Under Night In-Birth (0)

Overview

Under Night In-Birth premiered in Japanese arcades on September 20th 2012. , the developer of UNiB watched closely and intently to see how their game would evolve among players in the wild. It didn't take long before they realized mistakes were made. The game had turned into brainless one touch infinite looping combos and was going against their original intention of rewarding smart gameplay.

On September 9th, 2013 Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late was released in Japanese arcades. UNiEL is the current version of the game and has fixed many of the problems players and French Bread had with the previous version.

published the PlayStation 3 version for Japan on July 24, 2014. This version will be region free allowing for friendly importing and will also be available digitally through Japanese PSN. The console version added new features such as proper online modes, expanded story, and the addition of two new characters, Nanase and Byakuya. Aksys Games published UNiEL for the North American region on February 24, 2015.

Game Mechanics

At first glance UNiEL may seem like a typical "anime" fighter but this is only true in appearance. The one big thing that differentiates UNiEL from Arcsys brand of fighters is that it lacks universal air dashes. UNiEL is a very grounded fighter. This is not to say that characters don't have unique movement options because many do. It's better to think of it as a hybrid between the traditional Street Fighter grounded neutral game mixed with systems found in Arcsys air-dash fighters but still having unique systems that make it stand out on it's own.

Button Layout

UNiEL is a 4 button fighter. A is weak attack. B medium attack. C strong attack. D is EXS action.

Dashing

UNiEL has characters with run or hop dashes. Characters can dash by tapping forward or backward twice or pressing forward or backward and A+B. Most characters also have special dash attacks they can do by pressing forward B/C which can be done during or before the dash animation even starts.

Guard

Blocking is done by holding back or down-back. Uniel has air blocking against projectiles and some special moves, but most ground and air attacks are air unblockable.

EXS

This is the game's super meter, 200% is a full bar. 100% is considered half full. EXS is used for EX moves/supers and other mechanics. Any remaining EXS will carry over to the next round.

Normals

Normals are attacks done by pressing A/B/C. Command Normals are different attacks that are done by holding a direction and pressing A/B/C.

Specials

Like in any fighting game, special moves require a combination of inputs. A/B/C versions of each special will change the properties of the move.

Throws

Pressing forward or back and A+D at the will perform a throw. Grabs in this game have a 13 frame tech window, and teching a grab will result in 8 frames of advantage for the character who teched the throw.

Passing Link

Like most other games with chain cancels, attacks can be chained from light to strong, but UNIEL's chain system is much more free-form and allows characters to go in reverse order and chain attacks from strong to light as well as long as the move hasn't been chained yet. For example, chaining standing B > C > A is possible but standing A > B > C > A is not. Besides combo utility, a common use for this technique is to make laggy C attacks safer in blockstrings by canceling into quick A attacks.

Smart Steer

Every character has an auto combo known as Smart Steer. Press A multiple times to perform a preset series of moves that ends with an EX attack if the meter is available. This also has the benefit of ignoring the "only one normal per chain" limitation, allowing confirms after all possible normals moves have been used up in a chain.

Chip Damage

Blocking attacks will result in a small amount of damage to a character, but they will not be KO'd by chip damage.

Force Function

Force Function is a character specific move that uses one GRD block but can still be done with no GRD. It is done by pressing B+C and can be used to cancel normals but not specials.

Recovery

Recovery is done by holding A/B/C and a direction when the opponent's combo ends. On the ground neutral and back recovery is possible, while back/neutral/forward tech are all available in the air. It is important to note that during an airtech the character is immobile and invulnerable until they hit the ground.

Counter

Counterhits occur when a non-A attack lands on a character who is in counterhit frames of startup/recovery. Generally speaking, interrupting a normal attack will cause a normal counter state, while interrupting a special will cause a high counter state. A normal counter hit increase the hit stun of an attack by 1.5x while a High Counter increases hit stun by 2x. A hitstun bonus applies to the rest of the hits of a combo as well.

Grind Grid

The Grind Grid or GRD for short is probably the most interesting and vital to learn mechanic in the game. GRD is located at the bottom centre of the screen with six red blocks on one side and six blue blocks on the other.

Player one owns the red side while player 2 owns the blue side. GRD blocks are awarded by doing many things in the game including moving forward, landing combos, blocking, as well as other mechanics. Ways they can be lost include running away, getting hit, and having an opponent tech a throw. Both players always start with zero GRD at the start of a round.

A ring between both players' GRD's is a timer of sorts. The white bar inside fills every 15 seconds and the player with the most GRD is rewarded by going into Vorpal state. They will emit a blue pulse while in Vorpal and all their attacks will receive a 10% damage increase. More importantly however they will now be able to cash in their GRD blocks for EXS meter by using Chain Shift.

