I would say Samurai Warriors 3, but I'm biased in that I'm not that big of a fan of Capcom's Sengoku Basara series. They are both in the same timeline and largely have the same historical characters though.
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
It's sad that Hack and slash genre is dying
- Thread starter Contra11
- Start date
I would say Samurai Warriors 3, but I'm biased in that I'm not that big of a fan of Capcom's Sengoku Basara series. They are both in the same timeline and largely have the same historical characters though.
bobbychalkers
Member
Wonderful 101 came out not too long ago, unfortunately Nintendo just sent it out to die.
I used to own both at one point. I remember thinking that SW3 has more meat to it but SBSH was more fun to play. I'm just a casual Musou fan but I would think that a newcomer would probably like SBSH more.
Mauricio_Magus
Banned
I've never been a Musou fan and I wasn't that much itno these games until I played some Clover/Platinum games, now I'm a believer.
I'll follow them until the end, I also really enjoyed Rising and The Wonderful 101 is one of the best games I've EVER played, it's been a great year.
I'll follow them until the end, I also really enjoyed Rising and The Wonderful 101 is one of the best games I've EVER played, it's been a great year.
Mauricio_Magus
Banned
Last I heard, it was killed because the Collection of 1-2 sold badly.
Which is complete bullshit.
Amongst the average consumer, "fighting games" include Call of Duty. I've heard this before. I wouldn't take into account what the average consumer thinks about gaming genres.
Well, you highlighted "smaller budgets" in my post and said that this meant Stylish Character Action games were dead. DMC4 had a pretty substantial budget for the time.
Yeah, Action Game is the over-arching broad genre. Brawler is fine, though I always considered brawler and beat'em up to be somewhat synonymous.
KnockOneOff
Banned
They will be back!!
Ryse is pretty much a hack and slash
Ryse is pretty much a hack and slash
You keep convincing yourself that, champ
John Rabbit
Banned
2HUMAN2 PLZ.
shooters gonna shoot
For the people that think it's Pikmin Super hero Edition (YOUR WRONG)
you forgot to include W101
(involves some shooting)
even though it's not technically H&S
Combos, stylish technical action, air juggles, etc.
Why aren't people buying this game?
Goldenroad
Member
From whom? Do you mean the one with a 38 avg on metacritic? User score isn't much better, btw. I've heard nothing but horrible things about that game.
dakkumauji
Member
Sengoku Basara is more fun, but after starting it you'll have to live with knowing that the series is basically dead in the West.
Samurai Warriors 3 is ok and Koei is more than likely to bring the 4th game over, just not on a Nintendo system.
Imperfected
Member
Combos, stylish technical action, air juggles, etc.
Why aren't people buying this game?
People aren't even buying Mario on the Wii-U, man. W101 never had a chance.
Riposte
Member
Metal Gear Rising, Anarchy Reigns, The Wonderful 101, a NG3 update, and DmC (and probably a few games I can't recall) came out this year, so IDK.
The genre discussion in this thread is terrible and hopeless. A lot of it comes down to people sticking to a random bunch of disagreeing habits and prejudices without being able to use logic to the point where an argument between two strong positions can be had.
Just a random comment on it: The combat of Anarchy Reigns works a lot like so-called "character action" games (e.g. Devil May Cry) and just because you get some vague "Final Fight" vibes (that have nothing really to do with belt-scrolling mechanics) from it or w/e (assuming the person talking even played it) doesn't mean it is a whole different thing.
EDIT: I can't believe fist vs swords/weapons is even being considered.
The genre discussion in this thread is terrible and hopeless. A lot of it comes down to people sticking to a random bunch of disagreeing habits and prejudices without being able to use logic to the point where an argument between two strong positions can be had.
Just a random comment on it: The combat of Anarchy Reigns works a lot like so-called "character action" games (e.g. Devil May Cry) and just because you get some vague "Final Fight" vibes (that have nothing really to do with belt-scrolling mechanics) from it or w/e (assuming the person talking even played it) doesn't mean it is a whole different thing.
EDIT: I can't believe fist vs swords/weapons is even being considered.
sixteen-bit
Member
ftfy
Clockwork5
Member
Senran Kagura Burst!
Hack and Slash + all that PLOT!!!
Hack and Slash + all that PLOT!!!
Billiam268
Neo Member
Gotta love when a genre discussion has people classifying God of War and Dante's Inferno as being a completely different genre despite having ostensibly the same basic gameplay as Devil May Cry et al.
Asking about the character action/stylish action /hack n slash/whatever-you-wanna-call-it genre is up there with asking "Is Dark Souls a JRPG?" when it comes to inspiring bizarre responses.
The game was off my radar until I thought to ask just now so I never knew it did that badly. I just remember watching a YT review were there guy really liked it aswell as another recommendation in another forum.
Presumably this was directed at me?
I've played Anarchy Reigns extensively. It's a great game. I think the combat has some elements of Character Action games, but also clearly has pacing/design/formatting of Beat'EmUps/Brawlers... I don't think it makes logical sense to simply ignore that. It's also a game designed heavily around the online, team, and objective based gameplay, which makes it a different beast.
MissDeviling
Member
Can't speak for Warriors since I never played it, but in Basara it's fun learning how to chain your combos...until you realize that you're steamrolling the mooks. The complaint I have is that the game's far too easy; you'll rarely find yourself dead. Still, the hammy dialogue is hilarious, and the voice acting is quite good (Troy Baker as Mitsunari is amazing, as are JYB's Yukimura and O'Brien's Ieyasu). Definitely try this game out.
Paracelsus
Member
Fear not my friend, soon Jrpg will take that spot.
Gangxxter
Member
Hack'n'Slash: Were you click the enemies to death (Diablo).
Everything else: Action games.
