Ougon Musou Kyoku X - Tag or die

 
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Hello everyone! Did you try already Knights in the Nightmare, the Tactic JRPG of which I talked about in the last entry? Or was it a Tower Defense? Nah, I guess is a Shoot Em up, right? Anyway, I don´t know what it is, or if you will be able to pass even the tutorials, but I recommend you to be patient and give the game a chance, because once you get used to it, I guarantee you will discover a game unlike any other you have ever played before. For this new entry, the last of 2015 (it´s been almost a year since I started with my mumbo jumbo about videogames, time flies!), since we are in the Holidays season where dreams come true, I´m going to talk to you about a fairy tale with a happy ending, and I´m not talking about the game story itself, but about its development story, for the game belongs to that small group of lucky chosen ones like Melty Blood (also a 2D versus game), or the charming Shoot Em Up Trouble Witches, games that were released as humble Doujin titles (a.k.a. Japanese indie games) for PC, and that ended up being released in major platforms. The game is called Ougon Musou Kyoku. Let´s see what this new indie versus fighting game has to offer.

Created by Japanese indie developing team 07th Expansion, a team specialized in graphic novels, Ougon Musou Kyoku is a classic style 2D versus fighting game that was originally released for PC, although as I said at the beginning, the game managed to gather enough popularity to draw the attention of a major publisher, and so Alchemist offered their support to the team to release an exclusive version of the game for the Xbox 360 called Ougon Musou Kyoku X which includes several extras, and which is the one I will be talking about, although aside from the extras in the form on new characters, the version are almost identical. As I was saying, Ougon Musou is a traditional 2D versus fighting game that features characters from the Umineko no Naku Koro ni graphic novel series created also by 07th Expansion, and which main feature is its tag battle system. Opposite to what we see in most 2D versus fighting games, in Ougon Musou will be able to alternate anytime (after fulfilling certain requirements) between the 2 characters that will compose our team thanks to the game´s wrestling style “touch system”, which on top of helping the game to distinguish itself from others, will be mandatory to master if we are to be victorious. The 13 characters that appear in the Xbox 360 version are:

Battler Ushiromiya                                   Ange Ushiromiya

Skill: Resurrection                                         Skill: Stun Boost 

 Shannon                                                     Kanon

  Skill: Auto Guard                                       Skill: Silent Attack

      Lucifer                                                 Chiester 410

                                        Skill: Attack Touch                                     Skill: Break Boost

     Ronove                                                 Eva Beatrice 

                                       Skill: Counter Boost                                       Skill: Berserk

Virgilia                                                      Beatrice 

Skill: Brimful                                              Skill: Infinity SP

George Ushiromiya                                  Jessica Ushiromiya

   Skill: Patience                                          Skill: Shave Boost

Rosa Ushiromiya

Skill: Detachment

Maybe 13 characters can seem a rather small rooster in these times in which many fighting games feature enormous roosters (even if many times half of the characters are clones on top of being also unbalanced), but perhaps is understandable if we keep in mind that we are talking about an indie team with no prior experience in the genre and without the resources of a professional team, however, Ougon Musou´s diverse cast of fighters and tag system compensate the game´s shortage of characters. Opposite to what we see in many games, where we always control the same character, with the exception of a few series such as The King of Fighters, in which we control up to 3 different characters in different rounds, in Ougon Musou we will be able to alternate our character (almost) anytime during any round of each combat, thus forcing us to master more than one character, and if possible, characters that compensate and match each other´s fighting style. One more thing to keep in mind is that both characters will share the same Vitality Gauge, meaning that regardless of which character is fighting, when the gauge depletes completely, both characters will be defeated. But there is more to Ougon Musou than its tag system. The game includes other features that help to make the game´s system richer. Some of these are:

SP Gauge



This is the typical gauge that appears in many versus fighting games and that will allow us to perform the most powerful special attacks of the game as it fills up.

Partner´s SP Gauge


Same as the previous one, just that this time around it indicates our partner´s power. In Ougon Musou, instead of having the character that is fighting gaining power, it will be its partner who will gain power, thus learning when to alternate our characters in the right moment will be crucial for our success.

