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[SAB CA]

They sure do, we ended up playing more PB than KOF 13 there lol.

LoL, not THAT fu- no, kidding, lol. Some of the best fun I had with Samurai Shodown Sen was VS people at an Anime Con. Such games can work wonders in the right atmosphere.

grabbing the demo, have no knowledge of the series but really enjoyed scott pilgrim & this seems like it may be a better game, functionality-wise.

After playing some more (to stage 7 now) I have to say it really is. I'm kinda sad the demo doesn't let one run through a screen of a later stage; Fighting screen-killing behemoths with all that power is just fantastic.

I've been looking forward to this since it was announced but I'm going to hold out for a PSN release since I refuse to subscribe to XBL Gold and wouldn't mind playing it online. I'll pick it up for the single player and local coop later though if it never happens though. Sadly this reminds me that Phantom Breaker still hasn't been released here yet, and likely won't with the silent treatment 7Sixty is giving fans lately. *cry*

5pb is releasing the new Stein's Gate game on PS3, but PB fighter hasn't made a step there; it's getting an arcade release, though?

7Sixty said some small message of "It's not cancelled yet!" a few weeks back, but... yeah. Hopefully, the fact that this game, plus the Stein's Gate tie-in, should raise some awareness, should help them finally push the game out.

Finished Story Mode some quick impressions so far:

+Awesome sprites and backgrounds (Stage 0 looks AMAZING)
+Stages have a nice length to them, not too short.
+Cool chiptune music.
+Nice enemy variation.
+Nice amount of characters for a beat em' up.
+Tons of mechanics that give it the depth of a fighter. And as SAB CA has said you'd best learn them, otherwise prepare to get owned in boss battles.

-You can't change your buttons.
-Skill trees being needed for regular special attacks (I hate skill trees in beat em' ups in general)
-Online seems to go to shit when you have more then two players.
-No Practice Mode or CPU battles for Battlegrounds :<

Overall I am very pleased with this game so far. Gonna try some more online and see if I can actually get some decent 4p going.

Surprised at no bots. Practice would be nice, but I never think about it in these games. I love the combat system; it pretty much lets me do almost everything I want in a BEU, and I have multiple characters to do this with, that all play fairly differently! WOHOO!

Yes. I'm interested in this game now. Also love the Okabe cameo .

Nice Avatar, so fast, lol. Kurisu seems full of mini-cameos throughout all her moves, which is pretty nice.

Yeah, I love the music and the sprite/polygonal mix that the backgrounds have going on.

I got to Stage 3 when I played earlier. I was beginning to think that the grunts were too easy until they ping-ponged me to death. Maybe I shouldn't have glazed over the defensive mechanics in How to Play...

The grunts get a lot more annoying as time goes on, but you also get stronger, and have more variety. It's a lot better than the first 2 or 3 stages, and they throw great numbers at you. I love seeing all this chaos, running so smoothly... like a BEU dream, lol.

After playing through this game with a random I have to say this:

Bosses are cheap as hell.

Yeah, ain't it great? lol. I do love the fact you can jump and AIR THROW the big bosses, when they're standing on the ground. You can toss and throw the biggest, most powerful enemies, which I always hated NOT being able to do in many old BEUs.

I loved watching Mitoko actually emergency evade and slo-mo mode me at the same time, only to then proceed to combo my healbar into the depths of death and despair. CPU's aren't suppose to DO things like that!

I'd love to be able to fight the CPU's in Battleground mode, would be like a mini-boss rush.

I'm quite impressed with the overall quality of this game. It actually feels like an evolution of the 90's BEU times, rather than a tribute that meanders about, not knowing how to complete the basics first. It's the closest to Castle-Crashers lvl original BEU we've seen in a long while, so I hope it's accepted by that apparently infinitely-growing fanbase.

 

[Clov]

Loving the game so far! It's a lot of fun. Itsuki's my favorite to play as so far.

Quick question; on the main menu, when I try to go see "downloaded content", it says my account doesn't have permission to access it, or something. Does this mean that only Gold members can get the DLC for now, or am I just missing something?

 

[HiddenWings]

Trailers:

• DLC Trailer
• Kurisu's Specials
• Kurisu's Supers

Sorry for just kind of wandering in here, but the specials and the supers links go to the same video (also in the OP). the real link for the super video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTvzxK0yH6E

 

[Weiss]

I was told this game was like Guardian Heroes, my favourite beat em' up, but the artstyle is kind of turning me off. Is it really that good?

 

[Azure Dream]

My fault for misreading it, but at first glance what popped into my mind was...

Still, Guardian Heroes-esque? Have to give this a look.

 

[The Grim Heaper]

this is pretty tough, mostly when it comes to boss fights ;_;

 

[HyperHip]

Anyone interested in doing some Co-Op?

 

[SAB CA]

Quick question; on the main menu, when I try to go see "downloaded content", it says my account doesn't have permission to access it, or something. Does this mean that only Gold members can get the DLC for now, or am I just missing something?

It's not suppose to be out until the 12th of March, so it's not really up for anyone. Should be fine once it's real release hits.

Sorry for just kind of wandering in here, but the specials and the supers links go to the same video (also in the OP). the real link for the super video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTvzxK0yH6E

Thanks for looking out, and providing the correct link! All has been fixed now.

