What Are You Currently Playing? 5.05: You Are (Not) A Gamer

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I wish I could say that I had a favorite character in the game, but I still suck so bad in general that there isn't even a single character that I'm adequate with, let along actually good at using. The problem is that the timing in this game is incredibly strict and I still utterly suck at linking combos together. Successfully executing advanced and complex maneuvers in training mode is one thing, but actually trying to do it in a real match against another human opponent is next to impossible for me at my current level of skill. For every time I manage to pull off the combo that I intend to successfully, I seem to completely botch it on at least 9 other attempts. Honestly, even the timing required in any of the SNK fighting games that I have played seem lenient in comparison to SSF4's strict mechanics.

[Grave]

I wish I could say that I had a favorite character in the game, but I still suck so bad in general that there isn't even a single character that I'm adequate with, let along actually good at using. The problem is that the timing in this game is incredibly strict and I still utterly suck at linking combos together. Successfully executing advanced and complex maneuvers in training mode is one thing, but actually trying to do it in a real match against another human opponent is next to impossible for me at my current level of skill. For every time I manage to pull off the combo that I intend to successfully, I seem to completely botch it on at least 9 other attempts. Honestly, even the timing required in any of the SNK fighting games that I have played seem lenient in comparison to SSF4's strict mechanics.

I feel your pain. I'm terrible with combos as well (Considering now that I've gotten some free time, I'm going to actually spend about 2-3 hours in training mode alone). My best character is Cody and while I hit some combos I also botch those same combos as well, but then again, because it's Cody (his damage output is high), I can keep things relatively simple and try to punish with Standing Heavy Punch > HP Criminal Upper. I would tell you to try and plink, but I find that technique is rather difficult on the standard controller (especially when it comes to 1-frame links) The part that's bolded. Many people will tell you, myself included (although I need to follow the same advice), you need to work on your footsies and hit-confirms before trying to work on combos.

If you're playing the shoto's, one combo you can get away with against your friends and the cpu is jab, jab, jab, sweep.

I heard that the execution in KOF13 is actually a lot more strict than SSF4. I don't know if that's true or not though.

[gunswordfist]

We finally beat Hard mode on Gunstar Heroes yesterday. The last bosses consisted of us having to run away/around them too much to survive. After the 2nd of I think the two times I got to Green, I beat him after lots of dodging. That wasn't really that much fun. Anyway, I was just glad that I got to Golden Silver. I didn't last too long because I barely survived the other bosses. Then we both got to start at him. For the first time all game I wasn't constantly peeking at the boss' health because I knew we had nothing else to worry about and more importantly, we were having a ton of fun. I did not appreciate the boss fight enough because I didn't realize he never goes up in the air and floats in place on Hard because I was expecting him to get another health meter to do that or something. Thank God he didn't. The one part I didn't care for in Normal was gone. I couldn't ask for much more.

So at the start of the next hour we will try Hardest mode for the first time.

[Rynnec]

I heard that the execution in KOF13 is actually a lot more strict than SSF4. I don't know if that's true or not though.

I dunno about SSFIV, but I can confirm that KOFXIII's combo execution is indeed very strict. I can still get through Arcade Mode just fine, but it wasn't until I watched a few combo videos of my mains that I was able to pull of any combo's intentionally, and even then they're just realatively basic ones.

It's still a fun game though, and I reccomend giving it a shot.

[Grave]

I heard that the execution in KOF13 is actually a lot more strict than SSF4. I don't know if that's true or not though.

I dunno about SSFIV, but I can confirm that KOFXIII's combo execution is indeed very strict. I can still get through Arcade Mode just fine, but it wasn't until I watched a few combo videos of my mains that I was able to pull of any combo's intentionally, and even then they're just realatively basic ones.

It's still a fun game though, and I reccomend giving it a shot.

I've been meaning to give it a shot. It's just a matter of getting around to it. I know I want to make a team that consist of K, Terry and Kyo/Iori.

