Rollback netcode has been a heavily requested feature for a number of Arc System Works’ fighters but the company implementing the same last year, starting with Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R. The feature was available in Guilty Gear Strive at launch and contributed strongly to its popularity at launch. It now remains to be seen if other franchises like Granblue Fantasy Versus or Dragon Ball FighterZ will get the same treatment.

In the meantime, Arc System Works is also working on DNF Duel, a new fighting game based on Nexon’s Dungeon Fighter Online. It currently doesn’t have any confirmed platforms or a release date. Check out the latest trailer here.

You all asked for it and here it is!
We are proud to announce Rollback Netcode for #BlazBlueCentralfiction and #BlazBlueCrossTagBattle ! #CEO2021 pic.twitter.com/jA9bBnRghH

— Arc System Works America (@ArcSystemWorksU) December 6, 2021

If you were lucky enough to play games in the heydey of the arcade, you’re familiar with fighting games that had pixel art and 2D sprites. That age is long gone, but a lot of those games have found second life in re-releases and remasters. It’s been a long time since we got a new fighter in that classic style, however.

That’s all about to change thanks to publisher Aksys Game and developer RareBreed Makes Games, who announced Blazing Strike, a 2D fighter in the classic style set to release next year. The game is set to mix classic elements and new gameplay mechanics.

“I was always fond of classic fighting games and I wanted to make a fun fighting game with an emphasis on mobility,” said Rarebreed founder Mark Chung. “Our goal is to create an homage to the classic pixel art-based 2D fighters, but with updated game mechanics that not only will bring nostalgia to 90’s arcade kids but will offer something new and entertaining to all gamers, regardless of whether they have played fighting games before.”

“Blazing Strike features a 4-button system with six normal attacks: light, medium and heavy punches and kicks, as well as three defense moves: block, guard and parry,” according to a press release. “A Rush Trigger enables fighters to execute fast-paced attacks and movements, but using it will slowly drain the Rush Meter, sending the character into a temporary groggy state. This allows players to execute exciting combos while having to manage the Rush Meter. The game will include three play modes: Story Mode, Arcade Mode and VS Mode, with training, sparring and online match via Persona AI, and online play powered by GGPO.”

The game looks good and the description sounds interesting, especially since it will be using rollback netcode thanks to GGPO integration. Blazing Strike will release on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC in spring 2022.

Publisher Aksys Games and developer Lentera today announced that Ghost Parade, a side scrolling adventure game, would be releasing this fall. They revealed that the game would have both, a physical and a digital release.

The game follows a young girl named Suri, who gets lost in the forest on her way home. As you can see from the trailer below, the game utilizes a watercolor-esque 2D art style. Suri must seek the help of the spirits of the forest in a story that evolves from trying to get home to saving the mysterious, mystical forest, drawing from Indonesian folklore and mythology. She must help the ghosts save the forest from the worst monster of all – man.

Ghost Parade will release this fall on PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC. Pre-orders for the game are up on the publisher’s website now. It will retail for $39.99, but pre-ordering now will net you a discounted price of $35.99.

Arc System Works’ BlazBlue: Central Fiction Special Edition is coming to the Switch on February 7th, 2019 in North America. It will be available on the Nintendo eShop. For those in Japan and Europe, it will be out on February 7th and 8th respectively, with both physical and digital releases. Those who haven’t played BlazBlue: Central Fiction are in for quite a lot with the Special Edition.

In addition to the over 40 hour story mode, there are more than 30 characters to choose from and 60 stages to fight in. The story itself offers a conclusion for Ragna the Bloodedge’s story and features the same gorgeous animated style that Arc System Works is famous for. For veterans, this is the title that introduced Exceed Accel attacks along with Active Flow.

New players, or those relatively new to fighting games, will have a special Stylish Type option. This allows for pulling off combos without complex button inputs or timing. Of course, since this is the Special Edition, all previously released DLC is also included in the package.

