DoA4... OMG

http://www.gamedaily.com/fightinggamehub...section=preview

Also check the gamespot stuff... tho be warned it's the media playing the game.


-Graphics look really good.
-Oki game is kind of tekken like, you can hit them with a lot of moves on the ground.
-bounce combos have been added
-holds have been shaved down to 10 frame windows
-uses 4 pt old school doa hold system, however goes by doa3 hold dmg (ie 40-60 rather than 60-90)
-Game moves faster
-Wall stun system has been modified tho I don't know the details
-You can tech knockdown attacks like in VF


While I do like DoA, I'll be the first to admit it's not a very deep game outside of the hard to get JAP/PAL version of DoA3. This however all sounds too good, like a dream come true.

What do you guys think?

 

I'm pretty interested in this game, but as the real details start to emerge, I'm getting more disappointed.

most of the info you mentioned comes from a guy called Dr.Dogg, who I think is a pretty hard-core DOA player. According to him, he hasn't seen any command Throw Escapes or Dodges yet. Also, seems that for whatever reason Itagaki decided to not include customization for the characters, which I'm suprised about, since DOA's fanbase is heavy with people into the looks/stories of the characters.

Seems like they put all the customization energy into the "house" system, which is new, but seems kinda dorky. I don't really need a little house for myself inside the game, and I don't wanna earn money fighting so I can buy a pumpkin-shaped TV or an Easter Bunny suit for my avitar.

The graphics seem nice, but from what I've seen of the play so far, it's basically the same old DOA with minor tweaks/additions. One of the more interesting changes is that I've read if you try to throw someone out of a stun now, their stun instantly ends as your throw whiffs. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but an interesting concept.

Anyway, I was hoping for more from this game, but it seems that as usual with DOA:

1. Itagaki cares more about graphics than changing his fighting system, which he probably thinks is close to perfect, along with the way the characters look (which also never changes).

2. DOA isn't given enough time to fully develop into something new, since it's being rushed to meet the launch date of new console. This is really too bad, I'm sure Itagaki would have liked to include more.

IMO DOA has the POTENTIAL to rival VF as the best 3-D fighter (even hardcore DOA fans admit, publicly, that it isn't as good as VF/Tekken [although I like it better than Tekken]), but as long as it doesn't really grow, it'll never get there. At least it has online play.

Bryan

 

saw some screens of it.I'm really not impressed.

 

The additions of a backwards crouchdash, hit flashes, techable slams, and visual indication of staggers all have pretty much direct analogues in changes from VF3 to VF4 and Evo. I think DOA4's stagger indication (screen shaking) is more aesthetically elegant than VF4's solution, though.

 

I've never played a DOA game and don't plan to. VF, Tekken, and Soul Calibur are enough for me and they have much larger competitive fanbases.

 

the height of the bounce combos really turn me off

the way you're talking about it, it seems like DOA4 turned into Tekken with Holds
-High Bounce
-Tekken Oki
-Crazy wall stun
-Limited throw breaks . . . .

 

It's funny how Itagaki hates Tekken yet uses elements that Tekken is most famous for. <.<

 

Actually from the looks of the vids you can only really get a low juggle off the bounce combos. tho that is only from observation. Alot of the launchers send opponents shorter heights in this game.

According to some new sources the actual counter hold frames are now:
0 exe
10 "open"
18 recovery

This means it's very easy to punish a whiffed hold, at least I think so.

Btw the screens really don't do this game justice, you got to see the animation.

 

no one has really confirmed that the Oki is like Tekken so far, I think that it's just what some DOA people are hoping for, I dunno why.

I think a lot of the hardcore DOA fans think that in order to make the game better, it needs more of this kind of thing Tekken is famous for:

"Now that I've hit you w/ a launcher, the match is basically over, since this combo'll do 60% damage and you won't be able to get up after that"

Some of which has been fixed in T5.1 I think (ability to guard during TR). In DOAU you can basically defend VF style AFAIK (no dodges obviously), but there are no "tech traps" ala Tekken5.0 where TR: guaranteed damage. It'd be really stupid for them to add this.

