Skullgirls, anyone?

[DiBiddilyBop]

I'll be picking up Skullgirls on the PSN tomorrow. I used to be really big into fighting games but haven't played any over the past year or two. This looks to be exactly what the doctor ordered. Anyone else going to be picking this up?

[Jason]

I haven't heard of this game before. Might have to look it up. But I did just pickup KOF XIII. So I might not.

[MachEnergy]

I'm eager to try the demo, and will likely end up buying it....but I'll be getting it for Xbox so yeah...this is awkward

:|

[DiBiddilyBop]

I think the big selling point is supposed to be that it's designed by fighting game players for the fighting game community and pays special attention to the training portion for new players.

And it seems like anything I want to play multi, everyone goes Xbox... bummer for me.

[Talanvor]

I'll be picking it up. Since it's hitting PSN first I'll buy it there and if I dig it I'll probably grab it for 360 as well.

So both of you guys can beat me up.

[Widgetcraft]

Originally Posted by DiBiddilyBop

I think the big selling point is supposed to be that it's designed by fighting game players for the fighting game community and pays special attention to the training portion for new players.

And it seems like anything I want to play multi, everyone goes Xbox... bummer for me.

Yeah, that's a fucking laugh. I couldn't even make it through the four tutorials that are included in the PSN demo. First of all, they have all of these abbreviations that they don't explain what-so-ever. Second, they expect you to understand fairly in-depth fighting game strategies already, and don't give you a lot of time to learn them.

I wish I didn't suck at fighting games. The art for this game is beautiful, even the old-timey film theme is fantastic. The characters are adorable and interesting. Still, I can't justify spending $15 on a game that I'm going to suck at outright, especially when it isn't going to help me along.

[KamaItachi]

I'll probably end up grabbing this when it hits XBLA. Looks like. More accessible and Fun Arcana Hearts.

[Talanvor]

Originally Posted by Heretic Machine

Yeah, that's a fucking laugh. I couldn't even make it through the four tutorials that are included in the PSN demo. First of all, they have all of these abbreviations that they don't explain what-so-ever. Second, they expect you to understand fairly in-depth fighting game strategies already, and don't give you a lot of time to learn them.

I wish I didn't suck at fighting games. The art for this game is beautiful, even the old-timey film theme is fantastic. The characters are adorable and interesting. Still, I can't justify spending $15 on a game that I'm going to suck at outright, especially when it isn't going to help me along.

While I admit I have experience in fighting games I thought that the tutorial in this one is leagues better than what you find in the bigger name games. It actually explains how to block, throw tech and dash, things I've just never seen explained before outside of the players themselves or maybe tucked away in a manual.

I think that fighting games as a whole aren't something you just jump into and do amazingly well. They do require a certain amount of time and patience. Fundamentals play an enormous role, even at the highest level of play.

[Widgetcraft]

I feel like I should just avoid fighting games unless they have some kind of Street Fighter 2 mode that makes the game as simple as SF2. Back when fighting games were still fun, and the average person could get a grip on the game's core concepts.

[DiBiddilyBop]

So much for getting it a day earlier than Xbox Arcade... after many failed attempts at purchasing it last night, I called into Sony support for them to tell me they're having problems running payments, so hopefully I'll be able to pick it up today.

As far as the tutorials go, fighting games go back a long way and therefore have a pretty robust set of terms and acronyms that go with them. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to create a tutorial mode that catered to the newbiest of newbs and not be painfully over-explanatory for people with some base in fighting games. I would expect people to know terms like QCB, QCF, HCF, etc to even start the tutorial (although having an instructions manual with an appendix would probably help... not really possible with a digital game). Not sure what terms the Skullgirls tutorial uses, but there's a lot of fairly universal language that goes with fighting games that would be easy to look up.

Honestly Heretic, I think fighting games lead to some of the most rewarding multiplayer experiences and are well worth learning and practicing. Few genres of games have the sort of nuance and strategy that comes with a fighting game if you really dedicate yourself to learning it. I haven't played competitively in probably a decade and when Soul Calibur IV came out, I played with a group that practiced for EVO and absolutely had my ass handed to me (one of the guys in my group ended up winning EVO that year for SCIV), but it was still a lot of fun. So long story short, the steep learning curve is worth it after you've put the practice in, but practice really is necessary to jump into any level of multiplayer.

