Fighting games are an important genre in gaming. From Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, to Tekken and Soul Calibur, fighting games are full of innovation. The question then arises, if the innovation in new games causing the games to become inaccessible for new players. It is a question that there is no clear answer to, but some games have tried to create a more streamlined experience for players who are not as technically skilled. One of these is Fantasy Strike, a new game from David Sirlin, an ex street fighter dev, that calls itself a strategic fighting game for everyone.
Fantasy Strike is a very interesting game. It takes away a lot of the technical demands and command strings in fighters and uses single button presses instead. It works well and each character has a small moveset, and the goal is to make a small set of characters with easy to learn moves. With one button controlling the basic attacks and another controlling the special moves, this can be compared to the Super Smash Bros series from Nintendo in some ways. The directional input and how you position yourself when pressing the button determines what kind of basic or special attack you will do. It sounds easy but can actually trip you up a bit. Remember, this is a simplified game and mechanics like dashing are not present. Take advantage of the tutorial here, and you will be fine.
There are ten main characters to choose from, and they fall into distinct categories. Each is grouped into zoners, wild cards, rushdowns and grapplers and the game makes it clear so players will know who fits their play style best. The characters have unique special moves and are well designed, but again everything is simplified for ease of control. As I said above, this can actually throw you off if you are used to more complex fighting games, so be careful you do not mess up. I like that the game lists how hard the characters are to learn, but really its not too bad at all.
The game does bring in its own unique mechanic though with the Yomi Counter. The Yomi Counter is a way of breaker out of a throw by releasing the controls at the right moment. If its done right, it executes a reversal move that will also fill your super meter. It can instantly change the flow of a fight, and as such is critical to learn how to use it right.
Visually, the game looks decent, and each of the characters are well designed. Its colorful in the right ways but something just doesn’t sit right and I think its the lighting. It throws off how the color is presented in the game a bit. Still, this is a minor issue at best. If you want to try a very different type of fighter, then this is for you.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided