One of the most memorable, and enlightening, gaming experiences I ever had was at E3 a few years back, when I stepped up to play STREET FIGHTER X TEKKEN and VIRTUA FIGHTER 5 in quick succession. I'd grown up with all three franchises, of course, but it wasn't until that moment that I realized what importance story had in gaming - - even fighting games.Every match that queued up in SFxT established so much conflict before “FIGHT!” was ever shouted. This character had a grudge to settle with that character. These characters were best friends, though, so they were only sparring. And so on. Whatever the crisscross was, some story would be told over the course of two or three minute-long bouts.
There were no such contexts with VF5. It was never anything more than, say, a ninja going up against a sumo. While STREET FIGHTER and TEKKEN put a lot of effort into their characters' backstories - - and thoroughly explored those backstories in countless licensed manga and anime - - VIRTUA FIGHTER never bothered with any of that. As such, for as pretty as VF5 looked, I couldn't be bothered to finish more than one match. I lost interest that quickly, because there was no story; and thus, no intrigue.
So, what's the point of this anecdote?
== TEASER ==
Skip ahead to today - - after I've “dug deep” into Phantom Blood, Battle Tendency and Stardust Crusaders, et al. I've had this nagging feeling that I never gave the game a proper shot, so calling up Metal Mike for a re-visit of his import felt quite overdue...
Suffice it to say, ALL STAR BATTLE might as well be a completely different game this time to me. As opposed to me being consistently befuddled by this deluge of the bizarre, I'm constantly marveling over how the developers have managed to cleverly incorporate so many details from the show. All the characters' peculiar Stands are there, along with all their signature shot-called attacks; and warm-blooded Hamon and its cold-hearted opposite vampirism factor in, too. Truthfully, the developers have put way more thought into logically connecting all the wild ideas that Araki seemed to just pull out of his brain, willy nilly. The battle stats for the commercial break cards actually mean something, and a fighter using Hamon will fair differently against a vampire than a Stand User. It's complex game. Maybe even a little too complex, at times.
The models have a gestural, cell-shaded look that recalls STREET FIGHTER IV. I've suspected that the 3D models from the shows' various intros were borrowed directly from this game, and my suspicion feel even more founded, now. The multi-media coordination is so direct (with every one of the show's voice actors showing up) that this game is very probably giving you a years-in-advance preview of how the next three or four seasons of the show will look and sound.
True 360 degree mobility differentiates it from other contemporary "2.5 D" fighters, though. Side-stepping factors into the gameplay a lot, but it's the death traps that prove to be the most interesting gimmick. Flourscenet stripes and clouds hint at potential dangers inthe level and, if you lead your opponent in the right position, they'll be dropped by Robert E.O. Speedwagon or run over by a Pillar Man's chariot. Again, the more you know about the series, the more you'll appreciate everything.
It's wonderful to write about an anime-inspired game and, for once, not need to throw my arms about how the actual game mechanics are playing second fiddle to the RPG stats. This isn't XENOVERSE or J-STARS,so breath easy. Maybe the only caveat I'd put on it is that it definitely leans more SNK than Capcom in terms complexity, but I'm sure plenty of you are cool with that. No bones about it, this is a fun and inventive fighter.
from Anime Vice Site Mashup http://ift.tt/1GCd8Cr
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