Fairy Tail: Beach Volleyball Havoc review: Supernatural dodgeball

I’m sorry, but when I hear about anime and volleyball together in the same video game I see immediate red flags. It’s not my fault; I’m old enough to remember when Play Asia got down with the GamerGate crowd in order to move more copies of Dead or Alive Xtreme 3. So while I enjoyed Fairy Tail: Dungeons, I was not on board after learning Kodansha’s next licensed indie game using Hiro Mashima’s manga series was about beach volleyball. Fairy Tail is already known for playing on the edge of being sent to horny jail, so I was happy to pass and wait for the next thing. Then I finally saw some video footage, and was surprised to see something more akin to the Kunio-kun Super Dodgeball series. Those games rule, so I was immediately back on board.

Volleyball violence

Fairy Tail: Beach Volleyball Havoc is a no-nonsense, arcadey multiplayer volleyball game from tiny cactus studio. You start the game, and play some volleyball by yourself or with some friends. There’s no story mode, no setup, minimal settings; just pure gameplay. That said, there are a ton of unlockable characters, so alongside the incredibly flashy visuals there is some built-in motivation to keep playing besides the core premise. The magic guild Fairy Tail is simply at the beach and playing some volleyball, and you don’t need to worry about anything else.

Of course, Fairy Tail is a series about magic-using wizards, which is where the hook is tossed out to snag anime and manga fans. There are no rules against using powers here, so all your favorite Fairy Tail characters (and then some) have no hesitations about using their unique abilities to turn the tides in their favor. And in addition to each character’s powers you can choose supplemental abilities after each point is scored, adding an element to the game you’d normally see in the average roguelike. It’s an interesting twist, and adds to what should be Volleyball Havoc’s secret spice.

Magical madness

As a match progresses, the stuff on the screen happening gets weirder and weirder. The ball will change form, fly around the full real estate of the screen, and sometimes be nearly impossible to see. Powers can bring all kinds of other weird stuff into the picture, from flying swords and ice to weird faces and other obstacles blocking everyone’s view of the actual sport ostensibly being played. It can get pretty surreal depending on which characters are out and what mid-match powers are drawn, and on paper that sounds like a pretty rad time, especially for a game channeling the likes of Super Dodgeball.

Unfortunately, when it comes to actually catching and returning the ball, the entire experience falls flat. The characters move pretty slowly, and are basically normal people until their powers charge up. The ball moves pretty slowly most of the time, and the game does a lot to help you get to the ball even when it seems far away. Even when powers come into play, the ball’s location is marked on the field, and most of the time you can still just press the “pass” button to snag it and keep the game going. It’s hard to feel like you’re ever making a direct impact on the momentum, direction, and accuracy of where the ball is, where it’s going, and how it’s going to be received. It feels like, for the sake of simplicity and approachability, the two-button controls and wide margin of error compromise the action.

All powers, no sauce

I played several rounds and swapped characters each time, and despite all the powers looking different, the actual gameplay never felt like it changed. Without having a sense of control over where the ball was going or how to get it past the opponent, it felt like I was just pressing buttons to return it, then watching to see if the AI sent it back or not. There was no tension, no sense of skill or responsiveness, basically none of the dynamic that makes the Super Dodgeball style good was present here at all. It’s the wackiest looking game I’ve ever landed on “boring” with, which is a huge bummer to be frank. The potential is all over the place, but with the game practically playing itself, the end result doesn’t even come close.

I know volleyball and dodgeball are totally different activities, but the inspiration is pretty obvious here. And if you want to play a sports game like this that’s wacky, over the top, and still has a competitive element, Mario Tennis or the Kunip-kun Dodgeball games are much more fulfilling in every way. And if you’re just a Fairy Tail fan looking for something fun to play with these characters, Fairy Tail: Dungeons or the GUST-developed RPG from a few years ago (with a sequel coming soon) are much more successful in nailing their own concepts. It’s a shame, but aside from some fun visuals and occasional on-screen wackiness, Fairy Tail: Beach Volleyball Havoc doesn’t deliver in either the volleyball or the havoc.

Fairy Tail: Beach Volleyball Havoc is available for the PC on September 16, 2024. A code was provided by the publisher for review.

Lucas White

Contributing Editor

Lucas plays a lot of videogames. Sometimes he enjoys one. His favorites include Dragon Quest, SaGa, and Mystery Dungeon. He's far too rattled with ADHD to care about world-building lore but will get lost for days in essays about themes and characters. Holds a journalism degree, which makes conversations about Oxford Commas awkward to say the least. Not a trophy hunter but platinumed Sifu out of sheer spite and got 100 percent in Rondo of Blood because it rules. You can find him on Twitter @HokutoNoLucas being curmudgeonly about Square Enix discourse and occasionally saying positive things about Konami.