Author: Zavian "mushin_Z" Sildra

Return to a world of glory, sacrifice, and divekicks.

Full disclosure: the original Nidhogg is one of my favorite games. The blend of simplicity, accessibility, and technical play, with the stark old-school visuals and moody soundtrack — it won me over immediately. So, while I have some positive bias toward the game’s concept as a result, that also means I had pretty high expectations for the sequel. It just hit Steam and PlayStation 4 today… Does Nidhogg II from MESSHOF prove to be worthy of sacrifice to the great wurm?

An all-new Nidhogg?

This game is essentially the core gameplay mechanics of the original Nidhogg, transplanted into a completely new, vibrant world. As a reminder to those unfamiliar with the original: Nidhogg‘s gameplay is based on one-on-one fencing combat. The levels are comprised of multiple screens, mirroring each level’s terrain from the center point. It utilizes only directional inputs and two buttons — attack and jump. You fight using a number of attack options (thrusting, guarding, throwing your sword, melee attacks) and movement options (walking/running/crouching/crawling/jumping/divekicking), and your attack/guard system is based on holding your sword at one of three different heights — attacks at the same height are guarded, while sword interactions at different heights result in disarming, or death. All sword attacks are one-hit lethal, and killing the opponent allows you to run forward along your side of the level to get closer to the end goal — until they respawn in front of you, to fight again. This tug-of-war continues until a fencer has reached their end screen, proving their worth to be sacrificed to the glorious Nidhogg.

This gameplay system is retained almost to the letter in Nidhogg II, with some slight adjustments that I’ll go into more detail about below. The biggest change is the visual presentation, leaving behind the bare-bones retro aesthetic for a much more colorful and richly-detailed look. If Nidhogg‘s look was Atari 2600, then Nidhogg II is Super NES.

With the simpler pixel art left behind for this bright new gooey and comical look, some fans will be immediately put off — I was too, to a degree. But once you get into the game, see it in motion, and start exploring the new levels, you quickly see that the original’s grim sense of humor remains — now even weirder and more surreal than before. An incredible amount of detail is stuffed into every screen — and where the original retained a medieval theme throughout, Nidhogg II exists in some bizarre timeless world of cruelty and wurm-worship. Surreal is a fitting word for it: it’s a cartoony, gory, bright and shiny — but dark and twisted — mess that somehow comes together to form its own weirdly coherent universe.

Evolution of the wurm.

Aside from the graphical facelift, the gameplay in Nidhogg II still feels like the original: easy to pick up and play, but precise and technical as you get more familiar with it. The new graphics and background make the combat feel more frenetic, as there’s so many on-screen distractions now that it can make it more difficult to stay focused on the fight. But mechanically, the heart of the Nidhogg is unchanged — although perhaps slightly improved with some new mechanics.

Basic movement options have been tweaked — you can now run and slide into your opponent to surprise and disarm them. The ledge grasping-climbing mechanics are more forgiving. The jump and divekick are a little more floaty, making them easier to control but easier to dodge as well.

The way weapons are handled in Nidhogg II is the biggest change to gameplay. There are now four different weapons: the rapier, the broadsword, the dagger, and the bow. Arcade mode introduces them to you gradually as you progress, but versus modes let you use all (or none) of them immediately, cycling through in that order as you get killed and respawn. Each has different properties that require you to adjust your gameplay to attack and defend with them.

The rapier is the same as the sword from the original game, and is the “default” weapon. It has three guard/thrust heights, and can be thrown. The broadsword is slower, and is swung in an upward/downward arc. It has only two guard heights, making it tricky to defend lighter weapons with it — but it crushes opponents, always disarming or smashing them on contact. The dagger is similar to the rapier in controls, but is very quick with short range.

The bow is the most interesting new addition — I didn’t like it at first (and the CPU can be wicked with it) but I came to appreciate it after more practice. It can’t guard (unless your loosed arrow intercepts an attack), and is very vulnerable at close range, but your arrows provide unlimited ranged attacks, at two heights. You need to press the attack button to nock your arrow, and release to fire. But arrows can be deflected back at you by your opponent’s attacks — even other arrows! Throwing the bow is also non-lethal, working as a melee attack on contact.

