Azur Lane Review

Azur Lane is arguably one of the better mobile games available on Google Play. The gameplay is nice, and movement is very responsive. Although if that was all there is to the game then this review wouldn’t be a thing. Published by Yostar Games, Azur Lane is a side-scrolling shooter character collection game where the character theme is anthropomorphized ships called ship girls.

Art Work

Art for the game is incredible. The designs are drawn and shaded well. Players can easily look at a character and understand their personality just from their appearance. There are small and intricate details on each character from uniform preferences or just damage on rigging. The variety in the character design is also great. The range of art styles is incredible as there are both uniformed and casual appearances. Although I admit, it is very heavy on fanservice such as the maid core that make up the British fleet or the eclectic style of the Japanese ships. There are even a few crossover characters involved, such as the Hyperdimension Neptunia cast or HoloLive members from Japan. Sadly or perhaps happily for some, fanservice is a major component to the game although there are some thankful limitations.

Account Creation and Binding

Account creation for the game is simple, just download the game play the tutorial and then type in a username. Overall, the process is very simple and can allow players to get into the game quickly and efficiently. Although it should be noted that players should be mindful of the server they use. Unlike other similar games such as SINoALICE, Blue Archive, or Fate/Grand Order, Azur Lane requires players to choose a server rather than using a regional server. This means that accounts for the game are bound to the server. Which means it is possible to play on multiple servers with different accounts on a singular phone. That is an interesting approach and admittedly I was unaware of that until I tried to reacquire the account, I made more than a year ago.

That was a nasty surprise, although thankfully I did in the end recover the account. Binding the account was also simple, people simply must link the account to either their Twitter account, Yostar account, or Facebook account. This will prevent the game data from being permanently deleted if the game is removed from their phone for one reason or another. Account linking as a recovery method is a feature I really like. This is due to having played games with account recovery systems using recovery codes which may or may not work. Almost lost my Fate/Grand Order account because a recovery code did not work, and it was through a meticulous amount of information on my account that saved it.

Story

Moving on from the account creation and binding process, the story of the game is set during an alternative World War 2 where players are a Commander in the navy leading a fleet of ship girl warships. Prior to the commander taking up their post and the current time, a group of hostile ship girls named Sirens emerged and destroyed Humanities ability to control and sail the sea in safety. To counteract this group, the nations of the world banded together to form the titular Azur Lane. Unfortunately, the group fractured when the Commander takes their post and the nations making up the fleets of Germany and Japan strike Pearl Harbor. In short, players need to fight and resolve issues with the nations breaking off from the alliance and defend against a worldwide naval threat.

The story is a unique take on telling a World War 2 story. Although admittedly there are liberties taken with the situation itself. While early in the campaign there were cutscenes with good artwork in the background. There were also banter between characters and a resemblance of a plot which was nice. Unfortunately for chapter four until where I stopped in chapter seven, this stopped completely.  Which was highly disappointing and turned me off towards continuing the campaign. Events on the other hand do have character interaction and plots which make me want to continue them. It is strange to see that as a decision but as a character collector, it is understandable.

Gameplay

Moving forward, gameplay as mentioned above is very responsive and fast-paced. In battles, the player uses a control stick for movement on the left, and abilities on the right. The units a player collects can be placed into formations prior to entering a map. Each formation can have six units split into two parts, called the rearguard and the vanguard. Vanguard units are the frontline ships which includes destroyers, light cruisers, and heavy cruisers and their main method of attack are auto attacks and torpedoes. Rearguard units on the other hand are the flagships, primarily carriers and battleships which bring air support and heavy cannon fire. Abilities for use in battle are torpedoes, air support, and battleship cannons which go on a cooldown upon use.

Progressing the story and events typically involve setting up two fleets and moving them around an in-campaign map. The overall goal is to destroy enemy ships until the opposing flagship appears. Destroy the flagship and the map is completed. The ability to fight is limited both in the health of the units a player uses in a fleet and by the fuel they use to fight. Typically, in games on mobile phones, there is a stamina system in place to limit players play time. For the case of Azur Lane, stamina is oil used to fuel the player’s ships. This fuel replenishes over time and can be collected from the players canteen.

