Dodgeball Academia

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 38 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 38
  3. Negative: 9 out of 38

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  1. natgreystar
    Aug 6, 2023
    4
    A game with potential that quickly becomes a boring repetitive nonsense forgotten relic in your game library. The story quickly gets boring and monotonous and I don't even understand why I care once I get far enough in. Desperate attempts at jokes that feel very 2018 but here we are in 2023 and they are kinda cringe.

    I enjoyed the first two chapters and then the CPU started cheating, a    A game with potential that quickly becomes a boring repetitive nonsense forgotten relic in your game library. The story quickly gets boring and monotonous and I don't even understand why I care once I get far enough in. Desperate attempts at jokes that feel very 2018 but here we are in 2023 and they are kinda cringe.

    I enjoyed the first two chapters and then the CPU started cheating, a lot. Game breaking mechanics that fake "difficulty" by giving the opponents capabilities that aren't possible. Catch and throw at the exact same moment? You can't do that but the CPU can. Pick up a ball and throw in the exact same moment? You can't, CPU can. Random lag when you do catch or reflect moves. Dodging doesn't always make sense and your hitbox seems overly large. There are a few bugs in some battles where your dodging literally doesn't work and catching is entirely broken.

    This really could have been a better game but the story just drags on and on and the gameplay is so flat. The character powers are so inconsequential and some are way overpowered. The fact you control 1 character and the other 2 just run around behind you is infuriating. The opponent has 3-5 characters all catching and throwing at once and you have, just you. The other 2 get hit constantly while they just mirror your movements. It was such a terrible idea.

    Some opponents are perfect at catching 100% of the time and this doesn't make it feel difficult, it feels like a boring uphill battle. It's dodgeball and I can't believe that the dodgeball game on the NES was so much better than this. I didn't finish the game, I got to chapter 5 I think and just got sick of it. It stopped being fun. Good idea, terrible mechanics. Can't believe people give this 10s.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. GameCritics
    Sep 27, 2021
    85
    Dodgeball Academia hits the mark in almost every way. It’s a great combination of classic and new game ideas coming together in a charming adventure. Fans of JRPGs looking for something a little different should get on this court and play some ball.
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  2. PLAY
    Sep 20, 2021
    80
    From great art to fun combat and a truly unique idea for something that isn’t a sports 8 game, Dodgeball Academia scores a lot of goals. Get on this court. [Issue#6, p.91]
  3. Video Chums
    Aug 20, 2021
    71
    Dodgeball Academia's campaign that's full of distinct characters and rewarding RPG elements is quite a treat to progress through. With that in mind, I thought the core dodgeball gameplay was too needlessly limiting to provide consistently engaging gameplay.
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