New GigaBash Ultraman Zero DLC: First Impressions

Note: This is an early access review. Review copy was provided by Passion Republic Games.

For the past four years, Passion Republic’s 2022 brawler GigaBash has been a godsend for kaiju fans all over the world. What started as a small, indie game where all-original (although plenty referential) kaiju, kaijin, and mecha duked it out in up to four-player mayhem has evolved into an all-star tokusatsu outing, a Super Smash Bros. of the genre, if you will. Passion Republic Games achieved what many fans thought impossible, bringing the Big 3 of kaiju media together under one banner: Godzilla, Ultraman, and Gamera. This game filled the void left by the kaiju brawler games of the PS2 era like Pipeworks’ Godzilla trilogy and War of the Monsters, and yet took it a step further with the aforementioned crossovers. It’s a bit of poetic irony that at the dawn of the return of Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, GigaBash is still riding high and putting out incredible work. And let me tell you, this pack is no different. 

It seems ever since the first Ultraman pack was released, fans had been clamoring for more. They got a small taste with the additional Ultraman: Rising pack, but I think this latest effort is what fans have been waiting for. The two characters debuting on the roster are amongst the most requested by the fandom, the ever popular Ultraman Zero and his equally popular archnemesis, Ultraman Belial. What do these iconic toku legends bring to the game? Let’s dive in.

Tackling our titular hero first, Ultraman Zero has a lot going on. The attention to detail here is incredible; Passion Republic has brought an authenticity to its roster that rivals any big budget title, and Zero is no exception. In GigaBash, Ultraman Zero is visually stunning, fully capturing the suit and the suit actor’s mannerisms. The audio is also top notch. It’s unclear if this is a voice actor doing an impression or literally ripped audio from the show, but the “voice” (no actual words are spoken, merely concerns typical fighting game grunts and groans) is unmistakably Zero. Gameplay wise, Zero is given an extraordinary kit for the relatively small moveset GigaBash allows for. He’s a very technical character, a lot of assets, a lot of moving parts, and a lot of ways to win. 

He has a pretty basic auto combo, a flurry of punches and kicks. His charge attack is a flaming karate chop (The Big Bang Zero move). The focal point of his set, however, are the Eye Sluggers. With a tap of the special button, Zero will cast out his sluggers that can hit the enemy both in the front and the back. It’s not a very damaging move BUT the key for gamers to look out for is that it sets up more damaging maneuvers. When the sluggers return, Zero catches them and it gives him additional moves or powers up existing moves. For instance, his basic auto combo is now a series of slashes with the sluggers that ends with a torpedo-like attack similar to M. Bison’s Psycho Crusher from the Street Fighter series. If you hold special for a short time, you can do Emerium Beam (and if you move left or right while doing it, you will do the sweeping Rapid Fire Slash variation). Holding the special button for longer will allow for the Wide Zero Shot. But, if you hold special after throwing the Sluggers, you get the most damaging beam attack, the Zero Twin Shoot. This is a super effective way to add some variety to a limited control scheme, and once you figure out the correct timings it creates some wonderful chaos.

Holding block and pressing the attack button gives Zero a flaming roundhouse kick, while pressing special has him throw his sluggers upward. His grab attack special also hits you with a barrage of Slugger attacks. I was able to combo out of this a few times, and I’m sure some more time in the lab would make for a killer setup. I can’t wait to see what more experienced players do with it. He has a flaming drop kick dash move, but perhaps most wondrous of all, he’s got a DIVE KICK. Dive Kicks are always good in fighting games, so it’s an important tool to have. For those unaware, Dive Kicks are essentially a homing missile, it’s a jumping kick that requires no aiming. It’s quick and effective. In most fighting games it’s an overhead attack, which doesn’t come into play for this game but it’s still quite useful at catching your opponent off guard or lessening the gap with your foe.  Lastly, Zero’s Ultimate attack fittingly has him don the Ultimate Aegis and transform into Ultimate Zero. This puts you into a little minigame where you attempt to slash your opponent with your sword. If successful, you will launch the devastating Final Ultimate Zero!

Zero is fun! But I think he’s meant for very experienced players in order to get the most out of him. His moveset is massive and therefore requires lots of training to get the timing down, but I also don’t think a casual fan would complain. His speed and chaotic nature makes him a blast to romp with.  I can see Zero being a very top tier character in the right hands. And even to a casual fan, his presentation alone is incredible, perfectly embodying the character. This is the closest you can get to feeling like Zero in a video game, and believe me, it feels so good. 

Now, for the magnum opus. As much as I enjoyed playing as Zero, it pales in comparison to the utter giddyness I relished in playing as Belial. It’s no secret that I am a huge Belial fan, so it may be my personal bias shining through, but I think objectively, Belial is the more “fun” character of the two presented here. Much like his rival, Belial’s presentation is top tier. The developers really knocked the accuracy out of the park. This IS Belial. From how he holds himself, his taunts, and especially his voice, this is a perfect rendition of the evil Ultra. 

Belial brings the Giga Battlenizer to his battles, a weapon in Ultra lore that houses and uses the power of kaiju. His auto combo may be the most extensive in the game, ten hits! His charge move sends an arcing shockwave from the Battlenizer. Perhaps Belial’s most interesting mechanic is status effects. He has the ability to infect the opponent with either burn or shock, slowly damaging them over the course of its effect. Tapping the special button sends a flaming blast that inflicts burn upon impact, while jumping and holding the special button sends a bolt of lightning toward the other player causing shock. Both are very visually appealing and also very effective in combat. Blocking and hitting attack gives Belial a baton twirl combo, but block plus special actually lets you use the Battlenizer as a whip. Grab the player out of the sky, or from the air, and pull him toward you. How rather Scorpion of you! “GET OVER HERE!” I was able to pull off some pretty cool combos using this extender! I can’t wait to lab it some more and unleash my Belial online. 

Holding special unleashes Belial’s most iconic attack, the Deathcium Beam. The corrupted, demonic counterpart to Ultraman’s signature move, it rips through the opponent in a very satisfying fashion. Finally, Belial’s Ultimate attack is rather simple but effective. He blasts the Battlenizer into the sky and a massive burst of lightning rains down on the victim. Super damaging. It doesn’t quite have the cinematic wow factor of Zero’s, but it’s very rewarding nonetheless.

Belial is much more fun to play in my opinion, especially for newcomers. His move set doesn’t require as much tuning or muscle memory to use efficiently. He’s a raw power juggernaut ready to bulldoze the competition. Big damage, and without much effort. And much like Zero, the presentation is unrivaled in its execution. The sound bites, the taunts, even the body language in his idle stance, it’s straight out of the films/shows.  A very easy pick up and play character that still has some sauce. I think of the two, Belial will be the more coveted for the wider audience. 

In closing, I think Passion Republic has struck gold with this pack. Every DLC character they’ve released from an outside franchise has been lovingly recreated to the most miniscule detail, and Zero/Belial are no exceptions. This is a loving tribute to two of the franchises most iconic characters but above all else, they’re fun to play! Due to the secretive nature of an early review, I wasn’t able to play online, so my experience was gathered through training mode, arcade, and onslaught. I’m anxious to see the online presence for these two but even with offline play, I was giddy with their implementation. They provide numerous avenues of fun for both the casual player and the hardcore tournament entrant. I can’t wait to see how these two are used online or in pro play. Despite being only two characters, this may be GigaBash’s finest DLC and I hope this game stays around for a long, long time. 

10/10.