#BLAZBLUE CENTRALFICTION Special Edition is coming to the west!

It will be hitting the Nintendo Switch eShop on 02/07/19. pic.twitter.com/L4Zr4Z96sK

— Arc System Works America (@ArcSystemWorksU) November 17, 2018

"Unlike with standard visual novels, Death Mark is more like a classic adventure that gives players the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the story"

What can you tell us about the game’s setting?

Experience Inc: The game takes place in a certain city on the outskirts of Tokyo having a number of spirit legends. Spirits that were initially nothing but rumors gained power at one point, and have started to spread the Death Mark indiscriminately. Those who have been “marked” become a Mark Bearer, and will start to lose memory gradually after a certain period of time, followed by a gory death. After being marked, the protagonist (you) and other Mark Bearers will end up investigating the root cause of such spirits to avoid their death.

What are some of the ways in which players can interact with the world in this game?

Aksys: Unlike with standard visual novels, Death Mark is more like a classic adventure that gives players the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the story. Each chapter of the game sees you investigating a haunted location. You are able to traverse the space, examine items, and take some along with you. These items become important for when you face off against the spirit in battle; you need to choose the correct combinations from the clues you’ve uncovered in your investigation or you have a real chance of dying. And it’s not pretty. Picking the appropriate Partner to take along with you will also help you gain access to important details and objects, so you need to pay attention. Each battle has two possible outcomes: You can purify the spirit and all is well, but you can also destroy the spirit with an incorrect decision and let’s just say that’s not the only misfortune that happens. There are also times in the story where the stakes for answering a question wrong can mean death. These Live or Die segments are quick, and rely on your character’s Soul Power, which runs out the longer you take to answer.

Is there a growing interest for Visual Novels in the West?

Aksys: Definitely. One key feature helping the genre to grow is that some of the newer visual novels have more interactivity than in the past. Death Mark, for example, requires players to investigate rumors, make effective decisions while under a fair amount of duress (answer quickly and intelligently, or die…), and recruit and work effectively with various partners to ensure their survival

Another aspect that is helping the rising popularity of adventure/story-focused games is a number of previously niche genres that fall under the nebulous “visual novel” umbrella are starting to gain a following in the West, such as otome (visual novels aimed towards those who want a healthy dose of romance and attractive men in addition to epic stories), and horror/suspense games like our Zero Escape franchise, XSEED’s Corpse Party series, and NISA’s Danganronpa.

"When we first saw the game being announced for Japan, it looked right up our alley due to it being an interactive adventure game with extreme horror themes. After playing and evaluating it internally, it only solidified that fact and we knew we had to localize this title for the West so that everyone could be just as intrigued and scared as we were when playing and enjoying the game."

What made you decide to bring the game over to the West?

Aksys: When we first saw the game being announced for Japan, it looked right up our alley due to it being an interactive adventure game with extreme horror themes. After playing and evaluating it internally, it only solidified that fact and we knew we had to localize this title for the West so that everyone could be just as intrigued and scared as we were when playing and enjoying the game.

Can you tell us what some of the major sources of inspiration were for this game?

Experience Inc: Infamous haunted places, deserted areas found in busy cities, past tragic events/history, etc. Each Spirit in the game is based on a bunch of documents, motif ghosts/spirits, urban legends, historical events.

Can you tell us a bit about the premise and story?

Experience Inc: As we mentioned, the premise of the game is the “death curse” called the Death Mark, which starts to appear in the 1990s when scary rumors as well as occult information are commonly talked about through word of mouth as if they hold some degree of truth. While it’s fictional, we decided it all takes place in H city, an ordinary sounding place to create a sense of affinity for the users. The story is about the protagonist and other mark bearers facing several Spirits and overcoming their fear to survive the curse of death, but it’s made so that the players feels as if they’re experiencing what the protagonist is experiencing first-hand as the focus of this game is to experience horror. For instance, a number of narrative tricks are set in places that will get triggered when the thoughts of the protagonist are in sync with the players’ subjective views.

