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Fantasy Strike (simplified fighting game) Pre-Alpha build free-to-play wknd live now

G

Good Job Bob

Member
Download is here:
http://www.fantasystrike.com/blog/2...alpha-free-weekend-july-28-30th-on-pc-and-mac

Fantasy Strike is for everyone from those who have always been intimidated by fighting games all the way up to hardcore pros. Have you been wondering what the game is really like? Now's your chance to find out! From July 28-30th, we're hosting a Fantasy Strike Free Weekend on PC and Mac.

You'll have full access to 8 playable characters. You'll be able to play online, locally, use our full-featured training mode, and more.

If you enjoy the game and want to support it, please do so on our Fig crowdfunding campaign.
Click to expand...

Gameplay trailer
The potential of Fantasy Strike
Fantasy Strike Overview and Character Rundowns!
Long set between SnakeEyez (Rook) and Lord Knight(Valerie) at Evo 2017


Here are the simplified controls:

1465453782643
Click to expand...

I've known about the game since it was announced and I can't say I have been too interested in it, but no reason for me not to give it a shot right now. Check it out if you want.
 
F

Ferrio

Banned
Judging from that video the devs really like their dive kicks. Might try it out, though jump being a button seems way more awkward than just hitting up. Also auto throw counters is odd.
 
S

Solidus187

Member
Playing it right now. Seems fine for what it is, but really slow. I know it's intentionally not too fast paced, but... idk, it's really slow.

So far I prefer Rising Thunder over this (Riot plz) in terms of general feel. I'll see how I feel after playing more this weekend.

Ferrio said:
Judging from that video the devs really like their dive kicks. Might try it out, though jump being a button seems way more awkward than just hitting up. Also auto throw counters is odd.
Click to expand...

Luckily you can map up (or any input, for that matter) to jump.
 
Shin

Shin

Banned
Art style is bad ass, thanks so much for posting this OP I didn't hear or see the trailer before.
An ex-Capcom / Street Fighter developer made this (YouTube comment)?
Also that shout out to Ryu's stage from Alpha 1 or 2 (I forgot which).
 
B

Baron Von Beans

Member
Looks damn good, for sure, but a 2d "traditional" fighting game like that having a jump button? I'm sure it's something that I could get used to, I mean Smash and all...but I wonder if a "pro" controller option could exist that just allows up jumping
 
E

ErrorMacro

Member
I really the concept, but I'm not feeling the execution. I've always wanted a traditional fighting game, with simplified execution, but the way they did it just seems cumbersome.
 
S

Solidus187

Member
CountAntonius said:
Airlines still at it. I like the concept as specials as a cool down ability but I don't like the jump button in a 2D fighter.
Click to expand...

Baron Von Beans said:
Looks damn good, for sure, but a 2d "traditional" fighting game like that having a jump button? I'm sure it's something that I could get used to, I mean Smash and all...but I wonder if a "pro" controller option could exist that just allows up jumping
Click to expand...

There's a toggle to map up to jump.
 
S

Solidus187

Member
Khezu said:
Visually the game looks super unexciting, all the animations lack any kind of oomph.
Click to expand...

Yeah I think that helps put my finger on something else not really gelling with me. Partly due to the animation but also the sound design.

My original complaint was speed, but after playing more matches and ranking up to where people seem to always be... "doing more," the pace feels fitting.
 
B

BiggNife

Member
I played this at Pax East this year and ended up pleasantly surprised by it. I'll probably play this free weekend.

I mentioned to a dev (it wasn't Sirlin, it was someone else) that the concept design reminded me a lot of Rising Thunder and he responded by saying their game is better (his words,not mine) because while it takes away the complicated inputs of SF/Tekken/etc, it's still vital to learn the startup/recovery animations of special attacks, whereas RT deemphasized this. I don't know how legitimate that claim was, that's what I was told. All I know is that it plays pretty well.

And yeah, I know about the stigma Sirlin has in the FGC because of HDR but I still think it's worth taking a look.
 
S

Solidus187

Member
BiggNife said:
I played this at Pax East this year and ended up pleasant surprised by it. I'll probably play this free weekend.

I mentioned to a Dev (it wasn't Sirlin, it was someone else) that the concept design reminded me a lot of Rising Thunder and he responded by saying their game is better (his words,not mine) because while it takes away the complicated inputs of SF/Tekken/etc, it's still vital to learn the startup/recovery animations of special attacks, whereas RT deemphasized this. I don't know how legitimate that claim was, that's what I was told. All I know is that it plays pretty well.

And yeah, I know about the stigma Sirlin has in the FGC because of HDR but I still think it's worth taking a look.
Click to expand...

It's been a while since RT, but I'd really love to hear that dev further explain how RT has any different emphasis on learning animations than Fantasy Strike. IMO they both equally have situations where only quicker normals can punish certain normals/specials, situations where different moves have different startup times and you can tell by the animation, same with recovery frames... etc.