BUT, I hear a lot of DOA players complaining about how in DOAU players can get "lucky" with a counter and take a match, whereas in DOA3 the wall game, attacks that give advantage on guard etc basically make it so a "scrub" or average player could NEVER beat an expert. I don't really believe this (seems easier to get a lucky counter in 3, with it's universal mid counter, 2 requires guessing between mid P and K), but I'm not really too experienced. I think the more balanced a 3-D fighting game gets, it's actually common to see beginners beat experts on a fluke, since they're playing a mental game that an expert can't really read. I think the DOA top players are hoping for a system that eliminates this, because they hate being beaten in DOAU by someone who's gonna talk shit about how they beat the master, or whatever. I dunno... doacentral's boards are full of these subjects.

From what I've seen of the new ground game, seems like a character will stay on the ground for maybe 10 seconds if not prompted to get up, during which time lows will hit, but not Highs/Mids like Tekken.

Also, can anyone heavy into DOA explain why they think that attacks that give advantage on guard: deep gameplay?

Bryan

 

[ QUOTE ]
akiralove said:

no one has really confirmed that the Oki is like Tekken so far, I think that it's just what some DOA people are hoping for, I dunno why.

I think a lot of the hardcore DOA fans think that in order to make the game better, it needs more of this kind of thing Tekken is famous for:

"Now that I've hit you w/ a launcher, the match is basically over, since this combo'll do 60% damage and you won't be able to get up after that"

Some of which has been fixed in T5.1 I think (ability to guard during TR). In DOAU you can basically defend VF style AFAIK (no dodges obviously), but there are no "tech traps" ala Tekken5.0 where TR: guaranteed damage. It'd be really stupid for them to add this.

BUT, I hear a lot of DOA players complaining about how in DOAU players can get "lucky" with a counter and take a match, whereas in DOA3 the wall game, attacks that give advantage on guard etc basically make it so a "scrub" or average player could NEVER beat an expert. I don't really believe this (seems easier to get a lucky counter in 3, with it's universal mid counter, 2 requires guessing between mid P and K), but I'm not really too experienced. I think the more balanced a 3-D fighting game gets, it's actually common to see beginners beat experts on a fluke, since they're playing a mental game that an expert can't really read. I think the DOA top players are hoping for a system that eliminates this, because they hate being beaten in DOAU by someone who's gonna talk shit about how they beat the master, or whatever. I dunno... doacentral's boards are full of these subjects.

From what I've seen of the new ground game, seems like a character will stay on the ground for maybe 10 seconds if not prompted to get up, during which time lows will hit, but not Highs/Mids like Tekken.

Also, can anyone heavy into DOA explain why they think that attacks that give advantage on guard: deep gameplay?

Bryan

[/ QUOTE ]

The oki really isn't tekken like, you can only hit them with low attacks from what testing has shown.

People think that way because alot of the high level players in DoA come from the Tekken community.

In DoA4 according to testing you can still tech like regular and you can now tech knockbown (beatdown) attacks. Which means if you are hit by oki it's porbably because were too slow and didn't tech.

In DoAU counter holds do rediculess dmg. from 60-90+ dmg to be exact. The seperation of holds does nothing to make it harder, if you look at high level DoAU matches players easily counter both mid punches and mid kicks without much difficulty. In DoA3 hold is only sort of a last resort because holds do far less dmg (40-60) and the threat of getting hi-counter throw is too great. DoAU isn't very deep... and physical skill isn't even necessary to be high level, just yomi skills. Not to mention most "high-level" doau players only play online where lag screws up even doau's simple system.

To be exact frame adv. isn't the only reason for deep gameplay. What you misunderstand is that on our board we try desperately to convince players to switch over to doa3.2 (the best current version of doa). In doa2u you can pretty much throw-turtle almost any move in the game. Backturned advantage in DoAU (ura) is almost retarded if you ever see Kasumi, Ayane, or Hayabusa ever played. SS and movement is not exsistant in DoAU as well, it's pretty much a 2d game.

In DoA3.2 (PAL) a great deal of new things were added to improve on the gameplay. Frame adv. was only one thing. Almost every character now has frame adv. moves and can fight off throw turtling. SS and SS attacks were added which adds to the defensive feature of the game. Characters recover quicker from back turned adv which means less retarded backstun combos that deal insane dmg. Many guard breaks and guard crushes were added. In the other doa characters all pretty much played the same, in DoA3.2 character strategies and tatics all differed greatly.

