Full disclosure: I have only played the Wii version with a Classic Controller. I have also never played any other games in the series.
Fighting games, as a whole, don't really appeal to me, and it's not just because I have a tendency to suck at them. Nor is it the image they usually give off of a gated community who won't accept any newcomers as a real person unless they can do at least 6-combos in their sleep. The problem is that they aren't varied enough in terms of gameplay - you just walk back and forth, hitting buttons and hoping you'll pull out a combo once in a while. And speaking of combos, it tends to be needlessly hard to make the counter appear, let alone getting it above 3 or 4. So the question is: why the hell did I even buy a Guilty Gear game in the first place?
The initial answer: probably because it was cheap. Australian $15 cheap.
If it wasn't for the platform label, it would look like an anime DVD, right?
The first thing I noticed about Accent Core, and the Guilty Gear series in general, is that it's rather different to most other fighters in one major way: everyone has a weapon of some sort instead of just using fists and feet, with the occasional weapon-aided special move or fatality. The second thing I noticed was that these weapons include just about everything except a kitchen sink. Third thing: It still plays a lot like Street Fighter. However, the fact that it sets itself apart in this way is interesting to begin with. Does the initial novelty of a fighter with weapons (that aren't droppable, BTW, so they're just like extended fists) wear off, and if so how long does it take?
The thing about developing for the Wii, I will admit, is that it's only a little more powerful than the PS2. However, that seems to lead a lot of people to underestimate the platform. Maybe it's because I didn't get the Plus version, but there aren't any story details besides win quotes at the end of battles in Arcade mode. And if they're meant to be there, then that's pretty annoying right off the bat.
It's therefore left to the graphics to explain the happenings - which they do a rather good job of, considering there's little exposition to back them up. The environments are at least visually varied, even if they are all just flat platforms of uniform length gameplay-wise (just like a Call of Duty game, easy joke). The character animations are all pretty well done too, in some cases actually showing off quite a bit more than the actual dialogue about the characterisation.
The weapons and their wielders alike run almost the entire anime gamut. (Pictured: Dragon Ball reject)
And maybe I was a little harsh to say it's the same as every other fighter: seeing as they aren't constrained by reality even as much as Street Fighter (or by graphical limitations like Mortal Kombat), they really can put a lot of difference into each of the characters. At the most reality-grounded (and easiest-to-play-as) part of the spectrum, there's the two sword-wielders, Sol and Ky (seme and uke respectively, usually). On the crazy end, there's Eddie, Potemkin, Dizzy, Zappa, A.B.A. and Faust. And there's plenty of characters seemingly sourced from every anime ever in the middle. From the win-quotes, you can tell they think as well as play reasonably differently...
The game's manual does contain special move lists, removing part of the problem of learning a new character. Like every other fighting game, though, actually learning how and when to use all those attacks is the hard part. Not knowing the fighting style, or how best to field against it, of your opponent can leave you in a pretty bad place too - especially once you've won several matches in one of the single-player modes (the difficulty setting, I've heard, only affects 2P Vs. COM).
Eventually, you'll figure out who you work best with (May) and who you'll really hate seeing on stage 8/10 (Chipp). As I mentioned, though, combos are just as annoyingly hard to do for a layman as in every other fighting game that has a visible combo meter (so basically every fighter ever except Smash Bros.) Since the Wii also has no "fight stick" peripheral, it's recommended to use either a Classic or a Gamecube controller - I haven't used the Nunchuk yet, but I've little doubt it'd be hard to make work in anything other than Smash Bros.
It's actually surprisingly fun just to wail on people with your chosen weapon, be it a sword, knife, anchor, chain-blades, hair, wing, giant key, etc. Even when you're not racking up combos with the best of them, even the first time you send someone into space it'll be pretty memorable (not to mention beating the boss...) It's particularly good if you happen to like shonen anime: this game has all the flashy fight scenes with very little of the boring talky bits in between. And if that's what you happen to go for, more power to you. Those of you seeking anything more from this game should probably look for an entirely different genre, however.
I hesitate to rate this game at all, seeing as I'm pretty inexperienced with fighting games as a whole and the works of Arc System Works (this and BlazBlue) in particular. However, we've reached the part of the review where I inevitably have to do it. Fanboys, please do not lynch me: It's pretty good, but for starting out I'd go for something a lot less hard-to-find, possibly even on a platform that has a fight-stick peripheral. Street Fighter IV, Soul Calibur V, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the new Mortal Kombat and BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (which is even by the same people as this) are probably safer bets.
Though, most of those don't let you disgrace Cloud Strife. Your call.
(Screenshots from GameFAQs, portrait of Order-Sol from Giant Bomb, box art from nobody in particular)
Fighting games, as a whole, don't really appeal to me, and it's not just because I have a tendency to suck at them. Nor is it the image they usually give off of a gated community who won't accept any newcomers as a real person unless they can do at least 6-combos in their sleep. The problem is that they aren't varied enough in terms of gameplay - you just walk back and forth, hitting buttons and hoping you'll pull out a combo once in a while. And speaking of combos, it tends to be needlessly hard to make the counter appear, let alone getting it above 3 or 4. So the question is: why the hell did I even buy a Guilty Gear game in the first place?
