I don't care this is a Smash clone (even though I think what it did was interesting). I don't care that it features DiNO instead of Dante (well, I WAS a little salty about that back then, but I digress). I don't care that it didn't live up to its potential (though, I lament the fact Dart and Abe were cut, along with the titlescreen overhaul, and that Spyro and Crash were never brought in).
This game, despite some flaws, was very much a dream come true. I loved Smash back when I played it at a friend's place (original, Melee, and a little bit of Brawl), and I had always wished for Sony to do the equivalent. I knew they had a great deal of exclusive titles and IPs at the time, and was the only console that could come remotely close to competing with Nintendo's absolutely mammoth roster at the time (I love you Xbox, but I can count your significant exclusives on one hand by 7th gen).
While the roster was much weaker than any of the more modern installments of Smash, it had quite the very interesting cast to pick from, all with contrasting artstyles and playstyles that help give the game quite the differing flavor during matches. I've yet to see a platform fighter utilize characters from FPS/TPS titles (like Killzone, Bioshock, or Dead Space), along side action brawlers like Cole, Kratos, Heihachi. There are just some fun combinations you can get.
What emphasized the topsy-turvy nature were the stage mashups, which I thought were quite interesting and dynamic in of themselves, even without the stage hazards (which can be turned on and off). Even more so when the stage itself slowly evolves over the course of the match from one design to the other, with certain exceptions.
The light character customization in the game was also a neat little bonus, changing colors/costumes, intros, outros, win/lose music, and even taunts, making the characters you play feel that much more unique to you.
Now, again, the game is far from perfect, with some characters being quite overpowered compared to others, the knock-out system being a bit limited, and the roster not reaching the potential it could have. I really do get that. However, I just can't help it. The fact that this game exists at all at the tail end of the PS3 lifecycle was kind of a miracle in of itself.
I don't play it NEARLY as much as I used to back in the day, and the online servers have been shut down for some time now, but once in a while I have a small craving to pop the game in, mess about in Vs. modes with my main (Sir Dan), and putz about in Arcade mode once in a while.
It was a fun, albeit flawed, festival of fighting with a small portion of Playstation's history.
Though, as novel as it is, the final boss in the arcade mode IS kind of crap...
This game, despite some flaws, was very much a dream come true. I loved Smash back when I played it at a friend's place (original, Melee, and a little bit of Brawl), and I had always wished for Sony to do the equivalent. I knew they had a great deal of exclusive titles and IPs at the time, and was the only console that could come remotely close to competing with Nintendo's absolutely mammoth roster at the time (I love you Xbox, but I can count your significant exclusives on one hand by 7th gen).
While the roster was much weaker than any of the more modern installments of Smash, it had quite the very interesting cast to pick from, all with contrasting artstyles and playstyles that help give the game quite the differing flavor during matches. I've yet to see a platform fighter utilize characters from FPS/TPS titles (like Killzone, Bioshock, or Dead Space), along side action brawlers like Cole, Kratos, Heihachi. There are just some fun combinations you can get.
What emphasized the topsy-turvy nature were the stage mashups, which I thought were quite interesting and dynamic in of themselves, even without the stage hazards (which can be turned on and off). Even more so when the stage itself slowly evolves over the course of the match from one design to the other, with certain exceptions.
The light character customization in the game was also a neat little bonus, changing colors/costumes, intros, outros, win/lose music, and even taunts, making the characters you play feel that much more unique to you.
Now, again, the game is far from perfect, with some characters being quite overpowered compared to others, the knock-out system being a bit limited, and the roster not reaching the potential it could have. I really do get that. However, I just can't help it. The fact that this game exists at all at the tail end of the PS3 lifecycle was kind of a miracle in of itself.
I don't play it NEARLY as much as I used to back in the day, and the online servers have been shut down for some time now, but once in a while I have a small craving to pop the game in, mess about in Vs. modes with my main (Sir Dan), and putz about in Arcade mode once in a while.
It was a fun, albeit flawed, festival of fighting with a small portion of Playstation's history.
Though, as novel as it is, the final boss in the arcade mode IS kind of crap...
9 Comments
@RedBackLoggd
I thought they borrowed from another platform fighter game that released prior to the original Smash Bros. I digress, though...
I totally agree that it's a bit disingenuous, especially since those same people that complain that it's a Smash clone would also complain that it's not enough like Smash. It's the same with the Nickelodeon All-Stars and MultiVersus games (though those are of varying qualities a bit more hefty than PS:AS was).
