The timing for this isnвЂ™t easy, but at least the player on the receiving end of the beating isnвЂ™t forced into the position of a mere spectator for the duration of a combo.Д¬haracters donвЂ™t blend in too well with the backgrounds. ItвЂ™s very easy to get this wrong, and failure is punished harshly with increased damage for the opponentвЂ™s attack.ДЄs usual, thereвЂ™s no way to escape subsequent blows once caught up in a combo, but itвЂ™s possible to slightly reduce the damage dealt with each consecutive hit by pressing the same buttons in synch with the opponent. There is no animation until the maneuver connects, so the only visual feedback to help learning the timing are two flashing lights below the characterвЂ™s health bar. YatagarasuвЂs main innovation lies in its parry system, which is also vaguely inspired by 3rd Strike: While regular blocking just requires holding backwards like in any other 2D fighting game, the opponentвЂ™s attacks can also be met with вЂњButton LockingвЂќ вЂ“ pressing the matching parry button against either high or low moves just in time not only blocks the attack, but turns the character blue for a moment and warrants a brief time window of advantage over the stunned attacker. But here it doesnвЂ™t limit the options during the fight, but merely makes the chosen attack more powerful. Taken from Street Fighter III is the prompt to choose the preferred super move after selecting a character. Special moves have enhanced versions activated by pressing both buttons from the same attack type instead of one, similar to Street Fighter IV. All the typical movement options like high jumps, dashes, quick and delayed getups after a fall are also in place. Combining the buttons allows for throws, an overhead hopping attack and an unblockable but slow strike, which makes the character turn darker for a moment. The basic controls donвЂ™t differ much from the classic 2D fighters: Like in The King of Fighters, four buttons are used for quick and strong punches and kicks.

Game designer Ume-zono is mostly known as a high level tournament player of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, but he also has some King of Fighters credits under his belt, as he has worked as a вЂњplannerвЂќ on the 2002 iteration. This is certainly rooted in part in the gameвЂ™s pedigree: The graphics are created by Kotani:Tomoyuki, who used to be a sprite artist from KoF вЂ™99 to KoF 2001 under his pseudonym Styleos (more recently, he has done illustrations for a number of Cave shoot-em-ups). For one, it is one of the few doujin fighters that abstain from shameless pandering to the moe audience and go for a more вЂњmatureвЂќ anime style design, not unlike SNKвЂ™s The King of Fighters series. That alone might be enough to put some people off, but Yatagarasu is different.

Yatagarasu hi res shimo stage mugen