Initial impressions and personal review of Blade Symphony
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 3:09 am
I signed up for this forum so I could post my opinion of the current progress of Blade Symphony and how I feel about it so far for the developers and other passersby to see. I frequent the School of War server, so I've mostly played with guys who are better than me. I'm not good at this game by any means. I'm just an easy going guy trying to kill time, but I still have a say here. So here's what I think of the game so far.
So let me break this up into a few sections and say how I feel about the game.
Audio/Visual
I'm not a big display or graphics person so I won't be long here. I'm just happy that my laptop can run this great looking game. Graphics are bright and flashy, music is pretty, and sounds are soothing. Animations are stylish and fun to watch; they make sense and it's easy to tell what is going on. A theme that is elegant and entertaining. Very pleasing in this area.
Community
This IS something I personally rate games by. A community where people are too serious, too competitive, or just plain unfriendly is a big minus to me even if the game is good. Thankfully, this game's community is very friendly, and does a good job at welcoming new players. I hope this persists in the game's full release.
Gameplay
I think the gameplay itself is what embodies the weakest and strongest aspects of the game so far. So let me seperate this into a few things and give my opinions on the various odds and ends. I'll include suggestions to things I don't like so i'm not just complaining.
-Damage Balance
I don't really care to argue numbers. What's important to me is that the game doesn't feel broken in fights, so as far as I know good job there.
-Health/flow of combat
I do not care for how health works. More specifically, I think duels last way too long. I was hoping this would be more like a high-speed futuristic version of Bushido Blade or some such, but it feels like any other fighter game, where you have to tick away your opponents life bar to finish them off. Accurate hits just get shrugged away, and it doesn't feel as rewarding or skillful. Good player's have plenty of time to learn their opponent as they fight, so coming up with your own playstyle loses it's punch way too fast. It feels more like I'm not being beaten just because the other guys are so much better, but also because they know the game more and can take the time to figure out a plan to beat me in the first round; mind over instinct.
But perhaps that's how it's supposed to work.
My suggestion for this, if applicable, would be to reduce the health total, maybe about 2/3 of what it is. Fights should be short and intense clashes where the skills and instincts matter more than the know, and players shouldn't want to lean on taking time to throw the first fight and figure out their opponent. There are plenty of other fighting games with long fights that let you do that.
-Swords
Perhaps I am a little misguided, but this is my least favorite thing about this game. I don't like the idea of any character using any sword. It feels like it takes away the uniqueness of some of the character you play as. Instead of learning the character, mastering their strengths and weakness, choosing certain swords can simply 'balance out' the character and make them more neutral. I think it makes things too easy at times.
As example: Katanas can give a sturdy block to The Phalanx and The Ryu, who's fighting style would seem to imply they would need to rely on timed parries and footwork respectively. Foils for The Judgement make him feel a little more frilly as he has to rely more on light thrusts and good footing where his overall style seems to make him more of a hard handed fighter.
But I don't mean to imply that customization is bad. I think the swords should offer some variance within the style of the character, but I feel like some of them change the character a bit too much. Perhaps each character could get a smaller list of sword types that they could use that don't drastically alter who they are. Such as The Judgement getting a set of heavy swords and The Phalanx getting to choose from different sabers.
But that's a pretty extreme idea. I'll just leave this point at "I think sword customization is pretty crazy right now"
-Knives
Knives are my second least favorite thing in this game. I would think that a game that boasts a reliance on skill wouldn't give all the players a homing missile they could throw out at any time. Knives feel more spammy than anything else. A few well timed shots can really punish a player who isn't doing anything wrong. Hit someone in the air and down they go. It's easily abused. Some play styles rely on putting attacks down to test their opponent and put space between them, but knives can punish these actions effortlessly.
But perhaps there's some underlying balance reason they home in.
Three Suggestions for this. One: make knife shooting require you to actually aim; maybe speed it up the windup so you can do that quickly instead of tediously trying to hold a crosshair on an opponent for so long. Two: Give them a reload time. Say you get five knives you can shoot, and you reload one every ten seconds. So if you shoot all five you have to wait at least ten seconds to get another, and ten more for another. I think that would slow their use down a bit.