I was told this game was like Guardian Heroes, my favourite beat em' up, but the artstyle is kind of turning me off. Is it really that good?

I'd say so, but I might be bias! I'm quite happy with the style too; It has a lot of personality, a lot of extra touches, and it really helps make the game have a personal identity, rather than just looking like any normal 90's Beat 'em Up.

My fault for misreading it, but at first glance what popped into my mind was...

*Phantom Dust*

Still, Guardian Heroes-esque? Have to give this a look.

Or Phantom Crash, too! Yeah, Japan seems to like "Phantom ____". I'd love a new P/ Dust too...

this is pretty tough, mostly when it comes to boss fights ;_;

So glad it gets tough, because those first stage enemies... (O___O) * * *

Bring on the difficulty! And hopefully 3 friends to help!

 

[PAULINK]

Wow, I instantly bought this game after the demo, this is really fun! And it feels like a perfect fit to use my arcade stick.

 

[Semblance]

Not familiar at all with Phantom Breaker, but I love the pixelwork goin' on here. Downloading the demo right meow.

I really hope this is better than the Scott Pilgrim game.

 

[Slygmous]

I downloaded the demo for the Guardian Heroes comparisons and smooth animation, and I was blown away! That music gives me game gear nostalgia.
I have no idea what a Phantom Breaker is and the general art style isn't great (but not unbearable) but it's very enjoyable and well animated.

Does it get that much harder though?
I kinda suck at these games, as much as I love them. I finished Castle Crashers alright, a few times over, but I can't finish most classic arcade beatemups without burning through credits. Would I even be able to finish this?

 

[PAULINK]

I downloaded the demo for the Guardian Heroes comparisons and smooth animation, and I was blown away! That music gives me game gear nostalgia.
I have no idea what a Phantom Breaker is and the general art style isn't great (but not unbearable) but it's very enjoyable and well animated.

Does it get that much harder though?
I kinda suck at these games, as much as I love them. I finished Castle Crashers alright, a few times over, but I can't finish most classic arcade beatemups without burning through credits. Would I even be able to finish this?

This game is pretty easy on normal, I burned through the whole story in what, 2 hours? It's so much more enjoyable than Scott Pilgrim or Castle Crashers in my opinion, because attacks are so easy to chain together.

Overall this has to be one of my favorites for this year's XBLA games. Awaiting the dlc but will definitely go through and unlock the rest of the characters.

 

[Gunstar Ikari]

Normal's fairly easy. The only real problem I had was in the ending stages where they throw you in with six or so gigantic super-armored enemies. The last boss battle was very...anticlimactic. You get the four sub-characters for beating Story Mode on Normal.

Hard is a bit more difficult overall. Here, letting yourself get surrounded is deadly, and the last fight feels more like a final boss should. Beating Hard unlocks

Spoiler

White Mikoto and L. I've played neither M nor L, but White Mikoto is Mikoto with a different Weak dashing special. Not sure what the point of making them different characters is, but okay.

As for Nightmare difficulty, I managed to get killed by the Stage 0 boss and the ridiculous number of minions that she summons. The Stage 1 boss brought in one of the larger grunts and repeatedly did the (Weak) Upper, cancel, aerial attack loop that SAB CA mentioned earlier. On top of that, I was repeatedly assaulted by light attacks in the corner until I died. I finally won after about five retries, and that's where I'm at now.

I do have a few (maybe nitpicky) issues, though. First, the lack of Battleground Mode AI sucks. Second, I really wanted a pure "Story Mode minus cutscenes" mode. Arcade Mode seems to be a 1CC run, and doing 1p Co-op Mode doesn't let you mess with skills before each stage. This means that sub characters won't get to grow over the course of a playthrough like the four starters do in Story Mode. Finally, given how fast growth is in this game, I would've liked a way to reset a character back to Lv0.

Overall, this game is pretty cool, and I definitely feel like I've gotten my money's worth. The DLC? Ehh...not so sure how I feel about that, especially since I think that Lv99 is overkill. But hey, it comes with a unique moveset, so I might get it anyway.

 

[SAB CA]

So, I love the fact that, if the main game didn't feel meaty enough already, I basically get Phantom Breaker Smash Arena as a quasi free bonus with it, lol.

Since I've now gotten Nagi to max level (which allows you to get all skills, but pitiful stats, or vice versa, once at 50), I figured I'd try some arena battles.

So far, I've only fought 1 on 1 vs 2 or 3 players, but it's been fun. A lvl 50 VS 50, 15 vs 16, and 20 vs 16, and all ran very different in their own ways...

From the 1 on 1's I've had, online play was very smooth. It even Synchro'd (or so it claimed), which suggest this might actually have some semi-advanced netcode under it all (as opposed to the most bare-bones peer-to-peer that many XBLA releases are happy with).

Hard modes character unlocks are a nice bonus. I have yet to play with both of them, but to add on to the known changes:

-

Spoiler

L seems to have a different throw, and her projectile is a flame colum, rather than a running fireball. This should make her EX move unique, too, but I'm not high enough to test this yet.

Not to mention each of them comes with 7 new color palettes each, which is actually kinda nice (especially since palette choices are reflected in VS screen portraits, a trait MANY full retail fighters don't bother with anymore.)

