BardicKnowledge

Amy: Tell Wes that Addie and I wish him well! It's actually been really inspiring to see him improve himself both physically and emotionally since we saw him in Champaign. I hope he's doing alright in boot camp -- it's hard, but it's worth it too. While DC13 introduced me to the site, it was in many ways spending time with Wes after Mag7 and at UIUC that encouraged me to be more socially involved here at OCR. Thanks a bunch to him (and to you, Amy, for offering to pass stuff along) -- keep up the good work with the Marines!

Have you played with any of us yet? Most of us aren't that great

Triangle jump / wavedash in there and then do the infinite. One hit from Mag should make for a dead character. His poor range on a few normals is easy to make up for with all of that mobility. You could also play him as an annoying zone character with the beam...but IMO he's best at rushdown.

Note: This is how to get yourself up to speed doing things like inputting notes quickly. If you want to learn to play real piano pieces, lessons help a TON -- consider them. With that in mind... Question: Do you have some ability to read sheet music? If so, get the Hanon book and practice the first few exercises as slowly as you need to until you can play with decent speed. If you look around you can _probably_ find some of this material for free online, but it's cheap anyway. If not, go to your local music store and get whichever Bastion piano basics book matches the level of musical understanding you're at (get the technic and the main book). Ask the music store workers to help you out here, as usually they have a pretty good grasp on early piano students (a huge market for them).

I'd be fine with Megaman if his command list is similar to Arthur -- for instance, qcb+l = air shooter, qcb+m = tomahawk, qcb+h = flame shot. Super could be elec beam (multidirectional), qcf+lmh = shadow blade direction dependent, etc. Could be extremely cool! MMX should work similarly, but I don't know those bosses as well

Juggernaut, Thanos, and Iceman all have established movesets from which to work. Apocalypse really surprises me, as he was a screen-large boss in one of the VS games (MSHvsSF). We'll get Ms. Marvel instead of Rogue, which will please some and upset others. That leaves Doc Oc, a Spidey villain (currently none), and Elektra (fanboy favorite). Capcom selections are all fan-requests (but who are Gene and Gail?) I just wish Firebrand was on the list...alas. ;(

If you have an iTouch 3 or 4 then it will work. I don't have an iPhone but instead do all of my portable gaming these days on the 3rd gen iTouch. DarkeSword has had some success with the older models, but I'll let him post about it.

I'm giving this a shoutout in the class I teach tomorrow, now that it's out. Hopefully a few of the students step up!

Square's system of "the analog stick is wherever your finger lands" is actually ideal for the phone -- I have had no problems with it at all playing Chaos Rings.

It's mostly a port of the DS game with the artwork redone. FF3 is the best of the original trilogy -- give it a shot if you are yet to play through it! Do note that it's old-school jRPG hard though. The communication features between multiple players (Mognet) has been changed. You can't send messages between players anymore, though this feature is largely redundant since you're playing on a phone I would very much like to know if the soundtrack has also been remastered or retouched, as I will buy it only if that is the case, having played through it too often to warrant a purchase at the current price otherwise...but I can't find that info anywhere. If anyone knows, let me know please -- thanks.

No time to read the whole thread atm to see if anyone mentioned this already... ...but play Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Just go get it now.

Dressup system is just job classes, I really don't see how it is a big deal. As far as plot (where I feel you have a better point), FFX is a complete game with a beautiful ending. Most of FFX-2's plot is extremely well done -- we see how the different areas of Spira are getting along post-FFX, which was a very nice treat. The Youth League / New Yevon conflict feels real to me, as a larger reflection of Wakka's reluctance to give up old traditions. There are some mis-steps here and there (Issaru especially), but overall it's well done for what it is. I'm saying it's superior to FFX because it isn't -- but it's still a great RPG. I'd play through FFX-2 a hundred times before FF13.

Girly plot aside, I think FFX-2 had the best ATB combat system in the entire series. Varying bar lengths for different moves, a wide variety of job classes, etc etc. The worst next-gen sequel IMO is Ninja Gaiden II. The first game had a really interesting world that looped back onto itself in subsequent chapters, revealing more and more of itself to you as you played. The second game is just a linear series of "go here, slice these people". The worst sequel EVER is Back to the Future II & III (one cartridge) for NES...but the original was also crap. Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones is a game that always struck me as much, MUCH worse than DD2, one of the best action games on the NES.

