2| Skullgirls: 2nd Encore
Released: April 10th, 2012
Definitive Version: PC (All major OSes); Also on: PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita, PS4.
I still remember when I first ever found out about Skullgirls. I was enamored by the fact that the developers were making a game with cartoon quality “sprites”. However, I was very distasteful about the game’s art style as well as some of the character’s more…comfortable outfits. I didn’t think much of the game after it released on consoles. It seemed to have waned in popularity. Eventually the game launched a Kickstarter that was funded by fans in order to give the game an updated release on the PC. Wanting to try out another fighting game and being bored of Street Fighter IV I decided to buy Skullgirls on a whim. Little did I know at the time that I would eventually enjoy the game so much and take it so seriously that I would end up actually going to a major fighting game tournament for it.
Why did I end up taking the game so seriously? The answer is because it was worth it. Skullgirls represents everything an ideal fighting game should be. It’s very easy to get into thanks to having one of the most comprehensive tutorials and training modes in a fighting game ever. The characters are all diverse and very balanced so you have a wide array of fighting styles to choose from. Getting skilled at the game is very enjoyable partly due to how smooth the progression is and also partly due to the fact that the more you learn the more you things you can figure out that you can do.
Last but not least, the game contains a small yet very active and friendly community. This is the type of community where players will outright volunteer to help you get better at the game at their own expense for no other reason to want to see you get better at the game. There has been more than one time where players of the game have actively invited me to the game’s training room to show me how to play each character and the game’s fundamentals. Ironically I have done the same with many casual players, I guess it is contagious. This is a huge welcome compared to my previous experience in fighting games where I’d simply get yelled at or made fun of, I’m looking at you Street Fighter.
Skullgirls is a game I went from playing random online matches in my dorm room, to attending online events, to actually attending a tournament because the game is worth it. It is very enjoyable to play, the community is passionate, and the game always offers options to experiment and improve on. Add the fact that the game is balanced to the point where even the highest skill players don’t even look at tiers, and you have the greatest fighting game in existence.
Well I was about to shit on this pick but I see how important and into it you got and sometimes that is all that matters. My time with PSO was magical, makes it one of my all time favorite games but that is a moment in time game, you can't play it again and replicate the enjoyment you had playing with friends when it was new.
One of the very few fighting games that I haven't played. I don't know what it was, maybe the characters, but it just never piqued my interest.
Also Gamingeek, maybe...maybe not. I will say I am a big fan of fighters so you will see more on the list.
I have a steam friend who loves it, and he's a great fighting game player, so I respect his opinion and by extension, yours. I am just not into fighting games so for me it's only some meh title lost amidst a sea of meh titles.
This is one of those games that I wonder if I need to give a second try to. When Skullgirls first came out of the PS3 I jumped on it day one. I played through most of the characters stories, but nothing really clicked with me. I struggled to get the combos down, and after a while I just gave up on it. I don't know if I'm just too used to Street Fighter and can't make the adjustment, but I was never able to have fun with it. I even redownloaded it when the newer version came out, but I could never get work up the urge to give it another go.
By cartoon-quality sprites, they meant crappy flash-animated Saturday-morning cartoon-quality sprites, inspiring in me only unnecessary hyphens infused with disappointment and disdain.
The actual game looked pretty fun, though; if not pretty.
Have you even played the game? It has the best animation for any game by far. It's all hand drawn in Toon Boom.
Nope. But judging by the videos I've seen, indeed the animation flows wonderfully: perfect for a fighting game. However: characters look like some deviant art anime/web-comic-inspired hackwork. Cartoon-quality "sprites" implies the draughtsmanship and character design itself is of a high quality, not just the animation (which absolutely is top-notch from what I've seen).