This game is a pretty polished piece of work. Characters have different (no enemies) and (danger is here!) stances, Victory and Pre-Battle poses, crouching animations, Hold Forward or Hold Down + attack moves (special and normal) in the air (varies by character), Hold Forward + Attack moves on the ground (varies), combos that lvl up by actually using unique new animation frames, and a bunch of background variety spread all about, most scenes only being used once per stage.

I liked the walkway leading up to the Mikoto boss battle, a Skyway at Dusk...

Even the enemies are crazy-varied. Different stages of Phantom Corruption throught the same enemies, new enemies almost every stage, and they even have enemies that have attacks that none of the player characters have anything like (such as the Shrine Madien's having Ice and Lightning Attacks... I want an Ice attack character!)

And seeing this all run smoothly... I actually think Vita and 3DS couldn't support the insanity without severe frame drops, unless it was completly remade for those systems.

The ending also changes a bit, depending on who you play. In the cinematic, your main character will be looking at a collection of those who helped her. Unfortunately, in arcade, this doesn't take bonus characters into account, but it's still a nice bonus.

Either way, I'm highly impressed overall. As far as XBLA games go (where everything is obviously made with a smaller budget than most full retail titles), this feels like it's either an extreme labor of love (like Castle Crashers), with people making something much more fleshed out than the asking price demands, or like it should have been a sequel to a game that already had much of these assets made (Like Geo-wars 1 to 2), where they can afford to jampack extra features and content, because a lot of it was already made.

It's quite likely the closest we've had to "brand new 2D beat-em-up with the soul of a 90s arcade game". Probably closer than Castle Crashers (which had a bunch of collect-a-thon elements and backtracking that wouldn't really fly in arcades) or Scott Pilgrim (which felt more like a console version of an arcade game, with all it's shops and overworld map areas and such.) It still has some modern day trappings (leveling! persistent characters), but it's much more minimalized that other games of it's type.

It has it's faults, it's oddities, and such (Gunstar Ikari list a good amount of them!), but theres so much to it that is so well done, that it completly overshadows it all, for me.

.... Mages., Division2, get in contact with Nippon Ichi. I want a Disgaea series Beat 'em Up / Fighter hybrid JUST LIKE THIS. Please?

 

[Coconut]

Loving the background pixel art.

 

[Slygmous]

That settles it then, I'll pick it up after the big sale. Thanks guys.

 

[The Grim Heaper]

lol this game is awesome

What the hell was up with that bonus stage, though? :lol Totally random.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

Alright. Two achievements to go.
One is the online battleground one, and the other is perfecting that stupid bonus stage (the falling one)

Hard wasn't so bad(I didn't die once). Although it was dumb how the AI kept getting Phantom breakers(or whatever that move is called where everything slows down)

Also it is damn idiotic that in order to have a maxed out character, you have to buy the DLC. Real clever 5pb.

 

[A Huge Battleship]

Finally had a chance to sit down and play this, doing a full playthrough as Mikoto.

Colour me impressed. I honestly wasn't expecting that much from it, but the mechanics were surprisingly deep, the aesthetics impressive and the overall experience really good fun. My appreciation for the combat grew the more abilities I unlocked, and I was pleased that the game did actually require me to learn most of the different techniques to stand a fighting chance.

Main gripe for the playthrough would probably be that by the time I (re)unlocked the stuff I was most looking forward to (EX attacks!) I was basically at the game's end. Also the last boss was fairly anti-climactic. Does he/it get any more impressive on higher difficulties?

Glad to see that the unlockable characters can actually be used in Arcade mode (might want to edit the OP since it currently says CO-OP / Battleground only?). Messed about with M very quickly. I'll experiment with the others over the weekend and pick a favourite.

 

[SAB CA]

Playing in offline 2p with my brother, approaching lvl 50 in nightmare mode... MY GOSH. I swear the game just started now, lol. When there's so much coinage, lightning, and orbs on screen that the characters start to dissapear, you KNOW things have started to hit the fan...

And I've been playing the game for days, but never bumped into the Train lvl Bonus stage. LoL. That's what I get for grinding Stage 4 so much...

True Grinding starts in Nightmare Difficulty, though! You haven't SEEN EXP until you get to that point...

Also, as noted by the Game Babble blog, Masaki Ukyo (Director/Programmer on Guardian Heroes, Code of Princess... Asuka 120% Burning Festival, and much more gaming goodness) was credited as "Programming Support" for this game. That Treasure DNA lives on here, too, eh? Not surprised, after having played it so much over the past few days...

Although it was dumb how the AI kept getting Phantom breakers(or whatever that move is called where everything slows down)

Also it is damn idiotic that in order to have a maxed out character, you have to buy the DLC. Real clever 5pb.

I believe it's overdrive mode. Though the one character I have overdrive on doesn't slow down time like that... hmm. Guess I need to explore it more. If you switch plane's while they do it, though, you're fairly invincible.

And personally, I like the fact that lvl 50 = Not everything maxed. It encourages different builds to fight each other. Doesn't matter in the log run (online players eventually all build the same way, and variety is lost due to that mimmickry mind), but it's nice for now.

Main gripe for the playthrough would probably be that by the time I (re)unlocked the stuff I was most looking forward to (EX attacks!) I was basically at the game's end. Also the last boss was fairly anti-climactic. Does he/it get any more impressive on higher difficulties?

