The Gamer's Quarter

[GSL]

I consider myself to be a pretty big Guilty Gear fan (my complete lack of possession of Isuka aside), and I was absolutely horrified last week when I realized that I had somehow let Dust Strikers on the DS sneak out the release door without my noticing! Fueled by the panic that can only come with an ominous sense of impending doom, I hastened to the nearest Software Etc. and procured a copy. All was then right with the world.

Almost.

I had read various previews and even a few reviews (which makes my negligence of ownership all the more embarrassing) and was quite prepared for the 4-player melee action on multiple tiers--in fact, I was even looking forward to the idea. But, well, the controls are a bit off. Not off as in unresponsible or counter intuitive, because they work well. It's just that Guilty Gear DS is no longer the fighting game it is in the console. The four face buttons give you strong and weak attacks, a Roman Cancel button (this is kind of nice, though I mash all four buttons at once out of habit) and then a special move button which, combined with a direction on the D-pad, produces one of the many special character moves from GGDS' larger console brothers. Initially, it felt like cheating, sortof how you can assign different moves to the C-stick in the Gamecube port of Capcom vs. SNK 2. Initially, I really didn't like it.
I forced myself to keep playing and realized that it was less of a Guilty Gear game and more of a (Faust forgive me) Smash Bros.-type of title. I couldn't get into the depths of control offered by Guilty Gear X2 because they weren't in the DS title at all; instead, the game was meant to be a simple brawler.
Upon reconciling myself to that, fact, I grew to despise GGDS much less. I'm not sure I can say I like it, but I'm not struck by the compelling NEED to go trade it in for something like The Rub Rabbits, Metroid Prime Pinball, or Meteos.

So, has anyone else played the game? What are your impressions?

[friedchicken]

I didn't like the look of GGDS, maybe because it seems a lot like Isuka, which I thought was a cop-out for the series. I probably won't get it, not only based on is departure from the typical fighting engine, but also because I've sort of decided to stop getting GG games until they release a 'real' sequel, not the endless march of RELOAD, SLASH, etc. Not that this game really falls into that category so much.

That said, if you really want Isuka, I'll trade ya for it. Cheap.

[SuperWes]

I got it for $9 at Circut City. Haven't played it yet. I'll let you know when I do!

-Wes
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[squidlarkin]

On the one hand, this is exactly the kind of thing I've been wanting to see in fighting games for a while now. Simplify the controls, get away from the need for precise inputs just to get the character to do what you want, and then all that you really have to focus on is strategy and timing. Like it should be.

On the other hand, just lately after many hours of fumbling I'm starting to feel like I'm getting the hang of Guilty Gear. And it is satisfying, getting just the right move when you need it, and pulling off (modestly) crazy combos reliably. But was it worth all those hours just to get to this point? I'm torn.

On the third hand, I can't afford a DS. *shrug*

[xvs07]

Portable fighters never seem to work quite right, and Strikers is no exception, but that's beside the point: I'm posting because this is my chance to be a sticky, drooling fanboy.

Slash is *so* fine. It's not a sequel, but in exchange it's more balanced than any 2D fighter I've ever seen. Sol and Ky are somewhat overpowered, and A.B.A. and Order Sol are basically prestigey skill characters for folks who want a rewarding challenge, but the rest of the cast is more or less equal. I agree with friedchicken somewhat, in that refinements aren't as exciting as true sequels, but isn't it nice to have a company that cares about giving players an opportunity for diversity?

I'll pick an easy target. If you look at the finalists and semifinalists of the Street Fighter 3: Third Strike tourney at EVO for any given year, you'll notice a preponderance of Ken and Chun-Li, and certain characters being completely absent. Maybe this is Capcom's way of allowing for a nonobvious handicap for inexperienced players, but it's a raw deal either way because that sort of thing makes a big difference at high-level play.

Part of the reason I bought Slash is because I wanted to support Sammy and ARC in the hopes that GGXXX will eventually see the light of day. I'm terrified that the series will die, leaving only the dubious offerings of SNK and Capcom and a few low-budget indie dudes to pick up the slack. Which is not to dig at the independents; Melty Blood's a great series, but it's still a far cry from the kind of polish that Guilty Gear exhibits.

[TheRumblefish]

[GSL]

[xvs07]

[GSL]

Melty Blood: Act Cadenza is the NAOMI arcade edition of the Melty Blood series; it's based off of MB Re: Act Final Tuned with quite a few added tweaks and changes. It's coming to PS2 in August.

Eternal Fighter Zero is a doujin fighter made by Tasogare Frontier, the same crazy folk responsible for Immaterial and Missing Power. EFZ is much more of a standard fighter, and is a lot easier to pick up and play than Melty Blood. The gameplay is much slower (though by no means sluggish) and features genre conventions such as super bars of various levels and an attack cancel system lifted straight out of Guilty Gear. It's quite a bit of fun and is a great example of a solidly built indie fighter.

[TheRumblefish]

[Persona-sama]

Speaking of fighting games, has anyone played the new Hokuto no Ken fighting game by ARC System Works? It's so amazing! It's like they took the destroyer system from Guilty Gear and integrated into battle seamlessly (making it more like the first game than the second one). It plays more like Street Fighter than Guilty Gear (where everyone is flying around) but there's a dash button you can use after charging up a meter that speeds up the fighting a lot. It's a pretty awesome game just to look at too because it's an 80's action anime rendered into a 2d fighting game - everyone has like 80's hairspray metal doos and tight leather pants. Amazing. :o


Oh, and GreatSt.Louis - I played Act Cadenza at the arcade before. It's cool how they added Aoko as a character/final boss. Melty Blood is interesting because it's a doujin fighter turned legitimate tournament fighter - which basically means that all they did to balance the characters out is to make them ALL really cheap. Which means hillarious infinite loops! Man, it's such an awesome game. :D

I hope Furansupan (or whatever Watanabe Productions calls themselves now) make a Fate/Stay Night fighter. It's kind of late now though.
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[GSL]

[friedchicken]

[GSL]

Oh. For some reason, I was under the impression that there was the standard gameplay mode in Isuka as well.

Shows you how behind I am in the series.

[Shapermc]

GG:DS is Jump Superstars for Guilty Gear. Only not as deep or as good! HA!

Squidlarkin: I recommend grabbing up Jump Superstars if you ever get a DS, it is pretty much what you are asking for. Although I should state that I don't agree with your assesment of what a fighting game should be. In fact it is pretty much the opposite! But you seem to be learning.

Also, Isuka is fantasically terrible! Good thing I only wasted a dollar in the arcades figuring that out.

And, KOF XI needs to be mentioned damnit. I got a copy of it the other day which I need to give a try.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

[friedchicken]

I'd love to talk about KOF XI. I should have it today and will have played it as of tomorrow.

But maybe we should start a new topic OR! I think there's an old topic about the arcade version, but I'm too lazy to look.

[GSL]

Yes, no KOF talk in this thread, heathen! This is all about the crazy goodness of Guilty Gear!