I was in the venue for about 10 hours total (not including lunch break) And other than SkullGirls, all I played was one terrible match in the AE teams tournament. I played exclusively Peacock(qcf lk)/MF (preset dp) with one exception where I tried making it a team of three with Cerebella. I was getting pretty good by the end. at the station I was playing at it was 31 wins 9 losses, at the end I think, and it was 1/6 or something when I started. For anyone who was there I was the guy in the trench coat and Scott Pilgrim shirt.
Impressions: This game is possibly even better than I thought it would be. Peacock is one of the most fun zoners I’ve ever played, maybe even better than Cable. the homing drop being on the same button as the gun adds quite a bit of thought to her gameplan. Her jumping normals are awesome and varied (I especially like j.HK). She has lots of fun tools for every situation. My general mode of keepaway was qcb.HP(hold for final level) qcf.LK qcf.HK qcf.MK repeat as needed following up homing drops with HPqcf.HPx3 and supering on hit unless something interrupted that flow. The MF assist is as perfect for her as I thought it would be, as it quickly covers her most vulnerable angle. On the topic of assists, Peacock’s qcf.LK assist is a good one for any rushdown. It’s not as good as Cerebella-copter or other multi-hitters, but it does a good job of space control, lockdown and combo-enhancement. Now, on to MF. She has some really nasty tricks, as well as straight-up solid normals and good damage. The combos I used were very basic, but given even just a few minutes in training mode, I could get some more interesting ones. Her level 3 is very easy to combo into. I’m not too sure as to the use of the low rekka variation for mixups, as there isn’t a high one. EDIT: Just saw that there is one on the wiki; disregard the previous sentence After week one I don’t see how anyone could get hit by them. There might be use in combos, though, as you can hit with another set of rekkas otg after a low. In general, I think she’s a very solid character that I will probably play exactly until Big Band is available.
Other characters: Many people seem to complain that Cerebella is op. this is not true at all. I found Cerebella a lot easier to deal with than the likes of Filia and Valentine as far as getting in. Yes, she does a lot of damage, but so will everyone else once we start getting combos down. Valentine is new, so I’ll talk about her. She’s really cool. She’s an airdash character with very long range normals, a projectile, a throw that crumples and Dio Brando’s knife super from JJBA. What’s not to like? For all you Painwheel fans, the consensus seems to be that she’s the most difficult character to acclimate to, but once you do she’s really good. I saw her level three in action and that is dangerous stuff right there. Crazy combos, mixups and mobility.
General game system and analysis: SkullGirls does not feel as much like Marvel (2 of course) as I was hoping, but It’s just as good or better than my expectations. Compared to Marvel, the screen is much more zoomed in. It also doesn’t seem as fast and hectic as Marvel. In it you can see elements of Marvel clearly, but also elements of games like GG and 3S. There’s so much character variety in this game not even counting the ratio system that everyone that likes any 2D fighter should be able to find a playstyle in SG that fits them. The characters themselves all also have varied and well-crafted toolsets that make me very interested as to where the metagame will go. As a side note, the control scheme works perfectly. Assists, dashing, tagging, etc. feels right with the default config.
This game is awesome. Early 2012 can’t come soon enough. I was already going to buy this game and tell everyone I know that has ever played a fighting game to do the same, but having actually played it made me extra-excited about it.
