SkullGirls

What you tell your friends:

 “I play this well-programmed fighting game for the beautiful artwork, great music, engaging story, and a fighting mechanic that keeps you entertained and challenges you at every step.”

What you tell yourself:

 “I play this game for the jiggling boobs, panty shots, and the shameless, shameless poses” 

Hello fellow fanboys and fangirls and welcome to yet another sad attempt at social network interaction via a blog. And by doing so I have reached a new posting level! WWWOOOOHHHHH!!!! TWO WHOLE POSTS WITHOUT HAVING A RESTART! I AM ON A ROLE! OH YEAH! LET’S DO THIS THING! And so with that I want to talk about is a little something close to my heart: Indie Gaming.

Now I’m not saying that buying a game from a major company is a bad thing or giving in is bending to the corporate demands and becoming a sellout or something hipster like that. It’s just nice to give a try and a shoutout to the small guy. And as a game designer-to-be I like to give what little support I can to keep these little sparkly gems of talent and love in a giant sea of equally and unique sea of varying art. Buy a game from a company you never heard of once or twice a year and you and your gaming system will be better off for it. I took a chance and brought this little beauty of a indie title and was a better person for it. And with that Segway let’s talk about my favorite fighting ever, Skullgirls.

Now how do I go into this? Skullgirls is a hard game to describe. If you were to come across one of your friends playing this game the first idea that pops into your head is “Holy crap that chick’s boobs are about to pop out of her shirt”. And before anyone starts yelling, “ERMEHGAWD THIS IS SEXIST TER WOMEN!  THIS GAME IS WHY WOMAN ARE ABUSED AND THIS GAME WAS MADE BY PIGS WHO USE WOMEN AS SEXUALLY OBJECTS AND etc, etc”. Now as a feminist myself I can safely say this game is not about sex or degrading women. Sure the women are dressed like dime store whores  who wear cloths three sizes too small, but surprisingly you quickly forget about that. And as you play further into the game you quickly accept this as nothing, but as fact and all concentration are diverted to actually playing the game.

As a fighting game I have to say: This is probably one of the greatest fighting games that I have played in years. Am I giving the game tad bit too much credit and giving it a pretty roundabout of a blowjob? Yes. Yes I am.  But with good reason.  Unlike other fighting games that I have played, which will remain nameless (*COUGH*Mortal Kombat*COUGH**COUGH*Street Fighter*COUGH*), Skullgirls doesn’t leave me feeling bored and tired after ten minutes. Unlike other fighting games where if you practice enough you can master the whole game and become a fighting game God. Your only weakness is other fighting game Gods , but outside of gaming tournaments you really don’t have to worry about that. But one of the things that Skullgirls doe’s right that makes it great is the difficulty and the AI. Unlike most fighting games Skullgirls doesn’t rely on a set AI or fighting style that the programmer has set to a certain group of characters. The creative team, , created it’s own fighting system where the characters use a move or technique that is appropriate to the situation. This makes every fight unique and challenging to the point where if you screw up it’s no one’s fault, but you’re own. Skullgirls makes you work for that victory.

And what a feeling it is, because this game is hard.  And I mean hard. Like, balls to the wall hard. If you come in expecting a game with a slight learning curve then this game is not for you. It’s sink or swim baby and Skullgirls doesn’t allow water wings. But it doe’s offer a very nice tutorial that not only explains the fighting mechanics for each character, but a tips and hints to fighting games in general so you do come out learning something if nothing at all. Now let’s get to the story. I know, I was just as surprised as you! Even more so on how good it is.

Our story begins with the telling of the mysterious and powerful “Skull Heart”, which has the power to grant the wishes of women (talk about sexist). But there is a monkey paw to it: If the woman’s heart is impure then her wish will become twisted and the Skull Heart will transform the woman into the monstrous Skullgirl. The story then skips to seven years before the main events of the game. The main setting of the game takes place in The Canopy Kingdom, where the kingdom has been at war with other nations for many years. The Queen of the Canopy Kingdom uses the Skull Heart to wish for peace between the warring nations, but the Skull Heart deems the Queen impure and ironically transforms her into a Skullgirl so strong that the three nations stop fighting each other so they could combat each the power of the former Queen. Fast-forward seven years and another battle for the Skull Heart begins. This brings me to the characters in the game.

Let’s get to the battle mechanics, because it’s what I’ve been throwing at ya’ since you’ve been reading this. Seriously though this fighting mechanic is really what I think major titles have been trying to achieve for years. Now it does have the simple fighting layout: High Punches, Low Kicks, string a few together you get a combo, but what makes it different is the infinity detection and difficulty level. Anyone who has played a fighting game with a friend will know about combo spamming. Skullgirls’s infinity detection picks up on combo spamming and gives the player a chance to break out of it and penalize the attacker. No don’t get me wrong other games do have an infinity detection system, theirs just isn’t as good as this game. Skullgirls also has a assist system that sort of works like the Assist from Dissida 012. I already talked about that earlier, so if you forgot you need to scroll back to the top and go see doctor.

And the artwork is some of the best I’ve seen in years. It’s like a combination of anime and 90’s Saturday morning cartoons which gives it this unique and weird look that I can’t help, but love. And seeing as it’s 2D fighting game every kick, jump, and jiggle is hand drawn to the last detail giving it smooth animation that only makes me love it even more. The music is a cool low toned jazz mix which ironically fits into any situation and goes well with all the background pieces and cutscenes. Just go through Youtube for the soundtracks and you’ll see what I mean.

Pro’s:

• Great Fighting System
• Beautiful Set Pieces
• Fantastic Soundtrack
• Difficulty Keeps You On Your Toes

Con’s:

• Limited Fighting Team
• If You Have A Slow Learning Curve

Yes unfortunately there are only 8 playable characters to play with, so it  can sometimes feel a bit repetitive at times. And recently due to budget cuts and such had to lay off half of its staff which meant that the DLC to add more characters has been delayed significantly. But don’t let this detour you! I promise for 15 bucks this will game will meet all of your expectations and surpass.