I do think it sucks that the netcode in KOF13 is terrible (at least from what I've been hearing) because I'd love to see more footage of the game being played.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I feel your pain. I'm terrible with combos as well (Considering now that I've gotten some free time, I'm going to actually spend about 2-3 hours in training mode alone). My best character is Cody and while I hit some combos I also botch those same combos as well, but then again, because it's Cody (his damage output is high), I can keep things relatively simple and try to punish with Standing Heavy Punch > HP Criminal Upper. I would tell you to try and plink, but I find that technique is rather difficult on the standard controller (especially when it comes to 1-frame links) The part that's bolded. Many people will tell you, myself included (although I need to follow the same advice), you need to work on your footsies and hit-confirms before trying to work on combos.

Yeah, that's the other thing. Aside from combos there are so many other mechanics in this game to keep in mind that it can get pretty ridiculous. You basically have to be able to multi-task and keep track of everything your opponent is doing in order to try and predict what they'll dish out toward you. My problem is that in the heat of battle, there are certain elements of strategy that I just fail to pay attention to on my opponent's part, and I end up getting completely punished by attacks that I should be able to avoid. It gives me a ton of respect for the videos I see of pro players going at it in this game. Those guys are on a league that I'll never even come close to, no matter how much I play this game. That said, the game is still just a lot of fun, and at the end of the day I'm not that competitive, so I can't really complain.

If you're playing the shoto's, one combo you can get away with against your friends and the cpu is jab, jab, jab, sweep.

Thanks for the advice. I'll keep that in mind.

I heard that the execution in KOF13 is actually a lot more strict than SSF4. I don't know if that's true or not though.

It may be. To be honest, I've only played the older SNK games, and the timing in those feel more lenient to me, but I wouldn't be surprised in the more recent KOF games are far more mechanically strict and technical.

[Grave]

Yeah, that's the other thing. Aside from combos there are so many other mechanics in this game to keep in mind that it can get pretty ridiculous. You basically have to be able to multi-task and keep track of everything your opponent is doing in order to try and predict what they'll dish out toward you. My problem is that in the heat of battle, there are certain elements of strategy that I just fail to pay attention to on my opponent's part, and I end up getting completely punished by attacks that I should be able to avoid. It gives me a ton of respect for the videos I see of pro players going at it in this game. Those guys are on a league that I'll never even come close to, no matter how much I play this game. That said, the game is still just a lot of fun, and at the end of the day I'm not that competitive, so I can't really complain.

Yep, and while I'm not nearly as competitive as I once was, I do enjoy that chess-like aspect of the game. Neither you or your opponent knows what each other is going to do in the heat of battle (unless one of you bait each other) makes things a lot more interesting and hype. Players are forced to think in the thick of battle (some may get exposed). Now as far as getting punished by attacks that you should be able to avoid, if it's by a human opponent then they're doing mix-ups or perhaps unblockables. CPU, well, CPU is straight garbage (Do not fight Ryu or Seth). But yeah, like you, I still find fun in all this madness even though I do dabble online for some games here and there.

Thanks for the advice. I'll keep that in mind.

Make sure those are crouching jabs btw lol.

You may not want to because of all the DLC BS (which is totally understandable), but Street Fighter x Tekken may be right up your alley if you want to develop footsies and hit-confirms since that game is based more on the fundamentals (the links aren't nearly as hard as they are in SSF4)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bRcDAGz5ts

That stuff get's me hype.

[Foggle]

So I made the mistake of revisiting another game from my childhood (or thereabouts). Conker's Bad Fur Day. Wow.

The entirety of this game is an exercise in frustration. It's not even hard, it's just fucking annoying to play. You've got your bad N64 camera, your bad N64 frame rate, your awful swimming levels, your lame vehicle stages, your repetitive fetch quests, your tedious shooting... while I still love the music and voice acting, and respect the sense of adventure and level progression it provides, it's just utterly lacking in fun. All the difficulty comes from the level design being obtuse and the controls having aged poorly.

