While we continue to anxiously await for Nintendo to reveal their full plans for the Virtual Console on the Nintendo Switch, Neo Geo continues to release their extended catalogue on the eShop. One such game is Magical Drop II. This puzzle game from the 90s is akin to a mash-up of Bust-a-Move and Puyo Puyo. In a world where Puyo Puyo Tetris is available, is there merit in grabbing this retro puzzler?
As a perfect continuation about the miseducation of fighting game players post from a few days ago, a post from Kotaku perfectly highlighted my point about how misinformed opinions can take life and spread. In it, author Cecilia D’Anastasio highlights a common tactic that Ninjara players use in ARMS to score grabs. She even provides an example in the above gif.
Let’s use this as teachable moment to break down how to counter this particular tactic while breaking down the notion that throws are not cheap in ARMS.
Mighty Gunvolt: Burst is the amalgamation of two indie franchises that were heavily influenced by the Blue Bomber. Despite being conceived by Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune and backed by a multi-million dollar Kickstarter campaign, Mighty No. 9 will go down in history as one of the largest flops in gaming history. As for the Gunvolt half, Azure Striker: Gunvolt has been a more successful IP in terms of critical reception, though I’d never heard of the franchise until this mash-up.
Wouldn’t blame you for feeling skeptical about any game featuring the now-toxic Mighty No. 9 brand, even if it looks like the 8-bit platformer backers of the original Kickstarter wanted in the first place. While I can’t speak for the quality of that game, I can say that Mighty Gunvolt: Burst is actually a pretty decent game.
Character choice means everything in a fighting game. It’s about the moves that your character has. The strengths and weaknesses they have. Their look. Their back story. All of this ends up being a reflection of you and how you like to play any given fighting game.
For the fighting games I play, this very much applies to me. Characters that I use need to look cool and fit my play style. If they don’t fit both, I have a hard time being effective with them or finding the motivation to get better. As such, here’s my five favourite fighting game characters!
During the Global Testpunch, I thought ARMS was going to be a walk in the park. I was throwing hands like Kimbo Slice, dropping almost every opponent in sight while collecting 100+ coins during each hourly interval. Figured that I would waltz my way to the top of the rankings in no time.
It didn’t take long for reality to smack me in the face with fists powered by springy arms. Everything past rank 6 has been a struggle. I touched rank 10, only to be beat down dozens of times in a row and fall back down to Earth. Just like every other fighting game out there, I’m gonna have to earn it just like everyone else.
I am currently smitten with ARMS. Nintendo’s newest title is a novel take on the fighting game that is one of the most accessible fighters in quite some time. For a brief moment, I thought that maybe this would be the game that magically conquers the genre’s accessibility problem. After browsing online to see the response from players on message boards, Reddit, and Twitter, it was clear that this was not the case.
Just like with any other fighting game, there were complaints about throws being too cheap. About certain characters (coughcoughNinjaracoughcough) being too overpowered. Some were calling the game a mindless waggle-fest or button-masher. Â You don’t have to look far to find opinions rooted in conjecture. The reality is that getting a wider audience to understand and enjoy fighting games at a satisfying level far more complicated than just creating a simplified game.
Welcome to Hell. On Mars. In the world of Doom, it’s just another day at the office. As a reboot to the seminal shooter of the same name, Doom tries its hardest to make its original formula work in modern times. Somehow, Id and Bethesda pulled it off with flying colours.
Nintendo’s latest fighting game is far from a waggle fest. Players who master the ins-and-outs of ARMS will dominate, while button mashing and arm flailing will almost certainly guarantee defeat. These tips may not make you the Daigo of ARMS, but they should get you on the right track to success!
Nintendo is no stranger to putting their stamp on genres outside of their wheelhouse. Their take on racing gave birth to the legendary Mario Kart franchise. Their foray into the world of real-time strategy gave us the brilliant Pikmin series. Most recently, Nintendo entered the crowded shooter market with their breakout hit Splatoon.
They don’t always hit with their forays into new territory, but their track record of making something great within unfamiliar territory is ridiculous. This time, they’ve struck gold with Arms, a 3D arena fighter with motion controls.
Over the course of seven games released outside of Japan, only one Fire Emblem title has failed to impress me. That dud is Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. Starring Marth, arguably better known now for his appearance in the Smash Bros. series, it was a remake of the first game in the series. Despite featuring updated graphics, its antiquated story and gameplay remained, leaving a lot to be desired for players who jumped on the bandwagon through more refined entries in the franchise.
My concern all along for Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia was that it would suffer the same fate as Shadow Dragon. As a remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden, the second game in the series that was initially released in 1992, its fair to assume at the outset that this also would have aged poorly. Does this remake suffer the same fate as its predecessor? Continue reading
In Third Person 