Any of these "one button does everything for you" titles can get fucked. Persona 4 Arena and shit like it are lame. I can't even stand that they put stuff like this in the newer fighters like MvC Infinite and DBFighterZ. At least in MvC:I you could turn it off but it is built into DBZ. I know in DBZ you can still do more advanced combos, but I hate to see these fighters with the one button systems. At least in SSIV you had to change buttons.
the market is pushing in that direction. DBFZ is said to have sold millions and is leading the genre this year in the competition.
the more technical a fighting game and less inviting it is to casuals, the more its ignored if its not from the overrated top companies or brands.
http://www.siliconera.com/2018/08/02/snk-heroines-next-fighter-is-terry-bogard/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFC4M36IWSE
the roster picks are amusing, but what harms SNK Heroines profits is not the simplified aspects but the combat, but how they present the gameplay foundation as a whole.
in my opinion SNK Heroines should have been KOF with an all female roster. a Queen of Fighters basically. They don't need to crank the fanservice to 11 to make an all female fighting game appealing. the sex appeal takes care of itself, the game should focus on delivering a fighting game that rivals or surpasses KOFXIV.
its just messed up how their mindset is that "if its an all female fighting game, it has to have a smaller roster, it has to be pillow fisted combat presentation, it has to have a gimmicky tag team format instead of a proper 3 vs 3 elimination format. I mean heck, its just a wasted opportunity having it go in the direction of "fighting game for absolute perverts" angle.
they could have treated it as a serious competition. it could be fun and beautiful, without being trashy.
it can be otherworldly and have gender benders without presenting the game like a sex predator's mansion.
but the sexism culture in Japan is partially to blame. Women being belittled, ridiculed, and objectified to the extremes. they cant even consistently japanese games centered on female protagonists without it being marketed and designed like its exclusively intended for male perverts, while leaving female gamers out of the equation.
even with the low budget cap they have, they could have made a respectable all SNK womens fighting game. but they set the game up to be remembered as some kind of guilty pleasure for basement dwellers.
DOA5LR has a lot of optional fanservice material, but it still treats itself as a serious competitive tournament first.
even if it had an all female roster, its overall presentation makes it more inviting to all demographics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIEhDbnu8vA
yea even though SNK Heroines is based on Gal Fighters, that doesnt mean it has to be treated like a sex show.
and of course, they shouldn't censor nor ruin the character designs like some western devs do to their female characters, being so conservative and making some of their female characters look masculine and ugly and wearing too modest clothing as if their company has been taken over by Iran. so terrible. thats the opposite extreme SNK should not do either.
SNK Heroines could have been more properly presented and balanced, which in turn could make it profit more and fund KOFXV even further.
its insane even Rumble Roses XX is generally more mature and serious than how SNK Heroines is presented.
you dont see some pervy dude behind the scenes kidnapping female wrestlers and force them to wear ridiculous outfits in Rumble Roses games.
even Pretty Fighter X is quite respectable and the girls are their own boss in a serious competition they CHOSE to participate in.
but its a tough call. SNK needs all the support it can get and its a crime KOFXIV didnt sell as much as it should have. its a total injustice that SFV sold more.
buying SNK Heroines may offend one's standards and principles for female representation, but at the sametime,
skipping it would betray the innocent side of the game, and turn one's back on the SNK fan favorites and the overall girl power and female glorification side of the game also represents. and even a simple game like this still has developers put a lot of hours and hard work to get it completed. and admittingly, it is the best graphics all female fighting game to date, with better textures and visuals than KOFXIV. and the game mechanics appear complex enough.
I think it could still be fun and worthwhile.