Skip to main content

Posts

More Than Just Netcode: Looking at the Fundamental Problems Fighting Games Face in Online Environments and How Developers and the FGC Can Continue to Adapt Amidst the Pandemic

Source: @tempusrob    The Fighting Game Community has always been largely intertwined with local play, especially with the scene being born in the 90s arcades. In-person competition has been a defining aspect for the genre and local venues played an extremely vital role in fostering the player base of fighting games. The FGC has helped people meet others, compete, and grow in both their skill and appreciation for the games that they play.       However, our world has dramatically changed in a way that has forced everyone, including the FGC, to adapt amidst the outbreak of COVID-19. Both major tournaments and local venues have been forced to close their doors, with players having to find ways to keep the scene alive and healthy in an online-only environment. The challenges that the FGC faces in 2020 are inc
Post a Comment
Read more
Recent posts

Final Fantasy VII: A Game About Life, Death and Becoming More Than the Sum of One’s Parts

Spoilers for the original Final Fantasy VII follow Few games have made as large of an impact on their respective genres and on the gaming industry as a whole as Final Fantasy VII did. Initially released on the Sony PlayStation in 1997, FFVII was a revolutionary title not just for JRPGs but for gaming altogether, creating a cinematic experience that the medium had never seen before. FFVII proved that games can tell emotional narratives unlike any other medium and the game has gone down in history as one of the greatest experiences video games have offered. FFVII’s story covers a wide amount but what ties it all together is an incredible message on the value of life and self-acceptance. The gaming industry has progressed significantly since FFVII’s release and when looking back at it, the game can definitely feel like a product of its time. However, FFVII’s age and shortcomings have not only reinforced why it became such an important landmark for games, but they also strengthen one of
Post a Comment
Read more

Granblue Fantasy Versus Review

The developers at Arc System Works have proven throughout the last few years that nobody makes anime fighting games quite like they do with their flashy and over the top style and in-depth, rewarding combat. Similar to their attempt to turn Dragon Ball into a 3v3 fighter in Dragon Ball FighterZ, their newest title "Granblue Fantasy Versus" sets out to give the juggernaut of a Japanese mobile game a 1v1 fighting game adaptation. While many in the West may not be deeply familiar with the series in which it's based on, Granblue Fantasy Versus is yet another exciting addition to Arc System Work's lineup of 2D anime fighters. Arguably the three most important aspects of fighting games are its characters, combat, and presentation and Granblue Fantasy Versus manages to go above and beyond with each one. Versus looks stunning with its highly stylized anime aesthetic with a similar 2D/3D animation style that has been honed since Guilty Gear Xrd and Dragon Ball F
Post a Comment
Read more

Weathering With You Is a Beautifully Animated, Endearing Love Story With a Thought-Provoking Message

Japanese Film Maker Makoto Shinkai captured audiences throughout the world with 2016's Your Name  and he now follows up the film with 2020's Weathering With You. The film focuses on teenage Hodaka who runs away from home to a modern-day Tokyo that has seen nonstop rain for a significant amount of time. Hodaka lives on the streets unable to obtain a place to stay until he finds work as a writer for an urban legend magazine. Rumors spread of a mysterious Sunshine Girl, who can control the weather. Hodaka's life is soon changed when he meets Hina, a girl who possesses the very same power to stop the rain. Weathering With You is an incredible experience that uses beautiful animation to tell a story that is both an endearing tale about young love and an allegory for the struggles that young people face today. One of  Weathering 's greatest accomplishments is the way it beautifully portrays the city of Tokyo both in its animation and in the story. The weather that enve
Post a Comment
Read more

Astral Chain Review

Platinum Games are masters in creating unique, vibrant and exhilarating action games with many of their projects such as Nier Automata and Bayonetta being some of the best in the genre. Their games focus on intensive, stylish combat and Astral Chain not only delivers on that front but is also one of Platinum's most unique games to date with its dual-character gameplay. Astral Chain places you in the role of a detective in a special police task force known as "Neuron" and your goal is to protect the futuristic city known as "The Ark" from mysterious creatures known as Chimeras. Using the Astral Chain, you tie yourself together with different Chimeras of your own known as Legions and take control of yourself and your Legion simultaneously throughout the game. Astral Chain's presentation is gorgeous and the game is easily one of the best looking games on Nintendo Switch. The sci-fi anime art style is striking and while the game runs at 30 FPS, it does
Post a Comment
Read more

My Hopes for Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition

With Xenoblade Chronicles being one of my favorite games of all time, I am over the moon about the Definitive Edition coming to Switch next year. Not only is the game getting a major graphical facelift but new content will be coming to the game in the form of Bionis’s Shoulder which was a cut area that players found after data mining the game. I believe that we will be getting a lot more new content than just one area so here’s 10 of my hopes for additions and changes in Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition. Event Viewer Many of the changes that I wish to see come from additions that Xenoblade Chronicles 2 implemented and this first hope is one of them. Event Viewer was added in a patch in Xenoblade 2 and it allowed players to rewatch any of the full-motion cutscenes from the story. The mode also lets players change the ti
Post a Comment
Read more

Promare Burns Bright as One of Studio Trigger's Best Works.

I’ve had my eye on Trigger’s ‘Promare’ since it was announced for a US Theatrical Release. It’s the studio’s first feature length film straight from the people behind Kill La Kill and Gurren Lagann, two of my favorite anime of all time. I had high hopes for Promare because of that and I’m so happy to say that it more than delivered. Promare’s everything that Trigger is known for in full force and is a love letter to the studio’s past work. Promare takes place 30 years after The Great World Blaze, a near cataclysmic event caused by humans that spontaneously combust into flames that ravaged the entire earth. These flame-wielding humans, now known as the Burnish, are discriminated against and branded as criminals with society reconstructing itself to withstand themselves against the Burnish threat. One such defense is the mech piloting firefighting troop Burning Rescue and over the course of the plot, new recruit Galo Thymos fights with his team to combat
Post a Comment
Read more