A new fighting game called Fantasy Strike has been announced for the PlayStation 4. Fantasy Strike is going to be a bit different from others since it sets out to be accessible to everyone. It will has the complexity of other fighters, but is aiming to be something that will show up in tournaments. Here’s some information about the game from David Sirlin:
“My background in fighting games goes back more than 25 years. I played Street Fighter 1 in arcades as a kid (Yes, really). I played many versions of Street Fighter and Guilty Gear competitively in many tournaments, including three Top 8 finishes at Evolution. I was also lead designer of Street Fighter HD Remix. I love fighting games, but they’re generally really hard to play. I’ve been frustrated for a long time that so much of the fun the genre has to offer is inaccessible to most people.
I’ve made several efforts to bring the fun of fighting games to a wider audience. My card game called Yomi distills many of the dynamics that occur in fighting games down to a tabletop form, so even people with no dexterity skills can experience parts of what makes the genre great. My book, Playing to Win, explains the mindset of top fighting game players, so that everyone else can try to learn how the great players think. On Street Fighter HD Remix, I was able to slightly simplify the inputs to do some moves, and generally make the game a bit more accessible. But not until now have I been able to make an entirely new fighting game from the ground up, centered around the idea of including as many players as possible.
Fantasy Strike has simple 1-button inputs for all moves. It doesn’t even have crouching, so even movement is simple. But let me tell you about my favorite feature, which is actually a 0-button input.
Throws used to be really powerful in fighting games, but after years of players complaining that “throws are cheap,” developers made them weaker and weaker. I think that’s the wrong way to go about things though, because powerful throws are important to prevent a game from being too defensive. So in Fantasy Strike, we have powerful throws, but we have a unique feature that means you can always get out of them if you expect them.”
A reveal trailer for the game was released with the announcement.
Fantasy Strike is set to be released some time for the PlayStation 4. The game will make an appearance at PlayStation Experience 2016. If you like you can also take a look at the game’s site
