My love for anime rarely ever extends to its games. My dislike is that it is not uncommon to find an anime and manga series with an explosive plot and character with a videogame that sucks. Apart from a few exceptions, most others are disappointing, especially with their mobile games, which are usually an unpolished excuse of an RPG. It makes it all more exciting to see an anime game that excites me.

The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross was developed and published by Netmarble. It was designed for both mobile devices and released in March 2020, just as the lockdown was commencing. In less than a year, it amassed beyond five million downloads on Play Store alone. So, what exactly is this game about and why the high demands.

A Well-Adapted Plot 

Whether you are a die-hard or just a casual lover of anime and manga, you are most likely very familiar with the tales of the Nanatsu no Taizai or simply the Seven Deadly Sins ( for the non-weebs). The SDS GC is the anime series’s mobile adaption: The Seven Deadly Sins, which made a previous, rather dull entry into the video game space with its  PS4 console release. 

The plot of TSDS GC chronicles the life of Meliodas, Elizabeth, Ban, and all the other characters from the original series, as they journey through the empire of Britannia in search of the seven sins and to deliver the earth from the oppression of the Demon King.  

At this juncture, I must note that the developers did not pay much attention to the game’s plot, as it is a linear plot that blindly follows the original series. Regardless, this doesn’t in any way make the game boring. Very often, you would find yourself immersed in the beautifully voiced storyline. The very cinematic cutscenes, which play before the start of every mission, help drive the plot forward. In what comes off as an attempt by the developers to further align with the original plot, when the characters burst a special move, the game animates it such that it feels like watching the original anime itself. 

Graphics

Everything from the cut scenes to the battle moves is fully animated with so much precision. Although it doesn’t exactly look like the anime, the art is very similar to the original. The similarity is good enough for a 3-Dimension display. With this game, you get to select your graphics quality to reduce your device’s power consumption. I love to play it at Ultra mode because that’s when the graphics’ beauty is best appreciated.

Apart from the beautifully animated cut scenes, the game generally looks very good. All characters look artistic, and the environment is just amazing. The developers were intentional about delivering a gacha that is as beautiful as it is battery conservative. 

Gameplay and Combat

The best part of this game is its RPG-centered gameplay. The game allows players to transverse Britannia’s game world either manually or using the “Go Now” option – which isn’t so much fun but can come in handy when you can’t find your way anymore. The game further allows you to interact with other non-playable characters and engage in other non-combat activities. 

I believe sets this game apart is that, unlike the conventional anime games that are overly battle-centric. SDS GC rewards players both with perks and coins for non-combat activities. For instance, you get rewarded for activities like cooking and eating up cooked food. Cosmetically, the game allows for both cosmetic outfits and battle outfits – which provide buffs in battle stats and be aesthetic.

Combat in Grand Cross is unique in comparison to others in its class. It uses a card system with which you collect characters. At the start of every combat, you get to control three active characters, and a standby character, each of these has its unique skills and abilities in cards. 

There are seven classes of cards used in the game: the Attack cards, the Buff cards, the Debuff cards, the Stance cards, the Debuff Attack cards, and the Recovery cards. The last card category is the Ultimate card which is reserved solely for the heroes. During a match, a player gets seven cards for each turn; now, a player may decide to use or move a card depending on the player’s strategy and play style. When two similar cards are beside each other, they automatically merge into one card, but they also upgrade a star higher. To make a move, you need to choose a card you want to use or decide to skip the turn entirely if need be.

Each mission battle involves three waves of enemy forces, with a few of these waves having a Boss to defeat after you’ve taken out the other two waves. Occasionally, the game would pitch you against a character from the anime, and you fight to the death. I particularly love these battles, not just because they are more intense but also more animated.  

Gacha System

The most prominent drawback for me, as regards this game, is the gacha system that it adopts. The game begins looking free to play, and it allures you with its daily missions, log-in bonuses, quests, and more; then, suddenly, the freebies start to deplete, and they aren’t being replenished as fast. That’s when it hits you that the game uses the gacha system, after all. This can be a major turn-off because now I have to spend money on these in-game transactions. However, these are not compulsory. The player can still enjoy the game without spending money, albeit at a less pacey rate. The flipside to playing as a free-to-play player is when you play against other players who have gotten gacha packs.

In conclusion, Grand Cross has probably the best presentation I have seen in recent times; it almost feels like a console game. Netmarble has indeed produced a title that will keep you glued to your phone screens for hours locked in the fictional world of Britannia. 

Good

• Card-based combat

• Cinematic cut scenes

• Easy on phone battery

Bad

• Mission takes a long time to clear

• Gacha mechanism