This game is structured with tournaments in mind (even more
so than other fighting games I’ve seen)… and could prove to be a great starting
point for anyone working on creating their own tournament events.
I always welcome fighting games, and I feel that this is a
pretty cool one (that will probably kick your butt on normal mode if you aren’t
a frequent player of fighting games, but it looks pretty good doing it too)… representing
2D fighting in a way that takes me back (in time that is).
Off the bat… the opening of the game got my attention and
made me curious about what it was all about, and I am a fan of 2D fighting
games (if I had the means when I was a teen… I probably would’ve been in
EVO-like tournaments showing no mercy; I’d still take on the likes of Daigo Umehara... I'm not joking).
The reason I feel that this game is structured with
tournaments in mind, is because… the launcher presents you more options based
on setting up tournaments more than anything else.
You can create your tournament start date, name, list the
host, the venue, as well as tournament results, team registrations and the
ability to tweet when you’re a participant in a tournament.
Tournaments can be either online or offline, it’s up to you
or whoever the host is. There are a lot of options that may confuse
someone that’s not familiar with setting
up tournaments… but for hosts, creating instructions on how to join a
tournament would be the thing I’d suggest (if they aren’t local).
I think this is awesome… and would allow anyone to create a
tournament if desired. You get the option of uploading your own icon (if your
team wants to represent).
Something that stood out in this game for me (beyond the tournament creation aspect)…
was the CPU commentators added to the mix. Think of the commentators of
fighting game tournaments and how they liven up matches, then… take a few
teaspoons of that and add it to a fighting game, and you get what we have here.
Thought that was a pretty cool addition.
Beyond the tournament and commentator coolness, it would’ve
been great to get a bit more from the story (mainly presentation wise). The
background remains the same… and so do the character poses, and as we move
forward, even with appreciation of the older fighters it would good to see new
things added to the mix (in addition to those mentioned).
I won’t rag on this game for something many fighting games
have gotten away with based on illustrations for story (minus skipping out on
the backgrounds)… but if I can recommend any updates being made, it would be to
update the backgrounds at least, and allow for analog control (thought that was
going to be an option with the Xbox controller option). If all my requests were
to be met, I’d also request character expressions with alternate poses (or even
great 2D animation if it can be pushed to that point), more character,
increased resolution. That’s totally if… the developer is seeking a way to deliver
even more.
From the standpoint of it being a smaller team, I can
understand that it doesn’t have such things… but at the same time knowing that
some of the members of this team also played a part in games ranging from King
of Fighters… to Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, it would’ve been great to
see more (that could’ve gained even more interest from fans of those games).
Call it… wishful thinking, but I’m excited to see what they deliver as time
goes on (hopefully they continue progressing Yatagarasu… versus jumping to
another fighting game).
Another area where I feel the game could’ve delivered a bit
more… is the… user interface (UI) outside of the health bars and power meters,
because the menus are really plain. It doesn’t make or break the overall game…
but just because I can still eat ice cream, doesn’t mean I’d pass up on having
whipped cream and a cherry on top. I say that because presentation goes a long
way.
Last but not least, one thing the localization team has to
beware of… are those pesky typos. Some gamers wouldn’t care less or even
notice, but those who want to enjoy a game to the fullest (because it is an
investment)… deserve to have the text of a storyline make sense.
One thing I’m making note of is the indie initiative:
Fine tuning can take care of those things mentioned, and though it would’ve been
great to have such things upon release (if updates come)… this game was funded
through a crowd funding campaign. That in itself makes me wonder if they did
what they could under the circumstances of getting the game to backers as
promised in a certain timeframe but plan on doing updates now that it’s out.
(Fingers crossed.) I’ll take these things over game affecting bugs any day, but
I could also do without either.
Character wise… the men and women in the game are almost
even in the amount of male and female fighters the game has to offer, which one
of the members of Nyu-Media told me in a tidbit that there’s some degree of
gender ambiguity among the characters... so they consulted GLAAD for the
localization (which is a non-governmental media monitoring organization founded
by some LGBT people in the media).
I’ve experienced characters in numerous games… and even
anime shows with unknown genders, so it isn’t uncommon to me. If they felt the
consultation from the organization would help the game… more power to them, it
would’ve been good to get more characters though. Anyway, get in and play with
each character to see what you think, especially if you plan on indulging in
some tournament action and want to be known for how much butt you can kick with
a specific character. I’m still feeling them out, and for Street Fighter and
King of Fighters fans… there are a few characters that will possibly feel
familiar to you.
I really like what they did here regarding tournament options, that deserves 2
sore thumbs up (from playing that is). Some of the characters aren’t as
memorable as they could be (for me)… but I haven’t exactly played with them a
great deal (and it takes time for characters to grow on me). Some characters I
do like... and my favs are not only looking the part, but are functional enough
for me to be effective in matches. Thinking about the characters, they could be
overshadowed somewhat by the commentators… who even shout at the end of matches in my experience (so I couldn't hear the character). Fans have the ability to take characters
to that point of remembrance in my opinion though, because... some people fall
in love with characters they represent with in tournaments and will (at times)
talk about them, their back story, quirks, etc. Curiosity could literally be
built in someone else because of the way someone else feels… but I will leave
it at that, hopefully you understand what I mean and how it relates to this
review. :p
Price wise… I can’t argue with $15, especially if someone
can take the offerings of this game and turn them into an opportunity for
themselves and challengers looking for tournaments (those are just memorable
experiences waiting for action)… and the games not expensive.Fun factor: 4 (One player… bit of a lackluster, but add
multiplayer and tournament action and it’s a different story.)
Visually: 3
Replay value: 5
Price: 4
4 / 5