And, yeah, as I mentioned, Sony really does have the roster of IPs that could actually make a proper competent multi-IP crossover that could compete with Smash, but lately I think they're trying a bit to hard to appeal to the cinematic storytelling crowd than anything else... that or chasing fads.
Also, I HOPE if it ever gets resurrected, it stays FAR away from the arena-fighter formula that a lot of Jump Force clones tend to adopt. It was cute at first, but it's never been improved, it's gotten slower, and it's just become a repetitive sub-genre at this point.
I thought they borrowed from another platform fighter game that released prior to the original Smash Bros. I digress, though...
I totally agree that it's a bit disingenuous, especially since those same people that complain that it's a Smash clone would also complain that it's not enough like Smash. It's the same with the Nickelodeon All-Stars and MultiVersus games (though those are of varying qualities a bit more hefty than PS:AS was).
And, yeah, as I mentioned, Sony really does have the roster of IPs that could actually make a proper competent multi-IP crossover that could compete with Smash, but lately I think they're trying a bit to hard to appeal to the cinematic storytelling crowd than anything else... that or chasing fads.
Also, I HOPE if it ever gets resurrected, it stays FAR away from the arena-fighter formula that a lot of Jump Force clones tend to adopt. It was cute at first, but it's never been improved, it's gotten slower, and it's just become a repetitive sub-genre at this point.
They were most likely inspired by multiple games for sure.
Lmfao, you nailed it brother by saying they'd complain regardless: it's a danged if you do, danged if you don't scenario unfortunately.
Is MultiVersus worth playing? It actually has a fairly strong player base.
Well, HellDivers seems to indicate they're broaching multiple genres, so you never know what the future holds. Man though, could you imagine Jin or Abby being playable characters in a PS All-Stars 2 lol?
I'm surprised Jump Force inspired clones. Shit, can't believe it's been more than 5 years since it came out. Do you mind explaining what you mean by the arena-fighter formula?
Lmfao, you nailed it brother by saying they'd complain regardless: it's a danged if you do, danged if you don't scenario unfortunately.
Is MultiVersus worth playing? It actually has a fairly strong player base.
Well, HellDivers seems to indicate they're broaching multiple genres, so you never know what the future holds. Man though, could you imagine Jin or Abby being playable characters in a PS All-Stars 2 lol?
I'm surprised Jump Force inspired clones. Shit, can't believe it's been more than 5 years since it came out. Do you mind explaining what you mean by the arena-fighter formula?
@RedBackLoggd
Not too sure about whether MultiVersus is worth playing or not. Never actually played it myself, and the roster wasn't interesting enough for me. I only know what the gameplay is kinda like, that (I believe) it's free to play, and it's very online focused.
I mean, Sony chasing after currently trending online multiplayer focused genres isn't EXACTLY new. And, yeah, Abby would probably wield a golf club, but honestly, I'd rather more classic, exclusive/first party characters be represented. Gene from God Hand. Demi-Fiend from SMT3, Oscar of Bolitaria from Demon's Souls, Toa from Dark Cloud, Kain and/or Raziel from the LoK series, DART FROM LEGEND OF DRAGOON.
It's mostly IPs from Shonen Jump, like Naruto, Bleach, or MHA. And, "Arena Fighter" is a subgenre where the battle area is an arena (usually medium to small, sometimes with obstacles peppered about in the way), the characters chosen have full freedom of movement, and the combat is treated like a classic Head-to-head fighter with said movement freedom. Jump Force, J Stars, JoJo: Eyes of Heaven, most shonen manga fighter video games do that. I mean, the sub-genre has been around for years and wasn't just relegated to anime titles, but over the last half decade or so, they've been getting sloppy and super repetitive, and normally coming from aforementioned Shonen Jump titles.
Not too sure about whether MultiVersus is worth playing or not. Never actually played it myself, and the roster wasn't interesting enough for me. I only know what the gameplay is kinda like, that (I believe) it's free to play, and it's very online focused.
I mean, Sony chasing after currently trending online multiplayer focused genres isn't EXACTLY new. And, yeah, Abby would probably wield a golf club, but honestly, I'd rather more classic, exclusive/first party characters be represented. Gene from God Hand. Demi-Fiend from SMT3, Oscar of Bolitaria from Demon's Souls, Toa from Dark Cloud, Kain and/or Raziel from the LoK series, DART FROM LEGEND OF DRAGOON.
