The first time I ever played a game in the Soul Edge series, I was hanging out with a friend in a mini-arcade off the lobby of a movie theater. We were both honors kids, but apparently we weren't all that smart - after we picked Astaroth at random, we concluded that he must've been a secret character because he hit so hard. So, yeah - not my proudest moment as a gamer.
And, actually, I've never been good at any of the SoulCalibur games. I mean, I'm barely good at 2-D games, but 3-D games FUCK ME UP. Still, though, I love the series. The combat is elegant in a way that no other fighting game combat is, the character designs are sick, the environments are outrageously gorgeous, and the music is so epic that Eminem sampled it for a song that floated around for years on Napster and Kazaa under the name "Soul Calibur remix." So I am one hundred percent in favor of SCVI.
But there's one more reason why I'm ready for SCVI: the ring out. Spacing and positioning are important in every fighting game, obviously, but getting put into the corner doesn't produce the same kind of nail-biting anxiety that you get when you're literally pixels away from falling into a pit and watching your whole health bar fall off in one giant chunk. That shit is FUCKING HYPE, and I always need more hype in my FGC.
And yes, okay, something similar happens in Smash and the various Smash clones. Technically, every death in those games is a ring-out of sorts. But it's not really the same, both because you get extra lives and because it's the only way to die in those games. In contrast, SCIV is gonna be the only major fighting game in which you can die from HP loss AND from getting ringed out, which is a combination that calls for players to take a totally different approach. Want to just eat a throw in the corner instead of falling for a frame trap? Sorry, that's no longer a safe option, because I can just throw you into a river and watch you drown. Need a major comeback? Actually, one hit will do it - if you can get it at the right spot. With the threat of an instant KO looming at all times for both players, you get all kinds of different mind games and tactics, and that's what I really want to see from this game.
So please, TOs, don't ban the ring out. And Bandai Namco, if you're listening, don't fuck this one up.
And, actually, I've never been good at any of the SoulCalibur games. I mean, I'm barely good at 2-D games, but 3-D games FUCK ME UP. Still, though, I love the series. The combat is elegant in a way that no other fighting game combat is, the character designs are sick, the environments are outrageously gorgeous, and the music is so epic that Eminem sampled it for a song that floated around for years on Napster and Kazaa under the name "Soul Calibur remix." So I am one hundred percent in favor of SCVI.
But there's one more reason why I'm ready for SCVI: the ring out. Spacing and positioning are important in every fighting game, obviously, but getting put into the corner doesn't produce the same kind of nail-biting anxiety that you get when you're literally pixels away from falling into a pit and watching your whole health bar fall off in one giant chunk. That shit is FUCKING HYPE, and I always need more hype in my FGC.
And yes, okay, something similar happens in Smash and the various Smash clones. Technically, every death in those games is a ring-out of sorts. But it's not really the same, both because you get extra lives and because it's the only way to die in those games. In contrast, SCIV is gonna be the only major fighting game in which you can die from HP loss AND from getting ringed out, which is a combination that calls for players to take a totally different approach. Want to just eat a throw in the corner instead of falling for a frame trap? Sorry, that's no longer a safe option, because I can just throw you into a river and watch you drown. Need a major comeback? Actually, one hit will do it - if you can get it at the right spot. With the threat of an instant KO looming at all times for both players, you get all kinds of different mind games and tactics, and that's what I really want to see from this game.
So please, TOs, don't ban the ring out. And Bandai Namco, if you're listening, don't fuck this one up.
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