Crunchyroll Game Vault review - "Fantastic games on the exclusive service...if only there were more"
With everything you'll ever want entertainment-wise at your fingertips these days, it's easy to assume you can get the same instant gratification when it comes to video games. This rings even truer for mobile games, when it's all about pick-up-and-play habits where you can simply give a game a go whenever you feel like it. The idea of mobile games on demand is, I still believe, totally ingenious, especially because there are just too many games and too little time (for me, at least).
So when Netflix came along offering that sweet, sweet deal along with its subscription last year, joining in was a no-brainer in my opinion. Crunchyroll is hoping to offer that same kind of on-demand service with its very own Crunchyroll Game Vault, letting subscribers get their hands on a library of premium games for the price of admission. Of course, the operative word here is "library", which, at the moment, is a little underwhelming for the popular anime streaming service.
While Crunchyroll itself has a labyrinthian treasure trove of anime titles to stream, its current mobile game offerings leave a lot to be desired, mainly because there are only 5 games to choose from at launch. Granted, those 5 titles are hella good, but if you're competing against the likes of Netflix in this overly saturated mobile games market, it's easy to get overshadowed with only 5 games in your arsenal.
For the purposes of this review, however, I'll be switching up my typical review format and I'll briefly touch upon my mobile experience for those 5 games that the kind folks over at Crunchyroll gave me access to. These are exclusive to the Crunchyroll Game Vault, by the way, so if you don't have a Mega Fan Premium or Ultimate Membership, there's absolutely no other way you can play these games on your mobile device.
Now, I've already played Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery with a full review here on the site (spoiler alert: I gave it 5 full stars), and for Wolfstride, I had the luxury of giving it a go when it initially launched on Steam. The former works incredibly well on mobile, while the latter falls into that typical mobile adaptation pitfall of the game slapping a virtual directional button on the thing and calling it a day. It does have full controller support, but I would've appreciated it more if it optimised the touchscreen instead.
With Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions, on the other hand, using the controller felt a bit odd in combat given the isometric view, so I'd say the mobile optimisation here is superb. The same is true for the relaxing puzzle game inbento, which honestly hooked me in so much that I found myself looking forward to snuggling into bed to unwind with it after a long day.
As for River City Girls, the mobile port is as you'd expect, with virtual buttons that disappear from the screen as soon as you connect your controllers to your phone. You can also play the colourful beat-em-up on your mobile device with a friend on the same screen as long as you have two controllers in local co-op.
All 5 games are enjoyable in their own right, and I like how varied they all are to make sure there's something for everyone (or a game for your every mood). On Android, you'll have to download the game from the Google Play Store, boot up the game, and log into your Crunchyroll account to proceed. It's a bit annoying to have to do this each time you install a new game as opposed to Netflix's style of downloading games from the Netflix app itself, but you'll only have to do it once at the first instance.
In the end, I suppose it's only worth signing up for a Crunchyroll Mega or Ultimate Membership if you're after the anime shows themselves, with the mobile games as an extra bit that's nice to have along with your subscription. I wouldn't say it's worth going for the premium membership only for the games in their current state, but expectedly, the library will grow over time and will likely give you more reasons to shell out a monthly fee just to get exclusive access to them on the go.
Crunchyroll Game Vault review - "Fantastic games on the exclusive service...if only there were more"
The Crunchyroll Game Vault is the popular anime streaming service's new foray into the mobile games market that lets you play premium games exclusively from the service along with the price of membership. The 5 games included during the service's launch are all top-notch titles, but perhaps it's worth waiting until the library of games grows before committing to a full subscription.
Catherine Dellosa
Catherine plays video games for a living and writes because she’s in love with words. Her Young Adult contemporary novel, For The Win: The Not-So-Epic Quest Of A Non-Playable Character, is her third book published by Penguin Random House SEA - a poignant love letter to gamer geeks, mythological creatures, teenage heartbreak, and everything in between.
She one day hopes to soar the skies as a superhero, but for now, she strongly believes in saving lives through her works in fiction. Check out her books at bit.ly/catherinedellosabooks, or follow her on FB/IG/Twitter at @thenoobwife.