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A superb anime soccer game with some pesky microtransactions

2K View2023-12-05

CAPTAIN TSUBASA: ACE

9.1

SportsStrategyFootballSingleplayer

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SHOULD I PLAY CAPTAIN TSUBASA: ACE?

Play it, especially if you like soccer. When I first played Captain Tsubasa: Ace during a test in July, I was a little surprised by how much I liked it. Even though I’ve never been a huge sports game player, I found myself having a lot of fun with this one. Fast-forward a few months to this official release, and the core gameplay has stayed intact while the game has received even more visual polish. The only downgrade from testing is that microtransactions are now a much bigger part of the game and rewards are given much less generously.

TIME PLAYED

I played Captain Tsubasa: Ace for four hours. I managed to get to the fifth chapter in the Passionate Journey story mode. I also acquired six four-star characters.

WHAT'S AWESOME ABOUT CAPTAIN TSUBASA: ACE?

• Scoring goals. The combination of regular soccer and anime makes for an exciting experience in Captain Tsubasa: Ace. I got to control different characters from the Captain Tsubasa series, dodge incoming players on a field, and score goals with superb animated abilities. And unlike the beta where I had issues with the controls, this time around, everything felt much smoother and easier to navigate.

• So many activities. There’s something for everyone in Captain Tsubasa: Ace. From ranked matches to a story mode and even multiple different training sessions, I could do various activities to have fun. This variety kept things fresh.

• Upgrading characters. My favorite thing to do in Captain Tsubasa: Ace was assembling and experimenting with different players on my team and upgrading them. I could roll for unique characters in the gacha banner and level them up with resources to make them stronger. Over time I could mix and match different players I acquired to make the perfect soccer team which was a blast.

• It looks so much better. When I first played Captain Tsubasa: Ace, it didn’t look terrible but it was rough around the edges. The final product looks a dozen times better than the beta. The visuals are a lot more crisp, the interface feels polished, and the animated scenes look fantastic. Definitely a step up!

WHAT SUCKS ABOUT CAPTAIN TSUBASA: ACE?

• It’s a gacha game at its core. I mean, yes, Captain Tsubasa: Ace is a soccer game, but even more than that it is designed around being a gacha game. It’s littered with microtransactions and gacha promos around every corner. While I wasn’t forced to spend any real money, my screen was filled with microtransaction deals left and right wherever I went outside of the main game modes.

• It's not generous at all. I only received enough resources to pull ten times during my four hours playing Captain Tsubasa: Ace. I had a hard time trying to find the resources to pull more characters. Certain progression milestones awarded me four-star characters, but I wish I’d had the chance to acquire and play at least one five-star character.