What is Bleach: Brave Souls?

While reading Bleach, have you ever said to yourself “Man, this would make a sweet video game”? Like, you see Uryu and Ichigo go up against that giant bunch of Hollows, and think about how awesome it'd be to help cut them all down? Or, maybe you saw Byakuya unleash his bankai and wanted to try it yourself? Or you just saw the latest baddie swinging his sword around and wondered how cool it'd be if so-and-so were there to take him on? Well, you can! With Bleach: Brave Souls for iOS or Android! 

Bleach fans, rejoice! Beginning with Ichigo and Rukia's fateful meeting, Brave Souls faithfully follows the Bleach anime’s main storyline. As in, you get to fight through the best battles of Ichigo's career as a Soul Reaper. (Also, for those of you who are just getting into Bleach or don't remember all the story deets, don't worry! Between stages, you'll get some cut scenes to fill you in.)

You won't have to fight all your battles as Ichigo himself, either. Instead, you may choose to control any of the various characters you can “Summon” in the the game. To give you some idea of the scale, practically every named character in Bleach's sizable roster has at least one playable character to their name, and you may choose any three characters to fight in any Stage. So yes, Aizen, Yamamoto and Chad can team up to fight Grand Fisher if you like. Characters come in ranks 1~5 so your starting 2-Star Ichigo will only get you through the first few chapters.

There's a lot of ways to get new characters. Some of them you will find in Stages as random drops, but most of your roster will come from Urahara's Shop. Sketchy salesman though he may be, Urahara's willing to trade your Spirit Orbs (the game's main currency) for characters and more. Accessories, extra levels, Soul Tickets...you name it! Note: You can earn Spirit Orbs as in-game rewards, gifts, or through in-App purchases.

Still, some characters are only available through special events. And speaking of special events...

Summer of Souls Special Event!

Summer's here again! Sun's out, school's out, and Souls are out! Out of control, that is! To celebrate the one-year anniversary of its release in Japan, Bleach: Brave Souls is hosting the Summer of Souls Special Event! Slated to run from July 23 through August 8, this is your soul(haha) opportunity to catch some unique loot! So grab your sunblock, your smartphone, and your Zanpakuto because it's time to split some Hollow melons!

During the Summer of Souls, you'll get some pretty sweet features. Including...

• Login Bonuses: Finding yourself a little short of Spirit Orbs? Not ready to fork over your hard-earned allowance to get that extra Summon or a few more Soul Tickets? Just log in anyway! You'll get tons of extra Spirit Orbs for logging in every day of the Summer of Souls event's run. That's not bad for just touching a little icon!

• Step-Up Summons: Sometimes when you buy one of Urahara's Summons, you spin the wheel hoping for a 5-Star who'll complete your team... only to pull a 3-Star character. Well, worry not! During Summer of Souls, Urahara's shop will host Step-Up Summons, a limited-time summoning event where the chances of pulling a 4 or 5-Star character increases with every Summon, capping out on the fifth pull each day. If you still didn't get the character you wanted, don't worry! You can always try again tomorrow!

• Step-Up Summons 10x: For Soul Reapers out there with Spirit Orbs to burn, Step-Up Summons also come in the 10x variant! This may well be your best chance yet to create your dream team of 5-Star characters!

• Event Quests: And what would a special event be without unique, one-time-only Event Quests? Unique side-stories are a fixture of the game by now, but you can bet KLab is plotting something super-special for the Summer of Souls! Get ready for a whole new Brave Souls-only side story, along with exclusive Accessories, Summon Events and Spirit Orbs galore! 

• Awaken 6-Star Characters: Until now, the rarest characters in the game were the coveted 5-Stars. The latest update raises the stakes with the introduction of the new 6-Star system. By leveling up 5-Star characters to the maximum level, players can use special spheres known as “Hogyoku” to Awaken the powerful 6-Star lurking within. 

Whether you're an old-hand at Bleach: Brave Souls or a newcomer, there's never been a better time to get in-game goodies! And if you are a newcomer, why not give it a shot? It's available on iOS or Android! 

For more details, check out their website! 

by Chris Turner