Vortex Gaming

Big Games Studio's 'Black Clover Mobile' is a mobile RPG based on the anime of the same name. Since its surprise reveal at Jump Festa in December 2022, it has captured the attention of fans with its anime-level graphics that vividly bring characters and backgrounds to life, and has appealed to global users as well as domestic ones through overseas CBT.

It has already been verified through testing, and there have been mobile games that have excellently captured IPs in the past in Korea. However, users' views on IP-based mobile games are still skeptical. This is because there have often been cases in IP-based games where it was impossible to guarantee that not only the quality on the surface, but also the actual gameplay was faithful to the original or that gameplay that even non-fans of the original could enjoy was supported.

However, 'Black Clover Mobile', led by veterans who once turned that anxiety into anticipation, felt like they had proven their potential once again. There may be elements that are divisive, but it is backed by not only the elements of an IP game but also the basics of a general game.

The world of the original work brought to life on mobile

It is common to say 'it's like an anime' when looking at a well-made subculture game. This means that the character's movements and direction are well-equipped like an animation, and it also means that the feeling of the original work is alive. In addition, since 'animation' still has a significant influence in subculture and presents the most ultimate direction, it is also a compliment that it is well-made enough to reach the destination.

From the release of the development video to the overseas CBT, 'Black Clover Mobile' showed a look that perfectly matched those words. However, it was only released overseas, so it was difficult to access in Korea, and the development environment was different from other works that many of the developers had participated in before, so there were concerns about whether they would be able to show 100% of the IP well incorporated into the game. However, from the first tutorial, it showed enough to resolve those concerns.

The original 'Black Clover' is a work that depicts the process of Asta, a boy who dreams of becoming a Magic Emperor despite having no magic power, and his rival Yuno joining the Magic Knights of the Clover Kingdom and fighting against powerful enemies that threaten the kingdom and the world. In a world where anyone can use magic, Asta, who has no magic power, has gained support not only in Asia, North America, and Europe, but also in various parts of the world, incorporating the composition of a traditional shonen manga that overcomes various difficulties with effort, tenacity, friendship, and even chance.

The main storyline itself is orthodox, so it is not difficult to understand, but in the work, world-specific settings including the 'Magic Emperor' appear several times from the beginning. In the original manga and animation, the settings were quickly unraveled in different ways to lower the barrier to entry, and 'Black Clover Mobile' faithfully captured the development of explaining the basic system in the game, following the direction of the animation. By taking the tutorial, which is easy to skim through, to the download window, it reveals what status the 'Magic Emperor' has in the work, and after Asta joins the Black Bulls, scenes in which various characters such as Magna, Noelle, and Vanessa give additional explanations also combine the cutscenes of the original work and the process of SD characters explaining step by step to increase immersion.

In order for such a context to flow naturally, it must be supported by characters and backgrounds built with that level of quality, and this part was already largely flawless from the CBT stage. By increasing the quality not only of the cutscenes but also of the gameplay screen, it made it impossible to stop the flow and keep the eyes on it, and it is also noticeable that the composition commonly seen in collectible RPGs is gradually unraveled in accordance with the flow of the original work, and the introduction of the world and the contents are well intertwined.

This composition was also the secret to maximizing the quality even within the limitations of the mobile device. The areas where the main story unfolds in the original work, such as Hage Village, Kikka Village, the Black Bulls hideout, and dungeons, maximize the feeling, while the world map, which is the section that moves to the content in between, lightly captures the feeling of SD, so editing for content linkage and graphics were well applied with selective focus. At the same time, fishing and exploration were added to various parts of the world map, adding small fun elements as well as simply depicting the character's actions in the work.

However, unlike other games, the dual structure of consuming 'tickets' separately to advance the story instead of consuming stamina, and consuming stamina for growth content, had the potential to be divisive. Isn't it human nature to want to see the next story quickly when you see an interesting story?

This was probably intended to allow players to smoothly move on to the next story by consuming stamina for various content to grow characters in between ticket charges. However, the structure of not being able to see the next story and moving on to content due to a lack of tickets, rather than voluntarily switching due to growth being blocked, was bound to be divisive. Even if it is not an absolute indicator for evaluating the game, it was an element that could have a negative reaction from users.

Supplementing the basics of turn-based RPGs with systems that capture the feel of the original

Games based on manga or anime IPs have often been said to be games that rely on characters, or even 'only played for the characters'. This is because games based on manga or anime IPs have focused on implementing the characters and worldviews that are the core of the IP, and as a result, the quality has deteriorated by partially abandoning even the basics and grammar of the genre. However, it is also a genre with a kind of dilemma in which fans can be criticized for applying the settings of the original work somewhat differently as a result of focusing on gameplay.

'Black Clover Mobile', which interprets the original work as a mobile turn-based RPG, also had concerns about hearing such words. This is because it adopted the method of multiple vs. multiple or a few allies cooperating to defeat a powerful enemy, which is mainly adopted by shonen manga works after the 1:1 structure that was mainstream during the One, Naruto, Bleach era.

In particular, 'Black Clover' had no choice but to face even more difficulties because it depicted a world where everyone except Asta, who has no magic power, has their own unique magic. The process of attacking powerful enemies with the combination of not only commonly thought of elemental magic but also various special magics seemed difficult to fully express with a simplified mobile turn-based RPG tailored to various user groups.

