SPOILERS
I suck at Ninja Gaiden II.
Most of the cast makes an appearance in this clip of assorted Pocket Rumble online matches!
When I first started following the world of fighting games seriously in 2009, I stumbled across a weird sentiment that a number of older players in the scene had with regards to Street Fighter IV. I got the sense that a number of the best players from Street Fighter III: Third Strike had their issues with the latest installment, choosing to stay behind while Street Fighter IV became a global phenomenon. At the time, I didn’t think that the particulars could be such a dividing factor that top players would abandon being part of the fighting game resurgence to stick with a “dead game”.
It’s 2018 now, and the shoe is on the other foot. Fighting games are bigger than ever, with Street Fighter V leading the pack. However, my personal qualms with the game, along with my nostalgia for “the good old days”, caused me to hop off the hype train around mid-2017. Since then, I’ve found myself bouncing around from title-to-title, looking for a place to engage in cyber fisticuffs in hopes that maybe I can find a new “home” someday.
Assorted combos for one of the coolest characters in Pocket Rumble! I’m sure there are more out there, but here’s a few to get you started!
Falling behind early, I need to reassess my approach in order to prevent getting completely scraped by opposing players in this set of BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle matches!
The game’s wonky matchmaking pitted me against one of the best players in Pocket Rumble‘s early stages. He blew my mind with a Diago-esq parry, but did I have enough in me to make it competitive or even win the set?
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In this modern era of fighting games, the subject of accessibility has been one of the community’s hotly-debated topics. It’s no secret that the genre is impenetrable for most due to an inherently steep learning curve created by complex inputs, game design that greatly rewards skill and knowledge, and a seemingly endless wave of players locally and online that are ready to stomp newbies out until they give up. From masher-friendly auto combos in Dragonball FighterZ, to more lenient input timings in Street Fighter V, to the most extreme simplification of the genre in Divekick where each character only has 1 move, developers have and will continue to search for ways to bridge the skill gap without compromising what makes fighting games fun in the first place.
Combining a Neo Geo Pocket aesthetic with a two-button interface, simplified special move inputs, and a wallet-friendly price point, Pocket Rumble from Cardboard Robot Games is the genre’s latest attempt at accessibility. Does this game have what it takes to bring the joy of fighters to a larger audience?
This euphoric puzzle game’s latest stop is the Nintendo Switch! I really should have played Lumines when it first came out ages ago, but it’s better late than never!
She takes a beating at the start of the set, but turns things around to be my team MVP by the end in BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle!
Waluigi and I make a run for the title in Mario Tennis Aces! Are we able to take the crown home today?