When I start a new Yakuza game, seeing what's available at the arcade is always a top priority, and this game is easily the best surprise I've found in one.
Spike Out is a great feeling 3d brawler, and was directed and produced by Toshihiro Nagoshi, the general director of RGG and one of the main directors of the Kiryu era Yakuza games. There are three attack buttons, and every string variation and button combination leads to a unique move or set of moves. (In the Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth version, some trigger buttons are mapped to the button combinations, so you can trigger one of those moves without having to input the combination, which itself is somewhat novel.) On top of that, holding one of the buttons during a combo sequence will let off a special move that often stuns enemies, and there are four different special moves depending on how long the charge is held. Finally there are special moves which can be triggered with a button combination, but you can only fire it off if you've picked up a special power up, which you can hold up to four of at once, and I don't think anymore drop from enemies once you're holding four. Enemies also drop health, but it doesn't give much back and they're also rare. There are four playable characters, and each one has an individual and unique moveset, though some are more different than others. The combat genuinely feels great, and I found myself rushing to the next encounter to try out different combos, which suited the clock ticking down rhythm of an arcade brawler very well.
The main character, Spike, spawns with his child holding onto his back, who flies off when you get hit or use one of your special moves. When the child is on the ground, he mimics your moves in a child like manner, which is a really charming touch. The mechanic of the kid flying off reminded me of the "kick me sign" in God Hand--in that game, the main character gets a "kick me sign" slapped on his back in an early stage, and it will fly off when you activate that character's special mode or use one of the special moves, but you can play through the entire game without using those moves, and if you do you're rewarded with music tracks you can play at an in-game jukebox.
While playing Spike Out, I thought, there could surely be a similar challenge run where you never lose the kid on your back, but that seems impossible. Despite the huge variety of combat moves you can use, there are zero defensive moves. You can't block and you can't dodge--you will just get your ass caught in enemy combos and grapples and there's nothing you can do about it. This is where the games arcade origins feels the worst--after the first two stages, enemies do so much damage and come in such quantity that you're doomed to credit feed your way through the game. The game is also absurdly long for an arcade game, about an hour and a half to see every stage. It might be a lot more tolerable in co op, which is the intended experience--the original arcade cabinets could link up so four players could play at individual machines. I got bored and frustrated at the start of the third stage and tapped out, and probably won't ever complete the game. Still, it's a great feeling brawler when the odds aren't completely turned against the player, and absolutely worth piloting Ichiban over to a GIGO to check out.
Spike Out is a great feeling 3d brawler, and was directed and produced by Toshihiro Nagoshi, the general director of RGG and one of the main directors of the Kiryu era Yakuza games. There are three attack buttons, and every string variation and button combination leads to a unique move or set of moves. (In the Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth version, some trigger buttons are mapped to the button combinations, so you can trigger one of those moves without having to input the combination, which itself is somewhat novel.) On top of that, holding one of the buttons during a combo sequence will let off a special move that often stuns enemies, and there are four different special moves depending on how long the charge is held. Finally there are special moves which can be triggered with a button combination, but you can only fire it off if you've picked up a special power up, which you can hold up to four of at once, and I don't think anymore drop from enemies once you're holding four. Enemies also drop health, but it doesn't give much back and they're also rare. There are four playable characters, and each one has an individual and unique moveset, though some are more different than others. The combat genuinely feels great, and I found myself rushing to the next encounter to try out different combos, which suited the clock ticking down rhythm of an arcade brawler very well.
The main character, Spike, spawns with his child holding onto his back, who flies off when you get hit or use one of your special moves. When the child is on the ground, he mimics your moves in a child like manner, which is a really charming touch. The mechanic of the kid flying off reminded me of the "kick me sign" in God Hand--in that game, the main character gets a "kick me sign" slapped on his back in an early stage, and it will fly off when you activate that character's special mode or use one of the special moves, but you can play through the entire game without using those moves, and if you do you're rewarded with music tracks you can play at an in-game jukebox.
While playing Spike Out, I thought, there could surely be a similar challenge run where you never lose the kid on your back, but that seems impossible. Despite the huge variety of combat moves you can use, there are zero defensive moves. You can't block and you can't dodge--you will just get your ass caught in enemy combos and grapples and there's nothing you can do about it. This is where the games arcade origins feels the worst--after the first two stages, enemies do so much damage and come in such quantity that you're doomed to credit feed your way through the game. The game is also absurdly long for an arcade game, about an hour and a half to see every stage. It might be a lot more tolerable in co op, which is the intended experience--the original arcade cabinets could link up so four players could play at individual machines. I got bored and frustrated at the start of the third stage and tapped out, and probably won't ever complete the game. Still, it's a great feeling brawler when the odds aren't completely turned against the player, and absolutely worth piloting Ichiban over to a GIGO to check out.