On losing your weapon, you have to rely on unarmed combat techniques until you can retrieve one (dropped weapons remained on the stage to be picked up at will by either player, one of the interesting back-and-forth aspects of Nidhogg‘s gameplay!) or die and respawn. All melee attacks cause a disarm effect if they hit in Nidhogg II; and the arrival of new weapons comes with weapon “continuity” between screens. In the original, even if you lost your sword, it would return when you ran forward to your next screen. Now, you keep whatever weapon you’re carrying — and if you have none, you don’t get a new one automatically. All melee attacks have also been changed from the original game; rather than desperate punches and a neck-break if you manage to knock down the opponent, all fighters in Nidhogg II have become Taekwondo experts. Melee attacks are now a flurry of super-fast kicks, and they will knock weapons right out of your opponent’s grasp at certain heights. Score a knockdown, and you’ll be stomping your opponent into a fine pulp.

The mix of new weapons — and the changes to melee attacks — add an extra dimension to the combat, and accommodating them into your game plan provides an extra challenge. As a result, Nidhogg II‘s gameplay feels more interesting overall, though less tightly-focused as the original.

The fencer is no longer a generic pixel person — now you can customize your fighter’s color, outfit, and gender before the fight. The options are fairly varied, and allow a little bit of extra self-expression.

Back to the gorgeous (and bizarre, and sometimes rather gross) stages, Nidhogg II has a total of ten locales, over the original’s four. Some are updated versions of the originals, but most are all-new forays into madness.

The game offers a few different playable modes; Arcade mode is a straight run through all ten stages; it isn’t tough to beat, so the goal is shaving down your completion time, like in the original. You can play local versus of course, and adjust the fight rules to your liking. The original game’s eight-player tournament mode also returns. Online versus consists of one-on-one lobbies by invitation, or a new Ranked mode. I found the online play generally stable (only one unexpected disconnect), and without any noticeable lag.

A different kind of monster.

There is something lost in the transition to Nidhogg II from the original; the simplicity of the gameplay and the visuals (which were still actually quite detailed, in its own style), combined with Daedalus’ spooky electronic soundtrack, created an otherworldly atmosphere unique to Nidhogg. The revamped dark-comedy visuals take center stage in setting the mood for the sequel, with a much more subdued (but still enjoyable) soundtrack to compliment the new tone. This is not really a bad thing — another game that stayed fast the original’s formula in all respects would have made for a less-compelling follow-up. To warrant a sequel, changes had to happen. And as dramatic as the atmospheric changes appear at first, they are a natural extension of the first game’s creative concepts, at heart.

This game has the chops to carry forward its refined version of the Nidhogg gameplay formula, and deliver it to both returning and new players. While the original’s simple “purity” is lost, the gameplay in Nidhogg II is fast-paced and fun, with a bit of extra freshness. I’ll still be going back to the original now and then, but this new wurm has chewed its way into my heart as well. All glory to the Nidhogg.

Score: 8/10

Nidhogg II is available today on Steam and the PlayStation Store. This review is based on the PlayStation 4 version.

Additional source: messhof

Regardless of who you were rooting for, Tokido’s win is a good thing for Capcom’s flagship fighter. Here’s why.

Las Vegas, Nevada — Sunday night, on July 16, 2017. It was the end of a long and hard struggle for over 2,600 competitors in Street Fighter V at Evo 2017: the final eight contenders now facing off in the finals at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Panda Global’s Victor “Punk” Woodley has torn through the brackets undefeated to sit on the winners side of grand finals; meanwhile, Echo Fox’s Hajime “Tokido” Taniguchi, after falling to Punk once already in winners quarter-finals, has made it into top eight on the losers side — and survived to face Punk once again in grand finals. The expectation: Punk is going to take Tokido down one more time, and secure his first Evo championship. That was not the result.

