People are back from Frosty Faustings, so what better time to post?
What is Vortex Gallery?
Vortex Gallery (fka AnimEVO) is back with its second online event next weekend. Running from Feb 10-Mar 5, the event brings games old and new to the forefront. I've spent a lot of time in the FGC (nearly 4 years), most of it online, playing what I could find on Fightcade. I'm going to talk about those games, some of which you might not have heard of!
I've decided to split up these posts by the week, since registration closes in waves - on Feb 8th for the weekend of Feb 10-12th, etc.
Vortex Gallery enters its second week, so here's another post detailing the games you can join on Fightcade. If you're not familiar, Fightcade is a platform that lets people play arcade games online - 90% of the time, that's fighting games. This is why we're here.
Week 2 registration closes Feb 15th, with tournaments Feb 17-19th.
It's the third week of Vortex Gallery, the annual fighting game tournament that brings the most unlikely games together. This week is going to be a little short on Fightcade games. There's only 3 of them, and 2 of them are pretty personal to me, so let's get started.
Week 3 registration closes Feb 22nd, with tournaments Feb 24-26th.
Friday, February 24th, 2023
4pm PST - Alien Challenge (Global)
Alien Challenge is the first fighting game by IGS of Taiwan. Its bizarre scenario and character design would stand out plenty, but it's also a mess gameplay-wise. This is a 6-button fighter where combos typically don't work, except when you cancel into specials. Sometimes this is because the special becomes unblockable. In fact, a lot of characters loop into their DP (often on 214P instead of 623P, but who's counting). One of the characters, Melanie, shoots her breastplate as a fireball.
It's kind of shocking that IGS would go on to develop games like Martial Masters, but it takes practice to make games that look and feel good. On the other hand, Alien Challenge is like a trainwreck in that it's hard to look away from. Also, the wacky character names are played a lot more seriously in their original Chinese. Melanie is Hua Mulan, and the ninja Jean Paul is Shen Long, among others. Whatever Alien Challenge is trying to be... I guess it succeeds in being memorable.
5pm PST - Samurai Shodown 3 (Global)
Samurai Shodown 3 is perhaps the most poorly regarded game in the series. It's also the game that got me into streaming (in early 2020) and helped me make lifelong friends. I could have written a snappy intro, this game has no shortage of bits and memes surrounding it. I'd rather be honest, though, and this scene was built up through a worldwide effort, from Japan to Australia to Kuwait. I wouldn't have stuck with fighting games like I did if I hadn't bonded with people over a game, regardless if it's good or bad.
There is no cult around Samurai Shodown 3: Blades of Blood for the NeoGeo. The wiki sums up SS3 as "the anime Samsho your mom warned you about". To really illustrate what a departure from the series SS3 is, let's look at its unique mechanics:
-Pre-round movement (think Marvel)
-Slash and Bust Techniques*
-Air Blocking
-Back hit combos leading to infinites*
-Terribly slow (14f) normal throws
-Command grabs (3f) work through blockstun
-Spot dodge and circle step*
-Deflect-guard OS
-Guard cancels (only for Basara and Gaira)
-Stun**
*Also in Samsho 4
**Also in Samsho 1 and 2
Perhaps a symptom of its rushed development, or focus on a striking new art style, Samsho 3 cut fan favorites like Charlotte and Jubei. To make up for this they introduced Slash and Bust, initially Shura and Rasetsu, often localized as Chivalry and Treachery... I think "Face" and "Heel" would've worked. The techniques change your special moves, resulting in some distinct characters, but you might see a split moveset if you're used to later games. For example, Slash Genjuro has his command grab, but Bust Genjuro adds the iconic Oukazan (card) bounce, which enables him to set up unblockables.
Samsho 3 served to codify Samsho from the button layout of A/B/C for slashes and D for kicks to deflects being a sort of catch-counter. Even these have their wrinkles, namely that Basara can't deflect or be punished when deflected, and this still doesn't save him from being the worst chatacter in the game. Amakusa - the second-worst - has a stun combo that consists of 4 crouching kicks. Samsho 3 has many problems, but it's endlessly entertaining for it.
