Thought I would make a quick post to whet everyone's appetites 
Just sat down with Matrimelee for 15 minutes. Cart arrived around 11am today, couldn't ask for faster shipping. Thanks Shawn!
Anyway, here goes. The box/insert/manual are all very well done and look great with the rest of the English homecarts. So, onto the gameplay. Please keep in mind that I am not a fighting game expert.
The intro of the game is long and follows largely in the style of neo games past. The character select screen is in the "ring" shape shown on the back of the box. There are tons of characters to choose from, and I was only able to try two of them out. To me, the sprites look solid. Not as large and fluid as AOF3, but certainly a step above the KOF games in my opinion. I saw nothing wrong with the animation.
The gameplay is traditional fighter fare with awesome supers and subtle changes in play style. The things you can do with the ref are really cool! Use him to block or throw him at the enemies. All the super moves Ive seen have been very impressive, especially Poochi's. Both characters I played were fun to play and seemed to have a lot of unique potential.
All in all I think the graphics are really nice in this game. They seem very polished, and the backgrounds seem to fit really well.
Now onto what really impressed me...
The MUSIC! Simply awesome. I wasn't really even thinking about it despite all the talk, then something in my head was like, wow, listen to that piano. The music in this game is definitely something special. I can't remember the last time I really was impressed by any Neo game's music since I got Viewpoint a few years back. Not only is the music quality superb, but the arrangements are really unique. Whoever wrote the scores for this game is a talented individual. Pianos actually sound like real pianos and guitars like real guitars. They fit the mood and atmosphere of the game quite nicely.
All in all, so far it seems like a really fun game. I enjoyed playing it a lot more than I enjoyed playing RotD for the first time, although I found that game to be pretty fun too. It seems much more polished and tasteful somehow.
I'll post a follow-up later when I'm able to play more. But Im certainly looking forward to playing more when I get home from class.
-John
Just sat down with Matrimelee for 15 minutes. Cart arrived around 11am today, couldn't ask for faster shipping. Thanks Shawn!
Anyway, here goes. The box/insert/manual are all very well done and look great with the rest of the English homecarts. So, onto the gameplay. Please keep in mind that I am not a fighting game expert.
The intro of the game is long and follows largely in the style of neo games past. The character select screen is in the "ring" shape shown on the back of the box. There are tons of characters to choose from, and I was only able to try two of them out. To me, the sprites look solid. Not as large and fluid as AOF3, but certainly a step above the KOF games in my opinion. I saw nothing wrong with the animation.
The gameplay is traditional fighter fare with awesome supers and subtle changes in play style. The things you can do with the ref are really cool! Use him to block or throw him at the enemies. All the super moves Ive seen have been very impressive, especially Poochi's. Both characters I played were fun to play and seemed to have a lot of unique potential.
All in all I think the graphics are really nice in this game. They seem very polished, and the backgrounds seem to fit really well.
Now onto what really impressed me...
The MUSIC! Simply awesome. I wasn't really even thinking about it despite all the talk, then something in my head was like, wow, listen to that piano. The music in this game is definitely something special. I can't remember the last time I really was impressed by any Neo game's music since I got Viewpoint a few years back. Not only is the music quality superb, but the arrangements are really unique. Whoever wrote the scores for this game is a talented individual. Pianos actually sound like real pianos and guitars like real guitars. They fit the mood and atmosphere of the game quite nicely.
All in all, so far it seems like a really fun game. I enjoyed playing it a lot more than I enjoyed playing RotD for the first time, although I found that game to be pretty fun too. It seems much more polished and tasteful somehow.
I'll post a follow-up later when I'm able to play more. But Im certainly looking forward to playing more when I get home from class.
-John