The "Retro Game Reviews" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
This thread has been linked to the game 'Skullgirls'.
Skullgirls is an amalgamation of the love of art both art and a search for the perfect fighting game engine. While the budget price and download only title might seem to some as a poor man’s beat-em-up, it’s actually far deeper than this and can certainly give full blown retail games a run for their money.
Alex Ahad, chief artist on Skullgirls and designer of the story, characters and backgrounds, had an idea for a game world and no game to set it to. A chance meeting with the famous tournament fighter and coder Mike Zaimont (also known as Mike Z) led to a collaboration between the two to create something new and original which took the best and most balanced of fighting systems and applied them to a unique look. Thus Skullgirls was born.
This background story is important in understanding Skullgirls’ strengths. The presentation and character design is impressive, with a 1940s/50s jazz vibe and some completely offbeat fighters. An all female cast populate the roster, every one of them having some strange affliction or ability and while there are allusions to a more questionable take on the female form, including a few anime-inspired panty flash shots, it never hits the lows of Dead or Alive’s girls and every character has an interesting back-story, played out through the lovingly animated story mode, which has some seriously warped moments.
On the other side, the game engine never feels unfair, even if it does require the player to launch about a thousand attacks a second during the most frantic moments. An interesting character selection also sees the ability to take up to three of the girls in to battle at once, allowing the player to select a range of different fighters to go up against the AI or another player with a more balanced team. Special moves are well designed and far easier to pull off than other games like Street Fighter which require expert timing and an exact motion on the D-pad or thumbstick. It’s just one of a number of additions that are aimed at the beginner and ensure everyone can have fun in the game.
While frantically pressing random buttons will get you so far, there are strategies along with the strengths and weaknesses of each fighter and learning these is the key to success. It’s a pity, then, that the training option has no way of showing you each character’s special moves or really putting these to the test. To find out the moves for each character you need to go to the official wiki for the game and jot them down before going back to the game to try them out. It’s a small concession in a game that costs less than £10, but it’s certainly noticeable by its absence.
Aside from training, only a single player story and arcade mode prop up the game alongside the obligatory online mode. However, the story itself is a mad, off-the-wall affair which is well worth playing through with different characters. Online is where the action is, though, and Skullgirls does not disappoint. Solid netcode means that games are evenly matched based on skill levels and there is no noticeable lag while playing. More importantly, winning a match online is a great feeling and even casual fighters who aren’t skilled in the art of these games will be able to win a few matches.
Those who fancy themselves as a bit of a show-off can also record their matches to Youtube or even Facebook for the ultimate in showboating your successful match and making a defeat even more crushing for the enemy.
Skullgirls may only be a budget online-only release, but it shouldn’t be ignored. With a great balanced engine and some wonderful art it can stand proud among the many fighters out there.
8/10
Alex Ahad, chief artist on Skullgirls and designer of the story, characters and backgrounds, had an idea for a game world and no game to set it to. A chance meeting with the famous tournament fighter and coder Mike Zaimont (also known as Mike Z) led to a collaboration between the two to create something new and original which took the best and most balanced of fighting systems and applied them to a unique look. Thus Skullgirls was born.
This background story is important in understanding Skullgirls’ strengths. The presentation and character design is impressive, with a 1940s/50s jazz vibe and some completely offbeat fighters. An all female cast populate the roster, every one of them having some strange affliction or ability and while there are allusions to a more questionable take on the female form, including a few anime-inspired panty flash shots, it never hits the lows of Dead or Alive’s girls and every character has an interesting back-story, played out through the lovingly animated story mode, which has some seriously warped moments.
On the other side, the game engine never feels unfair, even if it does require the player to launch about a thousand attacks a second during the most frantic moments. An interesting character selection also sees the ability to take up to three of the girls in to battle at once, allowing the player to select a range of different fighters to go up against the AI or another player with a more balanced team. Special moves are well designed and far easier to pull off than other games like Street Fighter which require expert timing and an exact motion on the D-pad or thumbstick. It’s just one of a number of additions that are aimed at the beginner and ensure everyone can have fun in the game.
While frantically pressing random buttons will get you so far, there are strategies along with the strengths and weaknesses of each fighter and learning these is the key to success. It’s a pity, then, that the training option has no way of showing you each character’s special moves or really putting these to the test. To find out the moves for each character you need to go to the official wiki for the game and jot them down before going back to the game to try them out. It’s a small concession in a game that costs less than £10, but it’s certainly noticeable by its absence.
Aside from training, only a single player story and arcade mode prop up the game alongside the obligatory online mode. However, the story itself is a mad, off-the-wall affair which is well worth playing through with different characters. Online is where the action is, though, and Skullgirls does not disappoint. Solid netcode means that games are evenly matched based on skill levels and there is no noticeable lag while playing. More importantly, winning a match online is a great feeling and even casual fighters who aren’t skilled in the art of these games will be able to win a few matches.
Those who fancy themselves as a bit of a show-off can also record their matches to Youtube or even Facebook for the ultimate in showboating your successful match and making a defeat even more crushing for the enemy.
Skullgirls may only be a budget online-only release, but it shouldn’t be ignored. With a great balanced engine and some wonderful art it can stand proud among the many fighters out there.
