Once upon a time, there was a bored student lying on her bed with nothing to do. She stared at the grey sky from her window and sighed. Life was too boring, she thought. Then, she thought of cleaning her room for a change. Rummaging through her CDs and stuff, she found a disk that was labeled ‘BBB’. It was something that her friend gave her. She was so surprised that it was a fighting game she had never played before! (Yes, she doesn’t like to play new games too often.)
Oh, sorry for writing in third-person mode. Well, this is it. Big Bang Beat is a fighting doujin game very much like Guilty Gear. Even the game icon itself looks pretty much like GG. You can compare it if you like, be my guest.
The game features anime-styled characters based on AliceSoft’s doujin, well-made ones to add to that, to fight in a series of matches (by default, 2), kicking each other’s arses. The controls of the game are fairly simple, except for the fact that you may push the taunt button accidentally because it’s so close to the heavy attack button. If you don’t move that button elsewhere, you may be asking for trouble.
Basic Controls (by default)
Cursor Keys – Movement/Jump
A – Dash/Special (Input varies between characters)
S – Charge
D – Taunt (Trust me, you do NOT want to press this in the middle of a heated battle)
Z – Light Attack (Usually a punch)
X – Medium Attack
C – Heavy Attack (Like heavy slash on GG, ne?)
Q – Game menu
Esc – Quit
Simple, right? Well, yes, and no. Like GG, the game also features a pretty neat combo system and a sort of cancellation to specials. Basically, you make a combo, which you can end with a special move, which you can cancel into another special move. However, for example, Senna Kyoudou’s basic combo ending in an aerial special can only be cancelled with a dash. Fortunately, the dash can be cancelled into another special or yet another combo (aerial).
My basic combo sorta works like this… (gonna write it GG style)
Z + X + C + dp-C + qcfx2-C
The qcbx2 is the aerial special which hits three times. However, just after the second hit, you can dash-cancel it and make an aerial combo. I prefer C + C + dp-C + qcfx2-C, which is badass compared to making another qcfx2-C right after the other. However, I can usually make about 50 hits plus on a full bar, I ain’t gonna show since it’s actually just timing of moves and the knowledge and reaction of what to press next. If you can’t understand what my terms mean, visit GameFaqs’ Guilty Gear section/faqs/movelists. Oh, and I also notice that something special happens whenever you press S + D at the same time. For Senna’s case, she’ll heal herself. Pretty annoying to your opponents, ne?
Oh, yeah… before I forget, the game interface looks pretty like GG, too, right? Well, yes and no. For starter, the Guard Level Guage in Guilty Gear is now the P-Guage in BigBangBeat. Basically, it’s your stamina. It decreases whenever you make a special input such as dp-C (for Senna Kyoudou, again). Over time it will regenerate itself SLOWLY, but has a one-second pause before regeneration starts after the attack. You can make it regenerate faster by pressing S. Nifty, eh? The guage will also replace your life meter as you take damage. Oh, and the Tension Guage is also replaced by the B-Guage. Like the former, it tells of how many ‘overdrives’ you can make over a term. Attacking, and little diamond-shaped thingys increases the Guage. Oh, and pressing A (dash) also decreases the guage by one unit.
The game pretty much revolves around your ability to dash and whatnot. Basically, your ability for a follow-up attack. Simply pressing A on the ground will make you dash forward, as well as pressing it in the middle of a jump/aerial. Pressing down+A, however, makes the dash a quick jump upward with the quick ability to immidiately attack, unlike a normal jump. When playing against a player, dashing-around makes it hard for your opponent to actually realize what you’re gonna do. In addition, dashing also makes a great combo starter since your first attack would take about a frame shorter to execute (about two frames on average).
Final Impression:
Very nice game. although it could still be better. If you’re a fan of games like Street Fighter, or Guilty Gear, then this game is a must-have. However, I’m sorry that I do not have any links to download this game. Good luck with that. If I find the link, then I’ll post it as soon as I do.
Game Score: 8 out of 10
Ciao!
