Hot takes

[KaiserMk7]

Game with gore and scares disguised as a family friendly game =/= Quality Horror

Really needs more subtle and and/or psychological aspects to qualify.

 

[Viviana Santos]

Okay, I also agree that gameplay has always been more important in fighting games than anything else, but XRD also greatly sterilized the heavy metal aesthetic that made Guilty Gear unique and cool.

However, Strive is even worse because not only did it bastardize the series' aesthetic like XRD, but its gameplay and mechanics are genuinely terrible.

---

At least XRD still plays like an anime fighter, something that Strive doesn't even have the luxury of having.

 

[X y b e r - S k u ll]

I think you're exaggerating a bit.

Yes, the story of GG was more complex than Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat but would you seriously tell fighting game fans that it should matter?

It's the gameplay mechanics that make or break a game in the genre.

I couldn't care less if the story is bad or a huge retcon as long as the mechanics are deep and the gameplay is fast.

Strive messed up the gameplay which is my gripe about it.

Don't underestimate how much having a story or even just background for the characters can genuinely help with getting people to enjoy a game more. Of course for fighting games especially game play is always going to be the main deciding factor, but don't sleep on all the other aspects. It's why we're in the most sterile era of fighting games ever right now.

 

[moonbits]

Game with gore and scares disguised as a family friendly game =/= Quality Horror

it's what the kids like, especially when streamers overreact to it!

 

[KaiserMk7]

it's what the kids like, especially when streamers overreact to it!

What if we had a streamer with a handler/manager who doesn't disclose to them the nature of the content they'll be playing as well as severe anxiety? Would that make for a fun watch?

 

[Xdqwerty Xdqwerty]

That's not how muscle memory works.

You could say that for a fighting game or a shooter but for a platformer you can still react. You don't need to perfectly learn the level design to know where to go either.

" In platformer video games, "muscle memory" refers to the player's ability to perform complex sequences of jumps, movements, and button inputs without conscious thought, due to extensive practice and repetition. It's a neurological process where the brain and nervous system become highly efficient at coordinating movements, making actions like precise jumps, wall jumps, and enemy dodges instinctual rather than deliberate. This efficiency allows players to focus on strategy and the environment, rather than the mechanics of how to execute each action. "

 

[MasterEn]

The original .hack// series (Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine) is leaps and bounds better than the G.U. entries. Aside from story, G.U. really feels like a sanded down version of the previous entries to the point where it feels like a different series entirely. I adored IMOQ's real-time battle system because it was frantic and strategic; in some fights, you would be using the party command menu so often that it felt like a turn-based RPG. In comparison, G.U. feels like more like a hack n' slash than a JRPG (and a pretty mediocre one at that).

I'm not sure if it's a hot take per se, the general consensus seems to be 50/50, but an frustrating amount of people swear on their lives that IMOQ can be safely skipped because it's too "old" or "clunky"

really, the moral here is to never skip entries in anything, ever

i think it works to an extent. game series do change over time. final fantasy went from being round based to turn based to hack 'n slash over the course of time. they had more entries to let people get adjusted but the same thing happened.
the quadrilogy was meant to emulate old school mmos to enhance the setting of the game, which can have a frantic kinetic sense of energy to them. with the trilogy games focusing on story more, you would have to tone down some of the other elements of gameplay.
i do like the fact that they explain the changes in game instead of it just being ignored or acting like it always like that. they didn't have to do that, but they did; unlike nintendo with tears of the kingdom and breath of the wild.
i would argue the opposite; you need to play the first set of games since the sequel builds upon some of the plot elements and a couple of character arcs that start up at the start of the series.
i will state it as a fact; anyone telling you to skip the first set of games because they are "clunky" or "old and/or outdated", game overed fighting the data bug in the dungeon that mia invites you to go to alone before joining up with you.

 

[Xdqwerty Xdqwerty]

Btw @Viviana Santos didnt you quit?