And if it's not equal, I'd say more emphasized in RT because you had to recognize lows and overheads based on their startup animations... while this game only has stand blocking.

In all honesty, they probably have canned answers to RT comparisons because they probably get them a lot and know they're unavoidable lol.
 
S

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
Yea acting like Rising Thunder didn't have standard fighting game frame data is hilarious.

There's an easy answer to Rising Thunder comparisons: "Can you play Rising Thunder right now? No? Well guess what you can play."
 
F

Ferrio

Banned
Just trying out practice I can already tell this game isn't for me. Only 3 basic attacks, 2 specials, it's extremely slow and matches last like 5 hits. Defense options seem extremely limited too.
 
L

Leafhopper

Banned
Like Rising Thunder the simplistic stuff is nice there is a big difference with the Yomi stuff though. I dig it. I hope it actually sticks around. However my only gripe is the health being X
number of hits and that's it. Would like normal health for this.

I guess if we are still comparing it to Rising Thunder, it's even more simple than that and I am not too sure about that. I know it's not confirmed for mobile but, the control scheme seems like it could easily be adapted to that.

I do like a fighting game I feel like I can play with my keyboard with little effort though so there is that lol.
 
F

Ferrio

Banned
Tried a few online matches, ya this game makes Rising Thunder look complex. I think both Rising Thunder and Pocket Rumble both pulled this off much better. The simplicity seems to have gone way too far and it's sucked out anything that makes the genre fun.

Oh there's no dashing too, everything is walk. I guess there's no lows either? There's low hitting moves, but you can't duck so what's the point?
 
J

JusDoIt

Member
I'm interested in trying this out and hope it makes it to release, but the idea that fighting games need to get even more simple than Street Fighter II (one of the most popular video games of all time) is kind of arrogant.

I don't mind that the Divekick, Rising Thunder, Pocket Rumble, and now Fantasy Strike are all trying to push that boundary, but maybe, just maybe, SFII is as simple as it needs to get.
 
S

Syril

Member
JusDoIt said:
I'm interested in trying this out and hope it makes it to release, but the idea that fighting games need to get even more simple than Street Fighter II (one of the most popular video games of all time) is kind of arrogant.

I don't mind that the Divekick, Rising Thunder, Pocket Rumble, and now Fantasy Strike are all trying to push that boundary, but maybe, just maybe, SFII is as simple as it needs to get.
Click to expand...

Ok but why though?
 
LordKasual

LordKasual

Banned
I'd like to give this a shot, but 2D fighters are just too saturated right now for this to be appealing to me.

New UNIEL just came out, New GG, BlazbluexPersonaxUNIELxthatweebthing, SFV, DBZF....


I think indies need to be trying something new with the fighting genre. Literally everyone is going the "lets dumb it down a bit to make it accessible" route.
 
Z

Zissou

Member
Ferrio said:
Tried a few online matches, ya this game makes Rising Thunder look complex. I think both Rising Thunder and Pocket Rumble both pulled this off much better. The simplicity seems to have gone way too far and it's sucked out anything that makes the genre fun.

Oh there's no dashing too, everything is walk.
Click to expand...

To be fair, walk speed is pretty quick in this game. To your earlier comment- the game gets around the relatively small number of attacks by having each meant to be very multi-purpose (and you shouldn't ignore the aerial attacks as unique attacks either- they matter a lot in this game relative to modern street fighter.
 
A

Alienous

Member
Hmm, I think this is the wrong way to make an accessible fighting game, having spent a bit of time with the mental exercise of designing one.

I think really the focus should be on integrating the tutorial process. Not simplifying the game, but having tools that specifically deliver tutorials based on play analysis. "You barely blocked in that last match -> suggest block tutotial", "42% of the damage you took came from aerial attacks -> suggest anti-air tutorial", "Your highest combo in that match was 4 hits -> suggest 5 hit combo tutorial", etc. That and a Ghost Battle system, where you can test yourself against specific opponent strategies that bested you, would really simplify the fighting game learning process more than just simplifying inputs.

I hope it does well regardless - fighting games being more inclusive is healthy for the genre.
 
J

JusDoIt

Member
Syril said:
Ok but why though?
Click to expand...

Because SFII was a phenomenon. Fighting games weren't always niche. The notion of execution turning casuals away wasn't a thing back then. Everybody played it. If you played video games back in the early 90s, you played some version of SFII. You just did. It epitomized a game that was easy to pick up but very, very hard to master.

But now we got these devs saying, "we can make fighting games more elegant than SFII," and like yo, maybe you can. But that's a rather ambitious goal.

I don't knock anybody for trying. I'm even down to support, but I don't think anybody really wants a fighting game that's more stripped down than SFII. If Divekick, for instance, came out in the arcades in summer of 1991 with the state of the art graphics and aggressive marketing, I still think it gets smashed by SFII.
 