Hope that helps. /versus/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

I think in order for people to appreciate how much better 3.2 is in comparison to DOA2 (U), they must take the trip down to DOAU n play for a good amount of time, then pick up a copy of 3.2 (if luck is with you)....

It's just such a better game...

According to the good DR, the hold frames have been reduced to what he estimate to be 10 frames....which I still think is way to long.

A better design would be like VF's reversal where pin point accuracy is needed for a successful reversal (or in DOA's case, a hold).

However, in hindsight...since hold is the only way for u to recover...perhaps it's better to leave it at 10 frames...hmmm

Anyway, to answer spot's question...the defensive option available in DOA has always been somewhat...weak. Being able to attack without worrying abt - this or - that is somewhat...relaxing. In the sense....it's just the style of the game itagaki is going for (I guess)...

In a way, alot of ppl call VF a chess type kinda fighter...I tend to refer to DOA as ping pong-ish haha. Both sides just hammering into each other and looking for ways to really punish the other.

Incidentally, I suppose the best way to show how DOAU / 3.2 differs is to ...uhmmm, view the vids. One should be able to see the contrast in the style...DOAU is really....fucking boring to play and watch.

3.2 is damn fun. Every character has so MUCH MORE to offer. speedier battles...better system..even switching characters in tag battles is improved with 3 different tag options...

The gfx for DOA4 is nice n clean...but missing particle effects (for now)....it's irritating to see in VF4...there's changes to the sand n snow ....but in DOA3....none~
(not sure abt the snow stage, but the beach stage is horrible...the characters are like, floating on top of the sand)


I hope Itagaki gets rid of coconut hair technology too..but knowing him, prolly not.

Oh, one last thing...he decided to not allow players to customize the characters becos, in his own words (summarized of coz)

'the characters should look the way I designed'

So.......dumb

 

Actually, in lieu of reversing to recover there's an option to struggle in a manner identical to VF4. It has no visual indicator of its existence, though, so nobody realized it was there for years after the game's release.

 

oh yeah..I also wonder if the training mode is going to be improved...

and thanks, nobody!

so if u can struggle to recover, then having holds last for 10 frames is still long....of coz, whether it is 10 frame or not is still just an estimation...nevertheless, see what happens in the final,

I just hope we don't have to repeat the 3.0,3.1.3.2 horror.

For me, I just waited for 3.2's release and bought it...but I can imagine those stuck with 3.,0

 

http://microsoft.gamerfeed.com/gf/previewtemplates/161/

taking a couple pages from tekken and a page from vf
original gameplay where ?!?!?!?

 

Yeah, long lived originality for DOA. =\

 

Good for them, all fighting games have borrowed from one another at some point.

 

"Being able to attack without worrying abt - this or - that is somewhat...relaxing. In the sense....it's just the style of the game itagaki is going for (I guess)..."

Yeah, to me, since DOA's strings and attacks are pretty abuse-able (or seem to be, from the viewpoint of someone who's played a moderate ammt, but isn't an expert), the Counters are the only thing that kept this in balance: the fear that you might eat High Counter damage.

from DrDogg's article:

"By shifting the advantage from the defender to the attacker, DOA4 will offer a completely new gameplay experience for DOA fans. After blocking an attack that leaves your opponent at an advantage, if you try to beat your opponent to the punch with a counter attack, you'll be taking the hit instead of dishing it out. Players will have to learn which attacks offer this new advantage so they know when it's safe to attack and when they'll have to remain on the defensive. This is a new layer of depth for Dead or Alive, but it's something Tekken and Virtua Fighter fans have enjoyed for years."

EMX wrote:

"In doa2u you can pretty much throw-turtle almost any move in the game... In DoA3.2 (PAL) a great deal of new things were added to improve on the gameplay. Frame adv. was only one thing. Almost every character now has frame adv. moves and can fight off throw turtling."

K, I wanna make sure I understand: You're saying that most of the moves in the game are what we call "Throw Counterable" in VF language, meaning that if you guard this attack, a Throw is guaranteed for you. According to the book I have called "DOAU Best Shot", Standing Throws are 5 frames, and it says add one frame for Throw-Counterablilty, so if a move leaves you at -6 or more on guard, it's Throw Counterable.

Looking at the Frame Data for most characters, I can see that something like 80% or more moves recover in over 6 frames. Is this what you mean by "Throw Turtling", that people can just Guard & Throw most Attacks in the game, which is made worse by the non-Escapeable Command Throws?