 

[Viviana Santos]

Btw @Viviana Santos didnt you quit?

Yes, I'm just using the forum right now to express an opinion I've wanted to express for a while now. I occasionally check in here from time to time. (mainly for the Forum Games & Chatter section)

 

[KaiserMk7]

However, Strive is even worse because not only did it bastardize the series' aesthetic like XRD, but its gameplay and mechanics are genuinely terrible.

---

At least XRD still plays like an anime fighter, something that Strive doesn't even have the luxury of having.

What does anime fighter entail?

 

[Viviana Santos]

What does anime fighter entail?

Imo, an anime fighter has:

• Movement options outside dash and backdash (airdashes, super jumps, double jumps, homing dashes...). These are not always universal but most of the cast should have some kind of unorthodox movement option.
• Some kind of magic series/gatling system. The combos are based around cancels much more than linking, though linking still exists for advanced combos.
• Defensive options beyond simply blocking (air blocking, just block, barrier...) and usually but not always frame 0 invincible backdashes.
• Scary offensive mixups beyond regular strike/throw (high-lows, left-rights, guard breaks) that usually loop on themselves.
• Highly differenced characters, with most of them using a sub-system that nobody else uses. Many characters breaking the rules of the game in some way (with stuff like triple jump, double airdash or hovers, but also stuff like whiff cancels, venomous strikes or guard cancels).
• High speed neutral game instead of slow and methodic grounded footsies.
• High player expression in combos, okizeme and neutral.
• Focus on active defense, you usually can't just wait for a player to finish a blockstring and push themselves out because they will never stop. You have to do something to break out.
• Mainly 1v1, when people refer to tag games they usually call them tag fighters, though they do share a fair amount of DNA.

 

[God-Shattering Twink]

i think it works to an extent. game series do change over time. final fantasy went from being round based to turn based to hack 'n slash over the course of time. they had more entries to let people get adjusted but the same thing happened.
the quadrilogy was meant to emulate old school mmos to enhance the setting of the game, which can have a frantic kinetic sense of energy to them. with the trilogy games focusing on story more, you would have to tone down some of the other elements of gameplay.
i do like the fact that they explain the changes in game instead of it just being ignored or acting like it always like that. they didn't have to do that, but they did; unlike nintendo with tears of the kingdom and breath of the wild.
i would argue the opposite; you need to play the first set of games since the sequel builds upon some of the plot elements and a couple of character arcs that start up at the start of the series.
i will state it as a fact; anyone telling you to skip the first set of games because they are "clunky" or "old and/or outdated", game overed fighting the data bug in the dungeon that mia invites you to go to alone before joining up with you.

Yeah, I understand G.U. is supposed to have a different feel but it's just a little disappointing. The IMOQ games are probably my favorite jrpgs ever, and it was quite the let-down to play the sequel series and discover that they have very little in common. I hope we get a sequel or spiritual successor to the original series one day.

And yeah, I'm glad I didn't listen to people recommending I skip IMOQ. If i played G.U. first, I might've just written off the series entirely lol

 

[Xdqwerty Xdqwerty]

As I said, self hatred can be healthy bc hating yourself means you realized how much you suck as a person

 

[Dyne]

As I said, self hatred can be healthy bc hating yourself means you realized how much you suck as a person

I think you are misusing the word "hatred".
Self-criticism? Yes.
Humility? For sure.
Self-hatred? No!

Hatred means you despise something and you wish ill upon it. It means you would cheer if that person were harmed or died. You should never feel this way about yourself (or anyone else!) ever.

You can "realize how much you suck as a person" without hating yourself. Nobody is perfect and realizing your own faults is a good first step in improving yourself and being humble but don't ever hate yourself for it, please.

 

[KaiserMk7]

Hatred means you despise something and you wish ill upon it. It means you would cheer if that person were harmed or died. You should never feel this way about yourself (or anyone else!) ever.

I have counterarguments but I can't really go into them here.

