Bleach Rebirth of Soulsincorporates the best aspects of an anime fighting game — cinematography, captivating art style, and, of course, nail-biting situations. It features some of the most popular and well-recognized characters from the anime and throws you into 1v1 battles with rock-paper-scissors mechanics that ask you to be precise and make critical decisions.

What makes this title so unique is its health system; unlike traditional fighting games, Rebirth of Souls doesn’t have rounds or resetting health bars. Instead, it has a single, streamlined approach with two variables that vary in effect and importance. Fortunately, learning how they work here is simple, but understanding it more than the opponent can lend you a massive advantage.

Genryūsai Yamamoto conjuring flames with his sword in Bleach Rebirth of Souls.

The Fundamentals Of Health: Reishi, Konpaku, And Kikon Moves

To understand how things work, it’s better to first identify the short-term and long-term health systems. When you attack an opponent,you’re typically damaging their short-term Reishi, which is the game’s health bar you can locate asa straight white line at the top of the screen.

Any successful hit you land —quick, flash, spiritual, or special— always lowers Reishi, getting you closer to a guaranteed “Kikon Move.”

Ichigo facing Yuroichi on a squared platform in Bleach Rebirth of Souls.

Then, there’s Konpaku, the number above your Reishi, which is essentiallyyour set of lives and the true determining factor of the fight. These can only be decreased via a Kikon Move, andwhen someone’s Konpaku reaches zero, they lose the game. you’re able to roughly associate this with the lifeline mechanic fromDragon Ball: Sparking Zeroand the older Budokai games, minus the Kikon Move inclusion.

In most cases,characters start with eight or nine Konpaku, and a Kikon Move, depending on your current state and the enemy’s Reishi, removes anywhere between two and five Konpaku simultaneously. Thus, your goal is clear:successfully connect Kikon Moves and lower the opponent’s Konpaku down to zero.

Ichigo doing a slash worth two Konpaku in Bleach Rebirth of Souls.

To maximize your Kikon Moves' lethality, always execute them after fully exhausting your opponent’s Reishi Gauge.

How Reishi Works

Reishi is arguably the simplest part of this system. It’s astraightforward health bar that depletes with confirmed strikes other than Kikon Moves, replenishing completelyonly when your Konpaku takes a hit. The lower your Reishi, the easier it is for the opponent to land a Kikon Move.

However, another way toregain some lost Reishi is through a Reverse Action. By consuming two bars of your Reverse Gauge, you can activate Reverse Action and temporarily enter an enhanced state that slowly builds up a blue bar inside your Reishi Gauge. Once you exit that state,the bar converts into bonus Reishi, letting you tank a few extra hits.

Ichigo engulfed in red aura in Bleach Rebirth of Souls.

It’s worth mentioning that there arethree types of Reverse Action in Rebirth of Souls— Soul Reverse (White), Chain Reverse (Yellow), and Burst Reverse (Blue). In this context, you’d want to activate Soul Reverse to recover Reishi, which only triggers whenyou’re neither attacking nor blocking.

The Reverse Gauge generates passively throughout the fight.

How Konpaku Works

Konpaku is your life count and the main aspect that shows youhow far ahead or behind you are from the opponent. Except for Aizen, Ichigo (Bankai), and Szayelaporro,every character from the base roster has nine Konpaku, meaning it’ll take at least three Kikon Moves without Awakening to eliminate them.

Unlike Reishi,there’s no way to regenerate Konpaku, so when you lose some, they’re gone forever. Beyond that, there’s nothing too unique about them;you can treat Konpaku as three consecutive rounds, where each loss brings you closer and closer to the finish line.

Eliminate Konpaku With Kikon Moves

Kikon Moves are the exclusive way to destroy an opponent’s Konpaku, and you canonly execute them when their Reishi Gauge is below 30 percent. Once their Reishi goes under 30 percent, their health bar turns red, and you can follow up any successful Quick Attack combo, Flash Attack combo, or Hakugekiwith a guaranteed Kikon Move.

By default, every characterdestroys two Konpaku with a normal Kikon Move. However, if you go the extra mile and fully trim down the opponent’s Reishi Gauge,you perform a Soul Break, triggering an automatic Kikon Move that destroys an additional (totaling three) Konpaku.

Entering the Awakened state enhances your Kikon Move, and your Soul Break and non-Soul Break will take out four and three Konpaku respectively. Furthermore, if you fulfill a certain condition,you can boost your Kikon Move one last time, destroying five Konpaku with a Soul Break.

The Awakened state and its special condition vary from character to character. However,five is the absolute maximum Konpaku you can eliminateat once, meaning you can finish an opponent with two Kikon Moves if timed and positioned correctly.

The yellow and orange bars highlighting the opponent’s Konpaku show how many you’ll destroy in your current state with and without Soul Break respectively.