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What can grindy live service superhero games learn from One-Punch Man?Not a one-word article
Not a one-word article
Image credit:Madhouse (S1) / J.C.Staff
Image credit:Madhouse (S1) / J.C.Staff
One-Punch Man is a manga, anime and nowadays, videogame series that began life as a webcomic in 2009 - a drawing exercise for budding artist “One” thatfound popularity and evolvedinto a full-bore parody of the shonen action genre. One-Punch Man himself, aka Saitama, is essentially a NEET Superman - an apathetic homebody in yellow pants and red wellies who begins his story as the most powerful superhero in existence, for reasons unexplained.
Image credit:Madhouse / J.C.Staff
Still, I can’t deny that I find One-Punch Man funny. A lot has to do with the shifting art style: when Saitama tries to take himself seriously, perhaps because he’s giving bullshit advice to his awestruck underling Genos, his appearance evolves from spoofy webcomic simplicity to a keen-eyed and rugged “heroic” rendition - generally, the setup for a joke at his expense. And I do wonder whether there’s anything to be gained from applying the Overpowered formula to latter-day blockbuster videogames with live service components, where character potency has essentially become an in-game currency.
One Punch Man: World - Official Launch Trailer - PLAY NOW!Watch on YouTube
One Punch Man: World - Official Launch Trailer - PLAY NOW!
There aren’t many One-Punch Man games as yet, and those that do exist aren’t exactly platinum-grade bangers, but I always enjoy watching developers struggle to adapt the character faithfully without letting you complete the game in five minutes. Take One-Punch Man World, a third-person arena brawler with some RPG flourishes, which launched a week or two back. The workaround here is that you can play as an underpowered, pyjama-clad version of Saitama, plucked from a dream Saitama has in one chapter about fighting enemies who actually pose a challenge.
A couple of years ago there was One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows (thanks to Alice0 for the reminder), which builds a fighting game mode around the gag that Saitama is necessarily late to every major encounter in the manga and anime. Pick One-Punch Man from the roster, and you’ll start the round as a lesser hero like the charmingly pathetic BMX-wielding Mumen Rider, who must drag out the match and hold the villain off till Saitama arrives.
One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows - Launch Trailer | PS4Watch on YouTube
One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows - Launch Trailer | PS4