Is this why DOA players want more Attacks that give + on guard? Or am I missing something? IF this is right, then I get it now.

Also, I was reading in the DOA3.1 command list that only some characters have the Sidestep Attacks you mentioned, is that true? From what I can tell, only Gen Fu, Hitomi, Zack, Brad, Tina, Jann Lee, Helena, & Hayate have SS Attacks, and Bayman can throw from his Side Roll (Tank Wheel). Does that mean that only these characters can execute real Dodges? There seems to be debate about this at DOAC, so I can't tell. Doesn't that give those characters an un-fair advantage?

Have people found real Dodges in DOA4 yet, Dodges that don't require an Attack?

I'm hoping the things I've heard about certain attacks being guaranteed against Tech Rollers isn't true. I think Tekken tried this, and for years it just lead to a kind of cheap mix-up that was especially abuse-able against new players, Try to get up: you get nailed, stay on the ground: you get nailed. Seems like 5.1 has adopted the VF4 system: Stay on the ground, vulnerable to SOME lows and mids at low damage, get up w/ TR and while forced to guess, every defensive option is available (although in a couple rare cases, some Attacks must be guarded I think, and cannot be Dodged).

I'd be worried that if some attacks ARE now guaranteed against TR'ers, some characters might not have this option, leading to some characters being much more powerful.

Just trying to understand point of view of high level DOA heads, as I do like the game.

Bryan

 

"Yeah, to me, since DOA's strings and attacks are pretty abuse-able (or seem to be, from the viewpoint of someone who's played a moderate ammt, but isn't an expert), the Counters are the only thing that kept this in balance: the fear that you might eat High Counter damage."

This is true, both DoA strings and holds are pretty crazy dangerous. But lately I've been trying harder to master slow escape especially since I have now learned from Vpai slow escape has a "gauge" that makes it more and more efficient the more you use it. You learn new things everyday.

"K, I wanna make sure I understand: You're saying that most of the moves in the game are what we call "Throw Counterable" in VF language, meaning that if you guard this attack, a Throw is guaranteed for you. According to the book I have called "DOAU Best Shot", Standing Throws are 5 frames, and it says add one frame for Throw-Counterablilty, so if a move leaves you at -6 or more on guard, it's Throw Counterable.

Looking at the Frame Data for most characters, I can see that something like 80% or more moves recover in over 6 frames. Is this what you mean by "Throw Turtling", that people can just Guard & Throw most Attacks in the game, which is made worse by the non-Escapeable Command Throws?

Is this why DOA players want more Attacks that give + on guard? Or am I missing something? IF this is right, then I get it now.

Also, I was reading in the DOA3.1 command list that only some characters have the Sidestep Attacks you mentioned, is that true? From what I can tell, only Gen Fu, Hitomi, Zack, Brad, Tina, Jann Lee, Helena, & Hayate have SS Attacks, and Bayman can throw from his Side Roll (Tank Wheel). Does that mean that only these characters can execute real Dodges? There seems to be debate about this at DOAC, so I can't tell. Doesn't that give those characters an un-fair advantage?

Have people found real Dodges in DOA4 yet, Dodges that don't require an Attack?

I'm hoping the things I've heard about certain attacks being guaranteed against Tech Rollers isn't true. I think Tekken tried this, and for years it just lead to a kind of cheap mix-up that was especially abuse-able against new players, Try to get up: you get nailed, stay on the ground: you get nailed. Seems like 5.1 has adopted the VF4 system: Stay on the ground, vulnerable to SOME lows and mids at low damage, get up w/ TR and while forced to guess, every defensive option is available (although in a couple rare cases, some Attacks must be guarded I think, and cannot be Dodged).

I'd be worried that if some attacks ARE now guaranteed against TR'ers, some characters might not have this option, leading to some characters being much more powerful.

Just trying to understand point of view of high level DOA heads, as I do like the game."

For the Throw Counterable note: This is what I mean, players can very easily just turtle around and throw you off of almost any blocked attack. This can be devastating against some characters like Hayabusa, Gen Fu, and Ayane.

This is why frame adv. is necessary. It catches throw turtling off guard and is extremely important in the intermediate play level of DoA because it gets rid of the most common turtle scrubs.

