I totally get it. Like I said before, some people like it and some don’t, so the options will be there. I’m still really glad you guys are reinforcing it.
And the thing about the jump is interesting; I want a character that runs quickly left and right, but I DON’T want a character with a long distance jump because that creates an easy escape maneuver. So what’s happening now is that when you push the button to jump, a brief crouch plays out before the character actually begins moving up. Before we implemented this, running that fast and then NOT jumping very far felt completely fucked up. Some people think it feels unresponsive but most people don’t notice. So it’s a delicate issue because the last thing I want is for a major mechanic to feel icky.
I haven’t considered many ways of breaking up mechanics because I have always been and will always be a player who likes having access to my mechanics as soon as possible. That’s just me and I refuse to put core mechanics out of reach. /stubbornly generous
I agree with you about Wolverine’s pounce. Super fun, but not super meaningful. I’m trying really hard to not create mechanics like that, but I think you’ll be pleased with the other weapon sets that have all manner of strange/fun attacks. But they’re actually consistently functional and enjoyable.
I never played Splatterhouse! It looked like it wasn’t great, though. If you’re seriously recommending it I’ll go grab a used copy ASAP…
Thanks for the kind words and thanks so much for the feedback! To address your concern (which is totally valid), we’re creating very aggressive enemies that aren’t particularly concerned with what the other enemies are doing, and the experience is very pressurizing. You can be attacked by up to 3 attacks (of different tiers) at a time depending on the enemy types. This pressure, to me at least, is what makes Ninja Gaiden so thrilling. But what makes it so hardcore (and ultimately inaccessible to a lot of people) is that commitment to most mechanics is HIGHLY dangerous. I’m trying to bring that thrill to a lower level with similar enemy behavior but liberal cancelling.
Now the good news is that the club (one of the game’s four weapons) was specifically built with way harsher cancelling restrictions in order to emphasize that power. So maybe you’ll dig it! But for the most part, Aztez is definitely more about rhythm and less about commitment. But just to be clear, I know you there are infinites, and while I intend to keep them there (sometimes doing infinites is fun), there is little to no reward in the act.
Seriously? Splatterhouse is the hypest shit. Easily one of the great Beat 'em Up franchises. Play the first game in MAME or the TG16 version and check out 2 and 3 on Genesis.
It would definitely be deeper with high/low attacks. But since there’s been a plan to have 4 weapon sets from the start, I have to draw the line somewhere for the sake of production. If I end up with time towards the end to produce more mechanics, I’d LOVE to add high/lows!
I’m not going to implement any systems that prevent infinites (because sometimes doing them is fun and I don’t want to take that away from people), but at the end of the day there will be little to no reward for performing them. It’s hard to see it now at this early stage, but this is how it will turn out. We’ve got combat meta systems on the way that are built to reward variety and designed to disincentivize things like infinites. You’ll see them in future builds!
And I didn’t know that about the Razer, thank you! We will address that.
OH OH OH! I thought you meant the recent one since that one is an actual beat 'em up and the old ones are kill 'em ups. It’s a subtle but important distinction. And of course I have played the old ones, they were awesome!
I would describe the first two Splatterhouse games (not counting the Famicom game) to be Beat 'em Up/Platformers. 3 is definitely more of a traditional Beat 'Em Up.
*Edit: Kill 'em Up is a fitting description though.