8/10
There have been no replies to this thread yet.
Skullgirls is an amalgamation of the love of art both art and a search for the perfect fighting game engine. While the budget price and download only title might seem to some as a poor man’s beat-em-up, it’s actually far deeper than this and can certainly give full blown retail games a run for their money.
Alex Ahad, chief artist on Skullgirls and designer of the story, characters and backgrounds, had an idea for a game world and no game to set it to. A chance meeting with the famous tournament fighter and coder Mike Zaimont (also known as Mike Z) led to a collaboration between the two to create something new and original which took the best and most balanced of fighting systems and applied them to a unique look. Thus Skullgirls was born.
This background story is important in understanding Skullgirls’ strengths. The presentation and character design is impressive, with a 1940s/50s jazz vibe and some completely offbeat fighters. An all female cast populate the roster, every one of them having some strange affliction or ability and while there are allusions to a more questionable take on the female form, including a few anime-inspired panty flash shots, it never hits the lows of Dead or Alive’s girls and every character has an interesting back-story, played out through the lovingly animated story mode, which has some seriously warped moments.
On the other side, the game engine never feels unfair, even if it does require the player to launch about a thousand attacks a second during the most frantic moments. An interesting character selection also sees the ability to take up to three of the girls in to battle at once, allowing the player to select a range of different fighters to go up against the AI or another player with a more balanced team. Special moves are well designed and far easier to pull off than other games like Street Fighter which require expert timing and an exact motion on the D-pad or thumbstick. It’s just one of a number of additions that are aimed at the beginner and ensure everyone can have fun in the game.
While frantically pressing random buttons will get you so far, there are strategies along with the strengths and weaknesses of each fighter and learning these is the key to success. It’s a pity, then, that the training option has no way of showing you each character’s special moves or really putting these to the test. To find out the moves for each character you need to go to the official wiki for the game and jot them down before going back to the game to try them out. It’s a small concession in a game that costs less than £10, but it’s certainly noticeable by its absence.
Aside from training, only a single player story and arcade mode prop up the game alongside the obligatory online mode. However, the story itself is a mad, off-the-wall affair which is well worth playing through with different characters. Online is where the action is, though, and Skullgirls does not disappoint. Solid netcode means that games are evenly matched based on skill levels and there is no noticeable lag while playing. More importantly, winning a match online is a great feeling and even casual fighters who aren’t skilled in the art of these games will be able to win a few matches.
Those who fancy themselves as a bit of a show-off can also record their matches to Youtube or even Facebook for the ultimate in showboating your successful match and making a defeat even more crushing for the enemy.
Skullgirls may only be a budget online-only release, but it shouldn’t be ignored. With a great balanced engine and some wonderful art it can stand proud among the many fighters out there.
8/10
Alex Ahad, chief artist on Skullgirls and designer of the story, characters and backgrounds, had an idea for a game world and no game to set it to. A chance meeting with the famous tournament fighter and coder Mike Zaimont (also known as Mike Z) led to a collaboration between the two to create something new and original which took the best and most balanced of fighting systems and applied them to a unique look. Thus Skullgirls was born.
This background story is important in understanding Skullgirls’ strengths. The presentation and character design is impressive, with a 1940s/50s jazz vibe and some completely offbeat fighters. An all female cast populate the roster, every one of them having some strange affliction or ability and while there are allusions to a more questionable take on the female form, including a few anime-inspired panty flash shots, it never hits the lows of Dead or Alive’s girls and every character has an interesting back-story, played out through the lovingly animated story mode, which has some seriously warped moments.
On the other side, the game engine never feels unfair, even if it does require the player to launch about a thousand attacks a second during the most frantic moments. An interesting character selection also sees the ability to take up to three of the girls in to battle at once, allowing the player to select a range of different fighters to go up against the AI or another player with a more balanced team. Special moves are well designed and far easier to pull off than other games like Street Fighter which require expert timing and an exact motion on the D-pad or thumbstick. It’s just one of a number of additions that are aimed at the beginner and ensure everyone can have fun in the game.
While frantically pressing random buttons will get you so far, there are strategies along with the strengths and weaknesses of each fighter and learning these is the key to success. It’s a pity, then, that the training option has no way of showing you each character’s special moves or really putting these to the test. To find out the moves for each character you need to go to the official wiki for the game and jot them down before going back to the game to try them out. It’s a small concession in a game that costs less than £10, but it’s certainly noticeable by its absence.
Aside from training, only a single player story and arcade mode prop up the game alongside the obligatory online mode. However, the story itself is a mad, off-the-wall affair which is well worth playing through with different characters. Online is where the action is, though, and Skullgirls does not disappoint. Solid netcode means that games are evenly matched based on skill levels and there is no noticeable lag while playing. More importantly, winning a match online is a great feeling and even casual fighters who aren’t skilled in the art of these games will be able to win a few matches.
Those who fancy themselves as a bit of a show-off can also record their matches to Youtube or even Facebook for the ultimate in showboating your successful match and making a defeat even more crushing for the enemy.
Skullgirls may only be a budget online-only release, but it shouldn’t be ignored. With a great balanced engine and some wonderful art it can stand proud among the many fighters out there.
8/10