How much choice does the player have in changing the direction of the story?

Experience Inc: Their small choices won’t affect the direction of the story very much; they merely reflect the player’s preferences in the current circumstances, or affect responses they get from the mark bearers they interact with. Choices that would greatly affect the course of the story would be a decision on whether to destroy or rescue the Spirits they’re facing and depending on what they decide to do, the accompanying mark bearer might end up dead. And such deaths would heavily impact the ending of the final scenario (example: normal or bad).

"There are no plans for PC or Xbox One at this time."

Are there any plans to release the game for the PC and Xbox One?

Aksys: There are no plans for PC or Xbox One at this time.

What would you say is the most unique aspect of this game that players won’t find elsewhere?

Experience Inc: Illustration of the victims’ bodies that are both beautifully/ominously drawn/described. Spirits are designed by our designer based on his own experiences or situations he deliberately put himself in. Spirits are designed so that their appearances vividly describe the story of their vengeful birth.

Next-gen is coming sooner or later. From a development perspective, what is your biggest expectation from PS5 and Xbox Scarlett?

Aksys: At this point they’re mostly names and rumors with very little in the way of any concrete information. It’ll be interesting to see what form they take, especially since Nintendo cannonballed into the market with the Switch, but we really don’t have any detailed information on what is coming for the next gen.

What is your take on the ongoing drama of loot boxes and microtransactions?

Aksys: Our games don’t really fit the microtransaction/lootbox model, so it’s not something we have had a chance to look at closely enough to form an educated opinion.

Yasuhiro Wada is best known as the founder and creator of the Harvest Moon series. His upcoming game is titled Little Dragon Cafe and it will be published by Rising Star Games for both the PS4 and Nintendo Switch. The publisher has now announced that the game will release digitally and physically in Europe this summer.

The game follows twin siblings whose mother has fallen into a deep supernatural sleep. Following this, an old wizard hands them a dragon and tells the siblings that they must raise it in order to cure their mother. The siblings must now take care of the cafe’s business while also raising this young dragon. Players will also have to farm fresh materials and interact with the townspeople so as to increase their happiness.

The game certainly sounds like a lot of fun and it will be releasing in North America late in summer as well.

Mystery adventure title Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma will be heading to the PlayStation 4 in the Fall. Aksys Games confirmed the same on Twitter and you’ll be able to pick it up as either a physical or digital release.

Originally released for the Nintendo 3DS, PC and PlayStation Vita, Zero Time Dilemma was critically acclaimed for its narrative and decision-making. It takes place between 999 and Virtue’s Last Reward with different characters trying to unravel the story behind their captivity.

Both of the above games were actually ported to the PlayStation 4, PS Vita and PC recently in the form of Zero Escape: The Nonary Games. Both games have been remastered from their original releases and the compilation as a whole received strong critical acclaim.

What are your thoughts on Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma heading to the PS4? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more information on an exact release date.

Aksys has officially announced that the Arc System Works 2d fighter Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 is going to be coming to the PS4, PS3 and PC this spring in Japan. Now that the announcement has been made, there is plenty of talk whether the game will eventually be making its way to the United States at some point as well.

The company announced the title on its official Twitter account and that it would be appearing in Japan this spring on the same account. The company also revealed the game is going to be featured at EVO 2017 but the comment that the firm will be making “formal announcement on GG REV 2 in the coming weeks”, is why people think it’s coming to North America.

Before that game lands in the US sometime this year, you should check out our review of Guilty Gear Xrd. The series is nothing if not original so check it out and get excited for another installment.

That’s not the shocking part. Crossover fighters are as common as colds, and were nearly as numerous in the 1990s. No, what’s shocking about King of Fighters is that it’s outlived each and every one of the series that inspired it on its way to becoming SNK’s most recognizable and successful franchise. For reference, that would be like if Street Fighter x Tekken was so successful that Namco and Capcom stopped developing Tekken and Street Fighter and just made that crossover. It’s incredibly impressive.

