THIS POST CONSISTS ENTIRELY OF GAMEPLAY SPOILERS FOR YAKUZA
Yeah, I'm probably never going to get that last Neuropsych article done. Consider the final point that games can put the brain through its paces, for whatever that's worth.
I didn't think I was going to get back to Yakuza's fighting system either. But after I wrote my final journal / review about reversals not working against certain opponents, I felt like I'd already started this article there and just needed to put in the work to finish it.
Firstly, it's important to note the additional abilities the game added and what I learned about existing abilities since the first mechanics article.
The "strafe" button R1 actually does turn you to face your opponent, but only if you're already largely facing them, and only while you're moving. You don't turn in place. From an aesthetic point of view it's kind of nice as both fighters look like they're maneuvering for position, but it's a pretty ridiculous requirement from a gameplay standpoint. You can change facing without moving in real life. And it couldn't have been an engine limitation. And it hurt the aesthetics as much as it helped them by removing the option of letting the player stand their ground. Letting the opponent make the first move lets the player express fatigue, boredom; contempt. It's aesthetically valuable.
Dodges became long enough to be useful for positioning. They also got an optional attack added to the end, so a quick shift and punch was possible. I still didn't use them very much as I seemed to still take a fair amount of hits using them. This was inconsistent with how I learned them. When you are taught dodges, the teacher throws rocks (or baseballs, I forget) at you. Often times, I would see the cloud of smoke that indicated I'd been hit. But I'd keep dodging and get credit. I don't believe I took any damage from those hits. But I did still take hits while dodging in fights, so I would occasionally use dodges because they looked kind of cool, but they didn't seem worth mastering.
I'm seeing a theme here. Targeting with throws was a pain, often resulting in me getting crushed under a giant jerk because I grabbed him instead of the little guy next to him. So I would use a grab then a knockdown punch instead of a throw. Dodging was inconsistently effective. So I'd generally only use it as an aesthetic choice or occasionally for positioning. Long combos would often be dodged by faster opponents who would then attack from the side. So I learned to stick to short ones against anything but the lowliest of street trash. Punch and throw counters didn't work very well (or at all against certain enemies). So I would only try them to show off or against otherwise unblockable attacks. There were back facing attacks that would allow me to attack opponents behind me, but they had no auto aim at all and would miss if the opponent was precisely behind me and left me facing away from a still standing opponent. So I learned not to use them much.
There are two ways to view these "flaws". On one hand, you never want a dominant strategy. If throws always work, players will simply throw everyone forever. On the other hand, if throws are a useful tool for clearing space, but their targeting makes them unable to accomplish that task reliably, they serve no purpose.
Fighting mechanics can be described as a language. Verbs include things like jab, smash, charge, grab, throw, block, dodge, counter, special. Those verbs imply properties of the attack. A jab does less damage than a smash, but has less windup and recovery time.
As a game is played, players learn how these verbs interact. A block beats a jab, or a smash, but not a grab or throw. Players also learn which opponents use which verbs. Guys who attack flat footed never dodge, but guys who dance like featherweight boxers generally do. Players then learn which verbs to use with which opponents. Featherweights tend to jab a lot, making them vulnerable to counters. Bruisers tend to smash a lot, meaning they can easily be dodged and attacked from the side. Flatfoots can be easily thrown, making them useful for crowd control. Guys with weapons can't be blocked.
As the game goes on, players learn now to take advantage of situations. Enemies become tools. And as new modifiers are introduced (Blocks don't work against weapons.), players learn to adapt and use verbs they didn't have to before. I beat one of the later bosses in Yakuza using mostly punch counters because he had a weapon and attacked frequently. A tool that was of marginal use suddenly became the only way to survive.
But that's the ideal situation. A normal verb won't work, for a specific reason. Another verb will. When punch and throw counters don't work on medium sized enemies, there's no reason. When the targeting isn't good enough to use throws properly, that's a bad reason. When the camera isn't good enough to see charges coming (and there's no obvious sound cue or other way to anticipate them), the game feels arbitrary, like success and failure aren't within the player's control.
Yakuza basically compensates for issues like these by being easy. You can carry health items and weapons to get you through fights. You have boatloads of health. You can wear armor. I'd say they made the right choice. The combat is tight enough to make you feel like you're responsible for your success and easy enough that even when you experience breakdowns in the system, they don't cost you the game.
Hmm. I'm sorry I said I'd only give the game a three for gameplay now. Looking back on it in more detail, it has more depth and gave me more choices than God of War ever did. :P
Showing posts with label mechanics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mechanics. Show all posts
05 October, 2008
26 September, 2008
Mechanics: Yakuza (Controls)
Many times I'll criticize a game's combat as unrewarding or simplistic. I'd like to be more specific in the future. Towards that end, I'm going to break down the brawling mechanics in Yakuza. Like the neuropsychology articles, this will be me casting about in the darkness of my own ignorance, so feel free to skip it.
For those of you still here, we'll start simple, by listing the tools the player receives. I'm going to assume you know the names of the buttons on the Playstation controller. Also, I use only male pronouns. So far, no females are combatants in Yakuza.
