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Rusted Blade
[14] Master
I mean, I'm not discrediting your opinion but I think for a lot of people this feels a lot better than SCIV and V. Entries that could easily by a lot of people who enjoyed past games be called boring or not so enjoyable with their peculiar choices at times. Something that started at SC3 in particular.
Well I'm not nonplussed, but mostly because I don't see how that point would be discrediting of my own opinion, since that was in essence the same argument I advanced. If you review my post I think you'll find that I every explicitly say this is a middle of the pack game, and that's consistent with at least a handful of games in the franchise being worse, regardless of whatever subjective/idiosyncratic crtieria one uses to rank the games. Now personally, I don't think SCIV is remotely in the same class of "disappointment on arrival" factor when compared against SCV. Though honestly I grew to begrudgingly respect even V as a legitimate entry (albeit the favourite of just about no one).
As to SCIII, it's a difficult case, isn't it? Do we count only the best features of the console and arcade variants with their drastic differences in content and balance? The PS3 version was packed with more content than arguably any other game in the sequence, but was fundamentally broken with regard to basic mechanics, bugs, and balance, while the System 246 edition was fundamentally as clean and well-balanced as any final tournament-worthy edition in the series, but cut the lion's share of the console version's content. Do we create a combined standard with scores in each category that reflect the peaks achieved by each game, or do we just weigh each version individually. And it's not an academic question either: if we treat it like essentially one game, imagining an ideal version that had all of SCIII:CE's content, combined with the technical standard of SCIII:AE, it would unquestionably be the best game in the series, but if it we just have to choose the better of the two games (that is SCIII:AE), it's another game that's just in the middle of the pack.
This seems like a bit of a false analogy to me: not all games are equal in terms of how risky spamming is, in even the remotest sense. As to the specific assertion that this is not a particularly "rinse and repeat" experience for a Soul Calibur game or a fighter generally, I can't think of a single statement regarding this entry I would disagree with more--SoulCalibur has never been more expressly (as in, literally as described by the devs) more engineered towards casual and online play. Features like RE discourage new players from learning and utilizing the traditional rock-paper-scissors dynamics that constitute the fundamentals of the gameplay in this series, which is just one factor which clearly leads to more spamming. However such issues would be somewhat trivial--it's really the mediocre netcode and truly awful matchmaking system that make the issues a hundredfold worse. My friend, no one signs up for that! ;)The only thing that feels like a chore in SCVI to me is spammers, something that happens in any game known to man so I wont complain. Its about as rinse repeat as any fighting game will get in my opinion, its kind of what you sign up for in a sense.
Well, the creation feature is doing a lot of the heavy lifting to keep the franchise afloat, I think, so live with it and let people have their little cosplay models. :) As for single player--good lord dude, you think the game needs more single player content? It is already unbalanced in that respect, after two over-long and boring-as-shit modes, the resources for which are the precise reason the other features you discuss immediately below are lacking. The game is in my opinion broken probably more in this respect--that is, the relative amount of time and resources put into the campaign modes vs. other fundamental components--than any other. You can't have it all--they had/have a tiny budget for this game.I wish there was a single player mode that used the main characters however other than Soul Chronicle because I personally loathe CAS creations unless they're the main characters altered. (I admit to enjoying humor creations personally though.)
Well as to those features, they are my priorities too, but that's one reason I am underwhelmed with SCVI. The roster is limited and the stages are--there's just no way around it--the worst selection in the franchise history. A smaller selection than any game since SoulEdge, and static, bland, uninspired design for most. Now I do believe, at least as far as rosters go, I do think this game could go from being lackluster to the best game in the series (and indeed, I sad as much previously). But as to content generally, I don't think a richness of the features is a well-fitting argument for SCVI's virtues, as its actually incredibly skimpy right now in every dimension except the length of the single player campaigns--and even then, to say that those modes are padded and dull of cookie-cutter design and an underwhelming story would all be an understatement. Everything else--roster, stage selection, number of non-campaign single player, number of multiplayer and online modes, and every other form of auxiliary content, is about as spartan as any game in this series has been since SCII onward.I just want more variety, characters, maps and such as for me I've haven't enjoyed an entry like this in a long time.
The gimmics aren't so terrible either, I mean you're on your toes for what the next character each time really which adds to it, you're not constantly approaching the fight in the same exact way each time. Something that I felt personally kind of happened mostly in SCIV/V. Viola and Zwei in a sense kind broke this and I'm glad the characters are more unique now. The enhanced movement has also emphasized this even more heavily since fast or acrobatic characters can have much more influence. SCIV/V just kind of shut down ways to play in my opinion.
In SC4 I never would have thought much about how Talim or Taki would approach me. SCV was an improvement despite the GI change.
I understand people being averse to, Soul Charge, Critical Edge and Reversal Edge since they've never been in the series like this before and people preferred the past simplicity.
Well, I'm not sure I follow your arguments there in places, but as to the first statement, I mean...it's gimmicks on top of gimmicks on top of gimmicks. It's gimmicks all the way down, homie! What drives me nuts is that they are actively courting the casual audience with features like the RE panic button--again, not in my opinion, the devs are very much on the record as to their objectives and design decisions here, and I respect that they are at least being transparent/upfront about it--but then behind this first layer of gimmicks supposedly there to make the learning curve a little more manageable for newbies, they make this game bar-none the most convoluted game in the series. I mean hoooly shit, is there so much to keep track of, even by SoulCalibur standards.
And I'm not just talking about the huge movesets you reference above (bigger now than ever because of the new Soul Charge) and the effort of setting characters apart in that respect--I'm all for that, 100%. And I'm not even talking about learning to study frame data (which we fans are still expected to reconstruct ourselves because we supposedly "enjoy it"!?!) and studiously investigating match-ups, which are basically required for competent play at this point. But in addition to increased moveset options and variations on returning features like the guard gauge and impacts being connected to it, the lethal hit system is just plain tediously idiosyncratic, not only making some just absurdly narrow in application, but also just becoming a bit of a chore to memorize and work into one's repertoire. "On every third counterhit following a round you lost to a male or neuter character, results in guard crush--except upon first and third Tuesdays and weekends in month numbering less than 31 days, in which case, shifts to Hyperbole Stance."
I mean, yeah, an exaggeration, but honestly not by much in terms of how situational some of this stuff is. Which, alright fine--it's going to greatly prolong the task of balancing the game as people become more knowledgeable and consistent with them, but fine, let's just call that more depth. If I, as a die-hard fan who has been playing these games for more than two decades now, am finding this all to be a lot to tackle and integrate into a competitive strategy, how do the newbies feel? And why is the perceived solution "Oh, I know, more panic button options they can hit to omni-block incoming threats and slow down the game for a minute, whatever it does to the overall pacing and flow."? This game just has something of an identity crisis going on right now, I feel. The features often times work at cross-purposes and just throw the experience out of whack, I feel. Which is why we are seeing such drastic changes to core features in recent patches.
Now clearly the poll suggests I may be in the minority in my assessment even among the hardcore crowd, since I do think this board is more hardcore than casual in character (although clearly we have a mix of fans). But I stand by my assessment: SCVI is a capable entry and a step in the right direction. But for me, it is very much middle of the pack overall.
I agree things are on looking generally positive for the first time in a while, but for me SCII-SCIV is the most impressive arc of the series, so I suspect we just have different priorities in what we expect from a SC game.I respect the way you do see it however and don't disregard it at all. The best I can say however is at the very least Soulcalibur VI is signalling a much brighter future for the series by the looks of it than what SCIII/IV/V did we can only hope things get better, which I hope they do.
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