The initial answer: probably because it was cheap. Australian $15 cheap.
If it wasn't for the platform label, it would look like an anime DVD, right?
The first thing I noticed about Accent Core, and the Guilty Gear series in general, is that it's rather different to most other fighters in one major way: everyone has a weapon of some sort instead of just using fists and feet, with the occasional weapon-aided special move or fatality. The second thing I noticed was that these weapons include just about everything except a kitchen sink. Third thing: It still plays a lot like Street Fighter. However, the fact that it sets itself apart in this way is interesting to begin with. Does the initial novelty of a fighter with weapons (that aren't droppable, BTW, so they're just like extended fists) wear off, and if so how long does it take?
Context
Admit it: without the HUD, it would look like a still from a painfully shonen anime.
Admit it: without the HUD, it would look like a still from a painfully shonen anime.
The thing about developing for the Wii, I will admit, is that it's only a little more powerful than the PS2. However, that seems to lead a lot of people to underestimate the platform. Maybe it's because I didn't get the Plus version, but there aren't any story details besides win quotes at the end of battles in Arcade mode. And if they're meant to be there, then that's pretty annoying right off the bat.
It's therefore left to the graphics to explain the happenings - which they do a rather good job of, considering there's little exposition to back them up. The environments are at least visually varied, even if they are all just flat platforms of uniform length gameplay-wise (just like a Call of Duty game, easy joke). The character animations are all pretty well done too, in some cases actually showing off quite a bit more than the actual dialogue about the characterisation.
The weapons and their wielders alike run almost the entire anime gamut. (Pictured: Dragon Ball reject)
And maybe I was a little harsh to say it's the same as every other fighter: seeing as they aren't constrained by reality even as much as Street Fighter (or by graphical limitations like Mortal Kombat), they really can put a lot of difference into each of the characters. At the most reality-grounded (and easiest-to-play-as) part of the spectrum, there's the two sword-wielders, Sol and Ky (seme and uke respectively, usually). On the crazy end, there's Eddie, Potemkin, Dizzy, Zappa, A.B.A. and Faust. And there's plenty of characters seemingly sourced from every anime ever in the middle. From the win-quotes, you can tell they think as well as play reasonably differently...
Challenge
...which makes the game quite a bit harder, both to fight as and against certain characters.
...which makes the game quite a bit harder, both to fight as and against certain characters.
The game's manual does contain special move lists, removing part of the problem of learning a new character. Like every other fighting game, though, actually learning how and when to use all those attacks is the hard part. Not knowing the fighting style, or how best to field against it, of your opponent can leave you in a pretty bad place too - especially once you've won several matches in one of the single-player modes (the difficulty setting, I've heard, only affects 2P Vs. COM).
Eventually, you'll figure out who you work best with (May) and who you'll really hate seeing on stage 8/10 (Chipp). As I mentioned, though, combos are just as annoyingly hard to do for a layman as in every other fighting game that has a visible combo meter (so basically every fighter ever except Smash Bros.) Since the Wii also has no "fight stick" peripheral, it's recommended to use either a Classic or a Gamecube controller - I haven't used the Nunchuk yet, but I've little doubt it'd be hard to make work in anything other than Smash Bros.
Gratification
And you'll probably think "Holy crap..." the first time you get a 7-hit combo, too. ...We all start somewhere.
And you'll probably think "Holy crap..." the first time you get a 7-hit combo, too. ...We all start somewhere.
It's actually surprisingly fun just to wail on people with your chosen weapon, be it a sword, knife, anchor, chain-blades, hair, wing, giant key, etc. Even when you're not racking up combos with the best of them, even the first time you send someone into space it'll be pretty memorable (not to mention beating the boss...) It's particularly good if you happen to like shonen anime: this game has all the flashy fight scenes with very little of the boring talky bits in between. And if that's what you happen to go for, more power to you. Those of you seeking anything more from this game should probably look for an entirely different genre, however.
Conclusion
I hesitate to rate this game at all, seeing as I'm pretty inexperienced with fighting games as a whole and the works of Arc System Works (this and BlazBlue) in particular. However, we've reached the part of the review where I inevitably have to do it. Fanboys, please do not lynch me: It's pretty good, but for starting out I'd go for something a lot less hard-to-find, possibly even on a platform that has a fight-stick peripheral. Street Fighter IV, Soul Calibur V, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the new Mortal Kombat and BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (which is even by the same people as this) are probably safer bets.
Though, most of those don't let you disgrace Cloud Strife. Your call.
(Screenshots from GameFAQs, portrait of Order-Sol from Giant Bomb, box art from nobody in particular)