Instead, we saw Tokido battle his way first to a bracket reset, and then take Punk down — definitively. This upset brought the Mandalay Bay audience to their feet in a mix of shock, admiration, and vindication. But what makes this particular victory for Tokido so significant to the game of Street Fighter V and its players?

Left behind

Street Fighter competition has traditionally been dominated by longtime players from Asia; the West has been in the position of playing catch-up, for the most part — until Street Fighter V. As the first Street Fighter without an arcade release, and designed at its core to allow upsets and comebacks against practical odds. Many Japanese players have voiced their disappointment at the separation of SFV from the arcade culture, and at the game mechanics that, by their definition, are meant to level the playing field between experienced players and newcomers. Street Fighter V wants everyone to have a chance — and this game system that weighs heavily on guesswork, rather than purely rewarding skill, has been heavily criticized by many pro players trying to adapt, on both sides of the Pacific.

We’ve already seen how much this has shaken things up. Capcom Cup 2016 saw the first American Capcom Cup champion in Liquid|NuckleDu, in addition to the first-ever all-American grand finals, shared with Evil Geniuses’ Ricki Ortiz. Both NuckleDu, and later Punk, have been pummeling the legendary Japanese pros in their path over SFV’s last season; gaining massive popularity, and making them favorites to win in any event. We are seeing in the course of a season how SFV has indeed leveled that playing field, and how new champions are acting as gatekeepers to seasoned players, now struggling to get a handle on a game that is similar — but so different — from what they’ve played for years, maybe decades.

It was starting to look like the age of legends we had known had already passed. But — how is that a bad thing?

Not “Street Fighter,” anymore

Street Fighter V is, presently, in a place of dangerously low esteem in the FGC. Ongoing disappointments, criticism and frustration with the game’s design, and erratic communication between Capcom and the fans, have deepened ongoing resentment toward the game.  Longtime fans and competitors are frustrated, and social media is essentially a critical mass of SFV hate. As much as we’re rallying behind both veteran and new competitors — and their victories are well-earned, and should be respected — the rise of prominent new champions in this current atmosphere, alongside the complaints from older players, only perpetuates the perception of Street Fighter V as an aberrant game in the franchise: a game that isn’t even really Street Fighter at all. A game so fundamentally flawed that the Street Fighter masters of old can’t keep up anymore.

As much as we want to see the champions challenged, the gods pulled down from their pedestals, negative perception of Street Fighter V has soured this natural process. A question nags the community’s conscience: are these players winning against their predecessors only because Street Fighter V is so broken that Street Fighter players can’t win at it?

Now, that perception is taken to an extreme, of course. While NuckleDu, Punk, and BX3|Phenom have been terrorizing the prior “gods” of the game, those so-called gods were still claiming a fair share of victories as well. But Capcom Cup and the Evolution Championship Series are the big ones — they are what we remember, above all others.

Defending the home turf

Fans get behind players for lots of different, personal reasons. For every player that wants the old masters to remain dominant, another is rooting for the new generation. This is right; this is natural. And Punk was fighting for not only his own victory, but for something of great significance: an American Street Fighter V Evo champion. Razer’s Infiltration completed his “download” and took it from us last year — and he took it from Fuudo, so America was out of luck either way in that grand final. But this year, the U.S.A. almost had it — it was practically expected to happen. Punk has been a nigh-unstoppable force, and the one opponent that endured to grand finals to meet him had been already beaten once already by Punk in the very same tournament.

Power made flesh

What we saw instead was the Wrath of the Raging Demon. Tokido rose up and took Punk apart — and while we watched Woodley break down and lose control of the match, we saw the Murderface glare, merciless, as he executed his enemy over and over. After stunning Punk’s Karin, we saw Tokido use the time not to teabag, but to style on Punk in ways both fitting and exclusive to SFV’s Master of the Fist — a taunt-combo, and of course the Shun Goku Satsu. We were ourselves stunned to see Punk’s dominance so harshly checked, as it became clearer that Tokido had beaten Punk’s spirit before Akuma dealt the final blows to Karin on the big screen.

