The Smash Ultimate Salt Mines (feat. Byleth)

Yep.  There’s no getting out of this one.

The Smash Ultimate Salt Mines (feat. Terry)

Oh, look at what I found.  It’s a ticket for a trip to the salt mines once again.  No, it’s no problem at all, Sakurai and crew. Let me just get my helmet and gloves -- oh, and a decent pair of pants, too -- and I’ll just crawl right in.  I’m not worried about my lungs at all. Not like there’s coal or anything for me to breathe in.  And what do I even need my lungs for, huh?

*sigh*

The update that brought Terry Bogard into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the same one that buffed Jigglypuff, my least favorite character to fight in the entire game.  Great.  I was looking for a reason to throw my Switch in the trash.

On the other hand, Buster Wolf.  So it evens out.  Barely.

Re: RE: Indivisible

I think I’ve found the perfect way to describe my feelings on Indivisible as of…huh.  Right around Halloween time.  Fancy that.

It’s like this.  You know those trust exercises they have you do with someone else?  The one where you fall backward, and count on your partner to catch you or whatever?  If Indivisible were that partner, then you’d fall flat on your back -- but instead of hitting concrete or dirt or tile or carpet or whatever, you’d just take a little spill onto a cushy mattress.  Yeah, you were let down by someone you trusted, but it’s fine.  You’re still in a good enough place regardless.

I can’t bring myself to hate Indivisible, or even dislike it.  I’m glad it exists.  I’m glad it got crowdfunded successfully.  I’m glad it’s pushing against the grey goo apocalypse that is the modern AAA game industry.  The problem is that, simply put, it has problems.  I’m not one for game development, but I’m not confident that the issues are solvable with patches and updates down the line; it seems like the sort of stuff that’d take a complete overhaul, if not a sequel to start fresh.

I talked about the story last time.  Now for the gameplay this time.  And let me say this to start: it was a mistake to play Tekken 7 in the same timeframe as this.

How it Feels to Play Tekken 7 (Again)

I know I should be using this space to talk about Indivisible some more, especially since I more or less implied that that was next on the docket.  But I’m shoving the docket aside for now, and not just because it means I can live up to the blog’s title by talking about fighting games some more. 

It’s been a long time coming, but I’m finally back at it again with Tekken 7.  How has the experience been?  Refreshing, to put it simply.  Having dealt with the grind of Smash Ultimate for months on end, and having braved the general inanities of Street Fighter V semi-recently, I’ve been long overdue for a change of pace.  We’re still months away from Guilty Gear 2020, after all (though I’m down to party with Granblue Fantasy VS when it drops).  What other options did I have but to get back into Tekken 7?

I mean, besides like half a dozen other fighting games I could play at this very second.  But I’m in a Tekken mood -- and it’s getting some decisive feelings out of me.

The Street Fighter V “Experience”

Given that this blog is titled “Cross-Up”, you would think that I would have long ago reached a point where I would ask myself “Am I talking too much about fighting games lately?”  Granted, the answer to that would have been “no” precisely because of the title, but whatever.  Beats griping about terrible Final Fantasy games.

Now, griping about fighting games?  That’s something I don’t do very often.  Being salty about losing, sure, but that’s an inherent part of the package -- an unspoken, understood rule for the fighting game community.  Regardless, sometimes you have to gripe about something because you care. You want it to be the very best it can be.  And given my experiences over the past couple of weeks, I’ve got a notion to lay into a game that’s bugging me more than the one featuring my arch nemesis, Jigglypuff.  I mean Pikachu.  I mean Pokémon Trainer.  I mean Greninja.  I mean -- gosh, a lot of the mons in that game are cancerous to me.

All right, enough babble.  Let’s talk about Street Fighter V.

The Smash Ultimate Salt Mines (feat. Banjo & Kazooie)

So I tried playing some Street Fighter V to break in Poison, AKA the only character I could grab with the pittance of Fight Money I had on hand.  Plus it had been the first time I touched it in about five months, so I thought it’d be fun to test out a new fighter and level up my game.

It wasn’t fun.  And that’s all I’m going to say about that for now.

Let’s wash that horrible, horrible taste out of my mouth with the latest Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character -- the oft-gone but not forgotten bear and bird duo, Banjo & Kazooie.  Or…is it Banjo-Kazooie?  Well, whatever.  New character, so let’s get salty.  As if I wasn’t already.

