COLUMN: Is the end of fighting game casualization on the horizon?
The most recent impact to hit the fighting game scene is the newest installment of SNK-Playmore’s flagship fighting game, "The King of Fighters XIII."
While a new fighting game is usually a hot topic within the scene, "KoFXIII" has brought a bit of extra attention along with it. Unlike many other fighters, namely Capcom games, "The King of Fighters XIII" is hard.
To understand why it is the buzz around town, we need to go back a bit. Fighting games had fallen out of the public eye for quite some time, but with Capcom’s release of "Street Fighter 4," the genre was launched to new heights.
However, "SF4" brought along some changes long-time vets were not too pleased with; larger reversal windows, input shortcuts and the comeback mechanic known as Ultras. These mechanics were put in place to casualize the genre and make it easier to get into.
This had a ripple effect throughout the genre, as games like "Marvel vs. Capcom 3" and "BlazBlue," the successor to "Guilty Gear," were made easier to play and many included comeback mechanics. Controversy came about as some wondered about the effects of these genre-wide changes.
Sure, fighters are now more popular than ever, but some argue these mechanics are problematic and install bad habits in the gamer.
"The King of Fighters XIII" is the first real mainstream release that has kept the difficulty of pre-"SF4" fighting games. There are no comeback mechanics, inputs are complex and timings are strict.
If you are down in a match and need to come back to win, it is going to take nothing but pure skill and maybe a little luck.
Many people, even the pros, were caught off guard by how rough this game was. But despite the lack of casualized mechanics, gameplay has been greatly applauded.
Is this the first step in preparing the new school of fighting gamers for what difficulty fighting games truly hold, or will this be cast aside in favor of more casual-friendly games?
I believe this is the direction the genre needs to head toward. Fighting games are perhaps the most competitive video games out there, and if you want to survive the competition, you cannot rely on these new-school mechanics.
The mechanics may help you win your match, but in the end, they are an empty victory as you utilized mechanics that help you overcome your lack of skill, not your skill itself. They are but a crutch, if you will.
"KoFXIII" is a game that is going to sit you down in training mode and make you practice inputs and combos for ages. But when you emerge, you will emerge a better player — a player skilled enough to trust in themselves and not comeback mechanics.
This is the route required if you wish to dominate your opponents. The time has come for the fighting game genre to take off the training wheels and teach us to be better gamers.