Echo Fox|Tokido vs. PG|Punk at Evo 2017, Street Fighter V grand finals

The return of Street Fighter

“Tokido has saved Street Fighter!” some professed, in the post-finals excitement. As the hype spilled over into the Red Bull after-party, spectators and players alike came up to me to proclaim what an awesome finals it had been to watch, and how happy they were that Tokido took the championship spot. Why?

There are two notable aspects to Tokido’s win at Evo that bode well for the future of Street Fighter V. First, as much as Punk’s skill is to be respected and admired — and naturally, how much it would have meant to fans for an American to take the Evo championship — the fact that one of Street Fighter’s classic heavyweights managed to secure a win at Evo once again acts as a reassurance that yes, this is still Street Fighter. This is, while for better or worse, still the game we love in some form. Despite the Crush Counters, despite the input lag, despite the netcode, despite Season 2, the greats can still play this game, and win.

But that’s not all. It’s how Taniguchi played during the grand finals that really cinches it. One of the most glaring criticisms of SFV from professional or longtime players is a lack of depth, of options, of variety. Players can’t express themselves in the game, they can’t be “creative.” Daigo Umehara reiterated this sentiment clearly in our interview at Evo itself.

Tokido had played Ryu in Season 1, because the main he wanted wasn’t in the game yet. He immediately took Akuma as his main once again, as soon as Akuma was added to the roster. Now, in those grand finals, we saw the results of a Street Fighter V character in the hands of a veteran master and character specialist. Tokido’s play was fluid, varied, and evocative of both Akuma and Tokido himself. The way he applied his pressure, his neutral, his mix-ups and mind-games, the occasional parry and command throw — Tokido made full use of what Akuma is capable of in SFV, and while it may not be as “deep” as prior games allowed, he demonstrated what can be accomplished when a dedicated player is in sync with a character, limitations of the moveset and game engine be damned.

East and West

While Tokido basked in his hard-fought victory, Punk was visibly distraught at his loss; it was almost as if “Da God” had gotten a taste of what a “real” god of the game could do. Tokido had become the gatekeeper this time, holding the West at bay once again. The Alpha had met his Omega, so to speak.

The East had proven itself still mighty — but Tokido didn’t exactly win easily, of course. He talked about specifically training for the Karin matchup with Mago. He’s had to re-tune his Akuma playstyle to best utilize what the Demon can do in his SFV incarnation. Tokido earned victory through the incredible amount of hard work that all competitors must take on to fight at that level — and this is significant as well, because it confirms that veteran players can adapt to this strange thing called Street Fighter V. Shortly afterwards, Daigo Umehara claimed the top spot at two Capcom Pro Tour events in a row (Abuget Cup, and then Fight Club NRW), raising the question if he himself has now found his own “groove” with Street Fighter V.

Through the same kind of hard work, dedication, and talent, Punk has already come so close to the top, in so little time — and he hasn’t slowed down either after his Evo defeat, earning a win at DreamHack Atlanta soon afterward, and still holding fast to his first-place position on the CPT global leaderboard. He, and others, will rise to challenge the “gods” again, and likely sooner than later. This is how it goes in any competition. NuckleDu is still Capcom Cup champion, and there’s every chance he may be again — or Punk may take his place, or someone else, old or new. We will have new masters, new veterans to come, and Evo 2017’s finals helped to remind us that they still may come from both the East and the West.

Unfortunately, not every playable character –maybe very few, by some accounts — in Street Fighter V allows for as much variety as Akuma does; other longtime character loyalists are instead still frustrated with their mains in SFV. Capcom needs to take heed of this, and continue to build their “service” into the game we all deserve. There’s still a lot of work to be done. We’ve seen glimmers of hope, and that might be enough — for a while longer.

Additional sources: Capcom Fighters; smash.gg

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.