Glad to see that the unlockable characters can actually be used in Arcade mode (might want to edit the OP since it currently says CO-OP / Battleground only?). Messed about with M very quickly. I'll experiment with the others over the weekend and pick a favourite.

Don't worry, you'll need those attacks for Hard and Nightmare... so it's almost like you just recieved the attacks when you're 1/3rd done! Plenty of time to use them!

Last boss through arcade didn't get any more impressive, but oddly, I found a LOT more breakable Seal stones in Nightmare stage 6. They made the stage MUCH longer, but don't believe it effected the last boss in stage 7 at all.

Will edit the OP, as it was based off the original website text before release (whereas Kurisu's DLC trailer suddenly remember Arcade more accepts bonus characters again...), thanks for reminding me!

Quick M tip: Her Air EX special (forward + A&B) is awesome, haha.

 

[Coconut]

Any word on a PSN release?

 

[StayDead]

I wasn't actually going to get this purely on the basis I have no live gold and a lack of Kurisu, but now I'll get it anyways <3

 

[Marche90]

Any word on a PSN release?

Supposedly Mages isn't doing any ports of the game

Wouldn't be surprised to see it landing on the PSN in the future, though. Companies love making money, after all.

 

[gunstarhero]

Anyone notice the price for the DLC character is "-1", but when you attempt to buy it, it costs 5 million points?!? LOL

That aside, this game is awesome - totally took me by surprise. It needs a button config option though... my VLX stick doesn't have the correct button layout. :-/

 

[A Huge Battleship]

Been testing the entire cast (including the variants you get for beating Hard) to try and narrow down who I want to focus on. I wouldn't say that any single character's leapt out at me, but the ones I'm enjoying most are Yuzuha, M and Waka. That said, my views may change once I start acquiring EX attacks etc for everyone.

And personally, I like the fact that lvl 50 = Not everything maxed. It encourages different builds to fight each other. Doesn't matter in the log run (online players eventually all build the same way, and variety is lost due to that mimmickry mind), but it's nice for now.

I'm with you on this, since I like having some variety between my character builds. When the DLC's released I'll probably cap everyone at lv60'ish depending on how hard Nightmare is (haven't tried it yet).

 

[BroggieDoge]

Really close to pulling the trigger on this. Scott Pigrim and Double Dragon neon didn't quite satisfy me like I wanted them too but this seems like it might hit the spot. I was hoarding a lot of my points for this ongoing GoD sale but really haven't bought much.

 

[Dash Kappei]

Ok I loved the demo, pulling the trigger as soon as I get MS points. Looks fantastic too and moveset seems pretty freakin big. But the manual does a terrible job at explaining how to chain or even how the "supers/overdrive" amd stuff work, there's so many variants of them,,,

Hopefully it's pretty long in story mode since I can't play it online and will have not that many chances to even play couch multi, but I love belt scrollers so much that I'm willing to look past that for a game that seems to be of such high calibre

 

[A Huge Battleship]

Levelled up a few characters to 50 now. M's become my favourite to play as, though I seem to be almost exclusively using her specials over her regular attacks. Down+A is a reliable combo that gives a ton of gauge, Right+A is a strong projectile that works well against both individuals and groups, and while her Rightx2+A is probably the weakest of her basic specials, as an EX attack it's ridiculously powerful and has huge coverage. Better still, you can use it as an EX in mid-air (thank you SAB CA!) and it seems impossible to interrupt.

Her ultimate is unique and good for crowd control / covering your attacks, but it doesn't do that much damage, loses effectiveness against bosses and I'd rather have the extra stat points right now.

 

[SAB CA]

I'm with you on this, since I like having some variety between my character builds. When the DLC's released I'll probably cap everyone at lv60'ish depending on how hard Nightmare is (haven't tried it yet).

Not a bad idea at all. I'll probably end up playing enough with Kurisu to lvl up everyone alongside her... but it'd be very nice if they'd implement some kind of options for setting level /skill caps for Battlegrounds. I guess this stuff rarely ever matters to online players, but I used to love playing a strong character VS an army of weaker ones in GH, or even vice-versa, if I could get away with it...

Really close to pulling the trigger on this. Scott Pigrim and Double Dragon neon didn't quite satisfy me like I wanted them too but this seems like it might hit the spot. I was hoarding a lot of my points for this ongoing GoD sale but really haven't bought much.

Thread Bias says this game is better than anything you could get on that sale As a straight BEM, I do think this game wins clearly over Pilgrim, and maybe even a bit more than Neon (clearly more if Neon didn't appeal to one at all), though Virt's music unfairly tips love towards the game for me.

Ok I loved the demo, pulling the trigger as soon as I get MS points. Looks fantastic too and moveset seems pretty freakin big. But the manual does a terrible job at explaining how to chain or even how the "supers/overdrive" amd stuff work, there's so many variants of them,,,

Hopefully it's pretty long in story mode since I can't play it online and will have not that many chances to even play couch multi, but I love belt scrollers so much that I'm willing to look past that for a game that seems to be of such high calibre

Only a couple hours in story, but the Co Op and Arcade Mode are single-player capable. Nightmare difficulty throws such lopsided numbers at you, it's almost like a campaign refresh, too... And you can really grind out stage 6 to last much longer than I though it did, from playthrough 1...