"While the 3D models don’t look as bad as they did during the initial reveal, they don’t look good, either. The main issue seems to be caused by the chasm of detail that separates the character’s clothes from their skin."

But success isn’t easy, and even a series as storied and respected as King of Fighters has had its issues (we’re looking at you, KoF XII). It’s been a little more than six years since King of Fighters XIII revitalized the franchise and brought back its previous critical acclaim, which means King of Fighter XIV has a lot to live up to.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: the 3D models. Like Arc System Works and Capcom of old, SNK’s games were as well known for their beautiful sprite art as they were for their complex fighting engines. But sprite art is almost unfeasibly expensive for studios in the AAA space today, and companies, beginning with Capcom with Street Fighter IV, have largely switched over to 3D models on a 2D plane, which are cheaper and easier to make.

Capcom mitigated the change with a very stylized approach, and Arc Sys performed some technical wizardry to make the 3D models in Guilty Gear look and animate exactly like the original sprites. SNK, unfortunately, has done neither, and while their 3D models don’t look as bad as they did during the initial reveal, they don’t look good, either. The main issue seems to be caused by the chasm of detail that separates the character’s clothes from their skin.

"So King of Fighters XIV isn’t a looker, unlike XIII. That’s unfortunate, but as a friend of mine once said, a fighter could be using stick figures and as long as the fighting itself was solid, most people probably wouldn’t care. Thankfully, in that regard, XIV delivers"

While outfits are colorful, textured, and detailed, the characters themselves lack texture and their skin looks flat. This isn’t that big of a deal when the characters are fighting far away from the camera, but it becomes an issue whenever the camera zooms in for some pre-fight banter or to highlight a CLIMAX Super Special Move (New to the series. Think Ultras from Street Fighter IV, and yes, that is really what they’re called). This lack of detail extends to the stages, as well, though it’s less noticeable.

So King of Fighters XIV isn’t a looker, unlike XIII. That’s unfortunate, but as a friend of mine once said, a fighter could be using stick figures and as long as the fighting itself was solid, most people probably wouldn’t care. Thankfully, in that regard, XIV delivers. I’m fairly new to the series, so I can’t compare the game to anything other than my brief playtime with XIII, but the fighting feels responsive and impactful.

The fighting itself is pretty standard. Characters are equipped with both light and heavy punches and kicks, throws, and special moves. Dealing damage and getting hit builds your power gauge, which can be filled up to five times, and expended on various Super Special Moves. Characters can also enter MAX mode, a special mode that powers up your characters moves. And of course, there’s a variety of defensive options like Blow Backs and Emergency Evasions, both of which do exactly what their name implies.

"There’s a good tutorial mode that will walk you through all of the game’s major techniques, as well as character specific missions that teach combos and special moves. While it’s not as robust as, say, the teaching tools available in games by Arc Systems Works, Namco, or Team Ninja, it’s still very solid."

King of Fighters has a reputation for being unforgiving, and it’s well-earned. As a game that primarily plays out as a 3 on 3 affair, it requires a lot of character knowledge, impeccable timing, and technical skill to get into. SNK has realized that, however, and made some concessions to new players. There’s a good tutorial mode that will walk you through all of the game’s major techniques, as well as character specific missions that teach combos and special moves. While it’s not as robust as, say, the teaching tools available in games by Arc Systems Works, Namco, or Team Ninja, it’s still very solid. Considering the game’s 50 character roster, 19 of whom are new to the series, this is especially important.

The other major carrot for new players is Rush. By repeatedly pressing light punch, you can perform a simple combo ending in a Special Move, or a Super Special Move if you have at least one bar full in your power gauge. It won’t win matches for you, but it’s a nice for new players who are struggling with the game’s rather complex combo system and execution barrier, even if it doesn’t really teach them how to get any better.

