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It ’s been nearly 35 eld since the first incarnation of theSuper Dodge Ballseries , a semi - bury action sports championship which debuted in Japanese arcades in the 80s . star Kunio - Kun ofRiver City Ransomfame - then only known as the star of seminal brawlerRenegade -the secret plan was built on a set of placeable dodgeball staple with an absurdist genius , including superpowered throw and a beat ‘ em up flavour . Now , Pocket Trap’sDodgeball Academiaapproaches that heritage , adapting theSuper Dodge Balltradition for a sports RPG at a magical school encompassing every unmarried dodgeball punning imaginable .
The title itself seems something of a too - on - the - nose reference to manga / animeMy Hero Academia , andDodgeball Academia ’s story roil down to a fresh - faced , spunky young schoolkid optimist undercoat to acquire over most of the ragtag student body from the bottom up . Otto is feisty , supportive to a fault and , as it turn out , pretty darn good at dodgeball , a sportsman which commands the full focus of the schooling , include its stratum , branding , and various department and mental faculty . The depository library sport shelves of dodgeball textual matter , a magical dodgeball provides electrical power to the campus , and impromptu catch are everywhere , essentially serving as the RPG opposition encounters .
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The game ’s mankind is just dodgeballs , all the way down , andDodgeball Academia ’s goes full bore on related puns and gimcrackery ; Ultimate move specials are “ balltimate moves , ” a pupil needs Otto to help call back his collection of “ Dodgeman ” comics , and the Robert Frost - covered “ Mount Dodgi ” looms in the length . It ’s goofy but proves endearing , and the narrative ’s easy touch and silly - but - sweet spirit of camaraderie hold the ten or so hour postulate to wash the political campaign .
When all one holds is a hammer , every problem looks like a nail . Reconfigure that aphorism with dodgeballs and that’sDodgeball Academia ’s mechanics in a nutshell . A series of quest and sidequests attest themselves as Otto and his growing friends rotary towards the liberal game - ending tournament , but interactions always boil down to a dodgeball match , whisking quality away to a single - blind sphere face - off . magnetic variation let in knockout rules where HP - eat characters are shuttled to offside support or force a undivided character to square up off against multiple foe at once , often with a range of elementary balls to argufy with . Somewhat gimmicky conditions like passing cars in the schooltime parking quite a little or grandiloquent visual sense - fog forage in the forest area fuse thing up further , and every playable character and opponent have their own private playstyles and wholly different balltimate move to learn , counter , and upgrade .
TheSuper Dodge Ballinspirations are always pronto apparent , though dash relocation and other nuanced techniques would have sweeten the deal . Much like the series which inspires it , there are ways to cheat the centerline as well , leap across it for a flying spike before run back to safety . Dodgeball Academiatracks character progression via leveling up and stat / ability bumps , and especial ( arguably overpowered ) edible store item can for good advance stats , though certain characters favour some items over others .
A repetitive yet rich and spirited soundtrack accompanies the hand - animated graphics , with flat characters positioned on the lightly textured three-D campus add unattackable Saturday morning cartoon comparison . Still , Dodgeball Academiais believably most conceptually evocative of 2017 ’s surprisal Nintendo Switch sleeper hitGolf Story(itself root in Mario ’s foresightful - standingRPG - adjacent golf franchise ) which is well company to keep , though this game feels significantly more focussed .
Min - maxers can prioritize equipment and stat rise to further weaken any challenge , but everyone else can just jump intoDodgeball Academia ’s matches and glide through the snappy story . By the end , a full roster of characters unlock for use in a versus mode pack - in , albeit with no online multiplayer usable . Super Dodge Ballfans will immediately react to what Pocket Trap is up to here , butDodgeball Academiashould also prove an soft joy to anyone looking to fall off into a very specific type of sports RPG .
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Dodgeball Academiais out now on PC , Nintendo Switch , PlayStation 4 , and Xbox One . A digital PC codification was provided toScreen Rantfor the design of this review .
