#compared to other parries i've come across in other games

[foxstens]

the parry in ender lilies is a bit op wtf????

[pinksbrickwall]

Nine Sols Review (It's Great!)

I'll be the first to admit that I went into this game with an feeling of tentative dread. As someone who was unable to really get into Sekiro, I was worried that I would fall into the same pitfalls in this game that I did with its inspiration as someone who isn't particularly good at executing precise parries in general. And I won't deny that the combat of this game comes with a few growing pains--I spent the first few hours floundering through the enemies as I struggled with the combat system, dodging rather than parrying while never using my talismans because of how foreign they felt compared to my basic attacks. My first few hours were enjoyable enough, but nothing in the game thus far had left me feeling anything more than a vague sense of intrigue.

Then the fourth and fifth bosses rolled in, and it was like a switch had flipped in my head.

I would describe the combat in this game as hard to learn but immensely satisfying to master. It took a while for me to really get the flow of the combat in this game, but once I got it, it became an almost hypnotic process weaving and parrying my way through the bosses' attacks while sneaking in slashes and talismans whenever I could. Fights in this game are fast, fluid, and unrelentingly execution heavy with bosses that force you to perform every move with pinpoint accuracy, and there's a certain euphoria to the way this game encourages improvement through its difficulty. I wouldn't have mastered the immensely satisfying Unbounded Counter if the fourth boss hadn't drilled it into me through dozens upon dozens of failed attempts.

Where this game particularly blew me away (other than through its amazing hand-drawn art-style) was with its narrative. The characters were all likable to the extent where I found myself properly invested in their burgeoning relationships; Yi and Shuanshuan's relationship in particular provided a nice emotional core to an otherwise brutal and tonally-dismal story. Even as someone who often loses interest whenever lore is delivered through messages scattered across the map, this game's setting was so intriguing that I found myself properly invested in the most minor of details. The way the story of this game was delivered in non-chronological order was very refreshing (I tend to enjoy stories that I have to piece together on my own), and there were more than a few twists scattered throughout the late game that genuinely surprised me and left me wanting more.

If there was any glaring issue I had with the game (other than the somewhat uninspired designs of most basic enemies) it would be that some of the jade powers should have been inherent to Yi's abilities. Two of the jades I ended up using by the endgame--dealing internal damage through perfect parries and regaining internal damage through slashes--ended up making the combat so much more engaging that I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't just keep them equipped at all times. Some of the later bosses and enemies throughout the game have a tendency of soaking one too many hits for my liking, (especially the fifth boss with their multiple phases) and I feel that making those two jades an inherent part of Yi's abilities would have mitigated this a tiny bit.

Nine Sols is great. Despite taking inspiration from several different titles, it manages to find an identity all on its own through its fluid movement, great writing, and the most interesting setting and worldbuilding I've seen in a while. I would recommend this game for anyone looking for a concise, challenging, and satisfying experience.

[gear-project]

Annon-Guy: What's your history with Kiliff and Justice as playable characters? Considering they are the most BROKEN and Overpowered characters in the series unitl Accent Core R which balanced them and made them Tournament-Eligible.

I think it's wrong to simply slap the labels "broken" or "overpowered" on characters.

Even if you have a hard time against a boss in a matchup, it's still important to understand the matchup in the first place!

The same is true in games like Dark Souls or Stranger of Paradise... if a strong enemy can one-shot you, you need to learn to DODGE or PARRY. (Can you tell I've been playing SOPFFO a lot??? Heh.)

Also, your mileage may vary on what's considered "balanced" from one version of a fighting game to another.

Everyone has their own take on "balance", but, I suppose, if I were to describe my idea of balance...:

For Justice and Kliff, while they are good at long range attacks and very powerful Overdrives, not to mention small hurtboxes (in Kliff's case at least)...

For Kliff in particular, he can't sustain much damage, and gets stunned or takes a load of damage relatively easily, not much different from Chipp or Millia.

In Justice' case, her Overdrives are expensive on her Tension, which she's had to work hard to gain. Very rarely if ever have I come across Justice players who opt to use Tension for a Roman Cancel instead of her Overdrives themselves. (Even with FRCs, it doesn't happen that often because of timing windows and other factors.)

In older games, Justice had a lot of mobility, but she could still easily get hit if she wasn't careful, and even if she was somewhat tanky in how much damage she could take, because of the wide hurtboxes she's had, it's easy to do extended combos on her compared to other characters.

All these factors I've mentioned between Justice and Kliff are things they've had in older games besides Accent Core Plus R, and if you lose frequently to them as characters, usually it's because the players you fought against have the skill to use them!

And it's not like they're easy to use. Even in AC+, Justice' Overdrive inputs are tricky to use and get used to using, and even making use of moves like Michael Sword is a technical affair.

Nowadays characters like Ramlethal benefit from the same range, damage, power, and mobility that Justice once had, but unlike Justice, Ramlethal still has to think about what swords are out, how best to approach characters and maintain offense, and even with the range she's got, she can still take a decent chunk of damage if she underestimates her opponent's range.

The modern equivalent for Kliff would be Leo and Goldlewis, lots of range, lots of power, but they each still have to work hard to do what they do.

For me, balance is about understanding all the different matchups, knowing what you can and can't do, and still being able to win even if you're at a disadvantage in some areas.

Not everything has to be "fair" and "square" between characters... because, let's face it, everybody has their own style of play when playing games in the first place.

This is why, on principle, I prefer Accent Core Plus over Plus R.

The game just felt less experimental the way it was.