I agree, nothing is 100% accurate, least of all SRK or (at least for me) 360 motions and supers. I don’t agree that the game would be watered down, though, as that implies other good fighting games with easy inputs are. It would be somewhat different, though, which may or may not be bad in some regards. If you compare HDR to the original SF2 it is significantly different, but better IMO.
True, the trade-off for charge characters is nice, providing a type of medium in regards to input.
I have played my share of FPS, from Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, and Turok to CoD, Halo and Battlefield. I’m not huge into the genre but CoD is by far the best in terms of sheer mechanics. It’s so silky smooth, and everything just clicks. I still get my ass kicked by 12 yearolds online but I can’t blame the gameplay.
CoD: W@W was great, too. After that it started slipping but it still sells for a reason, it’s good.
Gotta completely disagree with you on Mario’s peak, though. SMB3 set the standard. It seems there’s two camps, one for SMW and also SMB3. I stand firmly in the latter but acknowledge SMW is good.
I wasn’t directly comparing FPS nor Platformers to Fighters, just showing how lowering the bar of entry is not necessarily a bad thing unless the skill of the game suffers (Brawl, anyone?). Inputs don’t need to be what seperates the boys from the men. My example showed how a Mario game can still provide ample challenge with solid mechanics; the principle translates well. Same for CoD/Battlefield. BF controls like a brick compared to CoD, but it still draws its own crowd. Why? As I mentioned before, personal preference.
My main point is that stricter input is unnecessary, and even SF has moved away from it. That doesn’t make it bad, but I still don’t like it. Others do, which is fine. I deal with it, obviously, I still play. I just wish I could do what I know I want to (and feel as if I should be able to do) with shotos, but the input restricts me.
Hypothetically, let’s say they patched HDR to let anyone input easily. Do you think we’d see nobodies at EVO 2014 taking 1st place? Of course not. The metagame would evolve, focus on defense would increase (especially at lower levels of play, jumping at someone recklessly would go extinct), and new tactics would emerge. Without a balance patch things would be super unbalanced though since HDR was crafted with difficult inputs facored into the balance. I don’t see it negatively affecting play, though change would occur and that in itself scares people. Hell, I’d be scared at first and find new complaints, lol.