Strictly speaking, 'Black Clover Mobile' did not solve that difficulty to the extent that it would satisfy everyone 100%. However, they tried to present a composition that maximizes the emotions of the original work within a framework familiar to current mobile turn-based RPG users. In particular, the parts that were carefully considered to incorporate the aspects of real-time cooperative battles that are often seen in the original work into turn-based RPGs as strategic elements were noticeable.

In turn-based RPGs, the element of one character performing a cooperative attack with another character is no longer unfamiliar. This is because several games have already shown such attempts. However, Black Clover Mobile sought to differentiate itself by applying this to all characters. This was actually a very dangerous choice. Due to the nature of collectible RPGs, character combinations that did not appear in the original work may appear, and even characters who are hostile to each other may be organized into teams. Among fans of the original work, there was a possibility that drawing that connection itself would be objectionable.

Black Clover Mobile, which took the risk and equipped all characters with combination skills as standard, has sufficiently proven the reason with the card of more possibilities and strategy. It was not just a matter of simply adding an additional option called 'combination skill' to the three elements of general attack - basic skill - ultimate skill in a typical mobile RPG, but also the elements of TCG that change depending on how characters are combined and arranged were added, adding depth to the strategy.

In particular, since the channel for deploying important debuff and buff skills in turn-based RPGs has been added, there was a charm to attacking while counting skills at the right time. Furthermore, since character growth is subdivided into level, promotion, grade increase, talent, skill enhancement, skill page awakening, and equipment growth, the fun of finding the best combination and attacking various content designed accordingly has been added. At the same time, when characters who have a connection with each other in the original work are organized, it changes to a 'connection combination skill' that adds special directing and effects, bringing both the fun of watching and synergy to life.

Mobile games based on manga and anime IPs are still being released steadily, but there are few works that satisfy both the demands of the original fans and the gameplay. Due to the nature of mobile games with short development and service periods, the release frequency of poorly made games that are so-called 'mass-produced' and only superficially covered with IPs is high, so the response has been so poor that users have been saying that they believe and avoid them for a while.

However, the developers, who had already received favorable reviews for capturing both the emotions of the original work and the basics as a game, once again proved their skills with 'Black Clover Mobile'. Not to mention the graphics, directing, cutscenes, and voice actors, they captured both the feeling of cooperative battles and strategy of the original work by delving deeper into the combination of equipment and skill settings and combination skills on top of the light structure of mobile turn-based RPGs. Due to the nature of mobile turn-based RPGs, the various magic effects of the original work have been simplified into a general form familiar to light users, but the direction has been established with the buff-debuff utilization strategy unique to turn-based RPGs, showing a balance between the charm of strategy and familiarity.

Of course, this does not mean that 'Black Clover Mobile' is a perfect game. Black Clover Mobile has a slightly slower tempo than the current trend, and that's why problems that were not visible when you quickly skimmed through it are particularly more visible. Types such as the ratio of specific classes such as healers and tanks and balance are actually problems that most IP games that prioritize faithfully capturing the original work can experience at least once.

However, since there is PVP, users may pay more attention to skill page or character balance issues. In particular, the skill page seems to require adjustment because the effect varies greatly depending on the grade compared to the system similar to artifacts in other games, and the feeling of 'exclusive equipment' that has recently been problematic in some quarters may be added. As mentioned earlier, the character growth is not fast due to the somewhat slow content unlocking process and the complexly designed game structure, so the problem may not be apparent at first, but there was a concern that the accumulated difference would widen while performing various content. The developers are aware of these problems and are providing various rewards as a temporary measure and have also posted developer notes, so it is necessary to watch it in the long term.

In addition, the UI/UX that is difficult to grasp quickly, the lack of refund of goods when failing, and the somewhat old-fashioned composition such as buffs being reset when waves are passed were somewhat concerning. Following the trend is not necessarily the best thing, but there is a possibility that not accepting the elements that have gradually evolved in terms of convenience and various functional aspects after much consideration over time will not feel so good.

Even so, 'Black Clover Mobile' is a title that users who have played the original work would probably already be playing, and has the charm to make even those who have not seen the original work look for it. Of course, it may be somewhat difficult to approach as there have been few cases where IP-based mobile games have shown good results. However, since those who have shown good examples are still struggling, I wonder if things will change in the future. Big Games Studio, as well as the developers who have not joined here and remain, are also showing a good job of creating another IP-based game, so I hope that the day will come when manga and anime IP-based games will not simply be fan service but will be established as a solid genre.

8.0

Black Clover Mobile: The Opening of Fate

Black Clover Mobile: The Opening of Fate

• Graphics and directing faithful to the original
• Combinations and strategies brought to life with combination skills and settings
• Content equipped in various ways from exploration to growth
• A balanced tightrope walk between the original work and game-like permission

• Various braking devices that excessively prevent content consumption
• Complex content, growth structure, and UI/UX
• Key content to reveal one's own characteristics is insufficient

리뷰 플랫폼: Mobile(1.0.1)

metacritic

opencritic

웹진 인벤윤서호 기자
2023-05-29