Then they should rather regulate it, balance it, than completely remove it. Still rather excessive statement. If something doesn’t work, they should fix it instead of just deleting it from the game entirely.
I disagree. That stuff is what makes a game flavourful, it is the seasoning of game, what makes it different from the rest, what makes it fun and interesting to look at and play.
If you remove all that, it’s just like serving a steak raw. And that’s just disgusting, no one wants to eat that, might as well give it to your dog. You need to cook the steak and add flavour to it to make it worth serving, maybe even add some vegetables, some potatoes, some sauce, and of course the right wine to go with it. Same with fighting games. If you JUST focus on the main gameplay stuff, then it’s not interesting or fun.
Saying that it might as well not exist is not a suggestion to capcom to delete it. It’s a statement about how harshly its effectiveness has been cut, to the point where it’s just not worth using outside of combos.
I disagree in return. I get enough flavour from things like MK’s eclectic character designs, KI’s insane kitchen sink cast, music, artstyle and the like. Gameplay itself lends a lot of individuality to how games feel: put together a conservative SF, less conservative KI and some mad airdasher here, they will be different no matter how they look.
To further your analogy, to me no cosmetic element like those mentioned in the OP can play a role of potatoes and vegetables as well as Aganos’ chunks or Kan-Ra’s arsenal, or adherence to certain baseline system associated with a game, such as MK’s “target combo everything” or block button.
That said, I actually like my FGs pretty and expressive. For example, I think MKX / IGAU2 character intro system is amazing and is something worth aspiring to (as long as you have extra funds to sink ofc). I think that solid aesthetical design of characters and environments cannot be substituted by having great gameplay. Heck, I’m a huge sucker for decent graphics.
There’s a thing though. Those elements do not interfere with gameplay. You can listen to massive number of intros in MKX… Or you can skip them entirely. You can enjoy the picture… While training or kicking ■■■ online. That’s why I prefer MKX brand of brutalities or KI’s ultimates over fatalities and ultras respectively - they aren’t longer than standard outros so they bring their “flavour” without disrupting anything else for anyone.
In the end, I don’t mind things you’ve mentioned. In fact, I don’t even mind stuff like gear system from IGAU2 - as long as there is “competitive mode” with all that disabled, and it’s default in ranked.
For the record, it seems that NRS are taking notes. Their latest arena in IGAU2 has a transition that is several times shorter than usual. I really don’t mind if the event is kept short an concise tbh.
But stuff like Fatalities, Ultimates, Ultra Combos etc. don’t get in the way of the gameplay and doesn’t prevent you from doing anything in-game.
Time-consumers… maybe. I can see that point. But that’s what flavour is. It’s there to make you enjoy what you digest. If you just want flavourless porridge that’s all about nutrition and no taste, then that’s all up to you. Indeed, the nutrition, which in this case is the analogy to the gameplay, is VERY important! It’s what makes the fighting game a fighting game, and without it, it just wouldn’t be a fighting game. So I am definitely not saying that it shouldn’t be there, on the contrary! I am just personally not interested in JUST having that. I like the flavour, I like all the other stuff that makes the game interesting.
Costumes, colours, finishers, story modes, stage transitions, etc… I think that stuff is awesome!
I am fully aware that some people just want to practise with a character for a bit and then go straight into online and fight others without all the other stuff. Fair enough. But the majority of people who play these games, who buy the games, the consumers, they buy the games because of all the other stuff that makes the game unique from the rest. And that’s the flavour. And without it, the game is considered raw… unfinished… flavourless.
It’s a balance that developers need to consider. They shouldn’t make the game all raw, but they shouldn’t ignore the core of the game and just put tons and tons amounts of fluff in it, just to try and make it sell. A healthy balance of both is needed.
Thing is though… people have different opinions, they want different things, and developers can’t please them all. So they have to compromise.
They prevent me from looking for the next match (which is exactly getting in the way of gameplay as far as I’m concerned) or moving on with whatever else I was going to do.
I, personally, absolutely don’t enjoy watching the same clip over and over again, especially when I don’t see anything enjoyable about them at all in the first place. Like you said, opinions.
I’m not saying those things shouldn’t be in the game, but when there is a perfect opportunity to not force them on those who aren’t interested, which is competitive mode, isn’t that the solution and a compromise you are talking about?
A compromise would be to have them for those who want them, but you’d be able to skip it when losing to someone online, so you can start searching for another match.
It wouldn’t be a compromise if they didn’t add that stuff just to please competitive players. That would be catering to a specific group.
Hmm, I guess you’re right, actually. But hey, they did that with the level 4 enders, so a skip Ultra button function should be possible as well. I can see what you mean how that would be a problem when doing sets with the same guy, if that guy continues to make loooong Ultra combos, but then you could get the option to search for a new opponent.
Dead or Alive has some pretty cool stage stuff. It may not be as action-packed as Injustice but there’s definitely a lot. I personally think Dead or Alive has some of the best stage-involved gameplay in fighting games right now. Better than Injustice IMO.
DOA4 has stair grabs. Nice thing about this I think is that it’s realistic and not some scene from a Michael Bay movie. It’s like something you’d see in a real martial arts movie.
And then DOA5 had the Michael Bay stages. Not gonna post a video cuz there are a lot. Trust me when I say they were good though. Trust me.