It is true, only some characters have SS attacks:
Hayate
Zack
Tina
Gen Fu
Jann Lee
Helena
Christie
Bayman
Hitomi

As you listed, some are in fact unbalanced (DoA3.1 ain't perfect, most fighting games aren't) such as Gen Fu's almost unbeatable uu/ddP. Another example would be Hayate's cartwheel which is broken, however it is banned from tournament play. It plays an even lesser role now since the tournament scene plays 3.2 now where the cartwheel is fixed. SS attacks however don't make a character. Take helena and leon for example.

Helena: Great character in 3.1 with so many great additions to her playstyle but she does so little damage that it's just so hard to play her against the heavy dmg mid/high tier characters. She is definately a competitor and has tons of tools but she is held back by her low dmg.

Leon: Though he does suffer in some matches for not having an SS attack his passive/aggressive playstyle and his insanely abusable guardbreaks and frame adv more than make up for it. He does SO MUCH damage when you get it. This is why he is top tier.

Dodging is possible in DoA3.1 without SS attacks. It just depends on the attack. Strings are really hard to dodge unless sections of it have bad tracking. Single attacks are easy to dodge especially moves like Jann Lee's ffK. Added to that you can learn and master nuetral steps into accelerated dodging which makes it easier to SS.

I don't know much about TR pressure games, as I have little experience against it. Vpai though noes the DOA TR system the best. I hope DoA does not have TR traps like Tekken as I have seen some pretty retarded stuff involving that from Tekken match vids.

 

[ QUOTE ]
akiralove said:

Yeah, to me, since DOA's strings and attacks are pretty abuse-able (or seem to be, from the viewpoint of someone who's played a moderate ammt, but isn't an expert), the Counters are the only thing that kept this in balance: the fear that you might eat High Counter damage.

[/ QUOTE ]

-Doa's attacks are far from abusable. In Doa2U most attacks leave you at a disadvantage(like you pointed out) Staggerd timing..aka delay tactics are serverly vulnerable to intterupts with a or . In Doa3.2, there are a good handfull of attacks that give players frame advantage, however, thats not enough to abuse an attack. Any good player should, have a good defense, a good understanding in spacing, FSD/SS and counter strats. There are definitely strong strats, but nothing I would consider abusable.


[ QUOTE ]
Looking at the Frame Data for most characters, I can see that something like 80% or more moves recover in over 6 frames. Is this what you mean by "Throw Turtling", that people can just Guard & Throw most Attacks in the game, which is made worse by the non-Escapeable Command Throws?


[/ QUOTE ]

-My beef with the out dated Doa2U is not the throw turtle(cause you can rely on the moves that dont leave you in a throw counterable situacion), Its the fact that you cannot mount an offense without putting yourself in a disadvantage. To soften the blow, players need to delay/speed up their strings to put the player in a false sense of security, letting them believe that they finshed an attack so that you will throw out one in retaliation. There is absolutely no safety in that, the majority of the moves put you in the same situacion over and over again... Attack~Disadvantage~50/50 mixup~Reset~Attack~Disadvantage~50/50 mixup. thats when you are not using throw counterable moves, other wise it will be Attack ~Disadvantaged ~Thrown. we all know it goes deeper than that, however, the system is just limited.

[ QUOTE ]
Is this why DOA players want more Attacks that give + on guard? Or am I missing something? IF this is right, then I get it now.

[/ QUOTE ]

-From my point of view, Doa players enjoy having frame advantage, due to the fact that they can now actually do set-ups that require players to know more about the intricasies of the game, They need to know their opponents options, what those options lead to when considering Point A, B or C. These Players Need to mount a Defense Depending on wether they are expecting A, B or C, or they made need to mount a defense for a combination of A+B, B+C, C+A. The player might add another problem into the equation, now making it A,B,C,D..etc for example, Doa3.2 Bass knocks his opponent onto the floor, He picks him/her back up. Now bass is at +11. Bass will force what you Vf players call a netaku situacion... leading with Either a High throw, or a fast mid. If bass does his Buffalo horn, His opponent must Know that he/she have two options in this situacion, to either hold or block. If Bass Opts to throw, His opponent must Know that he/she have two options in this situacion, Attack, low evade. What if Bass opts to use his catch throw? well, the player have 2 choices which would be a low evade, or a counter throw. All 3 of these situacions lead 6 possible defense tatcics that the defending player needs to employ. Non of this was possible in doa2(doa2U). This changes the whole gameplay aspect of doa

[ QUOTE ]
Also, I was reading in the DOA3.1 command list that only some characters have the Sidestep Attacks you mentioned, is that true? From what I can tell, only Gen Fu, Hitomi, Zack, Brad, Tina, Jann Lee, Helena, & Hayate have SS Attacks, and Bayman can throw from his Side Roll (Tank Wheel). Does that mean that only these characters can execute real Dodges? There seems to be debate about this at DOAC, so I can't tell. Doesn't that give those characters an un-fair advantage?

