Perfect Time to Step Back into the Ring

There's a trend being adopted by gamers today that leaves me fuming... gamers who don't "get" the fighting genre. Several people have told me that they can't fathom any real value in a fighting game, much less the potential long term strengths.... the idea is that somehow fighting games are a lower class of the medium, much akin to the B movie or a trashy romance novel. They see it as something without substance, without meaning, and completely mindless.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

A good fighting game blends strategy that rivals the most balanced RTS system and reflexes/precision that rival the quickest twitch shooter. Frame advantage, hit boxes, invincibility frames, reversals, tick throws, corner traps, juggling, canceling, chaining, pokes, cross-ups, infinites... these are all technical terms in the fighting game community. You don't need to know what these mean in order to enjoy and love fighters, but the more you know, the more you appreciate a fighting game for what it truly is- a competitive tool.

Not everyone is ready to embrace the world of fighting games, and that's understandable. You have to learn the game mechanics and pacing. You have to develop muscle memory with your hands. You have to resist the urge to mash buttons. You have to experiment with your own style. Most gamers today don't want to sit and learn these things. Some get frustrated with losing and aren't willing to learn from their mistakes. Some simply don't have the time. Yet, some of these gamers are the same ones that criticize fighting games as a whole. It's a reckless, skin-deep analysis that completely shortchanges the amount of depth and planning that goes into the development of a good fighter...

All of this is especially relevant with the advent of Street Fighter IV, arguably the biggest fighting title to hit the gaming scene in five years. While brainstorming Street Fighter IV, Capcom had some difficult decisions to make. It is exceedingly important to strike a balance between both technical and intuitive gameplay in a fighting game, moreso than most other genres. They don't want to make the new fighting system a potential obstacle to newcomers, but they also don't want to alienate the hardcore fighting fan with derivative and simple gameplay.

Striking this balance is undoubtedly hard for developers. If you make a fighter too accomodating and mindlessly flashy, then you're left with an unbalanced mess. This is why Soul Calibur 3 is widely considered to be the weakest entry in the series (from a fighting mechanics perspective). It was less technical and more about speed/rushdowns. In Soul Calibur 4, they slowed the game quite a bit and took their time to balance it more. The same can be said for Dead or Alive 4. Tecmo hired outside consultants to refine and balance the gameplay from Dead or Alive 3. The results were soundly better sequels.

On the flipside, if you make a game too technical, then casual gamers won't give it a chance. And let's face it. Appealing to only the hardcore crowd does not result in the cashflow developers need. It certainly results in maintaining a certain standard, reputation, and staying power in the gaming community, but those don't pay the bills for the short term. Street Fighter III is an example of this. From a technical standpoint, it's fantastic, but the parry system was an aspect of gameplay that had such a steep learning curve that most players didn't bother with it. The game didn't feel as deceptively simple as Street Fighter II, nor as intuitive as the Alpha series. Additionally, completely refreshing the entire roster (with a few notable exceptions) was a bold move, but the lack of familiarity hurt them in sales. Its U.S. release on the failing Dreamcast further limited its exposure.



The approach that Capcom is taking with Street Fighter IV is a smart one. They played it safe with the roster, using largely old favorites, but adding six new characters to the mix. The "Focus Attack" is now the new Parry, flexible enough for advanced level play and mind games, but accessible enough for a non-fighter to wrap his/her head around. There are simpler and more forgiving input frames for special moves. Also, Street Fighter IV has been played and tested in arcades since July of last year. This affords Capcom the chance to watch how the characters are played and what their general weaknesses are against different styles. Some minor rebalancing has been done for the console release as a result.

Capcom decided to go with a 2.5D artstyle - 3D characters and environments fighting on a 2D plane. Street Fighter gameplay should be 2D and this was a wise decision. The 3D artstyle gives Capcom the opportunity to experiment with a dynamic camera and animations, giving the title a fresher look with more mass appeal. It plays old school without looking old school/niche. The 2D plane makes the game easier to swallow for newbies, but the gameplay is complex and rewarding. There's an entire new generation of gamers out there right now that Capcom needs to capture with Street Fighter for the first time and I think Capcom is going about it the right way.

The bottom line is, I think Street Fighter IV is going to be a really phenomenal way for more casual players to get into fighters again and rekindle that competitive spirit that seems to have quietly died along with the arcade scene. Capcom hasn't stiffed the hardcore fighter when making design changes either. Street Fighter IV has the potential to be a huge step in the resurgence of fighting games. Tekken 6 and King of Fighters XII both look to be incredibly promising hype generators for the near future and hopefully we'll be hearing about a home port of BlazBlue (AKA Guilty Gear XXX) soon. With any luck Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom will be released in the states some day.

So get your thumbs pumped! 2009 is shaping up to be a great year to get back into fighting games.