Just like another recent anime game, My Hero Academia is due for a new game that brings it in line with the latest season of the anime. With the Final War Arc, My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is set to bring the collision of heroes and villains right to our fingertips.

Our recent hands-on with My Hero Academia: All’s Justice saw us play a few matches with a limited roster of characters to choose from. While our time with it was short, it was enough to give us a glimpse of some of its systems and how it welcomes newcomers while giving series and fighting game veterans a reason to check it out.

My Hero Academia: All’s Justice Hands-on Preview

Truth be told, anime-based fighting games have an unenviable task of breaking away from the stigma of being “just another arena battler.” Games like the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Series and, most recently, Demon Slayer Hinokami Chronicles 2 have been stereotyped as just another fighting game that uses anime properties and characters as a hook, but it seems that My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is trying to buck the trend. While you can still consider it as an arena battler, it is making attempts at adding depth while taking advantage of the Final War Arc of the anime to make it a must-play for fans.

As mentioned, we only got to play a few minutes of the game, but we did leave the preview with an understanding of how gameplay works.

My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is a 3v3 tag battler that utilizes the massive roster of Class 1-A, which alone is a significant improvement from the 2v2 format of the previous title. 3v3 offers more characters to use, more moves to master, and more synergies to consider, and My Hero Academia: All’s Justice allows for all of that. At any point in the game, players can tag in and out of battle with the simple press of a button, which not only sets up combo chains but also allows for longer survivability, as each chosen character has its own life bar.

Perhaps what makes My Hero Academia: All’s Justice friendly for newcomers is its approach to a “modern” control scheme. When set up correctly, players will be able to pull off complex combos and tag-attacks with the press of a single button, even ending with an ultimate move should resources allow. Fighting games like Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8 have also added this feature, and Class 1-A is following suit.

One great feature of this modern control scheme is the fact that you can customize it per character, and even down to what would be included. If you want to only allow combos and manually activate ultimate techniques, that is possible. This gives players some semblance of control when using this control scheme. It is extremely satisfying to see a 3-character combo as Deku, Uravity, and Nejire all unleash attacks in turn with multiple presses of Square.

That said, the regular control scheme of My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is something we didn’t get time to study too much due to the limited time, but from initial impressions, it seems complicated enough that each character will have a flexible roster of moves and techniques that make everyone viable for play.

Common attacks are present, along with tagging in other characters. Dodging also returns, along with unblockable attacks. Additionally, characters can execute one of their many Quirk moves by combining the L or R triggers with any of the face buttons. You also have Plus Ultra and counterattacks, and there are even more commands that I do not remember because of the sheer number, and some can even be done mid-air.

That said, the screen tends to get a bit busy at times, filled with attacks and particle effects that make what’s happening on screen a bit hard to read. Even the UI is a bit too much, with two gauges at the bottom, leaving only so much space for the actual combat. Camera angles can also get a bit unruly, especially when characters are backed up against a wall, which was also a complaint from past titles.

Regarding the character roster, it would be unfair to judge My Hero Academia: All’s Justice based on a preview build. There’s a promise that the full Class 1-A would be here, and while we did see some staples like Deku, Uravity, Lemillion, and even Endeavor, some villains like Toga and Dabi were also available. Some, such as Bakugo, were not available for this preview.

That said, My Hero Academia: All’s Justice does cover the Final War Arc, and according to the developers, will span Season 7 and 8 of the anime, so you can make some assumptions and predictions about who would be present and who will not be in the roster.

Sadly, due to the limited playtime, we were not allowed to check out or even see what other modes My Hero Academia: All’s Justice will have, but it would definitely be a safe assumption that a story mode that recaps the events of the anime will be present.

While what we got to see and play was just a small part of the game, it already appears to be a significant improvement over its predecessors. With a bunch of upgrades that aim to hook both casual and fighting game enthusiasts along with vibrant anime visuals that bring the electrifying essence of the anime, My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is looking to actually be one for all.

My Hero Academia: All’s Justice is coming to PS5, Xbox Series, and PC at an unspecified release date.