Is The Look More Important Than The Feel?!: Comparing Gameplay To Aesthetics

The King Of Fighters series has most definitely had its ups and downs. As a fan of the series, I'm not at all ashamed to say that I chose to stay away from certain games in the series specifically the ones that got away from the traditional 2D art style that I was accustomed to.

During The King Of Fighters XIII's most celebrated time period here in the U.S., you could almost imagine that it would be enjoying many more years to come but as time moved on things became clear that players would do the same as well.

There are plenty of reasons I could give that attribute to SNK Playmore's official buy out but I'd rather focus on the present concerns at hand,The King Of Fighters XIV.  Like many fans, I was vehement about there being a KOFXIV stating that having a next game in the series would be much better than having nothing. It would seem like many would get their wish, just not quite the way they may have hoped for.

It was expected that the series would forgo its 2D roots in an effort to cut production time and create more assets then the previous offering. After all, the pain stalking process of "Dot Art", while greatly appreciated by fans, hurt them in the long run when they first introduced it in KOFXII a game that was highly criticized for its lack of features among other trivial complaints. 

When the announcement for the latest game in the series hit my radar, there was no doubt excitement but only a few minutes later, that excitement would turn to utter disappointment. Having a background in computer animation made this an even harder pill to swallow. I've never had a reason to critique the release of a game title, none the less a fighting game one and I just couldn't stop picking at all of its faults.

With each trailer that popped up, it was apparent that KOFXIV was not going to be on par with what the current gen has to offer and to me that is what hurts the most. While my feelings towards this title have been nothing but negative, others fight to defend the next entry by providing evidence of minor improvements and footage comparisons to the previous offering.

While I'm still at odds with the game aesthetics, my feelings about the game play are neutral. The comparisons with KOFXIII have definitely helped my view of the game as it seems to stay within the same pacing. It lets me know that while KOFXIV may not have the stylish look that I enjoyed previously it will still retain the feeling which may transfer over to the game play as well. 

Next week, as players get a chance to go hands on with the title at Playstation Experience, we will know some what where this game stands. As we are still clueless as to the exact release date which happens to be coming next year, there is still hope that strides can be made but in my mind their not enough to satiate the new players being introduced to the series. 

There is no doubt that some games can look quite awesome and make you contemplate the end of your existence...during game play at least. It could be that KOFXIV will successfully maintain what ultimately makes this series distinguishable from the rest but the questions remains at what cost. 

They Just Don't Seem To Care

The 2015 Games Award Show has left many perplexed as to how they exactly decided to determine the fighting game nominations. One of the games chosen for this year happens to be on its way out next month and another is still in Beta.

It would be one thing if you could argue that there aren't enough titles to construct a solid list of nominations ,but that is far from the truth. There were at least three solid titles that I personally would've considered choice candidates:

1. Under Night In-Birth EXE:Late
2. Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax
3. Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden

Now given they fall under the "anime" category of fighting games, you may argue its sole representative Guilty Gear Xrd: -Sign- should be adequate since it does share similar aesthetics that fall under that style of fighting game but here is the problem, they are not the same!!


The evidence seems clear as day that the people running this show, the ones who brand the mark of "gamer" so proudly on their chest, are very very out of touch. The shows creator Geoff Keighley also happens to be the creator of Game Trailers.

Taking a quick look at the coverage of said games on the GT's website pushes further the notion that they took no time to play these games and that is truly unfortunate because had they done so maybe, just maybe at least two of the games would have received a much deserved nomination.

Now, this would be a single atrocity had I not delved further into their nominations for E-sports and found that there was absolutely no representation for fighting game players!! It is apparent that they just don't seem to care.

Geoff like many of us came from an era of the Arcade. If you come from that era, then you know the resurgence that fighting games created around this time. There is no denying that these days keeping up with the influx of games seems to have become more of a chore then a fun past time but as an entity that is dedicated to covering a wide assortment of video game related media, I can't help but think they are seriously missing the mark.

There may be some strange politics happening at this so called award show. When things get to this level, there always seem to be so it doesn't surprise me much just disappoints. The only thing that we can do as not just a fighting game community but a game community at large is point out the inconsistencies and hope they make changes.

It is sad to say this given the appreciation of what this show means to many of us game fans but if there isn't equal representation across the board then I will no longer see the need to support this further and urge others to do the same.

