Dodgeball Academia Review

Dodgeball Academia tells the story of Otto who joins the dodgeball in order to become the ultimate dodgeball champion. As you’d expect, on your way to the top, not only will you meet new friends and teammates, but you’ll also create rivals. Play and win in order to build the ultimate dodgeball team.

Dodgeball Academia is a Sports RPG (role-playing game) mixing dodgeball (obviously) and the RPG genre. The sports aspect of it is during battles where you play dodgeball matches in real time as if you’d play any other sports game. While typically matches are 3-vs-3, depending on the opponents and the status of your teammates, they can also vary from 1-vs-1, 1-vs-2, etc.

The RPG mechanics apply everywhere else. As you win matches, you gain XP and money for leveling up and purchasing better gear. As you level up and win matches, you’ll learn new skills and opponents become more crafty and harder requiring you to put everything you learn to good use. You can do a simple throw, a charged throw (with elemental perks; Otto for example uses fire), jump, and catch a thrown ball. For the latter, timing is everything; think of it as parrying in a game with combat. If you and your opponent try to pick up the same ball, you’ll enter an X button mashing contest to gain control of the ball.

As matches go on, you’ll also fill up your Balltimate meter which, once filled up, will allow you to unleash a powerful throw. You can also use a special charge skill; for example, Balloony can restore a bit of health. Within your team of three, you can switch between your three teammates; so if as Otto your health is getting low, you can also take control of another teammate.

Another RPG staple is the enemy variety. Early matches are pretty easier and straightforward, but as you progress the story and encounter new opponents. Some opponents can move out of the way at the last second, catch any normal throw, heal their teammates, throw slow balls, or even have a teleported throw. This keeps players on their toes to ensure victory. Each chapter also has its fair share of sidequests that need to be done, otherwise, they are lost forever. And buying and equipping new gear will improve your stats.

But as you’d expect, not all is perfect. Given that your health doesn’t regenerate between matches, you’ll need to do a lot of backtracking to the infirmary to refill your health/”revive” knocked-out teammates. You also cannot use health items mid-match. While not a major issue, it’s annoying having to backtrack to the infirmary after every few matches; thankfully, the map is relatively small so there isn’t much time wasted. If you don’t complete sidequests before ending the in-game day, they are lost.

The game looks bright and colorful; can’t help but smile when playing this game. The visual style is a bit reminiscent of Scott Pilgrim vs The World; which isn’t a bad thing. The facial expression when players get hit and knocked out is actually pretty fun. The map is also laid out pretty decently; and given we’re on school grounds, it’s not that big. Things can also be incredibly chaotic when all 6 players throw and catch balls. The soundtrack is as generic and stock as it can be. Another case of “where did I hear this before?”. It’s fine for what it is, but we’re far from classic soundtracks from classic RPGs we’ve known over the years.

Dodgeball Academia is another surprise gem. The combination of dodgeball and RPG mechanics feels just right. The map is perfectly sized and there’s a decent amount of sidequests per chapter to make sure players level up accordingly so you don’t feel underpowered/overwhelmed. If you’re looking for a cutesy, unique take on the RPG genre; whether you’re a sports fan or RPG fan, Dodgeball Academia is definitely worth every penny.