Levelled up a few characters to 50 now. M's become my favourite to play as, though I seem to be almost exclusively using her specials over her regular attacks. Down+A is a reliable combo that gives a ton of gauge, Right+A is a strong projectile that works well against both individuals and groups, and while her Rightx2+A is probably the weakest of her basic specials, as an EX attack it's ridiculously powerful and has huge coverage. Better still, you can use it as an EX in mid-air (thank you SAB CA!) and it seems impossible to interrupt.

NP M / L's RightX2 surprised me when I first saw it, similiar to Infinity's mega-explosion EX. So much coverage and damage!

Another note with M/L, the Right+B/Strong attack counts as aerial state, so it's a quick way to do that EX Air Special on-demand. Weird to go back to Cocoa's more melee-style after spamming such a variety of techniques with L...

Her ultimate is unique and good for crowd control / covering your attacks, but it doesn't do that much damage, loses effectiveness against bosses and I'd rather have the extra stat points right now.

It very much seems like some characters are just... better with certain techniques, and I really like that, as it helps make them all feel unique.

Really, the characters and styles in this game work so well for me, I'd love to see more characters added after Kurisu... Even if they were to just take a few of the enemies, and give them expanded movesets for playables.

Kurisu's description seems to suggest that she depends on a lot of "assist" characters to help her fight too, so interested in seeing how she works out.

----

Overall, this game seems to have a lot of positive buzz from those who have played it, and even those who just enjoy it's look and style. I hope this game is selling well, though I don't know how much these special leaderboards will really tell us...

 

[GuardianE]

So, I picked this up on a whim over the weekend. Played the demo and had fun, it looked adorable, and $10 was the perfect impulse buy price.

Played and beat it in co-op in one sitting with a friend. Hilarious enemy design, flashy movesets, and well animated sprites... I really liked it! It was weird having absolutely no dialogue when playing co-op though. Since it was our first time through, we had no idea what was going on, which made the ridiculous enemies even more ridiculous.

DY-NO-MITE!

Finished at level 35 or so, and eager to jump back into it later. I must say that the lag was pretty bad, though. There was a very obvious delay in my inputs and the action on screen (my friend was the host). We do live on opposite sides of the country, but still.

I'm partial to Waka. Her polearm special attack throw is pretty good. It guard breaks really easily, does damage to everyone in front of her, and tosses an enemy (even all boss enemies) for big damage. It looks like it can even be looped. Once I had it, I spammed it against bosses, and they would just die because they couldn't get away from it.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

I'm partial to Waka. Her polearm special attack throw is pretty good. It guard breaks really easily, does damage to everyone in front of her, and tosses an enemy (even all boss enemies) for big damage. It looks like it can even be looped. Once I had it, I spammed it against bosses, and they would just die because they couldn't get away from it.

Yep that move is amazing.

There are a lot of stupidly-good abusable moves in this game.

 

[Beezy]

This really is one of the best beat em ups ever. The best I've played on XBL.

 

[Coconut]

Anyone have a moves list?

 

[SAB CA]

Phantom Breaker Battlegrounds how has an Official Twitter!: https://twitter.com/pbbgusa

And don't forget, Kurisu DLC comes out TUESDAY! (Tomorrow as of this writing). So look for it to appear around 5 AM US Eastern time, 2 AM PST.

This really is one of the best beat em ups ever. The best I've played on XBL.

I agree in many ways; which is why some of the reviews I've seen via Metacritic really seem.. off to me. (It's down to a 6.8 now? ARGH. I thought the 7.8 was shameful...)

The Xbox Mag review complains about poor production values and a lack of stage variety... while I wouldn't say these things couldn't be improved in some way, for a fresh-out-the-gate series (The fighter doesn't really count here), I think such ideas are extremely short-sighted and ignorant.

The Games Revolution review seems to totally miss the point, leveraging negatives aganist the game that seem to be seen due to poor play / dislike for the genre, rather than a true judgement of the content at hand. WTH is "unresponsive" about this game's controls? What fighter from 20 years ago had movesets like this games? Lacking Sound Design? Eesh.

Anywho, think I should add the better reviews to the OP? Should the negative reviews be posted too, for an unbias opinion set, or could they be added to a "wall of shame" for laughing and general ridicule?

Anyone have a moves list?

The official site does!

Moves Via the Character sections.

The whole site is a great resource for the game, as far as the controls, moves, and videos of character gameplay are concerned.

---

At any rate, I look forward to getting back into real play of the game with Kurisu + Level Cap increase. While the idea of "everyone max everything!" isn't one I totally look forward to for Battleground play, I will like getting to make everyone stronger, once again.

 

[Nose Master]

It's really too bad it's plane based and not just free-roaming.

 

[SAB CA]

It's really too bad it's plane based and not just free-roaming.

How do you figure? I can't say I've ever felt free-roam movement added to a BEU, but I actually feel plane division adds a fitting simplicity to the controls. It also clears up the "Will THIS hit me?" issue that SO many beat-em-ups suffer from, even now.

Castle Crashers free roam totally destroyed the VS for me.The act of "are you a little too high, or a little too low for the attack to land?!?" added nothing in that game, and the weakness of attack hitboxes, while fine in SP, was so strongly magnified in multiplayer, it seemed shoddy.