LordKasual

LordKasual

Banned
Alienous said:
Hmm, I think this is the wrong way to make an accessible fighting game, having spent a bit of time with the mental exercise of designing one.

I think really the focus should be on integrating the tutorial process. Not simplifying the game, but having tools that specifically deliver tutorials based on play analysis. "You barely blocked in that last match -> suggest block tutotial", "42% of the damage you took came from aerial attacks -> suggest anti-air tutorial", "Your highest combo in that match was 4 hits -> suggest 5 hit combo tutorial", etc. That and a Ghost Battle system, where you can test yourself against specific opponent strategies that bested you, would really simplify the fighting game learning process more than just simplifying inputs.

I hope it does well regardless - fighting games being more inclusive is healthy for the genre.
Click to expand...

These are actually pretty good ideas.
 
B

Belker

Member
It just occured to me I want a fighting game where the tutorial is a series of rockband/rocksmith style levels.

Press this now, press that now, etc. Follow the onscreen prompts until you can do it.
 
F

Ferrio

Banned
They have some no shame Slayer rip off in this game. "Hey he kinda reminds me of Slayer" then he proceeds to fight like him.
 
R

Renkax

Member
Can't seem to enable the controller :( I'm using DS4 I tried Bluetooth and USB nothing works do I need some software to make it work or?:/
 
S

Syril

Member
Renkax said:
Can't seem to enable the controller :( I'm using DS4 I tried Bluetooth and USB nothing works do I need some software to make it work or?:/
Click to expand...

I had to use the Controller Setup option in the Button Config menu before mine would work.
 
L

Leafhopper

Banned
Okay I played like 2 hours. Granted this is a demo so all of this will probably change.

Online works okay but, I am gonna give some real noob tier impressions based on what I played.

Grave - Expected Ryu, got Ryo with a sword and Rachel Alucard's wind stuff. He seems alright. Jumping B is hilarious and maybe really good? Ground Super is alright

Jaina - Decent Zoner and can be hard to be stopped once she gets doing, gets murdered up close and has to use that DP to get out of stuff. She seems good.

Geiger - Not Slayer, has a gear that he can throw on a relatively fast timer, phase in the air (helps a lot more than I expected.) Time stop walking super gets you out of anything and punish pretty well, I like him the most so far.

Setsuki - Fem Hokutomaru, has an air kunai so Ibuki players can feel some what at home, I found I relied on her B cross up kick a bit too much not sure if I am just bad with her or if she is bad probably need more time.

Valerie - S tier because of hilarious hitboxes imo. Who I fought the most and seems like who most are playing. She has a natural 3 hit combo most of the time because the forward version of her B is a cross up. C's hitbox is hilariously good. Super of hers can hit behind her.

Rook - I don't really know what to say other than 1 button armored 2 damage SPDs.

Degrey - Some weird ass dude with a ghost stand also Not Slayer. This guy seems insane and probably also S tier. Ghost can grab the opponent and a most of his moves do a good bit of damage. Super is a counter that is really fast.

Midori - Reminds me of a ADK/Sunsoft/Visco boss to be honest. I would talk more about him but he has a dragon install that turns him into an actual ass dragon and he just becomes ridiculous lol.

That's just initial impressions nothing serious. No one seems "bad" right now.
Renkax said:
Can't seem to enable the controller :( I'm using DS4 I tried Bluetooth and USB nothing works do I need some software to make it work or?:/
Click to expand...

It doesn't detect my stick but I can play on keyboard just fine. Seems to be a wrapper issue probably.
 
L

Leafhopper

Banned
Also about the jump button you can map up to Jump in the game it's a toggle. Probably said earlier but just in case someone misses that.
 
K

Karsticles

Member
A dedicated jump button seems like a huge mistake to me.

LOL, Blanka is in the game. Now I'm interested in messing with it. I really want the necro chick in though.
 
Rabid Dwarf 76

Rabid Dwarf 76

Member
Gameplay looks a little slow for my tastes bit maybe I need to play it first. Character design is great. I hope they find their audience though.
 
LordKasual

LordKasual

Banned
Listening to this guy explain how easy the game is to play, and how it's going to capture the "feel" of a real fighting game...

...all i can think about is how the point is missed entirely when a fighting game is built solely around this premise.

Most of the really fun fighting games are built around fun premise.

Power Stone = get 3 crystals and go ham
Tekken = control an over the top martial arts character!
Blazblue = Ridiculous character abilities
Guilty Gear = Everyone is broken
Marvel = SHIT EVERYWHERE
UNIEL = but what if everyone had fullscreen normals???
Street Fighter = "lol spacing and footsies"

If the premise of this fighting game is "IM SO ACCESSIBLE" then it's probably not going to be very fun at all.

I'll download it and give it a shot in a second though.
 
S

Samemind

Member
Am I the only one getting a stuttery mess on netplay? I even tried turning everything down/off. Damn near lost my shit, this game is quite nice to play but I can't fucking play it if lag is going to be eating inputs.
 
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