 

[CheesyExplosive]

ME:

Post automatically merged: Aug 22, 2025

Hatred means you despise something and you wish ill upon it. It means you would cheer if that person were harmed or died. You should never feel this way about yourself (or anyone else!) ever.

Frankly true however you don't know yourself regardless if you do, you can't control yourself forever.

 

[KaiserMk7]

Imo, an anime fighter has:

• Movement options outside dash and backdash (airdashes, super jumps, double jumps, homing dashes...). These are not always universal but most of the cast should have some kind of unorthodox movement option.
• Some kind of magic series/gatling system. The combos are based around cancels much more than linking, though linking still exists for advanced combos.
• Defensive options beyond simply blocking (air blocking, just block, barrier...) and usually but not always frame 0 invincible backdashes.
• Scary offensive mixups beyond regular strike/throw (high-lows, left-rights, guard breaks) that usually loop on themselves.
• Highly differenced characters, with most of them using a sub-system that nobody else uses. Many characters breaking the rules of the game in some way (with stuff like triple jump, double airdash or hovers, but also stuff like whiff cancels, venomous strikes or guard cancels).
• High speed neutral game instead of slow and methodic grounded footsies.
• High player expression in combos, okizeme and neutral.
• Focus on active defense, you usually can't just wait for a player to finish a blockstring and push themselves out because they will never stop. You have to do something to break out.
• Mainly 1v1, when people refer to tag games they usually call them tag fighters, though they do share a fair amount of DNA.

Would gradually-accelerating consecutive backhops that wrap around exactly to the opposite side of the screen regardless of arena scrolling, as a windup for a powerful or hard-to-predict/avoid attack, be batshit insane enough of a movement option to qualify?

 

[Viviana Santos]

Would gradually-accelerating consecutive backhops that wrap around exactly to the opposite side of the screen regardless of arena scrolling, as a windup for a powerful or hard-to-predict/avoid attack, be batshit insane enough of a movement option to qualify?

Yep!

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Fan-made patches for any given game are always better than anything the developers release for said games.

 

[KaiserMk7]

Fan-made patches for any given game are always better than anything the developers release for said games.

Always? Yeah, that's certified hot.

 

[Miles Miles]

Fan-made patches for any given game are always better than anything the developers release for said games.

BASED!

 

[Bakuma1997]

Fan-made patches for any given game are always better than anything the developers release for said games.

Also salt is salty and sugar is sweet

 

[MasterEn]

Fan-made patches for any given game are always better than anything the developers release for said games.

that is a bit unfair. game developers usually have a time limit on their games. they have to keep moving at a steady pace in order to have something to release and make some money so they can make more games. you need quite a bit of funds before you can take your time and be more through on polishing a game before release.
fan patches are made in someone's spare time and really don't have a time limit on them they are done when they are done. and i heard that some game engines charge companies money to make and release updates for their games. so there's that too. some games need patching but can't because of bullshit like that.

 

[KaiserMk7]

There are plenty of pretty shitty fan patches out there, just like works in any other creative medium, too. Just look at those SM64 ones that are so bloated and unoptimized they barely chug along in an inaccurate emulator on half-respectable hardware.

 

[moonbits]

that is a bit unfair. game developers usually have a time limit on their games. they have to keep moving at a steady pace in order to have something to release and make some money so they can make more games. you need quite a bit of funds before you can take your time and be more through on polishing a game before release.
fan patches are made in someone's spare time and really don't have a time limit on them they are done when they are done. and i heard that some game engines charge companies money to make and release updates for their games. so there's that too. some games need patching but can't because of bullshit like that.

or some of those developers have been reduced to dust.. like Looking Glass Studios, Troika or have lost licenses to work on it officially. So yeah, some weird Eastern european with all the time in the world can fix the game.

I don't trust fans with rebalancing games. General fixes and crashes and widescreen hacks are appreciated but when they mess with the game's balance or logic they can fuck off.