How does this game compare to other beat-em-ups?

[matteste]

I am curious about this game, but nothing really tells me how it plays. How does it compare to other beat em ups? I am asking cause most games in the genre have never really clicked with me apart from a few exceptions such as Little Fighter 2. Where would this stand in comparison?

[D-Burgundy]

Little Fighter 2 is a damn good one. I'm suprised anyone else knows about the classic.

Gameplay wise I'd say it's like Final Fight 3 (anti-air attacks) meets Streets of Rage 3 (special meter system and some special activation styles) for mechanics + Street Fighter 3 parries + the game's own unique free form combo system.

If you are a fan of old school fast paced beat em ups like those, Alien Vs predator from Capcom, The Punisher capcom beat em up, Denjin Makai 1 and 2, and Guardian Heroes, I think those are all up there alongside Fight'N Rage fun wise for combat.

The game on the default speed is pretty slow, but once you unlock fast and turbo it is ridiculously fast; fastest in the genre I feel.

As far as movement goes, there is no Z axis jumping like TMNT: Turtles in Time, but 2/3 main characters can run, and the grappler can do a forward step/dash.

One character F. Norris is a obvious Guy reference for his slide kick move and his hidden command input special move

Gal is her own thing and has the largest moveset + is the most technical/fastest character.
Ricardo is like Mike Hagar with a Shoryuken + Shoryu Reppa.

Outside of the basic gameplay for the cast, the game has a lot of branching paths that affect boss fights and when and where you are in arcade run. The final boss is always the same though.

You can play with AI partners which are pretty solid or play multiple characters with one controller.

Game difficulty is old school beat em up style so you may see some reviews upset with that. You may also see some folks complain about a raft level which you can easily beat by tossing enemies into one another.

The enemies have some pretty smart patterns and only become more devious and tricky as difficulty elevates. I don't feel like anything is cheap at all, especially as you ease your way into higher difficulties and faster speeds.

Other than that, you have a training mode which doubles as a trial mode similar to a fighting game

Unlockable outfits and enemies to play with (enemies are only available in survival, score attack, and time attack)

A survival mode. (Fight until you die)

Score Attack (beat sets of enemies and crush/overkill them for bonus points)

Time Attack - Clear a group of enemies as fast as possible.

Versus - play on the training mode state in a versus like setting with a 2/3 layout (it isn't like Little Fighter 2's or anything, but it is good to practice against enemies)

Stage Practice Mode - Practice on stages so you can do better your next run.

Other features:

- 3 player multiplayer
- Auto save slot when you exit an arcade run (it saves before a checkpoint/screen transition). As long as you pick the same exact setup as the last time you played arcade, you can rest easy/take a break and come back later to that run. You can do this with multiple characters/runs so long as the run is different. The game will tell you that you started a run with a similar configuration before and ask if you want to continue or not.

On the save feature, the game does not support save scumming though if I remember right. The closest you can do is quit your run, go to stage practice to do well where you have trouble, and then jump back in.