Hands-on with The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross

Serialization is probably the first major goal of a mangaka (a term for manga author) can work towards in a career. The next major goal would probably be having their work adapted into an animated format, be it a weekly show or even a theatrical movie. As new mediums and formats are created, the goal post of success is constantly moving. In this day and age, I?d like to think a property has truly made it when it is adapted as a video game. Whether it be for home consoles or mobile devices, once a property has reached those digital shores, it?s a sign that it?s popularity will be on the rise. So while I did not know anything about Seven Deadly Sins, it certainly has gotten onto my radar as of last week.

The Seven Deadly Sins is originally a manga by Nakaba Suzuki and is published in Kodansha?s Weekly Shonen magazine. It tells the story of the Princess of the Liones Kingdom, Elizabeth whose father has been deposed by the Holy Knights. Elizabeth seeks to return power to her father by seeking the help from the Seven Deadly Sins, another order of knights who were accused of attempting a coup 10 years ago. Elizabeth?s quest starts to pick up steam once she has stumbled upon the Boar Hat and meeting the pub?s diminutive owner. The manga is available locally via Crunchyroll and the animated series streams exclusively on Netflix.

Netmarble is a South Korean mobile publisher which was founded in 2000. They have handled many large IPs such as Disney, Dragonball, Star Wars and Marvel (In fact Netmarble is set to announced their next collaboration with Marvel at a panel on 3/1/20 at PAX East). They happen to develop/publish King of Fighters All Star, which is a title which occupies my morning hours. Netmarble is the developer and publisher of the Seven Deadly Sins Mobile game titled Grand Cross.

The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross is an RPG that will retell the story of animated series and features voice work from the voice actors of the series. Combat consists of a party of 3 (with a 4th waiting in the wings if any member of the active party is knocked out) taking on waves of enemies and each round you are able to take 3 actions. An action consists of either playing character cards or merging character cards. Merging cards will enhance the effects of the card when it is eventually played. However if 2 eligible cards are next to each other, they will automatically merge, saving you from using 1 of the 3 actions in a turn, this type of gameplay allows players to be strategic with their choices instead of just playing the first 3 cards dealt to them. Characters also have a gauge that will fill as their cards are played and once filled they can unleash an ultimate move which is both flashy as well as devastating.

Slinging cards isn?t the only thing you can do in the game. Quests will have you explore up to 30 locales all rendered in 3D. You can also work in the Boar Hat Tavern to interact with the characters you have collected (and you?ll want to collect characters as this game features the most bombastic summoning animation I?ve ever seen in any mobile title). Create a Knighthood and join up with a friend tackle the game?s raid bosses and if you think friendship is overrated take on other people in the game?s real time PVP that will be out shortly after the game?s launch.

As I?ve played other Netmarble games in the past, The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross looks like it will launch packed to the gills with content and will no doubt make my mornings even more busy (As is binging on the anime on Netflix isn?t enough). The team at Netmarble mentioned that once it has exhausted the canonical storylines, they are working with Kodansha on making exclusive story content for the game. With monthly cadence for their update schedule, players can look for a lot of content for the title as the year pushes forth. The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross is now available as of 3/3/2020 (today!) for iOS and Android devices.