Chain Shift

Chain Shift can only be used while in Vorpal state. Pressing neutral D twice will cause the game to freeze for a brief moment and Chain Shift. This will cause the player to cash in all of their GRD for EXS. Each GRD block is worth 20 EXS for a total of 120 EXS for all 6 block. The brief freeze mechanic Chain Shift can be used as a defensive tool to pause the game and react to a situation. The other very important property Chain Shift has is the ability to cancel any move, allowing combo extensions or making a move safe. The EXS obtained by using Chain Shift to cancel moves is less then doing a neutral Chain Shift. The ability to use Chain Shift in offensive and defensive ways makes it a key tool to understand and use.

Concentration

Holding down the D button will put the character in a charge animation which will build GRD blocks in exchange for a small amount of EXS. It has some startup but no recovery, which makes it is generally very safe to use but will give up some momentum if the opponent is weary.

Assault

Assault is the closest thing UNiEL has to a universal air-dash. By pressing forward D on the ground or in the air a character will launch themselves forward towards their opponent, gaining 1/2 GRD block and making any aerial normal/special become an overhead. (even if it didn't have overhead properties beforehand). Assault is invincible to throws and has a short start up time where a character cannot act. Assault attacks have very poor damage scaling unless they counterhit. Additionally, players cannot airblock or airshield during an assault.

Shield

Shield is done by holding back, down-back or up back and holding D. Any attack that connects with the shield will have 3 less frames of blockstun, and air attacks that are shielded cannot be canceled and will have additional landing recovery. Normal shielding must be done correctly depending on if the attack hits high or low, and there is a period after shielding where it is not possible to switch stances.

Shielding is also possible during blockstun for 10 EXS. It is indicated by a green flash, and the attack that connects with it will undergo all of the same effects as a normal shield, but also have more pushback. If no attack connects with the green shield, the player who shielded will lose a GRD block and be stuck in shield recovery.

Shielding makes it impossible to tech throws, if a character is thrown while the shield is active they will be GRD broken and the throw will do bonus damage.

GRD Break

GRD break state occurs when a move is shielded wrong or a player is thrown out of shield. In this state, any action that requires the D button is not allowed, GRD gauge generation for the character is halted, and it is impossible to enter vorpal no matter how many bars the character has. Blocking will decrease the duration of the GRD break, and going into Veil off will exit it competely.

Veil Off

Veil off is activated with A+B+C, it is an invincible attack that will GRD break the opponent if it lands. During Veil off, a character has a 20% damage bonus (which stacks with vorpal), and the EXS meter is turned into a bar that ticks down slowly. Using specials that require meter will make the bar drain faster approximately 1/3, and using an Infinite Worth or Infinite Worth EXS will end the Veil Off completely.

Guard Thrust

Guard thrust is a guard cancel move to stop an opponent's pressure. It is done with QCB + D while in blockstun, and it requires either 100 or Vorpal to execute. When not in vorpal, doing a guard thrust will use all remaining meter and GRD break the character, as such it is not recommended to use this technique outside of vorpal.

Characters

UNiEL has a diverse cast of characters with many different play styles. The majority of the cast is comprised of original characters but it does have a couple guest characters from other fighting games. Guest characters are something French Bread has stated they would like to continue doing in the future if the possibility presents itself.

Hyde

-Health: 12,300

-Play-style: Well-rounded

-Dash type: Run

-Specialty: Insulator

Hyde is a standard character who can fight in both close and long range. Hyde's normal moves where he uses his sword deal good chip damage if blocked. Dash C is one of Hyde's best ways to get close to his opponent.

Linne

-Health: 9,500

-Play-style: Balanced, Rush-down

-Dash Type: Run

-Specialty: Double jump

Linne is speedy character who has a fast dash and is able to double jump making longer aerial combos possible.

Waldstein

-Health: 10,800

-Play-style: Grappler

-Dash Type: Hop Dash

-Specialty: Destroyers

Waldstein can swing his claws to destroy the opponent's projectiles.

Waldstein overwhelms his opponents with long range and powerful attacks. Very slow on the ground, but able to make good use of ground and air assault to close distance fast. Waldstein makes a living through pressure with 50/50 mix-ups and damaging command grabs.

Carmine

-Health: 10 000

-Play-style: Offensive, Rushdown, Pressure

-Dash Type: Run

-Specialty: Dissolve

Carmine is a character who uses his own health to use powerful special moves. By using his specials a pool of blood called "Dissolve" appears on the ground. He uses these pools for more attacks. Planning ahead is necessary when playing Carmine, as it is very easy to waste a lot of health while executing his very strong pressure strings.

Orie

-Health: 9,450

-Play-style: Offensive, Rushdown

-Dash Type: Run

Orie is a character with above average movement who can pressure and control space very well. Much of Orie's moves are simple to make use of and are all around decent poking and zoning tools. A key component of her game is Divine Thrust, a fast move sword charge that can hit very hard if she has the right resources to convert off of it. The threat of being hit by this move can scare opponents into blocking, letting her close the distance and run her pressure game.

Gordeau

-Health: 10,500

-Play-type: Offensive, Footsies

-Dash Type: Run

-Specialty: Assimilation

Gordeau is power fighter with long reach, good priority in his specials and has the only move in the game that can steal GRD. He can fight just as well in close range thanks to his long sweep kick and advancing overhead. Gordeau is often very overwhelming to fight at long range due to his near full-screen reach, but he lacks projectiles and non-physical zoning tools.

