One of the biggest problems I believe the gaming industry has is how quick it is to dismiss mediocre or even bad games as a complete waste of time. That may not seem like it makes sense at all, but hear me out.
Just because a game is bad doesn't necessarily mean all the ideas it presents are bad. In fact, I feel like you can sometimes learn more from a failure than a success. But that doesn't always happen in the gaming industry. I think this is a big part of why it sometimes feels like the same game gets released over and over again, developers just take everything from their successes and slap a new label on them. Sometimes, it would help the industry innovate more if they took some of the more positive aspects from their less successful titles. In case it wasn't immediately apparent, Flying Dragon, a fighting game for the Nintendo 64, isn't a particularly good game. I probably could have just said "fighting game for the Nintendo 64" and you probably could have deduced that. However, it has a lot of good, unique ideas that really could have made their way into other titles, especially in a genre that is constantly criticized for lacking innovation. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't enough to overcome the gameplay flaws, but it would have been nice to see them attempted in a more competent title.
First, we will start out with the bad. Flying Dragon is just not a very good fighting game. It's overly simplistic, with only punch, kick and special move buttons. Special and super moves are performed with the touch of the button, which I've never really liked. I always feel like that takes a lot of challenge out of fighting games unless they are specifically designed around it (like Fantasy Strike) and that was definitely the case here. I had little to no issue beating Flying Dragon on all but the highest of difficulty levels and while it wasn't easy to get perfects, it always felt like the computer couldn't really stop me from working my offense. The game was relatively slow and I feel like rounds constantly went to time, which shouldn't really happen when you are playing a fighting game against the computer. The combo system was very simplistic, with each character having only a few different strings. I have to give them credit for at least including said system, most fighting games this simple don't have anything like that at all. Everything may be very simplistic, but at least the physics make sense and FD does have some solid juggling mechanics, so there wasn't a complete lack of effort. It's just that nothing here could make up for the poor pacing and overly simplistic gameplay.
The graphics and sound are similarly mediocre, not bad by any means but very forgettable. FD looks like a pretty standard N64 game, big and blocky with backgrounds that lack detail. At least it's bright and colorful, with interestingly designed characters, but it still doesn't really stand out from any other titles on the system. I feel like the best N64 games were able to hide their blockiness, and FD definitely didn't. The sound is okay, it's actually of surprising quality for an N64 game. However, it most definitely does not fit with a fighting game. It almost sounds like it ended up on the cutting room floor of a Kirby game or some generic, kid-friendly 3D platformer. Sound effects are appropriate, and the overall presentation is solid, if unspectacular. I guess the presentation isn't really a negative, but it isn't a positive either. The characters are about as stereotypical as they can be for a fighting game and their post match quotes are translated so poorly it's hilarious. Sometimes good presentation can pull some below average games up a few notches, but that most certainly wasn't the case here.
Gameplay-wise, I could probably just end the review here. It's about as plain as a fighting game could be. However, there is a lot more to FD than meets the eye. The first, and biggest, thing anyone will notice is that there are two different modes, VR and SD mode. While both of them have similar control schemes, they are very different. VR mode is more like a traditional fighting game, in terms of both presentation and gameplay. As I mentioned previously, the characters are all ridiculous fighting game tropes, ninjas and Kung Fu masters and secret agents and such. However, it has tons of customization options. The biggest one is most certainly the ability to switch between 2D and 3D modes. It is exactly what it sounds like, you can play VR mode as either a 3D fighting game or a more traditional 2D fighter. That's a really cool feature and it basically makes this mode two games in one. Having a sidestep button and fighting on a 3D plane completely changes the way you have to go about the game. I really liked this idea and it's a shame this wasn't attempted in other games with more robust mechanics. I guess they would rather sell you to separate games. I will say that this makes the 3D mode a little more unbalanced, as the character move sets are more designed for the 2D mode. But it's still a cool idea.
However, it's the SD mode that truly stands out, or at least attempts to. The art style is more childish, with chibi versions of the characters from the VR mode joining some other unique, kid-friendly characters. I'm not a fan of that, but I do like the mode's other features. Each character starts with equipped items, which can be leveled up by defeating computer opponents. Each of these items can evolve into something more powerful, adding bigger stat boosts, as you play. Defeating certain opponents also unlocks treasure chests, which give you new equipable and consumable items. I really, really wish more fighting games did stuff like this. It gives you something to chase other than just wins. There are a lot of items, like, hundreds of them and it gives the game a bit more depth. It had me playing a fighting game with very little to offer way longer than I should have. I wanted to see what kind of stuff I could collect and how it would help me in battle. The consumable items were cool as well, though I could see them being a bit problematic in a fighting game. If you did something like this online, you might have to turn off healing items, as it's just awful to have to deal with healing in fighting games (looking at you, Elena players). But I think it's a cool idea that could absolutely be incorporated into a modern fighting game.
All of these features were really cool, but they were essentially moot because no one actually bought Flying Dragon. It would have been great if you could trade items with other players, though that would have required quite a few hoops to jump through with the technology of the day. It would be easy on modern platforms though, plus you would be able to do so with players throughout the world. It's pretty common to have in other genres, so why not fighting games? I'm sure there would be some issues with this theoretical game becoming "pay to win," but you could always have options to play with and without the items. I guess the keyword here is options. FD has more of them than most of its contemporaries and different from other games of its genre. I'm sure having collectables and RPG elements would end up getting turned into excuses for more DLC, but if implemented properly they could make a newer fighting game stand out.
Look, I understand why Flying Dragon failed: it wasn't a very good fighting game. But just because the actual fighting wasn't good doesn't mean there wasn't anything to take from the game. That's true of quite a lot of titles throughout history, they offer some positives even if they are weak overall. In fact, there are very few games throughout history that offer absolutely nothing worth taking a look at (I've reviewed one or two). I can't necessarily say I think Flying Dragon should get a reboot, just that it has a few features worth revisiting or updating for the modern age. I can't necessarily say that it's worth playing through today, just that it might be worth looking back at for some inspiration. That being said, it's not a particularly good fighting game and hardcore fans of the genre should probably stay away.
Comments
Post a Comment