Scott Pilgrim demanded pressing down + attack to hit grounded enemies... except sometimes pressing down would move you downward JUST enough for the attack not to hit.

Crowded Co-Op with free plane movement often leads to another person getting hit by moves that really shouldn't, and often renders projectile attacks (from fireballs to bullets) much too easy to dodge, lowering their impact in the gameplay.

Also being abel to crouch, crouch attack, and hit low / high on 2 plains feels much better than, say, holding the "crouch" button in a game, like Double Dragon Neon. Real High / Low Mixups!

I won't hate a 2D-gameplay brawler for having Free-movement, but I can say that I get more concerned about the hit and attackboxes feeling right, in those games, than I do in plane-based ones.

 

[farnham]

Reminds me of queen of hearts

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

How is the music in this game?

 

[SAB CA]

Reminds me of queen of hearts

It is a bit like those games, which isn't bad at all I wonder if any of those Doujin Creators now work profressionally as Mages / Division2?

How is the music in this game?

All pretty cool, all done by one person, too! It's very Authentic-style Chiptune themes, a lot of it based on remixes from the Phantom Breaker fighting game (such as Character themes, Character Selection, the VS screen, etc..).

Some of it can have a way of getting stuck in your head. You can probably find some on Youtube by now, I know many people were looking for the "Train Boss theme" on gamefaqs a few days back...

 

[EnochP]

This game looks pretty sweet. I might pick it up after work tonight.

 

[A Huge Battleship]

I'm all over the DLC when it comes out tomorrow. Most of my characters are lv 50 or close to it, so the raised level cap will give me more incentive to use them, even if I likely won't be adding (m)any of the new stat points.

I've been going through Nightmare mode recently, albeit very slowly to leave myself something to do when the DLC's out. On stage 5 at the moment, which is probably my favourite in the game. I have a silly self-imposed restriction where I can't continue if I die midway through the stage, so my experience so far has largely been: 1) Use any character other than M --> Die on or around the boss. 2) Use M --> Clear stage without too much hassle.

How do you figure? I can't say I've ever felt free-roam movement added to a BEU, but I actually feel plane division adds a fitting simplicity to the controls. It also clears up the "Will THIS hit me?" issue that SO many beat-em-ups suffer from, even now.

etc.

Again, I'm with you on this. I prefer the precision that planes offer, and it feels like developers are able to develop the combat further when they don't have to worry about e.g. attacks whiffing due to slight differences in vertical positioning. This may well just be a lack of experience talking, but off the top of my head I can't recall any free roaming side-scrolling beat em 'ups with complexity of combat on the level of, say, this game or Guardian Heroes.

How is the music in this game?

I love the OST, and this is coming from someone who isn't a huge fan of chiptune music. Really, I just flat out adore the presentation in this game. Aside from the character art, I guess. Would've preferred something along the lines of the original's:

Anywho, think I should add the better reviews to the OP? Should the negative reviews be posted too, for an unbias opinion set, or could they be added to a "wall of shame" for laughing and general ridicule?

I don't really read/pay attention to reviews nowadays, so I'm probably not the best person to comment on this!

 

[joe2187]

Cant wait for the DLC

 

[GuardianE]

Count me in the group that much prefers plane based vs. free roaming... at least for a game like this. One of the biggest issues I have with a lot of beat 'em ups is how difficult it is to tell if you're on the same "level" as your enemies.

 

[SAB CA]

Edit:

Kurisu is available in the US, if purchased within the game. You get an instant 5 GS for buying here, with a "Thank You for your purchase!" for the achievement message, haha.

Gamer Picture Pack 02 is showing up for purchase now.

I've been going through Nightmare mode recently, albeit very slowly to leave myself something to do when the DLC's out. On stage 5 at the moment, which is probably my favourite in the game. I have a silly self-imposed restriction where I can't continue if I die midway through the stage, so my experience so far has largely been: 1) Use any character other than M --> Die on or around the boss. 2) Use M --> Clear stage without too much hassle.

5 Is pretty good; The Shrine girls are great enemies, and it has some fun boss fights. Comically enough, while most reviewers hate stage 6, it's one I really like, since I love all the FIGHT one can get into there. The "maze" isn't nearly as annoying to me as the one in Brawl Brothers either (this one makes very obvious sounds when you're on the right path...), so I just enjoy it for what it is...

Again, I'm with you on this. I prefer the precision that planes offer, and it feels like developers are able to develop the combat further when they don't have to worry about e.g. attacks whiffing due to slight differences in vertical positioning. This may well just be a lack of experience talking, but off the top of my head I can't recall any free roaming side-scrolling beat em 'ups with complexity of combat on the level of, say, this game or Guardian Heroes.

Maybe Guardian Heroes Advance! (Though even it was a little dumbed down VS the original) and Battle Circuit (which has the move variety, but not the solidarity, IMHO). Was Guilty Gear Isuka Free-roam? I don't even remember... I just remember not liking how it felt to control.

I feel each side has it's strengths, and plane is much better for "Fighting game combat", while free-roam is much better for a "varied crowd control" type feeling. If Waka could swing her weapon horizontally, and hit multiple planes of enemies, it'd be fun... but then we'd have a completly different type of game on our hands.