Holding Characters Hostage!!

After a fair amount of leaks have surfaced from Street Fighter V, I'm starting to think something is afoot! It doesn't take sharp sleuthing skills to figure out what developers are doing just a keen eye on the behavior especially when it comes to releasing characters.

Let's back track a bit to where I believe this all started, Killer Instinct. The first current-gen fighting game came out of the gate initially offering 8 characters to choose from. Now, one can gather that this game was far from complete yet and still the publishers decided it best to bring the game out as it was and to their chagrin, it worked out.

If two years ago you told me that Street Fighter V would be getting released in 2016, I would have said impossible given Capcom's current situation at the time. I could have never imagined Sony taking such a huge roll in the development of Street Fighter V which is ultimately why we will be seeing it sooner than later.

It's obvious to me that game development in this current generation is far more challenging and so when it was announced that Street Fighter V would be launching with 16 characters adding only 6 more within the year, it wasn't surprising but it was certainly a little disappointing.

While their are a great deal of characters some of which I'm glad to see returning, it is apparent that a great deal of my favorites are not their. So.... Capcom is holding my characters hostage!!!

Okay,okay maybe I'm flying off the handle just a little bit but it is very telling. 16 initial characters compared to the 25 that were released for Street Fighter IV. For the second time in Street Fighter history, Sagat will not be among the initial roster and that little ball of electricity Blanka also won't be present either...the Street Fighter gods must be crazy!!

I talked about having character crisis previously and as things are now there will be a few Street Fighter veterans plagued by this current epidemic until the next round of characters make an appearance.

Would it have been behoove of Capcom to possibly wait until they had a roster fitting of a royal banquet? Probably. But given their latest commitment to giving you free extra content from the initial purchase, well, you can't not at least be content in knowing a character you wanted to see very badly at launch won't require you to shell out some extra cash.

It seems like just yesterday the initial Killer Instinct roster was something to vehemently scoff at. Now, it's a complete game promising to bring more characters next year to add to its very diverse roster.

Game development now a days has taking on a very different model one that continues to change as you continue to play and communicate your experiences. It's probably to soon to bring out the free "insert favorite character" t-shirts so I'm going to start shouting it now from the roof tops of this blog post.

"Free Sagat"

"Free Fei-Long"

"Fre...you get the picture Capcom don't have me waiting to long and I'll do my best to enjoy the characters that you have to offer in the mean while!

Purchase, Play, Repeat

We often tend not to pay attention to certain patterns as they surface. One such pattern is spending habits. We often give ourselves very convincing rationale as to why we spend money on things that we technically already own and with video games that rationale often times makes a compelling argument..in our minds at least.

In the case of fighting games this generation, the repurchase of games that we already own or have owned in the past makes a lot of sense due to the development of online play but it is costing us due to the way things change and emerge. 

I personally am the proud owner of at least two games that I've purchased more than once and there is no doubt in my mind at some point I'll be doing it again...and again, and again, and again. There are a few reasons why what seems to be an atrocious spending habit makes complete sense to do. 

The first being the most obvious is developer support. Xbox Live's first generation gave us a great deal of online gaming which included titles like Capcom Vs Snk 2,  Street Fighter III: Third Strike, and Guilty Gear XX Reloaded. The advent of Xbox Live's last gen console Xbox 360 fostered in the discontinuation of Xbox Live's service on the first generation Xbox and it's even fair to say that many of the titles that I spoke of earlier may have been terminated long before XBL officially shutdown.

There is fear of this occurrence again given the current generation of consoles are in full swing but just when this will happen is only speculation at this point. At least two of the fore mentioned titles made their way back to XBL but it came with a price and while it wasn't asking for much it's clear that many had to once again dig in their pockets to take advantage of what was offered...in a "shut up and take my money" sort of way.   

The presence of online play has greatly affected the urge to repurchase amongst some other bells and whistles coupled with the "new and improved" line that often times gives us a promise that things will be better this time around and in some cases they are. 

The nature of netplay and the technology used to make it better is often included in our reasoning for repurchase. It's the primary reason that convinces me it's worth it. Another reason that has now recently come into my decision making is the availability of a title on a new platform. 