It's also not a game entirely about offense, despite what you'd expect. When watching Japan play, people would liberally abuse the spotdodge, which allows you to cancel recovery into normals. Between spot dodges, air blocking, and how weak normal throws are, someone can easily play hard-to-open-up. That's not even touching on Bust Nakoruru, who is immune to throws while riding the wolf (except Bust Gaira's command grab!)
We always used to get on a voice call with 4 or 5 people to channel the chaos, and this tournament will be no exception. It won't quite be our largest, but it's up there already. Samsho 3 was always a modestly-sized game, rarely breaking 16 entrants. That didn't matter. It was beautiful and uniquely us. Besides, Toast Rider hasn't played this SS3 before, so seeing his reaction will be priceless.
Saturday, February 25th, 2023
Nothing!
If you want something retro-minded that's easy to follow, there's Samurai Shodown (2019), run on Xbox series X. This "Enhanced" edition is a visual improvement, and runs at 120fps and is more responsive.
There's also the Rivals of Aether (NA+LAN), open to North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. You might already know about Rivals, but if not, it's probably the most prominent platform fighter - far from a mere "Smash clone".
Sunday, February 26th, 2023
5pm PST - Dan-Ku-Ga (NA+SA)
Taito was never known for their fighting games, despite their foothold in many arcade-standard genres. I'm going to keep repeating this because the payoff is really funny. Anyway, Dan-Ku-Ga is a Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition to Kaiser Knuckle, a good-looking game that didn't have much impact. Okay, that's only partly true, because everyone knows The General as the truest final boss of figrhing games.
Taken on its own, DKG is a visionary title, including a well-balanced juggle system, a comeback mechanic in the Crush meter, and a training mode in-game. You have a roster of 11 unique characters, some obvious Fighting Game Archetypes like Kazuya (the shoto), some fresh creations like Boggy, the dancing master. It's a 6-button fighter, but you can jump-cancel air normals and everyone has a divekick. Footsies is the name of the game, and stage position is huge when some moves can't be punished unless the attacker is cornered. Thankfully, there's free guard cancels with any special, keeping otherwise strong offense in check.
As far as combos go, you can start juggles with specific special moves. Grounded combos typically involve links and special cancels. You can also juggle up to 6 times before they're forced down, or end with 2 air normals. This all comes together to generally force characters to overextend, fishing for anti-air or air-to-air hits for big damage and stun. Gekkou, for example, can only juggle with his air tatsu, and has other options like an air shuriken and a free double jump. However, he lacks reversal that isn't a throw, which means you can easily put him in a bad spot.
Some of my favorite characters, just in terms of concept, are Marco and Gonzales. Marco has a head-tossing projectile that stuns, and uses his rocket punch and slide to close in and mix you up. If you jump, his mash move (that doubles as an invincible reversal) juggles you. Gonzales, on the other hand, is so specialized his only specials are throws and an invincible roll. Despite his eclectic design - Spanish name, Judo gi, Davy Crockett cap - his fighting style does mirror Judo, consisting of aborted throw setups... and a Cossack dance, because he's Russian. His super has him throw you into space, in what's probably the first example of this kind of move in fighting games.
I've been trying to get Dan-Ku-Ga noticed since late 2020, as a game on par with SF2:CE or Fatal Fury Special. A slower-paced game, but one that's still exciting and rewarding to figure out. I think a lot of people are scared off by how good Kazuya's fireball game is, and for a while Justin Wong himself would clean house with him. That said, I met Zar, a bit of a hermit among poverty fighters, a man who plays anything from Eternal Fighter Zero to TMNT: Tournament Fighters and plays it well. He taught me to look for all the little things, like ways to punish autopilot sweep-fireball or fireball-fireball strings. To cut your losses and take damage to get data on the player. Wherever he's at, I hope I get to play Zar offline one day.
So far I've only played one other player offline, Mibeador. He's one of our best players in this currently NA-centric scene. He's really good at Akatsuki Blitzkampf. Being good at games is cool, but being a leader, a friend, someone who moves people to play a game... that's rewarding, too. I've been ranting too long, but my point is that Dan-Ku-Ga is amazing. It did get some acknowledgment, a first official release on the Egret II Mini, but I want more. I'm hoping it gets a more accessible port, like many games through Arcade Archives, and I'd like to run it at a major like Combo Breaker.