Three: Just as an idea, maybe make the knife unique to the class a bit. Say The Judgement's tomahawk is slower to wind up and flies slower, but has a punch. Phalanx's knife flys the farthest and fastest, and Ryu's shruiken has the fastest windup. Something like that? Just a thought.
-Character Specific
Nothing much to say. I like the characters and the playstyles are unique and fun. The only thing I have to say is I don't care for how The Phalanx's heavy looks. It doesn't really differentiate itself from The Judgement's heavy attacks; both big slow wide swings that take forever. Maybe make it more dramatic and floursh-y like the rest of his attacks?
-Presentation/combos
My favorite things about the gameplay. The game presents things in a way that's easy to understand. The attack tracer for the sword was such a clever idea, and the way combos and stances flow into each other so nicely makes you feel like you actually know how to fight correctly instead of fumbling on how to figure out how to do special attacks and button combinations. It's a system that is easy to understand, but still gives pros plenty of room for mastery. Simple in appearance, but with greater depth beneath that initial simplicity. Genius by my books.
That's my nit-picks for gameplay. Not demanding I'm right, but that's how I feel after playing this for a few days.
Overall
Good. The game is fun, and it works well. This game has a rare awareness of it's own 'cool factor' and does it's best to make things more 'cool' instead of just trying to be a 'balanced and skillful fighting game'. It's a game that knows it's a game, and tries it's best to be fun for casual games and challenging for serious ones. I feel like when I first played this that the developers went out of their way to make things seem more fun and enticing for new people, which was very pleasing to me, and I'm left with a fairly good initial impression of the game at this stage.
But some of the game mechanics are a little unappealing to me. I don't take the game seriously, because that's not how I play, but at the same time I feel like I CAN'T take the game seriously because of how arcade-y and silly some of the fighting mechanics are. Homing knives? Fencers with katanas? Strange things to me. Not to mention that there is a lot of technical stuff and small moving parts you'll need to know if you want to keep up with any serious players. I feel like the game could do to have some snappier gameplay that rewards instinct and reflexes more than it does now.
But I like the idea of the game at this point. I'll keep playing from time to time. I hope this little review gives the developers some inspiration to keep working, and gives other viewers a little insight from a relaxed perspective.
Thanks for reading.
So let me break this up into a few sections and say how I feel about the game.
Audio/Visual
I'm not a big display or graphics person so I won't be long here. I'm just happy that my laptop can run this great looking game. Graphics are bright and flashy, music is pretty, and sounds are soothing. Animations are stylish and fun to watch; they make sense and it's easy to tell what is going on. A theme that is elegant and entertaining. Very pleasing in this area.
Community
This IS something I personally rate games by. A community where people are too serious, too competitive, or just plain unfriendly is a big minus to me even if the game is good. Thankfully, this game's community is very friendly, and does a good job at welcoming new players. I hope this persists in the game's full release.
Gameplay
I think the gameplay itself is what embodies the weakest and strongest aspects of the game so far. So let me seperate this into a few things and give my opinions on the various odds and ends. I'll include suggestions to things I don't like so i'm not just complaining.
-Damage Balance
I don't really care to argue numbers. What's important to me is that the game doesn't feel broken in fights, so as far as I know good job there.
-Health/flow of combat
I do not care for how health works. More specifically, I think duels last way too long. I was hoping this would be more like a high-speed futuristic version of Bushido Blade or some such, but it feels like any other fighter game, where you have to tick away your opponents life bar to finish them off. Accurate hits just get shrugged away, and it doesn't feel as rewarding or skillful. Good player's have plenty of time to learn their opponent as they fight, so coming up with your own playstyle loses it's punch way too fast. It feels more like I'm not being beaten just because the other guys are so much better, but also because they know the game more and can take the time to figure out a plan to beat me in the first round; mind over instinct.
But perhaps that's how it's supposed to work.
My suggestion for this, if applicable, would be to reduce the health total, maybe about 2/3 of what it is. Fights should be short and intense clashes where the skills and instincts matter more than the know, and players shouldn't want to lean on taking time to throw the first fight and figure out their opponent. There are plenty of other fighting games with long fights that let you do that.