Often times, the activity of one platform being greater versus the other drives our reasoning as there is a chance to play more individuals who enjoy the game making all the sense in the world and a small price to pay for the fun you will have. 

My hopes is that my repurchasing days will be few and in between and I believe this is now possible with what Steam has in mind this current generation. Steam's platform does a great job of complementing the multifarious world of PC and with their latest creation, Steam Box, an OS that is created to consolize what we know as PC and turn it into a more TV friendly device, I believe I've happened upon something that may just stop my impulse to repurchase or at least stop me from doing it as much in the future.  

While there is no sign of what will become of Xbox Live and Playstation Network for the last gen consoles, I can be confident that Steam will help quell my habits in ways that I thought were not going to be possible. With the influx of content coming from well known fighting game developers like Arc System Works, the purchase, play, repeat syndrome may slowly be coming to an end.

Saying Goodbye To Street Fighter IV

After deleting Ultra Street Fighter IV from my Steam library, I had an honest decision to make. It has been almost a year since I played the game only dabbling in it for a short period of time to create a review for the latest version.

It seems obvious that maybe letting go for the near future is best. I mean..Street Fighter V is on its' way. The PC online beta should be coming just around the corner and it's safe to say that SFIV's day in the sun is officially coming to a close.

It's funny how a game that brought so many of us back to fighting games, may fade into deliberate obscurity despite the strong resurgence it encapsulated. SFIV has received a great deal of harsh criticisms...a great deal.

The online game play was far from ideal, the game's mechanics often let people get away with mistakes, and the comebacks often times felt like an atrocity. When I first got my hands on Street Fighter IV, none of these things mattered..and to be honest, to me, they still do not.

At one point, I was willing to spend as much time needed to master the art of the focus dash cancel but some where along the line my attention shifted else where and never managed to make its' way back.

Whether it was going to be the time commitment needed to get into the more advanced nuances of the game, or just my pure lack of enthusiasm, me and SFIV were going to reach this point eventually...the point of no return.

Even though my personal relationship with playing SFIV deteriorated, watching the game being played is a whole other story. It goes without saying that the competitive nature of the game still garners a great deal of excitement and will be doing so at least until the end of this year when we finally reach Capcom Cup 2015.

We all knew this day was coming. While past Street Fighter titles still have a fairly decent following, I really don't know what will become of SFIV...I'll tell you this much, it doesn't look good. When it comes to the long line of Street Fighters titles I would like to return to, SFIV stands at the bottom of the list I'm afraid.

So many have predicted that upon Street Fighter V's release, SFIV will be dead in the water. I've already convinced myself by not hitting that reinstall button ; there isn't anything left for me and SFIV.

I'll never forget the first days of SFIV's release, the amazing ultra combos that were often times comedic in their approach. I'll remember those days where I spent hours online fighting against a countless number of fight requests that would never allow me to finish an arcade session...not once.

It's time for me to say goodbye to SFIV. It was fun while it lasted but I'm afraid I'll never return.

The Execution Of Execution!!

I can still recall my friend teaching me how to do my first Hadouken. I didn't think much of it then but now I liken that moment to learning a hidden technique, one that would grant me the ability to fight my friend on somewhat of an even playing field, he only taught me how to do a Hadouken after all. I could have never imagined just how far fighting games would go when it came to learning these special commands.

I and a lot of people like myself have failed to realize just how much history that someone just being introduced to a fighting game has to learn. The term newcomer often times gets misused when you think of how difficult a fighting game will be for someone just getting into playing one...it's down right underestimated and often times highly overlooked. 

This may be impart because we are in the age of information. Learning how to do a Hadouken is not as mysterious as it was in my time ; a time where people were often tight lipped on giving out information as it had the potential of limiting their turns at bat and their win ratio as well. 

With some effort, you can pick up everything that took me months(and years in some cases) to learn in a few days, although, nothing really compares to having someone show you how to do things up close and personal, something that I feel has been lost some with playing online. 

Given the amount of history I have with fighting games and the knowledge and skills that I've learned for over 20 years,  it's no wonder why fighting games are not the most popular when it comes to the pick up and play mentality. 

This years Evolution 2015 revealed Rising Thunder a game that is being master minded by 3 of EVO's co-creators. Seth Killian, who is heading the project, is without a doubt one of fighting games biggest ambassadors when it comes to speaking on just how much enjoyment and competition one can have from playing them. 