BRB Banjo is in Smash

Jeez Louise, Sakurai and crew are just NOT letting up with these big Smash Bros. Ultimate drops, are they?  Feels like I've only just gotten started with Hero, and no I've got to put him on the back burner for the bear and bird.

You can't really blame me though, can you?

The Smash Ultimate Salt Mines (feat. Hero)

You know, I was planning on doing another post on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate since Hero from Dragon Quest dropped not too long ago.  What I wasn’t planning on?  The fact that the guy’s still relevant days and weeks after his release -- for all the wrong reasons.

Is Hero overpowered?  Does Hero need to be banned?  The answers are…not going to be on this blog, because it’s a coin flip on whether I’ll either have a 7-match win streak, or lose 2 million GSP in a single day.  But I’ve been grinding it out in Ultimate, so I might as well gab a bit.  Come along for the ride.

BRB Hero is in Smash

And here come Sakurai and Smash Bros. Ultimate, thwartin’ my plans like the madlads they are.

Just as well, though.  Granted I was going to use this slot to talk more about Bloodstained, but given how much Smash I’ve been playing recently, I guess I can take a minute to post briefly on the game’s latest fighter.  And who knows?  Maybe I can slip in a few choice words on Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

…Besides “Dedue is best girl”, of course.  As if anyone needs to have such an obvious truth doled out.

RE: Samurai Shodown (2019)

I’ve been thinking of the best way to succinctly describe Samurai Shodown (2019) -- a way to summarize it in a way that’s accurate, entertaining, and gives me a 1% higher chance to get more pageviews.  It hasn’t been easy, partly because SNK’s latest is a far cry from a LOT of stuff on store shelves these days.

Pared down to basics?  Sure, you could say it’s Street Fighter at the core.  That is, it takes fundamental concepts and strategies and upholds them over virtually everything else.  Conversely, that means that this game is not on the level of your standard “anime fighter”.  There’s been a jump to 3D graphics, but it’s by no means a 3D fighter like Tekken or Soul Calibur.  I wouldn’t even put it on the same level as Mortal Kombat, goriness aside.  No, this is its own beast.  An anomaly, for sure.

That’s why I’ve come up with a way to succinctly describe the game.  Samurai Shodown is the best game.

…For pissing people off, that is.

The Samurai Shodown Sleepy Time Post

June’s almost over, and for me this month has been uniquely terrible.

Mortal Kombat 11: A Very Special Post

So I haven’t touched Mortal Kombat 11 in a solid month, and I think I know why.

Well, besides me constantly seeking power and/or revenge in online matches of Smash Ultimate.  One day I’ll get someone into Elite Smash.

The Smash Ultimate Salt Mine Report (feat. Rosalina)

So Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has been out for months now, and I still haven’t unlocked Elite Smash yet.

On one hand, I’m okay with that because I have enough trouble with the rank-and-file of regular quick play matches.  Best to struggle with those that are (usually) my speed down in the salt mines -- because misery loves company, or something.  On the other hand, this is my pride as a gamer and Smash vet we’re talking about here.  I think I’ve got something like 4 million GSP overall, with my Zelda in the top spot with a similar single-character amount.  Even if I don’t choose to go Elite, I still want the recognition that I could go Elite.

We’ll see if/when I make it there.  And if I do?  It’ll probably be with my current main, Rosalina.

...and Luma.

The Street Fighter V Salt Mine Report (feat. Falke) -- February 2019

So I got a Top 11 finish in Tetris 99, and I thought “I’m not gonna beat that one for a while.  Time to test my luck in Street Fighter V.”

Which, to be clear, is a thought I only had because I was still salty over getting hit with a Raging Demon last week and stewed over that loss for days on end.  So let’s hit it.

The Smash Ultimate Diaries -- ACT III

So I’m trying to decide whether Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is better than, worse than, or equal to Homecoming, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t really matter.  While I have reservations about giving modern-day Sony’s movie division any credit or praise, a good movie is a good movie, and Miles Morales’ big screen debut is more than simply “good”.

It’s worth watching for its presentation alone -- an animated movie that doesn’t feel the need to play with kid gloves by default.  Granted there are times when the movie gets in its own way with possibly too much style -- during my viewing I thought a few times that it’d be better if they toned the AV down by 10-20% -- but it’s a critical hit more often than it misses.  Kingpin is the definition of an “absolute unit” design-wise, and seeing some of this stuff in motion makes me hungry for more.  Not just a sequel, but for other movies to be emboldened to give the style (or something like that) an honest try.  Like, Disney, maybe mimic this instead of another live-action remake?