-Swords
Perhaps I am a little misguided, but this is my least favorite thing about this game. I don't like the idea of any character using any sword. It feels like it takes away the uniqueness of some of the character you play as. Instead of learning the character, mastering their strengths and weakness, choosing certain swords can simply 'balance out' the character and make them more neutral. I think it makes things too easy at times.
As example: Katanas can give a sturdy block to The Phalanx and The Ryu, who's fighting style would seem to imply they would need to rely on timed parries and footwork respectively. Foils for The Judgement make him feel a little more frilly as he has to rely more on light thrusts and good footing where his overall style seems to make him more of a hard handed fighter.
But I don't mean to imply that customization is bad. I think the swords should offer some variance within the style of the character, but I feel like some of them change the character a bit too much. Perhaps each character could get a smaller list of sword types that they could use that don't drastically alter who they are. Such as The Judgement getting a set of heavy swords and The Phalanx getting to choose from different sabers.
But that's a pretty extreme idea. I'll just leave this point at "I think sword customization is pretty crazy right now"
-Knives
Knives are my second least favorite thing in this game. I would think that a game that boasts a reliance on skill wouldn't give all the players a homing missile they could throw out at any time. Knives feel more spammy than anything else. A few well timed shots can really punish a player who isn't doing anything wrong. Hit someone in the air and down they go. It's easily abused. Some play styles rely on putting attacks down to test their opponent and put space between them, but knives can punish these actions effortlessly.
But perhaps there's some underlying balance reason they home in.
Three Suggestions for this. One: make knife shooting require you to actually aim; maybe speed it up the windup so you can do that quickly instead of tediously trying to hold a crosshair on an opponent for so long. Two: Give them a reload time. Say you get five knives you can shoot, and you reload one every ten seconds. So if you shoot all five you have to wait at least ten seconds to get another, and ten more for another. I think that would slow their use down a bit.
Three: Just as an idea, maybe make the knife unique to the class a bit. Say The Judgement's tomahawk is slower to wind up and flies slower, but has a punch. Phalanx's knife flys the farthest and fastest, and Ryu's shruiken has the fastest windup. Something like that? Just a thought.
-Character Specific
Nothing much to say. I like the characters and the playstyles are unique and fun. The only thing I have to say is I don't care for how The Phalanx's heavy looks. It doesn't really differentiate itself from The Judgement's heavy attacks; both big slow wide swings that take forever. Maybe make it more dramatic and floursh-y like the rest of his attacks?
-Presentation/combos
My favorite things about the gameplay. The game presents things in a way that's easy to understand. The attack tracer for the sword was such a clever idea, and the way combos and stances flow into each other so nicely makes you feel like you actually know how to fight correctly instead of fumbling on how to figure out how to do special attacks and button combinations. It's a system that is easy to understand, but still gives pros plenty of room for mastery. Simple in appearance, but with greater depth beneath that initial simplicity. Genius by my books.
That's my nit-picks for gameplay. Not demanding I'm right, but that's how I feel after playing this for a few days.
Overall
Good. The game is fun, and it works well. This game has a rare awareness of it's own 'cool factor' and does it's best to make things more 'cool' instead of just trying to be a 'balanced and skillful fighting game'. It's a game that knows it's a game, and tries it's best to be fun for casual games and challenging for serious ones. I feel like when I first played this that the developers went out of their way to make things seem more fun and enticing for new people, which was very pleasing to me, and I'm left with a fairly good initial impression of the game at this stage.
But some of the game mechanics are a little unappealing to me. I don't take the game seriously, because that's not how I play, but at the same time I feel like I CAN'T take the game seriously because of how arcade-y and silly some of the fighting mechanics are. Homing knives? Fencers with katanas? Strange things to me. Not to mention that there is a lot of technical stuff and small moving parts you'll need to know if you want to keep up with any serious players. I feel like the game could do to have some snappier gameplay that rewards instinct and reflexes more than it does now.
But I like the idea of the game at this point. I'll keep playing from time to time. I hope this little review gives the developers some inspiration to keep working, and gives other viewers a little insight from a relaxed perspective.
Thanks for reading.