Player Progression and Resources

Speaking of oil and canteens, it would be good to go over the progression of levels and resources for players. So, with fuel acting as stamina, there needs to be a system in place to upgrade ship girls and the fleets. For most enhancements there is cost of gold which can be obtained from waiting every few minutes for the merchant to produce funds or winning fights. Each ship girl can be equipped with rigging such as cannons, or anti-air equipment. That rigging can be enhanced with money and upgrade material. Ship girls also have levels which can be increased in a variety of ways, the most common is through battle. Players also have levels which are increased through fighting in the main campaign and events. Increasing player level allows players to level their refuel stations and treasuries, further increasing the amount of gold and fuel stored and obtained.

In addition to levels, ship girls can also be enhanced by sacrificing other ship girls as parts for permanent stat boosts. Somewhat morbid if thinking on the game in a realistic perspective but there are bound to be plenty of copies as drops given from fights. Speaking of, obtaining ship girls can be done two ways. First, there is obtaining them as a drop from fights. Drops are tied to maps and can give players give rarity ships depending on the map. The second method is from building them on the gacha. As mentioned in my Naruto Online review, the gacha is a gambling device which typically uses premium currency as a method of obtaining characters. For this game, the rates are given and admittedly they are generous rates in comparison to games with rates akin to Fate/Grand Order.

Character acquisition

At any rate, ship girls can be built with two requirements. First, is the gold requirement of 1,500 per ship. Second is the use of two Wisdom Cubes, the currency exclusively for creating ship girls, for every ship. For reference, Wisdom Cubes can be obtain from purchase with premium currency or from completing missions. Up to ten ships can be built at a time with two being worked on simultaneously. Unlike most other gacha games, Azur Lane takes time to build a ship which is a surprise but one that keeps to the theme of the game. Of course, build times can be bypassed with the use of a Quick Finisher item which instantly finishes building a ship per use.

Monetization

Speaking of the gacha, it’s time to go into the monetization. Wisdom Cubes, as stated above, can be obtained using the premium currency, called Gems, for eleven cubes per 300 gems spent. While Gems can be obtained by completing certain side and campaign missions, there is a limit and eventually players will be led to the Gem shop. This shop allows players to purchase Gems for real world money with the lowest amount going for one dollar for sixty Gems. The highest amount from this shop is 4900 Gems for eighty dollars. In addition to Gems, there are packs which give a variety of items in return for actual money or Gems or a weekly free pack. Finally, there is the item section which allows the trade of gems in return for gameplay expansions such as more dock space, quick finishers, more gear space and more.

Pricing for the items is low as far as gems go, with items for important boosts costing 200 and 100 Gems for the Dock expansion and Depot expansion respectively. Meaning players could spend about two or three dollars to increase their storage space which is cheap admittedly. The final Gem sinkhole is the skin shop which is filled with cosmetic items and brings in the fanservice outfits which players can have ship girls’ wear. Pricing for this is much more expensive with the highest price being about 1180 Gems and the lowest being around 600 Gems. That is about twenty dollars for the former and ten dollars for the latter. I don’t fully mind cosmetics costing premium currency, as cosmetics in games do not provide gameplay benefit beyond looking nice. On the other hand, expanding dock space with gems is a problem as docks can fill up very quickly.

Monetization thoughts and Loading Size

As far as Gems go, I tend to spend free gems on expanding the docks just to keep from running out of room and being prevented from finishing or starting a level. Which, while understandable, is annoying to do and can add up in terms of expenses. Granted I am a free to play player, so the expenses portion does not apply. It still provides a temptation though and is arguably where a good amount of money on the game could be made.

That said, there is one issue. First, while modern phones have plentiful amounts of storage space, the game has had numerous downloads totaling over one gigabyte of data on an update. Initial downloads from the store only requite a few megabytes of space which is fine. Opening the game however causes the game to update which can take some time for the initial download. Additionally, the game has voice files that must be downloaded from the settings menu. Same with the Live2d, background music tracks, and Gallery data. Ideally, players are looking at about ten gigabytes of space used for this game alone. For lower end phones from a generation or two ago, this can be a problem.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this game is fun despite the need to purchase dock space with real cash. The artwork is one I like the style of and the music, despite the download issues, is incredible. Wisdom Cubes are plentiful and purchasing them is hardly needed which is part of why I have no issue with the system as is. If I am being honest, the amount of quality for this game is fantastic and sets a high standard for mobile gaming. Out of a score of five this game earns a solid 4 out of five.