[/ QUOTE ]

-Those characters are given a good tool, but hardly an unfair advantage. EXM said that Gen fu's Ss was almost broken, Thats not the case at all. Gen fu's SS attack does have guard breaking properties, and it SS very well. However, If you Slow escape his Guard break, he is put at -8 which gives you a free throw(powerful one at that). If the gen Fu player is careless, and uses his SS attack, as a regular move, the better player will know that you can FSD his ss attack...given you a backturned advantage of 20+ frames. All of these SS moves have disadvantage properties one way or another. Here is another example. If Jann lee hits you with his or , it will put you in a sweep stun. what alot of players dont know, once you slow escape(recover) from the Stun, You actually recover alot faster than he does, giving you the frame advantage...

[ QUOTE ]
Have people found real Dodges in DOA4 yet, Dodges that don't require an Attack?

[/ QUOTE ]

-FSD may be harder than SS moves, But its quicker and give you a far greater advantage when FSD'ing attacks. Christies + or + is a Regular SS move.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm hoping the things I've heard about certain attacks being guaranteed against Tech Rollers isn't true. I think Tekken tried this, and for years it just lead to a kind of cheap mix-up that was especially abuse-able against new players, Try to get up: you get nailed, stay on the ground: you get nailed. Seems like 5.1 has adopted the VF4 system: Stay on the ground, vulnerable to SOME lows and mids at low damage, get up w/ TR and while forced to guess, every defensive option is available (although in a couple rare cases, some Attacks must be guarded I think, and cannot be Dodged).

[/ QUOTE ]

-From what I was told, Doa4 will not have a pre Tk5.1 techrolling system. The system is pretty much the way it is now(doa3.2), stay on the ground you can get hit with a ground hitting attack, Techroll, and you can be hit with an attack/throw. The offencive player only has once choice. If you go for the ground attack, and your opponent Techrolls, your attack will whiff. If you go for the techroll hit and your opponent stays on the ground or does a rising attack...than you will not only whiff, but the Rising kick will counter hit you.

 

DOA Changes

It seems like the only way DOA gameplay improves is when they make it more like VF. I'm all for this, but it just hammers home how derivative and unispired the game's design is.

In the whole series, I think the only orignal thing I've seen is the breast physics from DOA 1. Those crazy gelatinous knockers were something I was not prepared for. For this alone Team Ninja needs to be recognized as the visionaries that they are.

I hope they do fix the game, though. It would be awesome to have a decent online fighter, since it's so hard to find VF competition in the U.S. My wishlist for DOA:

1. Get rid of the crazy numbers of strings! Having to memorize tons of combos is not depth. It's simplistic and pedantic at the same time.

2. In particular, ax the strings ending in low hitting moves! There's a reason that VF has gotten rid of a lot of the strings that end in low hitting knockdown moves- They Suck. Fighting Kasumi and playing her annoying low attack guessing game is not fun.

3. Find some way to differentiate the characters! In DOA, at least in DOAU, the characters are both too similar and yet very unbalanced. How they pulled that off, I don't know, but some characters are much tougher to play with than others, despite that, from what I can tell, the strategies employed for each character do not differ greatly. When playing online there are many, many SS Ayane and Kasumi. They are very frustrating to play against, and not because the people who play them are so damn cleveror anything. Fix this Team Ninja.

4. Add... Reasonable Reversals (less damage, shorter execution window), Throw Escapes, Dashes, Dodges...

Would these changes make the game a VF copy cat? Well, more's the better in this case.

I say: Let DOA be VF with boobs, multi-tiered levels, universal reversals and low throws, gay-friendly (or at least bi-curious) male character design, taunts, and flashy over-the-top moves.