@jw_falcon
The thing that I love about Anime Expo is that it’s not just about the mangas, shows, and movies. It’s also about the video games and card games. Every year I find a game that intrigues me enough to the point where I develop an obsession and have to own it immediately. This year, that game is Capcom and GungHo Online Entertainment’s TEPPEN…
At first glance at the gaming station I thought TEPPEN was yet another fighting game, possibly another Street Fighter, since the video graphics were absolutely stunning. Yeah, it definitely didn’t look like a mobile card-based game! Similar to Blizzard’s Hearthstone, TEPPEN pits players one-on-one until the last player remains standing. It’s a deck-building game that gives players the ability to customize their decks until winning cards are obtained to crush their opponent. I really enjoyed the incredibly fast pace, as a typical match takes roughly 5 minutes to complete.
Released by Capcom in sync with this years Anime Expo, the game currently has 8 playable characters: Ryu, Rathalos, Mega Man X, Chun-Li, Morrigan Aensland, Dante, Albert Wesker, and Nergigante. In order to unlock each character, you must complete a story mode. After I downloaded the game onto my phone, Ryu was the default character and you have to complete his story mode before getting to the main menu, a decision I’m sure was made to force newbies to do a quick tutorial and learn the core fundamentals of the game. There are certain power moves that offer quick videos of fun mimi movies — adding excitement when a special has been used.
While story modes serve to unlock characters and learn how to play the game, players will undoubtedly want to jump right into online play. There are Ranked modes and Free Play matches. While you will eventually unlock “currency” needed to gain more cards in the Free Play, the Ranked play is where you will probably earn the most coin. There are missions and accomplishments you will complete that will allow you to buy new decks/cards. Once players start moving up in Ranked matches, they will be able to enter a Coliseum mode and participate in Grand Prix, but this is only reserved for those who have truly earned the right to be there.
For those that don’t mind spending real money, you can also purchase decks. The game itself is free to download so if you don’t want to actually pay for anything, you don’t need to; however, as an added incentive (and a way to build up a good buzz) anyone who downloads the game during the month of July will be rewarded with 30 FREE core pack tickets. By doing so you are guaranteed to get at least one rare legendary card of the highest rank. This is a great way to get a massive head start and get those decks improved quickly. With only a day under my belt, I’m already pretty hooked on TEPPEN and encourage you to give it a free download and check it out. Go get those free decks!
For full details on the game, go to teppenthegame.com 4/5 Bibles.
-Anton Tilgren