[Deadend]

I hope it does well. I liked the bits that I played of it a year ago. They seem to really understand what they are doing and went about trying to build a tournament worthy game. The big question is if the fighting genre cares about quality or just brand recognition (hint: it's a genre stepped in nostalgia) to succeed.
If I had a console, I'd probably get it, as a good fighting game that I don't have to insert a disc to hop into? yeah!

I wonder how well it will support invites on 360, as it would be tight to get invited into a game, and basically have it load into the character select screen in under 30 seconds.

[MachEnergy]

I think the art style and smooth animation should be effective enough to get fighters to give it a try. From there, it's up to the game mechanics to keep them interested. It will certainly be interesting if they succeed in creating the tourney game they intended.

I tried it on PSN last night, and thought it was ok. The DS3 is not my ideal controller for fighting games, so I'm waiting to try it on my Xbox TE stick tonight before I make any real decisions. Regardless of how it plays, I'm happy to see a hand drawn 2d fighter look this good. Hopefully the trend continues beyond Arc System Works and now Reverge Labs.

[menage]

I'm usually into fighters. But for some reason the look of this totally puts me off. Just feels too much like a cheap cartoon, westerners doing anime kinda thing. I hate that.

[MachEnergy]

Originally Posted by menage

I'm usually into fighters. But for some reason the look of this totally puts me off. Just feels too much like a cheap cartoon, westerners doing anime kinda thing. I hate that.

That feeling doesn't go away after playing 30 minutes of it. :\

[DiBiddilyBop]

Originally Posted by menage

I'm usually into fighters. But for some reason the look of this totally puts me off. Just feels too much like a cheap cartoon, westerners doing anime kinda thing. I hate that.

I could see the style being pretty polarizing. It's off putting to you, it's part of the charm for me. To each their own.

[MachEnergy]

After trying it on Xbox and getting to use a stick, I ended up buying it. I probably played 15 rounds online and actually wanted to keep playing instead of going to bed. The thing I find so great is that it's truly a product of a fan of the genre as a whole. I see elements of Capcom vs SNK, Street Fighter X Tekken, Marvel vs Capcom, and Guilty Gear....and it all works. The smaller roster size is a bit off putting, but it gives me hope that these characters are well balanced. So far, I've seen a couple things that may be out of balance, but I'm not considering myself nearly expert enough to say it is. Nothing that can't be patched.

If it really does take around 1000 man hours to make a single character (according to the dev in a production video), I don't expect DLC to show up for some time. Oh well, that gives me plenty of time to learn the ones who are already here. So far, I'm preferring Ms. Fortune.

[Talanvor]

It takes a lot of work to animate those sprites. But boy is it worth it. Also every single attack has a unique name for that character, usually a pun of some kind. So it's not just jab/strong/fierce.

[DiBiddilyBop]

I'm finally going to get to play tonight. I basically had Sony tell me that my account is locked and I can't make credit card purchases until Monday (but I can add PSN card funds and buy it that way). PSN card purchased, so I'll grab it tonight.

[Talanvor]

Originally Posted by DiBiddilyBop

I'm finally going to get to play tonight. I basically had Sony tell me that my account is locked and I can't make credit card purchases until Monday (but I can add PSN card funds and buy it that way). PSN card purchased, so I'll grab it tonight.

Locked? Wow, sounds harsh. At least you can still play though!

[DiBiddilyBop]

Yeah, something to do with them being unable to process my credit card and me trying it too many times. Anyway, finished training and story mode for one character last night.

First impressions are this game is exactly what I've been looking for. Special moves are all intuitive and familiar, combo execution is lenient but not loose, the characters are extremely dynamic and unique... all in all, they did one hell of a job here. I'm going to have to go into combo training for a while to see what I can come up with and get some bnbs into muscle memory. Just about an hour's worth of playtime last night and I can't wait to get back to it. Good stuff.