Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

Last Friday the SeattleVersus staff took a trip Downtown to try out new fighting games… at Gameworks. Hard to believe right? Well believe it, because now Gameworks has Blazblue, King of Fighters XII, and Tatsunoko vs Capcom on net city (Japanese) arcade cabinets. In addition to the fact that the arcade is expecting to get Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion very soon as well. To the average fighting game player in Seattle (one that’s familiar with the arcade scene), this is completely unheard of. One would suspect that they would have a better chance of winning the lottery or maybe even seeing a Unicorn with their very own eyes before Gameworks ever updated their archaic fighting game section. But ladies and gentlemen it has happened, albeit nearly a decade later, but better late than never. It all started last fall with Gameworks getting Street Fighter IV. A lot of people were happy with just that, figuring that expecting anything more would be silly, so this is all shocking to say the least. Especially since Gameworks is notorious for not caring about the fighting game scene.

FULL REPORT + PICTURES + VIDEOS AFTER THE JUMP…

Upon playing these newer games, we were shocked to find that the controls themselves were in great condition (this could be due to the fact the games are still new). Each game was a dollar per play and as a longtime arcade freak, I completely understand the reasoning behind that and am fine with it. However there were a few people in attendance who didn’t share that sentiment. Blazblue is set at 3/5 rounds, which I think is perfectly fine considering the price. As opposed to the common Japanese cabinet back to back setup, each cabinet is side by side, and the actual fighting game area itself, looks very nice. It’s also conveniently, right next to the cafe/diner whatever section, so if you find yourself thirsty after some vigorous Blazblue matches, you won’t have to walk far to get a nice, cold soda. Elliott, Mickey, and I spent the majority of our time playing King of Fighters. I played a sole game of Blazblue and happened to run into an Arakune player. He’s probably not the best character to play against for your first game. After getting thrashed three rounds to one (while having no kind of understanding of what was going on), I suddenly found myself standing in front of the King of Fighters cabinet. It was like instant. I don’t even remember getting up from the Blazblue cabinet. I’m sure there was a cloud of smoke in front of the Blazblue area. That game will definitely take some getting used to. King of Fighters XII was fun I thought, and I definitely look forward to learning that game. As for Tatsunoko vs Capcom, I can’t speak for anyone else, but for me personally, I played it on console a while back and as a former Marvel player, it’s just not my thing. Not to down it or anything, but I feel that it’s a definite step backwards from MvC2.

Justify your Fighter: KOFXII feat. Nate

As the night went on I found myself thinking “Man, new games, great controls, Japanese cabinets, nice layout, what could go wrong?” Then I looked to my left and saw that the Street Fighter IV cabinet had froze for the nine millionth time. It was then that I was reminded that I was at Gameworks. The main thing to question I think is the timing of it all. Blazblue’s US console release is slated for this upcoming Tuesday. I find it hard to imagine Gameworks making their money back on Blazblue anytime in the immediate future. This is mainly due to Blazblue’s player base as they didn’t really frequent Acme Bowl (the only place that had Blazblue before last week). No reason for them to frequent Gameworks, especially now that the game will be out on consoles. The price definitely doesn’t help either. King of Fighters XII won’t be coming out until late July so they’ll be okay on that end. King of Fighters XII got a lot more play than Blazblue and Tatsunoko vs Capcom last Friday, which I’m sure is a sign of things to come. Tatsunoko vs Capcom, while it got play, definitely was the least popular of the new additions. Considering Gameworks’ history with their machines, you have to figure that it’s really only a matter of time before the controls get really bad.

Justify your Fighter: BlazBlue feat. Brent

Overall I feel that this is a great thing if they can maintain the machines. To me this is key. For years we’ve asked for various games, we’ve asked for better controls, and we’ve been ignored. Much love to Nate (Mind and Iron on Shoryuken) for doing what he has for us, it’s very much appreciated. However, he’s only one man. I would hate to see history repeat itself with less than satisfactory controls and overall arcade experience with TvC, Blazblue, SFIV, and KOF XII in place of MvC2, 3S, Tekken 5, etc. Seattle has and probably always will be an arcade city and right now, Gameworks is really all we have. Say what you will about Gameworks as a company, arcade, whatever, but Gameworks has that social atmosphere that only an arcade can provide. I can only hope that people will continue to come out for these newer games after their console releases like they have been for Street Fighter IV. I’ve always felt that a good arcade scene will lead to a strong fighting game scene. Just think about how crazy it is that within the past eight months, Gameworks has gotten four relatively new arcade releases. It’s not everyday that something like this happens. If you have any interest in any of these new games then I definitely suggest you take a trip down to Gameworks and give these games a shot. At least do it before the controls get ruined. Hurry! Seconds mean lives!