201

Probably when SFXT comes out…

202

Magnetism: Pulls stuff in your direction.
Wind: Pushes or pulls stiff in a certain direction.

Really, they ain’t that complex.

203

I meant within the rules of the system, because wind/magnetism has acceleration, speed, direction, etc. In GG some hits have “vacuum effect” but that is analogous to push-back, just the other way around. I’ll also like to clarify that while wind/magnetism is the same mechanic, it’s one never applied by the rest of the cast, (almost) every one has it’s own extra mechanic that seems isolated, and that is more functions.

By the way, I’m not saying BB is a bad game, just that it isn’t as good as GG (to me (and several other people I know in real life)), and I’m just trying to establish what could be the reasons for our beloved FGs, like ST and GGXXAC+, to feel so superior technically. Just throwing that out there.

204

“This analysis is simply trying to make developers and players realize how important it is to make the genre as less intimidating as possible.”

DOA did exactly that. Crisp bright colors, a simplistic 3 button scheme, de-emphasized sidestepping, extremely low emphasis on wake-ups, an easy to learn hold system, and a female cast with pneumatic breasts to boot. That would be as “less intimidating” as possible. Yet when it becomes too simple, even casual gamers can’t take it seriously. Tom Itagaki was intentionally trying to make a game that was easy to pick-up, but that “ease” backfired. One can argue that DOA probably wouldn’t have gotten the negative attention it gets if the jiggle-physics weren’t a factor, but I doubt it. At it’s core DOA2-DOA3.1 are actually decent games, but they get labeled as being masher friendly because of the simplicity of the hold system. Jiggle physics simply exacerbates this. If a game gets too simple, people don’t like it. Smash Bros is another example.

The main thing I don’t like about your article is you didn’t really do your homework. Lots of talk about Street Fighter 4 and MK9, but for the most part ignoring the 15 or so years before. For example, you’re crediting MK9 with having a tag feature, then give a passing nod to Smash and DOA, while not ONCE mentioning Tekken Tag Tournament? The Tekken series has outsold the MK series. Tekken Tag was not only a very high selling game, but was played often in tournaments as well. Not mentioning that game in a discussion about tag mechanics is in poor taste. Even before Tekken Tag there were SNES and Genesis fighting games that had Tag features, like Ranma 1/2 Super Battle and Yuyu Hakusho.

Fighting games peaked around 98-99. That’s when they had the highest sales. You don’t mention anything in that era, and the lack of knowledge does a disservice to your entire article. If your fundamental knowledge was better, you could have made a better case for discussing it’s evolution.

I’m not going to nitpick every little thing, but I have to disagree on the validity of mission modes. Originally I thought like you and I believed an in-depth tutorial was needed. However, my opinion changed playing Street Fighter EX2+. By completing themission mode for certain characters she was able to get herself to a level where she could beat with my friends who played Street Fighter casually. Their pride forced them to learn the mechanics. Despite the mission mode being simplistic, it made a huge difference. While I do believe all fighting games should have a tutorial, I also believe that people should just read the instruction booklet, which almost always explains the game engine.

205

Rare footage of Daigo actually eating.

206

Oh god the Ranma game, I remember doing insta-dizzy combos with Shampoo, DAMN … also, the tag mode was awful.

And yeah, I don’t think in-depth tutorials are needed, just a VF4 style mode with simple combos and situations. And well, hitbox and frame data info easily accessible (probably just a dream).

207

I can imagine how big the scene would be if SF4 had a great tutorial. You know how Quake Live had the bunny hopping and rocket jumping levels? ( [media=youtube]YUyzdxNIt30[/media] )Imagine if SF4 had a challenge mode for blocking, where you start by blocking simple stuff like High/Low/Overheads, and you move on to mixups, to awesome flamekick, ambiguous crossups, ect. And how to do specials (e.g. Hadoken 5 times to break the wall, ect uppercut to hit 5 shotputs, ect.) Spacing and footsies would be their own section and stuff, and the game provides in depth reasoning about why these things are important. I can only imagine though. -sigh-