FlyingSaucer
Banned
Senran Kagura on 3DS and Vita is a great button-masher, especially if you happen to like air combo.
Now "beat em ups", that's a genre that is truly dead. Where's my new Streets of Rage and Spikeout!?
You've got Double Dragon Neon, Phantom Breaker Battlegrounds, Senran Kagura, and Dragon's Crown, I guess.
John Rabbit
Banned
the melee combat in the Saints Row games always has me wishing for a true beat 'em up.
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
"Character Action" games like Devil May Cry, God of War, Ninja Gaiden, Castlevania LoS, etc. is one of my favorite genres. I doubt it's going to die and you'll probably see some pretty crazy games in that genre for the PS4/Xbox One.
Yakuza series mang.
I prefer "technical action games": action games defined by the comparative depth and complexity of their combat systems.
The Onimusha games are not technical action games. Musou games are not technical action games. Soul Reaver 2 was not a technical action game, but Legacy of Kain: Defiance was an action-adventure game which adopted technical action elements to its combat.
Dante's Inferno is a bad attempt at a technical action game because despite the variety of moves available to Dante, its combat lacks depth compared to established pillars of the genre. Similarly the God of War games, which offer much deeper and more technical combat systems than typical action-adventure games, fall short on a technical level when compared to games like DMC or Ninja Gaiden.
The Onimusha games are not technical action games. Musou games are not technical action games. Soul Reaver 2 was not a technical action game, but Legacy of Kain: Defiance was an action-adventure game which adopted technical action elements to its combat.
Dante's Inferno is a bad attempt at a technical action game because despite the variety of moves available to Dante, its combat lacks depth compared to established pillars of the genre. Similarly the God of War games, which offer much deeper and more technical combat systems than typical action-adventure games, fall short on a technical level when compared to games like DMC or Ninja Gaiden.
Riposte
Member
I browsed posts, didn't notice names.
Anarchy Reigns having a broad selection of rule sets (i.e. variant games) may be worthy of comment, but as I said, before we get to having a discussion like that we first have trudge through (if not be derailed by) this vague separation of "Character Action" and "Beat'EmUps/Brawlers", which may not be very meaningful in the first place.
To a meaningful extent, Anarchy Reigns plays a lot like a "character action" game; the movesets, aerial mobility, combo system, etc. should be at least somewhat familiar. You may say it is "designed" around "online (lol, so?), team (lol, so?), and objective based (arguable, I suppose) gameplay", but I'm mainly speaking of the fundamentals of what is going on when you move and hit things/dudes. The objectives like carrying a flag, being told to kill a certain enemy, or hitting a ball into a goal with attacks all seem built around this familiar combat system (not to mention how obvious this is made to be true when you are not playing online/team/objective based scenarios, e.g. most of the campaign).
EDIT: If you take anything from my posts in this thread, don't let it be "Anarchy Reigns is this or that". I believe that until people throw away these ideas that were haphazardly created years ago by people who did know what they were doing (e.g. making genres somewhat depended on the aesthetics of attack animations/models like swords against monsters vs fists against thugs), arguments will be bogged down to the state of uselessness. A good exercise would be to throw out everything and logically move forward by looking at the games anew. I could envision an argument saying Anarchy Reigns isn't like Devil May Cry to the point where you'd want them to be in separate sub-genres, but I don't think that argument will ever be made as things stand.
Parakeetman
No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Yeah thats not going to happen...
The Silver
Member
I guess it's somewhat "similar" to the distinction between WRPGs and JRPGs.
Japanese action games tend to have a larger focus on combat with very high depth while western ones tend to be more "cinematic" and focused on the grand spectacle of it all.
Darksiders 2 and DmC would be the "Dark Souls", the thing inbetween.
I really don't care but that's how I figure this kinda stuff arises.
NavyPharaoh
Member
We got rayman & puppeteer too.
This is one of the few genres I still play but like all series they come and go. A new series come out as others die. Its evolution and will happen this gen too. I'm not at all worried
pretty done
Member
Last I heard, it was killed because the Collection of 1-2 sold badly.
Which is complete bullshit.
Did Kojima expect us to buy yet another awful High Voltage port job?
I mean, I know some other studio fixed it on PS3 (like six months after release) but that's pretty shitty.
Viewtiful Joe
Would love to see a spiritual successor to that and/or Godhand from Platinum.
Mauricio_Magus
Banned
yeah, that's what happened... at least the PS3 version is now amazing, but now we won't get ZOE3.
JRPG's will keep doing well.
Muchi Muchi Pink
Member
Boom.
So, basically, fuck all genres as they're conventionally named? I'm all for it, but it's something that will never happen. JRPGs, WRPGs, MMORPGs, Adventure, Action Adventure, BeatemUp, ShootemUp, Bullet Hell, Brawler, Dungeon Crawler. It's pretty unclear why this particular discussion makes you roll your eyes.
I didn't use swords/punches as qualifying indicators of genre, and so I don't really care about that point.
If you base genres strictly on what happens when you hit dudes, then you're going to have absurdly broad overlap. There's a reason why there should to be a distinction, even if you personally find the differences to be insubstantial. Almost everything listed in this thread can be broadly labeled an Action Game. However, I don't see a problem with creating specific subgenres, considering that one of the primary purposes of having genres is to find a game that you might enjoy based upon a grouping of similar games.
There are elements of Character Action games in Musou games. There's crowd control, launching, aerial raves, projectiles, animation canceling, different set combos... but I have a general dislike for most Musou games. The primary distinction is really "Oh well, there's lots of cannon fodder in Musou games and the combat isn't as refined. They're also usually on a larger plane." And I could similarly be as dismissive as you with "lol so? you still launch when you hit dudes" but that doesn't get us anywhere.