It's mostly IPs from Shonen Jump, like Naruto, Bleach, or MHA. And, "Arena Fighter" is a subgenre where the battle area is an arena (usually medium to small, sometimes with obstacles peppered about in the way), the characters chosen have full freedom of movement, and the combat is treated like a classic Head-to-head fighter with said movement freedom. Jump Force, J Stars, JoJo: Eyes of Heaven, most shonen manga fighter video games do that. I mean, the sub-genre has been around for years and wasn't just relegated to anime titles, but over the last half decade or so, they've been getting sloppy and super repetitive, and normally coming from aforementioned Shonen Jump titles.
Copy, that makes sense.
LOL true. Still, they reportedly did a good job. I'm not a multiplayer guy, but I've heard good things about Helldivers, indicating effort was at least put in. And it's not either/or, you can definitely do a huge roster ala Smash Bros Ultimate.
Oh okay, I see what you're saying. Yeah, I'm actually a big fan of the Clash of Ninja series, which I presume would fall under that label? You're right that they are easier to do than more unique stages.
LOL true. Still, they reportedly did a good job. I'm not a multiplayer guy, but I've heard good things about Helldivers, indicating effort was at least put in. And it's not either/or, you can definitely do a huge roster ala Smash Bros Ultimate.
Oh okay, I see what you're saying. Yeah, I'm actually a big fan of the Clash of Ninja series, which I presume would fall under that label? You're right that they are easier to do than more unique stages.
@RedBackLoggd
I mean, I HAVE heard good things about Helldivers 2, but I think Imma just skip out on that anyway. I can never keep up with multiplayer focused games unless I'm REALLY into it.
Oh okay, I see what you're saying. Yeah, I'm actually a big fan of the Clash of Ninja series, which I presume would fall under that label? You're right that they are easier to do than more unique stages.
As for PS:AS, yeah, they can do multiple eras, but I think one of the weaker aspects of the PS:AS was how bottom heavy it was for newer/third party IPs. Dont' get me wrong, I think some of the choices were badass, but I'd be lying if I didn't say they needed more classic, more 1st party rep. Especially the fact that Sony NEVER tried to get Crash or Spyro into the game. THAT was a wasted opportunity. At least Sir Dan was there.
I think one of the better examples of an Arena Fighter would have to be Power Stone (or, at least that's what I've been told), but yeah, Shonen Jump has kinda flooded the market on the genre with a lot of mediocre sludge via the games...
I mean, I HAVE heard good things about Helldivers 2, but I think Imma just skip out on that anyway. I can never keep up with multiplayer focused games unless I'm REALLY into it.
Oh okay, I see what you're saying. Yeah, I'm actually a big fan of the Clash of Ninja series, which I presume would fall under that label? You're right that they are easier to do than more unique stages.
As for PS:AS, yeah, they can do multiple eras, but I think one of the weaker aspects of the PS:AS was how bottom heavy it was for newer/third party IPs. Dont' get me wrong, I think some of the choices were badass, but I'd be lying if I didn't say they needed more classic, more 1st party rep. Especially the fact that Sony NEVER tried to get Crash or Spyro into the game. THAT was a wasted opportunity. At least Sir Dan was there.
I think one of the better examples of an Arena Fighter would have to be Power Stone (or, at least that's what I've been told), but yeah, Shonen Jump has kinda flooded the market on the genre with a lot of mediocre sludge via the games...
I don't blame you haha
I agree entirely - the classic characters should be prioritized, especially since they lend themselves better to a cartoony fighting game compared to the photorealists.
Dang, that's disappointing to hear, but hopefully some good ones emerge amidst the sludge.
I agree entirely - the classic characters should be prioritized, especially since they lend themselves better to a cartoony fighting game compared to the photorealists.
Dang, that's disappointing to hear, but hopefully some good ones emerge amidst the sludge.
@RedBackLoggd
Who knows if there are/will be actual good ones, but I think the genre (at least on that front) should be allowed to rest for a bit. But, hey, that's not up to me. I'm just one jackass in a sea of infinite jackasses, lol.
Who knows if there are/will be actual good ones, but I think the genre (at least on that front) should be allowed to rest for a bit. But, hey, that's not up to me. I'm just one jackass in a sea of infinite jackasses, lol.
LOL
RedBackLoggd
1 month ago
Then again, they could drop the ball like what happened with Jump Force, so maybe it's for the better that the series stays unresurrected.