I love the OST, and this is coming from someone who isn't a huge fan of chiptune music. Really, I just flat out adore the presentation in this game. Aside from the character art, I guess. Would've preferred something along the lines of the original's:

I don't really read/pay attention to reviews nowadays, so I'm probably not the best person to comment on this!

I think the art works great for this game, and helps it stand out some (it's so much more than "that game that looks like scott pilgrim"). Even original Double Dragon feels closer to Chibi rather than hyper realistic to me (it's surely nowhere near as real as Final Fight), and I think the style really helps add personality and fun to the adventure. Realistic M and Waka beating up on realistic Otaku-pervs just wouldn't feel the same, lol.

I'd love to see Mages take on a Streets-or-Rage style for another series, but I'm quite glad Battlegrounds has a different visual identity than "Fighter Breaker."

For the review side, now we have some decent ones popping up, such as the ones from EGM (provided by Shidoshi) and XBLAFans. Guess I'll keep watching, and see if reviews for this game are a boon to it reaching more people, or a curse of "pros" repeating the same crap they've said about this genre since the old days of Video Games and Computer Entertainment magazine...

Count me in the group that much prefers plane based vs. free roaming... at least for a game like this. One of the biggest issues I have with a lot of beat 'em ups is how difficult it is to tell if you're on the same "level" as your enemies.

-nod- Many devs just seem bad at making fights flow within that "faux 3D" environment. I mostly like it in the Turtles BEU's, because everyone has Horizontal-sweeping weapons... but most games that use the perspective, and expect one to start with straight-punches give issues... It's to the point where, if not for the Double Dragons and Final fights, I'd probably just consider plane-shift as an evolution of the genre, rather than just an alternative playstyle. Generally increases gameplay depth, while streamlining controls and clarity of play, all in one fell swoop..

Cant wait for the DLC

Xbox.com / Live apparently can! C'mon guys, push the button...

 

[SAB CA]

Kurisu Gameplay Impressions;Notes:
** Sorry to those who have seen/played Steins;Gate, I don't know anyones names! :/ **

- Her play through of stage 0 in arcade uses an alt music track; The same one you hear in the trailer for her, which is also her theme in the fighter, it seems...

- Even before you start leveling her, she has her down+A Special (The flame throwing future invention.)

- Her Combo tree starts off with lots of kicks, but as you level it up, more guest characters from Steins;Gate start to show up, and she starts to loop a few roundhouse kicks...

- Ground Command Normals: Forward+Y tosses out a bananna peel, which can slip up enemies after a small time. Frwd+B calls out another girl that slashes with a sword.

- In the Air, she has a down+Y (Dive with a Maid-like guest chara) and a Forward+B (which apparently is a Dr. Pepper bottle Throw?)

Special attacks:
-Dwn+A = Flame Thrower...Vaccume Cleaner?
--- Normal version hits, keeps enemy standing.
--- A+X version knocks them off their feet.
--- EX version clumps on damage swiftly, knocking off feed. Good followup to normal version.

-Frwd+A = Laser Beam Future Invention... from the 1950s...
--- Normal shoots twice. Longish recovery.
--- A+X Shoots once.
--- EX Shoots a cluster of 3 larger beams. Great for stopping full screen craziness, combo after normal version.

-FrwdX2+A = Future Invention PRESENT FOR YOU! *ahem*
--- Normal has her dash forward, then stop, lock close enemies into a grapple, and push away, with an attached bomb that juggles for 3 hits.
--- A+X version has no dash, just grapples, blows up once?
--- EX starts of with 2 TYRANT SLAUGHTER Rams, then attaches the explosive.

Notes:
* You can combo lasers after the explosion. Also a good way to set up for corner juggles.
* She has no Aerial Special or EX.

PHANTOM BREAK: Stein's Gate Sattelite Crash
- Hits all enemies in a wide vertical area in front of you.
- Hits each enemy multiple times.
- Loads and loads of recovery as her hair epically blows in the wind.

Overdrive Mode: She seems to gain super armor? Dangerous, But it lets you spam lasers without interruption!

** Overall: A very solid range character. Depends on Range more than Yuzuha, and has moves meant to push enemies away from her, so she can spam Beams, Bananas, and Soda! No doubt the best at piercing the Horizontal lines in the game, though she'll probably fail in battlegrounds at close range (since her starting jabs are very close range, and her X chain, with no speed, doesn't seem like a natural combo).

 

[A Huge Battleship]

Kurisu Gameplay Impressions;Notes:
** Sorry to those who have seen/played Steins;Gate, I don't know anyones names! :/ **

etc.

Get hype. Hopefully she's available in the EU when I'm back home from work. I'd already watched the videos of her and your impressions largely tie up with what I was expecting. I thought she'd be someone I'd enjoy using a lot, although I doubt she'll be M tier for me.

Also I should point out that all characters start with their Down+A before levelling!

On a related note, the devs aren't planning to add any further characters to the game at the moment. I'm not hugely surprised, but at the same time it's a shame and I'd gladly support any future DLC.

5 Is pretty good; The Shrine girls are great enemies, and it has some fun boss fights. Comically enough, while most reviewers hate stage 6, it's one I really like, since I love all the FIGHT one can get into there. The "maze" isn't nearly as annoying to me as the one in Brawl Brothers either (this one makes very obvious sounds when you're on the right path...), so I just enjoy it for what it is...

