans may derive some fleeting pleasure from seeing their favourite characters battle it out, but, for everyone else, this is a mega-hard sell and a fighter that absolutely fades into insignificance when compared to other examples of its genre.

Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed is the Zoids game fans have been waiting for.

Back in the 1980s when Transformers, G.I. Joe and He-Man and The Masters of the Universe ruled the roost, there was also a range of toys that brought sci-fi and dinosaurs together in spectacular fashion. Zoids hailed from Japan and ended up encompassing the world with its impressive range of wind-up mechanical creatures.

Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed is a light and colourful arena brawler that will please younger fans of the show, but anyone else will likely burn through it in short order.

So yes, Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed isn’t setting any records or making innovative strides into the fighting game hall of fame. We’ll never see it any sort of formal competition. But even so, there’s heart to it. It tries to stay true to the the source and does offer some degree of variation to it. It is just made for a very small, narrow audience.

Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed is a relatively harmless licensed anime arena fighter. Superfans may enjoy its presentation, but nothing is here to rewards them for their time. The fighting system lacks any real depth of engagement, which boils down to a mindless button-masher until there’s a winner. Like the franchise, for me at least, Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed is just forgettable.

Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed is an enjoyable 3D arena fighting game but might be a bit simplistic for some. I did find the combat to have a bit of depth to it but probably not enough for more hardcore fighting fans. The lack of online support, full voice-acting, and some rather simple arenas also hold it back a bit. Still, I enjoyed controlling the Zoids that were here and if you’re a fan of the series there is a lot of content here in the Story mode to sink your teeth into.

ZOIDS Wild: Blast Unleashed is a fun arena brawler to pick up and play for fans of the series and youngsters who can catch the english dub of the anime on Netflix (if it’s available in your region) alike. The lack of an online mode is rather baffling to me but I cannot deny that there is a good bit of fun and entertainment to be had here and I had a fun time playing the game.

Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed has done a great job in creating a faith anime fighter for the fans, with the in-depth story mode and inclusion of DLC characters adding lot of value. Saying that, seasoned gamers will probably get a couple of matches out of this before finding it massively repetitive, but fans will keep picking this up to complete all the modes.

Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed is great for younger kids and fervent fans of the anime series. While it won't be endearing for anyone wanting a complex and competitive fighter, there's enough here to please its intended audience.