The funny thing about the movie is that, while Homecoming stepped away from the origin story affect, Spider-Verse revels in it -- to its benefit.  Fair move, considering that we’re following Miles now.  Still, even if you’re wary of another superhero origin story, there’s more than enough meat on this movie’s bones to keep you satiated.  Shout-outs to this movie for making parents that feel like real people; this version of Jefferson isn’t just trying to run for Jesus like Spider-Man PS4’s Jefferson, and --

Wait, I feel like I should be talking about something else right now.  Oh, right.  Smash Bros.  Let’s talk about it one more time…with a focus on World of Light.  Because I beat it, and talking about that is…well, it’s necessary, I think.

The Smash Ultimate Diaries -- ACT II

Hey, welcome back to another post on my newfound crack addiction.

I had a friend come over recently, and he asked me what I thought of Smash Bros. Ultimate.  My answer, without hesitation: “It goes without saying, but this is the best Smash yet.”  I didn’t think that was a controversial statement -- can’t imagine a lot of people disagreeing with me, though we’ll see what the verdict is a year out from release -- but naturally, my brother chimed in to say “Ehhhhhhhhhhh, I dunnoooooooooooo…”  Naturally.  Because naturally, he pines for the days of Melee.  Except for that time when we played Melee again, and we all decided (in an unspoken decree) that that was a mistake.

Okay, sure, it’s not as if Melee is the worst or anything.  But the game is old enough to drive now, and holding it in unrivaled esteem does it, the franchise, or us no favors.  Even if you’re the type to uphold it for its gameplay/tournament merits, can we at least meet halfway and agree that Ultimate has the best visuals, presentation, sound design, and content thus far?  Can we?

I bet we can.  And with that out of the way, let’s talk about more Smash Ultimate stuff.

On Soul Calibur VI and Character Creators

Wow.  Soul Calibur VI has a distinction I never thought I’d reach -- an award I never thought I’d give out.  Certainly, it’s a good game; fast, furious, and fun.  I want to put more time into it, so I can learn the ins and outs as I transcend history and the world in online battles.  At the same time?  I’m about one night’s sleep away from deciding that I don’t care about the game anymore.

All I want to do is make a bunch of custom characters.  Screw the rest of the game.

Re: RE: Soul Calibur VI

Man, October 19^th can’t get here soon enough.  

I didn’t get to play a lot of the Soul Calibur VI beta, but I got some hours in -- and that taste test has me hungry for more.  Am I going to go pro with it?  No chance.  Am I going to stick with it forever and ever?  I don’t know; I hope it becomes a part of my rotation, even with the tower of backlogged games looming over me.  For what it’s worth, I’m more excited about this game than I have been about pretty much any other fighter released since…well, I guess Tekken 7, and it’s been a hot minute since I touched that.

No time for lamenting lost Phoenix Smashers, though.  Here are some miscellaneous thoughts I have about Soul Calibur VI prior to release.  Disclaimer right off the bat: I’m not an expert and haven’t touched the franchise in six years, so don’t expect a 100% accurate analysis.  I’m doing this by the seat of my pants.  As one should, ostensibly.

Okay?  Okay.  Here we go.

RE: Soul Calibur VI (and other stuff)

Alternate post title: That Time I Almost Gave Up On Fighting Games

RE: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

There’s a lot to talk about and discuss with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but lately there’s one thing that’s been on my mind above all else: is Sakurai going to be okay after this?

I wonder.  Director and series mainstay Masahiro Sakurai has long since earned fame and infamy for his work on the Smash Bros. Series.  Reportedly, he’s a workaholic who’s put in an insane amount of hours from game to game, with the calcific tendonitis to show for it.  And to what end?  Barring the drop of a major story mode from Brawl to 4, every new installment is bigger than the last.  More characters!  More stages!  More music!  More tweaks!  Items, Assist Trophies, Pokemon, options, modes, everything, everything, everything!  It sure as hell doesn’t seem like there’s an endgame for the franchise, a plateau upon which to rest.  

It leads me to believe -- or guess -- that this is Sakurai’s last hurrah.  Throw in everything for this game, then announce his departure -- maybe dabble in smaller or passion projects.  It’s a “salt the earth” strategy you’d kind of expect from a troll-happy creator; make a big mess, then leave the next guy to deal with the cleanup as you put on your sunglasses and backflip outta there.  As one would.