In addition to playing well, KoF XIV also supports a number of modes of play. There’s a story mode, in which your team of fighters faces off against a number of other three-person teams arcade style, in the latest iteration of the King of Fighters Tournament in an attempt to take down Antonov, the cigar smoking bear of a man hosting it. The story itself is pretty silly, the cutscenes look a bit dated, and there’s not really much to it (those looking for something like the story modes in Mortal Kombat, Blazblue, Guilty Gear, or Street Fighter V will be disappointed), but it’s fun. Beyond that, there’s a versus mode offering both 1 on 1 and 3 on 3 action, as well as Time Trial and Survival modes. There’s even a gallery with illustrations, voice overs, and movies to unlock.

"The game features the standard smattering of ranked and player matches, as well as an online training mode so you can practice with your buddies. There’s also a party mode, where you can have six players, three on each team, duke it out, so you can relive the glory days of the arcade."

Like any modern fighting game, the core of King of Fighters XIV is online. The game features the standard smattering of ranked and player matches, as well as an online training mode so you can practice with your buddies. There’s also a party mode, where you can have six players, three on each team, duke it out, so you can relive the glory days of the arcade. At the time of this writing, I haven’t been able to play online because there hasn’t been anyone on, but SNK is promising a far better netcode than the one that appeared in KoF XIII.

Like most fighting games, what you put into King of Fighters XIV will determine what you get out of it. Despite SNK’s best attempts, the amount of content available to people who can’t or won’t play online is pretty minuscule, even with such a big cast. The high degree of execution difficulty, even with the new teachings tools and things like Rush, will likely turn others off.

So King of Fighters remains what it has always been with its latest entry: a niche fighter with a great cast, an unforgiving learning curve, and a lot of heart anchored by an incredible fighting engine. It’s not for everyone; no game is. But if you’re willing to dedicate yourself to it, and learn it, it’s a tournament worth entering and a fight worth fighting, all these years later.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

But it does. Zero Time Dilemma is out, and for the small, but devoted following of the previous two games, it is a sure purchase no matter what. They would not, under any circumstances, not buy the game. The question on their mind is not whether or not Zero Time Dilemma should be purchased- it is, rather, was it all worth it?

On the whole, I think that question can comfortably be answered with a yes. Viewed holistically, Zero Time Dilemma may be the weakest entry in the series, with its shift to cinematic cutscenes jarring with its low budget, its storytelling style sometimes being too obtuse to follow for its own good, and some questionable puzzles, but viewed as the conclusion to the story that 999 kicked off, Zero Time Dilemma provides a perfect conclusion, also returning to a far more visceral tone of storytelling after Virtue’s Last Reward turned things down a notch in the vain pursuit of wider commercial success.

Let’s discuss that story first, and how it is told, because that is the primary question on the minds of most people who play these games- yes, Zero Time Dilemma‘s story is incredible. I found it to be far better than Virtue’s Last Reward in that respect, actually, as it manages to cast the kind of tense atmosphere that 999 did. Zero Time Dilemma also benefits from one of the most genius uses of literary ergodism I can think of, with the content of the story being reflected in the form itself- this is hard to explain without spoiling things much, but essentially, this game, which takes place in 2028, between 999 and Virtue’s Last Reward, follows a group of nine people who are held captive against their will and told to participate in something called the Decision Game. The Decision Game forces the participants into a passive contest for death, as they are all told that they will be free to leave- as long as six of them are dead. This is already pretty twisted, but there’s another catch- every 90 minutes, the participants are injected with a dose of a medicine that induces short term memory loss, so that they don’t remember anything that happened before those 90 minutes.

"Zero Time Dilemma also benefits from one of the most genius uses of literary ergodism I can think of, with the content of the story being reflected in the form itself."

That last story detail is what gives Zero Time Dilemma its own storytelling gimmick, which it layers on top of the nonlinear flowchart from Virtue’s Last Reward (which, in turn, was layered on top of 999‘s branching storyline). Players are asked to select a team they want to follow, and then they are asked to select a screenshot of their time in the Decision Game at random. As players play more and more of these 90 minute periods, and across multiple teams, it becomes clear that Zero Time Dilemma is employing multiple forms of nonlinear storytelling, and putting exactly what happened, when it happened, and if it happened is one of the joys of this game.