Wish I could back you up on this, but stage 6 is probably my least favourite in the game. Though that's because I enjoy all the other stages more rather than because there's anything fundamentally wrong with it. I certainly didn't find the "maze" to be frustrating.

I think the art works great for this game, and helps it stand out some (it's so much more than "that game that looks like scott pilgrim"). Even original Double Dragon feels closer to Chibi rather than hyper realistic to me (it's surely nowhere near as real as Final Fight), and I think the style really helps add personality and fun to the adventure. Realistic M and Waka beating up on realistic Otaku-pervs just wouldn't feel the same, lol.

I'd love to see Mages take on a Streets-or-Rage style for another series, but I'm quite glad Battlegrounds has a different visual identity than "Fighter Breaker."

Sorry, probably wasn't clear enough here. I love the chibi style of the sprites and wouldn't want them looking like they do in the fighter; it's the actual character artwork (i.e. what you see during the intro/ending and EX/PB cut-ins) that I'm less of a fan of. Would've preferred them closer to the image I posted or at least a bit more refined. It wouldn't adversely affect the game's visual identity as far as I'm concerned if everything else was kept the same.

 

[Gaspode_T]

If they aren't porting this to Vita someone needs to have their head examined...kind of a perfect fit for portable play

 

[SAB CA]

If they aren't porting this to Vita someone needs to have their head examined...kind of a perfect fit for portable play

Yup, I love watching gameplay vids for this on the Vita screen It seems 5pb are pretty big supporters of the PSP in Japan, so maybe, with Vita sales picking up there, this could be a quick port... and an excuse for them to make some more content for both versions (EVEN MORE CHARACTERS! NEW STAGES! Arcade mode for Bonus stages! Team Play Battlegrounds! The list is endless...)

And welcome to the thread So I assume you ended up purchasing, eh?

Get hype. Hopefully she's available in the EU when I'm back home from work. I'd already watched the videos of her and your impressions largely tie up with what I was expecting. I thought she'd be someone I'd enjoy using a lot, although I doubt she'll be M tier for me.

Also I should point out that all characters start with their Down+A before levelling!

I have no idea who'se my favorite, haha. "Christina" really has some nice tricks, and I love all the "assist" attacks, but she has nothing like Itsuki's Uppercut loops, Waka's crazy Phantom Break, or Cocoa's slash insanity.

And after all that time, I never noticed Dwn+A being the sole starter special? Hmm. Woulda helped on some of those lvl 0 runs.

On a related note, the devs aren't planning to add any further characters to the game at the moment. I'm not hugely surprised, but at the same time it's a shame and I'd gladly support any future DLC.

Aye, agreed. Should add that interview to the OP too, love when Siliconera talks to smaller devs.

I love characters of this kinda depth in a BEU; I think it's quite likely I'll end up enjoying PB's characters more in this game, than their origin game.

Wish I could back you up on this, but stage 6 is probably my least favourite in the game. Though that's because I enjoy all the other stages more rather than because there's anything fundamentally wrong with it. I certainly didn't find the "maze" to be frustrating.

Yeah, I can understand that, especially in SP. There's always something I like about "enemies last deperate action" stages; where they throw overwhelming numbers at you, and yet you still manage to get through. It's like a true test to show how far you've come, and generally, the best place to totally abuse all those OP skills you've earned all game.

In couch Co-Op, Nightmare Stage 6 was intense, as we figure out how LONG it could be, after just breaking one seal and completing it back on Normal. All the near-deaths, screen-glitching chaos, and general "WHAT IS GOING ON?!?" moments were just great.

Sorry, probably wasn't clear enough here. I love the chibi style of the sprites and wouldn't want them looking like they do in the fighter; it's the actual character artwork (i.e. what you see during the intro/ending and EX/PB cut-ins) that I'm less of a fan of. Would've preferred them closer to the image I posted or at least a bit more refined. It wouldn't adversely affect the game's visual identity as far as I'm concerned if everything else was kept the same.

Hmmm, so higher res drawings, or just more dynamic poses? I rather like the fact they're sprites, and especially love the fact they retail (and amplify) the colors of the selected sprite palette; But the PB fighter does this with it's hand-drawn art too (really quite surprising), so I suppose it'd have worked out here as well.

M's is probably one of my faves too, because of the ink-drawing like shading on her...err... Junk. It's rare to see emulated Line-art in spritework (since most use colored outlines or the finest stroke size), and it's kinda close to some of my own art (so I'm totally bias, lol.) Thick, bold outlines don't get enough love!

 

[GuardianE]

I have no idea who'se my favorite, haha. "Christina" really has some nice tricks, and I love all the "assist" attacks, but she has nothing like Itsuki's Uppercut loops, Waka's crazy Phantom Break, or Cocoa's slash insanity.

And after all that time, I never noticed Dwn+A being the sole starter special? Hmm. Woulda helped on some of those lvl 0 runs.

I love Waka for her FF+A alone. It's hilarious to see her go up and toss ANYone. Three story tall dragon? Prepare to be tossed. Five story Oni? Tossed! Final boss? TOSSED.

I still haven't used all the unlockable characters yet, though. I know absolutely nothing about Kurisu, but I kinda want to support these guys.

 

[Soulstar]

Why am I just now hearing about this!? This game sounds wonderful.