At the end of the day, it's funny, and has some great ideas, but it makes me angrier than almost any other game I've played to date. I can find almost nothing enjoyable in it. I only played it to the end out of a sense of obligation and nostalgia.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I just got past Mermaid Cave in Oracle of Ages. OK, I have to admit, while I like mini-games in Zelda, I'm not so sure I like the idea of them having to be mandatory in order for you to gain access to the next dungeon. I especially hate how I had to do that stupid dancing mini-game twice, which IMO just happens to be the worst and most frustrating one to get down right.

As for the dungeon itself, I like how creative this one was, with how you had to visit it in both the past and the present. That said, there was one particular puzzle that actually ended up forcing me to look up a guide for the first time while playing this game (I may have had to do it way back in the past, as well), which I absolutely hate doing, but honestly it was a pretty stupid puzzle. I'm not sure if the designers just forgot to put in some kind crack in the wall to indicate that you could blast open a hole in that area with a bomb, but the programmers apparently just expected players to somehow assume that they needed to place a bomb against the north wall in one room just right of the center. There wasn't even an owl statue to give out any clues on the matter. There is just no way anyone could figure out they needed to do that without looking up a guide, or by experiencing sheer, dumb luck. Either way, it was a poorly designed puzzle, IMO, so I'm not completely regretful that I looked up how to get past that.

Also, the boss fight was surprisingly easy for this dungeon, as all I had to do was just wait for him to turn his back on me and then slash him repeatedly, and occasionally I would dive underwater to damage him as well. After a very challenging and puzzle-heavy boss from the Crown Dungeon, this one required no strategy whatsoever, and was disappointingly anticlimactic, IMO. That said, the rest of the dungeon was pretty good in level design, and the game is still awesome on the whole, so I can't complain too much.

[Nel_Annette]

If there are two things I'd fault the Oracle games for, it's the stealth bits (specifically the Subrosians in Seasons) and those goddamn mandatory mini-games. I remember loathing the dancing one, because I always, always fucked it up.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

If there are two things I'd fault the Oracle games for, it's the stealth bits (specifically the Subrosians in Seasons) and those goddamn mandatory mini-games. I remember loathing the dancing one, because I always, always fucked it up.

I'm not going to lie. I actually ran out of money at one point in all of the attempts I had spent trying to complete that first dancing mini-game, and I actually had to leave to farm some more money. Needless to say, I was beyond infuriated when I realized that I had to repeat that stupid thing all over again in the past.

[talonmalon333]

That section before the Mermaid dungeon was, if I remember correctly, the only part of Ages I wasn't a fan of.

[gunswordfist]

Just got done failing to beat Hardest mode on Gunstar Heroes with my baby brother. That's 2 days in a row that we failed to get past Stage 5.

[Commode]

Just finished Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon.  Fantastic little game. 

Only problem is now I have nothing to play until my shipment of DKCR 3D/Fire Emblem Awakening/Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate comes in.

[Spark Of Spirit]

SMB2 on the Wii-U VC. Still one of the best NES games.

Just finished Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon.  Fantastic little game. 

Only problem is now I have nothing to play until my shipment of DKCR 3D/Fire Emblem Awakening/Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate comes in.

The first 5 Mega Man games are all on the eshop. If you want something simple to work through those should do the deed.

So I made the mistake of revisiting another game from my childhood (or thereabouts). Conker's Bad Fur Day. Wow.

The entirety of this game is an exercise in frustration. It's not even hard, it's just fucking annoying to play. You've got your bad N64 camera, your bad N64 frame rate, your awful swimming levels, your lame vehicle stages, your repetitive fetch quests, your tedious shooting... while I still love the music and voice acting, and respect the sense of adventure and level progression it provides, it's just utterly lacking in fun. All the difficulty comes from the level design being obtuse and the controls having aged poorly.

At the end of the day, it's funny, and has some great ideas, but it makes me angrier than almost any other game I've played to date. I can find almost nothing enjoyable in it. I only played it to the end out of a sense of obligation and nostalgia.

Don't ever play 3D 32-bit era games these days. Few hold up- especially ones without locked overhead cameras. 3rd person games without them suffer a lot.

If I didn't play Banjo Kazooie in XBLA, I probably never would have played it on the N64.