Touch Gauge



As I mentioned before, this is one of the main gimmicks of the game. When this gauge is full, we will be able to switch our characters, allowing us also to reduce our Break Limit Gauge. We will be able to perform several types of “touch”, each with its own requirements and effects. The touch types are:

- Normal Touch: When we press the touch button, our characters will switch, and the character that enters the combat will obtain the boost of the passive skill of the character that goes out for a short while.

- Attack Touch: To perform this touch we will have to press the touch button while we are hitting our rival. This will allow us to chain our characters combos in order to perform bigger combos.

- Guard Touch: If we press the touch button while we block an attack from our rivals, we will push them backwards and our characters will then switch.

- Damage Touch: Similar to the previous one, just that this time we will have to press the touch button while we get hit. This will make our character release an energy burst that will take down the rival and then switch our characters.

- Assault Touch: This type of touch will allow us to quickly dash against our rival to take them down before switching our characters. On top of this, the character that enters the combat will obtain the boost of the passive skill of the character that goes out for a short while.

Break Limit Gauge



When this gauge fills up completely, the rival will break our defense, thus making it impossible for us to block any attacks for a few seconds in which we will be completely vulnerable. Every time we switch our characters, we will restore a bit of this gauge.


Passive Skills

Each character will have a unique passive skill. When performing some specific types of touch or when entering the Meta World, the characters will be able to use these skills for a short while in order to obtain certain advantages.

Meta Gauge


Finally, among the main gameplay mechanics we have also the Meta World. When this gauge is full, we will be able to active a mode that will allow us to access for a short while some kind of parallel dimension where we will be able to unleash all our powers with no limits, like the Super Attacks and Meta Supper Attacks, which are the strongest attacks of the characters, an equivalent to Street Fighter 4 Super and Ultra attacks, on top of allowing us to get the bonus of the passive skills of both characters at the same time. Once the gauge depletes, we will go back to the normal state. When one of the characters activates the Meta World, the other won´t be able to do it till the Meta Gauge of the character that activated it first depletes completely. However, the game will allow us to deactivate the rival´s Meta World by using part of our SP Gauge, although it will be possible to reactivate it again by using more of our SP Gauge. This will be, together with the tag system, one of the most important mechanics of the game.

On top of all this, the game will of course allow us also to perform the typical combos by combining the 3 basic attack buttons (weak, medium, strong), as well as performing throws, Cancels, and running towards or leaping away from our rivals, as well as taunting them, which will allow us to recover some vitality, offering like this solid and diverse combat system that, despite not innovating that much, is deep enough to please even the most demanding hardcore players of the genre. As for the game modes, Ougon Musou has the typical Arcade Mode, in which we will face several rivals controlled by the AI as the story is narrated in between the combats via manga scenes just like the ones we could see in the graphic novels in which the game is inspired on, with the story and the ending varying depending on the characters we choose to form our team. Then we have also the Versus Mode, which will allow us to play against other players on local matches or against the AI controlled rivals we choose. Then there is also the Training Mode which, as it name implies, will allow us to practice the different techniques of the characters, and then finally we have also the Online Mode, which will allow us to play with other players around the world online, although as it often happens in this kind of title, since the game was just released in Japan, it could be hard to find matches, and when we do, it is possible we could experience some lag issues, however, as I always say, having the option is better than not having it at all.

Finally we have the graphics of the game, which frankly speaking, are pretty good, especially if we keep in mind again that we are talking about an indie production, surpassing even the level of some professional productions, although it never reaches the level of excellence of the genre´s titans. The characters´ models are excellent, recreated pixel by pixel with great attention to detail, as well their fluid animations, and the same goes for the colorful stages in which the combats take place, all of them filled up with all kind of details that remind of what we used to see in the golden era of arcade games, and which will surely please the pixel and classic style lovers.

Ougon Musou belongs to that group of 2D versus fighting games that, despite not innovating, still manages to deliver a solid title, offering like this one more good alternative for the fans of this genre that seems to be back for good after a dark period of oblivion. You can buy the Xbox 360 version in several game import websites, on top of the PC version, which received an update called Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross some time after the release of Microsoft´s platform version, and which includes new character among some other things. Enjoy it! And hope to see you all again next year to keep discovering new gaming gems together! Thanks again to everyone who dedicated some of your time to this blog! Happy New Year!


GAMEPLAY VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFHbsnfZWN4