I was assigned to preview this title at this year’s E3, so it’s only natural that I picked it up to do the review. Review’s not ready yet, but I’ve really been enjoying this game. Same fighter mechanics as VF4, only with two new characters, and a really sweet “quest mode” that has you going to arcades all over tokyo, kicking ass, buying accessories, and working up to the “Big Tournament”.
Has anyone else been playing it? What are your thoughts?
Not yet, but probably going to pick it up - all the reviews are very positive and at a low price point (20$), can’t go too wrong.
One complaint, since I can find something to complain about in anything: the new characters don’t really do it for me.
I’m sure someone will master them and prove to me that they’re worthy of being part of the VF4 lineup. Indeed, Goh does have a few moves that intrigue me and just about make me want to try him out. But overall, nah, I’m just not feeling them, dawg. I immediately wanted to master Vanessa and Lei Fei when VF4 came out because they were just too damn great. One had the most painful array of moves I’ve seen in any of these games, and the other had classic Shaolin skills that’ll never go out of style. I was definitely down with them like a stock market crash. But now - Goh looks like he’d be more at home in Tekken, and Brad is just way too generic even by VF’s rather generic standards. Granted, I know VF has always had mostly generic fighters and in a roundabout way that actually made them stand out from most fighting games. But come on, there’s Jacky-generic, where you’ve got “yet another spiky-haired punk-rock type you’ve seen in a million different games now”, but at least he’s got ridiculously good skillz. Then there’s Brad, who’s generic like Jacky but lacks any actual fighting pizazz to make up for it. He doesn’t have outlandish moves like Lei Fei, his attacks don’t look like they fucking HURT the way Vanessa’s do, etc… I’m just not down. If he really is effective, then it’s the most boring kind of effective you’ll find in the game.
Having said that, on balance it’s still a top-notch game. I daresay the hardest-difficulty AI is tougher, although according to some of the kids on GameFAQs there are still quite a few exploits to discover. I think the AI of VF4 is more impressive than any other fighter I’ve played. And I will forever hate fighting against Akira.
There’s much more unlockable stuff besides just getting VF1-style models or additional wigs - I think my favorites are the bonus videos of the guy playing the arcade version of the game one-handed for chrissake and pulling off ten±hit combos with Kage. WHAT THE HELL IS THAT. I get the feeling that he honestly has no life outside of VF4, yet despite that he still made me feel incredibly inadequate.
Equally great are the replays showing off Chibita’s MADD skills with Lion. I always hated Lion both because his shittalk is so weak AND because I never saw anyone use him well despite his funky style. After watching Chibita in action… damn! I hate to think of how easily that guy would just kick my bitch ass around.
Having played it, I can see why they’re only charging $20. I honestly don’t think there’s enough extras to warrant a $40-50 price. But it’s the best $20 I’ve spent since Serious Sam.
I’m willing to bet that the 20$ budget pricetag will automagically transform into a premium-new-game pricetag as soon as the game is shipped across the Atlantic.
I’m willing to bet that the 20$ budget pricetag will automagically transform into a premium-new-game pricetag as soon as the game is shipped across the Atlantic.
IIRC it was already confirmed that this is indeed going to happen. Go us.