Trish's air combo works as follows: (all midair after an S launcher) M, down+H xx qcb+L, M M (double jump) M, down+H xx qcf+L xx qcf+2x fireball super. That gets difficult online, where I usually just cancel into the super off of the first trap. If I need more damage then you can do M, down+H xx qcb+L xx super off the first trap (two traps/relaunches total). Don't forget that you can tag out after this sequence also -- most people don't expect a tag after the trap relaunch.

Holding a diagonal also lets you charge down and back simultaneously -- useful for someone who has charge moves in two directions. The amount you have to charge is shorter in Marvel than in SF2 by the way; play around with the timing. Lastly, if you are having trouble with inputting moves on the pad, I highly recommend that you pick up an arcade stick for fighting games. It doesn't have to be a super expensive one, but almost everyone reaches a point where the pad just holds you back. For reference, I have a Madcatz SE stick (admittedly, with upgraded Sanwa parts) that is working like a dream.

The problem with Sentinel is that his hitbox is so large that most chars can double the length of their combos against him for big big damage. He is better as an assist than as a point character.

Your Sentinel wrecked my Arthur team last night, haha. Definitely gotta use a safer assist on that team next time It's nice to be able to play Marvel on my parents' bigscreen compared to my 28'' tv btw -- definitely a good way to spend time when nothing is happening here

I have now thrown some cash towards cancer fighting -- looking forward to the music!

Jill is one of those characters that really needs assists to help her get inside. No double-jump or airdash on a character that fast is strange also. That being said, her damage output is excellent for her speed once she gets in. Mad Beast state is extremely cool but near impossible to control, especially under X-Factor. There comes a point where you're just too fast, haha -- I'll be very impressed when the big combo videos for her start coming out in a few months. Shuma doesn't impress me as much -- I don't know what role he's supposed to be filling. He doesn't rushdown well at all, and his zoning ability is minimal compared to the dedicated zoners. Thoughts on him are welcome as I just don't know what to do with him.

Which starter would you like? I'll get an extra of something for you -- 2 DS's in the house makes it easy.

Crazy tourney at Final Round XIV! Combofiend's Spencer is absolutely amazing -- best moment of the tourney is the end of his set vs. Marn. Check out the full streamed finals here (start at Part 5, 26:00 in for everything, or just jump to Part 6 for the top 8 or so) And for any haters out there, there was no Sentinel or Phoenix in the finals. Edit: wtf is haha

I really wish trading was enabled sooner -- I shouldn't have to play for a full hour two extra times to unlock it. Also yes, I have to have all three starters before I can actually start playing the game.

In addition to Arek's stuff, don't forget about Tron's Gustav Flame assist -- it's very effective in shutting down most rushdown. It's the one to call when he's already in your face, as opposed to Arthur who should be more of a preventative thing (controlling the horizontal space before he can make use of it).

If you pushblock and immediately jump backwards you should be able to get out of Zero's stuff unless he has the clone super active, in which case you'll have to just tough it out, or come up with a move that has invulnerability frames or has enough reach to hit him as he's coming in (trades are almost always in your favor vs a Zero, because a momentum break is good for you). As a Spencer player, I will always test a Zero as he approaches by just throwing my arm out -- most Zero players I've seen are so busy approaching you that they don't put up any defense whatsoever. If it hits, reel him in for a punch and follow up for a big combo. As Arthur, I throw daggers and call an anti-air assist -- if he blocks then he's not charging in, and if he jumps over them they are hit by the AA (I use Trish's peekaboo trap). X-23 can actually rushdown harder than Zero can -- get him blocking and scared and you'll have the matchup easily (see about getting inside with a charged qcf+A or the qcf+C throw). Who do you play, Bleck? I'll see if I can't figure out some basic anti-rushdown strategy similar to the above for you.

Push blocking makes Amaterasu so much less scary -- I've gotta remember to do it more often. Still having a difficult time getting in on her, but at least it's not "hit or die" anymore...there's actually a game to be had in those matchups now.