His journey has lead him from leaving his job as a professor,  joining Capcom as a community manager and combat advisor for Street Fighter IV, to now game creator for a genre that is near and dear to his heart. 

As someone who deeply understands the joy of fighting games, you would think the direction that Seth is going in for this game would be that of ole but it's far from what fighting game players have come to embrace and there is no telling the effect this may have once this game comes to its' full fruition.

With the creation of this fighting game, Seth has taken on a risk of alienating the veterans, the ones he for years sided with, the ones he appreciates deeply for the time and effort  spent to obtain a high level of mastery, to stop alienating the ones who he so wants to help understand what he loves most about fighting games..the new comers.

He plans to make this happen by doing away with the challenging inputs making special moves accessible by the press of a button. This move could easily break the foundation of what we have held dear about fighting games but not in a negative way, rather, it could break new ground in finally inviting more people to enjoy fighting games then they've ever done before.

I for one embrace this idea. I've explained in past posts that there is more to fighting games then execution and Seth is willing to place his bets on execution being the root of the problem when it comes to getting people to stay and reach that next level. Though I applaud Seth for going in this direction I also can't help but feel something big is going to be lost.

That Hadouken that I learned back then, recalling the moment I successfully executed the move seems far more exciting to me now. Now, I can easily pull off the move but it wasn't until lately that I've come to an epiphany.

My fingers move across the d-pad as if  I'm physically charging up my characters power. From there my finger pushes the button which releases the Hadouken.  Games can't often express that feeling of control over ones character so vividly and I'm afraid Rising Thunder will not be able to emulate that feeling with its use of simple inputs.

Rising Thunder may just be the future and often times what the future holds are a few relics from the past. While games like the upcoming Street Fighter V assures us that a new generation of gamer's will get to experience the euphoria of throwing that first Hadouken, there is no telling if this may change once players have a taste of what Rising Thunder and fighting games like it may have to offer...more of an engaging experience in less of the time it would normally take to enjoy what a lot of gamer's have never had the chance of experiencing.

Time will tell if executing execution will be for the greater good.

Coming To That Fork In The Road

As I've reached the half way point going into the second year of Fighting Games Online, I've had to do a lot of soul searching. Being the sole owner and operator of a website is far more tasking then I honestly imagined it would be.

I never expected that I'd be doing so much to create up to date content as I felt like the basic information was adequate enough to generate traffic and get the word out to those who may be interested.  Whether I underestimated the amount of commitment this would take, I'm still very much committed to bringing as much information to those in search of it as I can but I'm honestly reaching my limits.

At the time of my decision to go ahead with creating this website, I was at that fork in the road and the decision made sense at the time given my current situation. There is no place I would rather be then in the gaming community, especially the fighting game community. With that being said, the path in which I take to get there have so many roads to take.

I've been thinking it's time to get back on the initial path I intended to walk all along.  From this month on, I'll no longer be physically covering games like I once did. This means no more reviews, test plays, or first looks for the foreseeable future. I sincerely apologize for anyone who looked forward to more video content and I hope that at some point I can get back to doing more.

I will still be updating the webpage with content but I'm afraid my general play time is over. I feel like the overall content created over the past year and a half is more then enough for now and as much as I would like to do more, focuses have to change for the betterment of my well being.

It's been a real struggle trying to keep up with the latest content that has been arriving due to my limited resources. I was optimistic that this would change but unfortunately there is no telling at this point if things will turn around but I'm still not going to give up on the site.  

So, in closing, the site isn't going anywhere as long as I draw breath but I will be dialing back the content and my activity in order to focus on the past endeavors I let go of to get to this point. I feel very accomplished despite not getting to a place where I could do more going forward but priorities must change for now.

I've always been open to extending this website to other people who have similar interests and want to be apart of creating content and that invitation is always open if you're truly interested in contributing to the site.

I can easily be contacted through my email thec0re3@fightinggamesonline.info(serious inquires please). For now, I hope you can enjoy what I've done thus far and  I'm hoping that there will be more to come once I've gotten through a few personal life challenges.

If you've been coming to the blog to read, I thank you for taking the time to read my posts and visit the website. You are the reason I believe I can still move forward and not completely give up and for that I'm grateful. Keep fighting my friends and I'll be back.