This can be a bit disorienting at first- indeed, at first, I found myself wondering whether the low budget for this game might not have led to a rushed and choppy style of storytelling. But the more time you spend with it, the more things start to come together, and the more the story’s labyrinthine complexity is revealed to you in all its diabolical glory. Things can often be hard to follow – there were multiple ties when I simply could not figure out where and when I was in the story, and gave up trying – but on the whole, it works remarkably well.

This excellent storytelling is aided by some very good writing (and enough credit cannot be given to Aksys for their localization), which brings the game’s colorful cast of nine characters to life. The dialog is succinct, sharp, on point, and generally bereft of the wordy exposition of 999 and Virtue’s Last Reward, which is greatly appreciated. It is a shame, then, that the voice work is generally poor, and often lets the writing and storytelling down, with some rather exaggerated performances breaking the illusion and taking the player out of the moment.

"The more time you spend with it, the more things start to come together, and the more the story’s labyrinthine complexity is revealed to you in all its diabolical glory."

The story and storytelling are also hurt visibly by the game’s low budget. This is inescapable, it is something that stares the player in the face the minute they start playing the game. Zero Time Dilemma eschews the static portraits of 999 and instead opts to go for in game cinematics, similar to Telltale games. This would be fine, but the low budget leads to choppy cutaways, transitions, and animations, leading to very unconvincing cutscenes in what should be very high stakes moments in the story, dissipating the tension of the moment.

The tension is also undermined by the game’s trademark ‘escape sequences,’ which are the point and click puzzle sections. These are the most interactive parts of the experience, and in 999 and Virtue’s Last Reward, they were challenging, fiendishly difficult, and always contributing to the overall story of the plot. Here… not so much. Some of the escape rooms in Zero Time Dilemma are without a doubt the best in the series (in fact, ZTD quite possibly does have my favorite puzzles from the series), but nothing can make up for how poor some of the other puzzles are, which commit all the worst cardinal sins puzzle games can commit- they are not difficult, just tedious; or they are so obtuse that the player literally cannot know how to solve them (I am almost positive I just guessed my way through at least a couple of puzzles); puzzles that are just easy and break the pace and flow of the game; and finally, worst of all for Zero Escape, puzzles that just exist without adding anything to the story.

This problem comes with the legacy problems of Zero Escape games, which include fiddly controls in the escape sections (a problem worse on the Vita version, where you’re advised to just not use the touch screen, and to not even bother with the in game notes feature), and some rather unnecessarily obtuse hints. It’s not going to be a problem, all said and done, because I am sure that the good puzzle rooms (there are over a dozen) will stick out in the player’s mind far more than the bad ones- but it is a shame that the bad ones exist at all

"Fans of the previous two games owe it to themselves to play this game, and see the story through to its end."

So, in the end: should you play Zero Time Dilemma? If you are a fan of the series, and you have played 999 and VLR, then yes, without a doubt. This is as easy and emphatic a recommendation as I will ever make. Fans of the previous two games owe it to themselves to play this game, and see the story through to its end. If you haven’t played the other games, however, then you’d be ill advised to start with this new one. Not only does it make no concessions for new players whatsoever, simply dropping them in the literal middle of one of the most complex stories in video gaming, but the game’s low production values are probably also going to be easy turn offs from them giving the rest of the series a fair shake. If you haven’t played the other games, you’re advised to start from 999, work through VLR, and then get to ZTD.

Zero Time Dilemma is a game that shouldn’t exist, and in a lot of cases, that is painfully apparent. But none of that matters, because when it comes down to it, it is an immensely satisfying conclusion to what might be one of the best, best told stories in the history of the medium.

This game was reviewed on Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita.