Granblue Fantasy Versus | Yuel

Yuel is Granblue's own foxy Southern Belle. In fact her foxy nature isn't up for debate. Within the confines of the Granblue fighting game Yuel sports a fox's ears and tail, and refers frequently to her fighting technique as being that of the "FoxFlame". Additionally as an Ancestral Guardian within the series lore she channels fire energy into her dual swords as a means for combat advantage. Demeanor-wise her overall countenance is that of the usual cutesy waifu inspired anime girls who are cross-animal types. Her voice in English is also something worth noting as it brings with it a certain Southern charm. To accent her Southern Belle English voice-over, Yuel also sports two ribbons of large and smaller bells in her hair. Bells which she playfully toys with in the pre-match introduction. During said intros she often times talks to characters about dancing, and their boots lending further credence to her Southern influence. She's fun, fiery, and feisty with her own balancing act turned sword dance. 

While a lot of GBFV's characters are technical in nature Yuel takes that technical side of things to a whole other level. She is a stance character with one additional stance that can be swapped with the pressing of a single button, or through a special attack setup. The stance opens up a cornucopia of new specials, basic attacks, a launcher, and even mobility options. In the stance her basic attacks are changed drastically adding a sort of cartwheel, and charged flame dash. She also gains a kick launcher which can be used to setup combo strings that include juggles. In the way of extra mobility Yuel gains a new hop which makes for a quicker evasion. While the stance has it's advantages it also has it's disadvantages. You cannot block while in the stance meaning that it's best to work it in through the special that ends in the stance than to simply Leroy Jenkins it on the spot. One thing I've found in my time with Yuel is that she is a good corner combo mixer. With her EX wall bounce special she can create easy to perform 32hit combos. Dealing over half of a life's bar (Max 5076 points) if you have full meter to waste on her ultimate as the finisher. Transitioning into ultimates through combos is easily done, and can end a match quickly if applied. 

In training Yuel can pull of some sick sh*t against a standing still dummy. That being said in ranked it's a whole different story in regards to pulling that sick sh*t off. Getting in against zoners, and waiting for that punishable opening isn't so easily done. A lot of Yuel's specials are highly punishable themselves, and can be stopped fairly easily. You really have to take advantage of her overheads, and mix things up on a basic level to get in, and do the damage necessary to win. If you can manage to get them into the corner though her mix-up game is top tier, and can lead to quick wins. It's just a matter of bullying your opponent into a corner. 

The Verdict ...

I find Yuel to be one of the easier to learn technical characters I've ever played in a fighting game. It's not difficult at all to come up with some combo strings not listed in her command list. You can easily improvise with her without dependency upon her stance change. I feel the stance will only ever be used by more skilled tech players, and may be overlooked entirely by newcomers due to the risk of using it. When it comes to fun factor Yuel is a very fun, and interesting character to play. She's beautifully animated, and her English voice-over will no doubt strike a smile on a Westerner's face though it is a bit stereotypical. She definitely brings something different to the game. If you can spare the single character adoption fee or even buy into the Season 2 pass I believe Yuel will be a worthwhile addition to your roster. Not to mention the customization perks she comes with such as the profile card cosmetics, and the lobby avatar.