Merkava

-Health: 9,200

-Play-style: Versatile

-Dash Type: Run

-Specialty: Flight

Merkava can hover and fly for a moment by holding any up directions while jumping. (Much like in ). While in flight he can cancel into normals, or do a command swoop move with very high reward on hit and lets him maintain pressure on block.

He has air projectiles, full screen/up close hit grabs and good range on a lot of normals. He relies often on punishing and random hit confirms into above average damage combos that most likely put the opponent in the corner. In this position he can run his simple but pressure and throw mixups.

Vatista

-Health: 9,600

-Play-style: Zoning, Charge, Pressure

-Dash Type: Hop Dash

-Specialty: Counter Nullifying

Vatista nullifies the properties opponent would gain from a counter hit. Meaning the opponent's combos will be shorter since they don't get long hitstun, and that the opponent can't pick Vatista up from a downed state.

She uses charge commands for projectiles and anti-air specials for spacing.

Seth

-Health: 8,100

-Play-style: Offensive, Mix-up

-Dash Type: Run

-Specialty: Aerial backdash, fast fall

Seth is the only character in the game with aerial dashes in all directions.

Seth is a speed-type character who confuses his opponents with fast movements and teleport attacks. He has very little trouble getting into his opponent's space with good zoning and mindgames, but requires skill to be used effectively as he's not overly strong and can't risk taking much damage.

Yuzuriha

-Health: 9,800

-Play-style: Zoning, Stance

-Dash: Run

-Specialty: Stance system

Yuzuriha has her own unique gauge system in addition to the regular systems in place. She has stances she can enter and while in them can not press the same button twice. Gauge below her health bar shows which buttons can still be used. Pink button is the one that is being currently pressed, blue are available, and black have already been used.

Yuzuriha is very strong at match control and zoning with her sword, but takes an intimate understanding to be used effectively. Using her stance moves at incorrect distances can result in her getting easily punished. After learning her intricacies her shear stage control is very rewarding.

Hilda

-Health: 9,100

-Play-style: Zoning

-Dash Type: Run

Hilda is a pure zoning character who must fight to keep her opponent away. It is at this distance where she can control her opponent best. She has long ranged normals with good priority. She can attack with various long range tools that keep her oppoent locked down on wake up and unable to advance. However, if her opponent does get in things could end quickly as veil off is her only real reversal.

Eltnum

-Health: 9,400

-Play-style: Offensive, Rushdown

-Dash Type: Run

-Specialty: Pistol, Aerial Throw

Eltnum is a guest character from the fighting series . She is a speedy standard character who has variable range on her moves but thrives up close pressuring opponents with her close range strings.

She has her own character specific bullet counter with 12 shots. Bullets are consumed for some of her special moves, which will require reloading when she runs out. Normal bullets are white, used bullets are black and reinforced bullets are purple.

Chaos

-Health: 9,800

-Play-style: Offensive, Footsies

-Dash Type: Run

-Specialty: Azhi Dahaka

Chaos is a puppet character who can control a giant lizard and make it attack in tandem with himself. It has a specific gauge limiting its use. When the icon is green, the lizard is free to order around. When the icon is red, Azhi Dahaka is either in the middle of a move or still recovering from previous move. When Azhi takes a hit, it disappears from the screen and the icon turns black. Azhi cannot be used during this time. Icon recovers back to green after few seconds.

Chaos' technical playstyle requires good judgment and solid spacing, so he can be hard to use, because his non-Azhi moves aren't too good. Chaos has a good amount of match control at his disposal due to mechanics involving Azhi attacking at unexpected moments, making him solid at punishing some attacks.

Akatsuki

-Health: ?????

-Play-style: Versatile

-Dash Type: Hop Dash

-Specialty: Double Jump, Aerial Throw

Akatsuki is the second guest character from . He fights much the same and is a standard character with a projectile, and uppercut making him a that's easy to use and pick up. His normals lack the range of the rest of the cast and without a run dash he lacks mobility, his saving grace is his damage in the corner with meter and his strong blockstring pressure. Overall it is a struggle to play him, and he is considered one of the weakest characters in the game.

Nanase

-Dash Type: Hop Dash

Nanase was the first new character announced for the PS3 release of UNiEL. She has many unique movement options as her Force Function allows her to hover in the air.

Byakuya

-Dash Type: Run

Byakuya was the second new character announced for the PS3 release of UNiEL. His attacks resemble that of a spider. He can set web traps which hold his opponent in place.

Trivia

This art piece sparked rumours about Filia being a new guest character in UNiEL. It was made by one of the artist's on UNiEL as a welcome gift for getting ported to NESiCA arcade hardware in Japan. It was also included in the fan art Gallery section of the PC version of Skullgirls.

Yuzuriha makes a cameo as a background character in .

Soundtrack

The official soundtrack was released on December 19th 2012 in Japan.