Fighting Games Friday: Digital Fisticuffs

Fighting games have been through several dark periods, including some we didn’t realize at the time. The period where top-tier fighting games were in the doldrums during the PlayStation 2/Xbox/Gamecube era was well documented, it was also bad when there were too many rereleases to keep up with. Fighting games always receive updates these days, but before titles could be patched, they had no choice but to release more expensive physical copies of games. Arc System Works was the most grievous offender here during this era, which released five versions of Guilty Gear XX on PS2, though they’re hardly the only one who utilized the practice.

In fairness, though, the company also released five Blazblue games during the PS3 era, but they switched to providing more updates through patches by the fifth version after fan complaints.

These days, the format of publishers releasing DLC and balance patches through digital distribution has become the standard among all companies. This was evinced through two titles that received robust updates this week.

Bandai Namco announced the second season for Tekken 7 at Evo this year, which was confirmed to include enough content to make people forgive the team for the lackluster first season — not to say Geese and Noctis weren’t good to have, of course. This season will have six characters, three of which have been announced thus far, and the first two just released.

Anna Williams and Lei Wulong were among the small number of popular characters missing in action in the initial Tekken 7 release, and are the first two to return for this season. They’re mostly identical to how they were in previous games, outside receiving some new moves and combos, and their outfits being modified (with the unmodified ones also being available). The identities of the next three characters have yet to be revealed, while the final one will be the still-surprising choice of Negan from The Walking Dead.

While the balance updates have made several expected changes regarding which characters are more or less viable now, the patch came with a larger gameplay-altering change: The wall-bounce. When characters land certain powerful attacks on an opponent when a wall is behind them, they’ll bounce off and lunge back toward them, allowing for longer combos. It was tougher to use lengthy combos when the opponent was near a wall in earlier Tekken 7 versions, particularly compared to Tekken 6 and Tekken Tag Tournament 2, but this changes that. It hasn’t been long since the patch released, and players have already found ridiculous combos that utilize the mechanic. Don’t be surprised if they provide another balance patch to tone those down.

It shouldn’t be too long before the remaining characters are revealed and released, but there’s no way to know their schedule. I’m not even going to try to predict when they arrive.

Arika’s Fighting EX Layer also received its first significant update since its release in June. A laundry list of balance upgrades were included, which you can read on the company’s Facebook page. I’m not kidding when I say it’s a “laundry list,” comprised of minor and major changes to certain basic and special attacks for each character. There haven’t been as many videos about how beneficial or not the major changes are for each character compared to Tekken 7’s update, thanks to their differences in popularity; but those details will come in time.

Additionally, the update came with new characters Pullum Purna and Vulcano Rosso, both of whom were confirmed to be coming a couple of months ago. Pullum originates from Street Fighter EX, and was the only original character from that game not included in this title’s initial release. Vulcano Rosso, meanwhile, originates from Street Fighter EX 2. He’s a walking tribute to several JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure characters, mainly from Vento Aureo/Golden Wind, and retains his slick Elvis Presley-style haircut. Best of all, both characters were released for free.

It’s a nice act of charity for Arika to provide both for no charge, especially when they’re such a small outfit. This, combined with providing balance upgrades so quickly after release, makes Capcom look bad in comparison. Street Fighter V was also a barebones product when it launched, yet they provided very little for free afterward.

Arika will have to make money, so there’s no telling if Sharon Dame and Area will be free when they arrive, both of whom will be the last of the original Street Fighter EX characters. If the game is continually successful, hopefully they’ll start adding characters from Fighting Layer.

Meanwhile, SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy released today, and reviews are pouring in from the press and those who purchased it. The current consensus is that it’s a fun game that’s easy to pick up and play, but it’s light on content.

SNK previously confirmed that Knight Arthur from Kai-ri-Sei Million Arthur will join the game as paid-DLC on September 13, a mere six days after the game’s release. They’re also teasing another guest character that will be revealed soon. Speculation suggests it could be a female Skullomania, given the shape of her head. But she noticeably has the same pose as Akira from Rival Schools/Project Justice, who notably wears a helmet in some appearances. Tokyo Game Show season is coming up, so the identity of this character should be revealed sometime during the next two weeks.

While we’ve mostly lost the option to obtain complete versions of fighting games on disc in the shift to digital distribution, this post highlighted how there are several benefits, and how it’s a better alternative overall. But here’s hoping (probably against hope) that companies join Arika in getting more generous with their offerings, along with providing updates on a consistent basis.