Blocking is on the L1 button. You can only block the way you're facing. You probably also can't block grabs, but I haven't encountered grappling enemies yet.
If you want to lock yourself into the direction you're facing, hold the R1 button. You can only shuffle back and forth, not run, but you can use the X button for quick shifts. This is good for sidesteps or getting in and out of range. Well, that's what they say it's good for. Considering how many times my combos lose their target, staying pointed in one direction doesn't strike me as useful. Quite the opposite. Plus the quick shifts are too short to be useful for dodging. I've upgraded them once, so maybe they're worth something now, but I'm guessing it will take one or two more upgrades.
The triangle button (once you've upgraded a bit) is the crouching charge kick. Hold it to charge, release to kick. You can't change directions once you start charging, so it's a high risk move.
The circle button is for grabbing. You can grab items to use as weapons. You can grab people to pummel or throw them. Throwing is great for getting breathing room because you can throw the guy in any direction, knocking down both him and his buddies. Large guys can't be thrown reliably, often falling on top of you, but can still be punched while held. You can use the triangle button to do a one punch knockdown, or you can use the square button to tenderize them a bit first. But like the charge kick, this is high risk. You're probably gonna get punched in the back if you don't end it quick.
The square button is for starting combos. Once a combo is started you can keep hitting square for more attacks or press triangle to do a knockdown finish (or press circle to grab your opponent if they're still standing). The interesting part about this system is that each finish is different.
- One combo attack and a finish throws a quick haymaker which knocks the opponent back.
- Two combo attacks and a finish throws a kidney punch which knocks the opponent to his knees, where they wheeze for a bit before collapsing. This is my favorite attack because you can still hit them while they're wheezing, effectively making an infinite combo (also called an infinite juggle).
- I think three combo attacks and a finish throws an uppercut, but I usually don't bother stopping at three.
- If I'm not doing the infinite combo, I go straight to four combo attacks and a finish (the longest combo I can currently do) which ends with some flashy kicks. But I don't use that too much. It's mostly throws and juggles. It's not a street fight. It's a circus act. :)
That covers the basics of the controls. You can also stomp on fallen foes (causing them to get back up faster) and if you've done enough successful attacks to get your "heat meter" up, you can grab a guy and press the triangle button near a table or wall to smack him into it. But those moves don't really do a ton of damage and reset the heat meter, making all attacks less powerful until it's back up again.
Next up, priorities.
For those of you still here, we'll start simple, by listing the tools the player receives. I'm going to assume you know the names of the buttons on the Playstation controller. Also, I use only male pronouns. So far, no females are combatants in Yakuza.
Blocking is on the L1 button. You can only block the way you're facing. You probably also can't block grabs, but I haven't encountered grappling enemies yet.
If you want to lock yourself into the direction you're facing, hold the R1 button. You can only shuffle back and forth, not run, but you can use the X button for quick shifts. This is good for sidesteps or getting in and out of range. Well, that's what they say it's good for. Considering how many times my combos lose their target, staying pointed in one direction doesn't strike me as useful. Quite the opposite. Plus the quick shifts are too short to be useful for dodging. I've upgraded them once, so maybe they're worth something now, but I'm guessing it will take one or two more upgrades.
The triangle button (once you've upgraded a bit) is the crouching charge kick. Hold it to charge, release to kick. You can't change directions once you start charging, so it's a high risk move.
The circle button is for grabbing. You can grab items to use as weapons. You can grab people to pummel or throw them. Throwing is great for getting breathing room because you can throw the guy in any direction, knocking down both him and his buddies. Large guys can't be thrown reliably, often falling on top of you, but can still be punched while held. You can use the triangle button to do a one punch knockdown, or you can use the square button to tenderize them a bit first. But like the charge kick, this is high risk. You're probably gonna get punched in the back if you don't end it quick.
The square button is for starting combos. Once a combo is started you can keep hitting square for more attacks or press triangle to do a knockdown finish (or press circle to grab your opponent if they're still standing). The interesting part about this system is that each finish is different.
- One combo attack and a finish throws a quick haymaker which knocks the opponent back.
- Two combo attacks and a finish throws a kidney punch which knocks the opponent to his knees, where they wheeze for a bit before collapsing. This is my favorite attack because you can still hit them while they're wheezing, effectively making an infinite combo (also called an infinite juggle).
- I think three combo attacks and a finish throws an uppercut, but I usually don't bother stopping at three.
- If I'm not doing the infinite combo, I go straight to four combo attacks and a finish (the longest combo I can currently do) which ends with some flashy kicks. But I don't use that too much. It's mostly throws and juggles. It's not a street fight. It's a circus act. :)
That covers the basics of the controls. You can also stomp on fallen foes (causing them to get back up faster) and if you've done enough successful attacks to get your "heat meter" up, you can grab a guy and press the triangle button near a table or wall to smack him into it. But those moves don't really do a ton of damage and reset the heat meter, making all attacks less powerful until it's back up again.
Next up, priorities.
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