Mugen Souls Z Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

by Jim Smale · Published September 14, 2023 · Updated September 5, 2023

For this Mugen Souls Z Review, Undisputed goddess Chou-Chou is back for an all-new adventure as she attempts to conquer the twelve Zodiac worlds with the help of new and returning frenemies! This beloved sequel to Mugen Souls features free-roaming battle maps in strategic turn-based combat, a level cap of 9999, and the ability to deal billions of hit points worth of damage! As Chou-Chou, you can charm enemies to transform them into shampuru minions, customize party members’ appearance and abilities, create new peons, and much more!

Mugen Souls Z Review Pros:

Anime graphics.
6.3GB download size.
English or Japanese language choice.
12 save slots.
Controller settings – Invert axis and sensitivity sliders for the camera.
Game settings – skip effects, DC animation, lock outfit, lock or rotate mini-map, and auto-sell materials that are marked.
Text speed choices – slow, normal, fast, and show all.
Extra content is every single piece of DLC ever released which is over 20 packs of items, clothing, equipment, and more.
Tutorial pop-ups as you play with a centralized help menu for refreshers.
Each piece of DLC can be enabled or disabled by the pack or individually.
With conversations, you can pause, fast forward, skip, and set to auto-scroll.
Cutscenes are a mix of Anime, in-game, and animated conversations.
A full 3D world with 360-degree camera control.
RPG gameplay.
End of combat breakdown.
A central hub where you can interact with characters who travel to other worlds/dungeons. Shops to buy/sell/upgrade items and armor. New shops open up as you play through the game. One special place is the ability to rewatch cutscenes read text in the game, full 3D model viewers, and go over previous tutorials.
The map fills in as you explore and marks points of interest and mission markers.
Decent story that has a very soap opera feel to it all with humor, love, and revenge scattered over it.
The gameplay is dungeon crawling huge areas fighting small enemies, With a big boss battle at the end.
Chests are scattered through the levels and contain items that are valuable.
When exploring the dungeon/level you can see the enemies roaming around. Hitting one from behind or hitting them first will give you a first attack bonus, On the flip side the enemy can hit you first and get a surprise attack bonus.
Set pieces can have you controlling a massive mech.
Battles are turn-based but have free-roam capabilities. Think of the new Final Fantasy games and you doing it right. You can flip a cursor on to face particular enemies as long as they are in range.
Load when you want from the menu.
In battle, you have a circle which means anyone in it can be attacked.
Excellent enemy designs.
Crystals are placed over the battlefield as you fight enemies. Each crystal has both negative and positive effects on the player and surrounding enemies. An example is if you are in the circle of effect for a crystal it will say top right what happens. In this example, the crystal gives you a health boost upon attacking but grants the enemy defense up. Use the crystals to your advantage and always plan ahead.
Memorable characters.
You later unlock new menus for new attacks and one is a powerful addition indeed. You get the ability to capture enemies and increase your stats or turn them into items, Different enemies give different items including rare ones. To capture one you have to do poses that increase the level you need to hit in order to capture them. But be warned if you do a wrong pose, you can anger the enemy and make them stronger and more aggressive.
The game is very enjoyable for the first few hours as you hack and slash your way through the opening areas.
Fast loading times.
Controls feel slick and easy to remember despite the overwhelming intrusion of menus and new attacks.
Some of the moves in the game are incredible and so explosive and fun to watch.
In battles, you can opt to attack use an ability, or use an item. Along with the old run-away favorite.
Fantastic-looking locations.
Clothing of any sort will affect your stats.
Big boss encounters.

Mugen Souls Z Review Cons:

Slow starter.
Enabling all the DLC means a lot of clicking the screen to say This pack is activated and then this one and so on.
Juddery aspects in built-up areas.
The game has save points and also you can save in the menu but only when near the point.
Loads of cut scenes and they get ever-increasing as you progress the story.
You have so much to take in and it always feels like you are learning something new before you have even learned the previous skill.
Difficulty spikes.
No proper animations in free-roam battles with attacks just displaying damage numbers.
Cannot rebind controls.
Doesn’t support touchscreen.
At times the combat feels more like a war of attrition rather than planning and skill.