Garouden Breakblow: Fist or Twist

[Dingofist]

Thought I'd start a thread for this game since one doesn't exist here, and it's one of the most enjoyable fighters I've ever played. Hopefully one or two of you out there have heard of it.

For those of you that haven't, here's an introductory post on the game copied from something I wrote on another forum:

Fist or Twist is the second game based on the Garouden manga, for those not in the know. It's a rather unconventional 3D fighter, but unlike most wacky licensed property fighters, this game really, REALLY works and breaks ground in many instances; feeling like a stylish hybrid between an MMA sim and a traditional fighting game.

For starters, there are three separate gauges to measure your "health" and in turn each attack deals varying amounts of damage to each.

Spirit Gauge is the closest you'll get to a traditional health bar. When this is depleted you lose. Unlike other games, the health here is shared between both players on a massive bar at the bottom of the screen. As your opponent's spirit is depleted, yours increases. This gives the game a wild, exciting, tug-of-war aspect during matches, as momentum ebbs and flows for either player.

Stamina Gauge is a small green meter above the Spirit Gauge, with the meter's size depending on the character chosen. Wrestlers tend to have huge stamina pools, while strikers and light characters can have considerably less. Stamina is probably the most important factor in determining whether or not attacks will stun a character. If the bar is full, you can continue to attack, move, grab, or whatever else even while being hit. If the green gets too low, the slightest poke can send a character reeling into a stunned animation. While stunned, you are susceptible to continued assaults until performing an escape roll or being knocked over. Stamina is mostly depleted when being hit, particularly in the stomach, and when attacking. Max stamina will also decrease as you take stamina damage.

Body Gauge is the best name I can come up with at 6 AM for the little display of a man in either corner of the screen. This measures the damage done to each of your six body parts: head, torso, arms, and legs. Any time a part of the body comes in contact with an enemy attack, it takes damage, even if the attack is being blocked (obviously the damage is less in such a case). Take too much damage and the part will break, allowing attacks on that area to deal double spirit damage. This gauge is an addition to Fist or Twist, and creates one of the most interesting dynamics in the game, where focused attacks on parts of the body can lead to a huge advantage. Weaker parts also make a character susceptible to stuns.

The game features 8-way-run movement, omitting jumping and crouching altogether, with the exception of some stances and attacks. Movement becomes a huge part of the game as a result, and the ability to move while being hit makes backpedaling and sidestepping favorable to standing still and blocking most of the time.

There are other defensive measures as well, in the form of a "Forward Parry", "Back Sway", and "Escape Roll" techniques. By pressing forward+block, you can execute a step-in parry that will deflect one attack and give your next attack extra power and stun, making it ideal for punishing telegraphed attacks. Back Sway is just what you'd expect: the character will lean away from the opponent, dodging high attacks. If you're stunned, you can double tap in any direction after recovering slightly to leap away from the enemy, creating a little breathing room.

Attacks are largely basic, and the lack of real "combos" outside of properly attacking a stunned enemy makes the game very accessible to all levels of gamer, whether you're a beginner or an expert. You can punch, kick, and grapple, and each character has a set of specialized attacks and movements assigned to the circle button, allowing for a greater move variety. Characters average around 20-30 different moves, many of which have variations in their patterns.

Finally there's the games Super Moves, which are generally brutal, awesome looking techniques that deal insane damage. These are handled through the breaking of "Chains" on your spirit gauge. Each broken chain grants access to a 1-time-use Super technique that can be anything from a simple power-punch to a devastating brain buster throw. However, you cannot stock these moves, and will have access to only one at a time. If another chain is broken before you can use a previous super, the former move will be lost. Effective use and defense of supers can be crucial to winning a game.

I could go on and on about this game for hours, I'm seriously in love with how it plays, and as a Garouden fan it's really great to see how many different things from the series made it in. I'm desperate for even a small community to form for this gem, and I'm hoping at least a couple of you will be into it.

Finally, I'll leave you with a couple of links for reference.

http://www.youtube.com/user/sukotsutoclone2 -Sukotsuto's youtube channel, loaded with high-level gameplay vids straight from Nico Nico. Great stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNo6GNtwINM -A video I uploaded today showcasing the game's Team Battle mode, with live commentary from me and my buddy acetrainer. I've got other videos for Garouden on my channel as well, but this is probably the best to watch for good gameplay. I'm planning to upload at least 20 minutes of footage each week.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps2/937450-garouden-breakblow-fist-or-twist/faqs... -An FAQ I wrote a few weeks back on the game, focusing on Bunshichi Tanba. Has more info on gameplay than I've included here, so might be worth a read for ya.

[Circuitous]

This game is so fun to watch it's unreal.

[SolxBaiken]

Reminds me of Bushido Blade, just with my fist!

Thanks TC :3 looks interesting.

[Dingofist]

Glad to see even a few people are interested. My first reaction upon actually playing it with other people was that it was, for whatever reason, overwhelmingly fun, and even now I find myself enjoying it whether I'm winning or losing, maybe because it's just so ridiculous at times.

[Xtra_Zero]

I think I saw this at AX last year. Seemed interesting but I was too busy playing Senko to give it a try.

[sukotsuto]

Oh wow I just searched "dustloop garouden" in google looking for my old thread here, and I found a new thread - awesome! :D There's a vid in youtube where they were playing Garouden in AX btw. I've been uploading some garouden vids in youtube (from nicovideo, of course) hoping that this gem of a fighting game gets more exposure.

Even up to now, I can easily say that it's my favorite fighting game of all time, bar none. I personally feel that other 3D fighting games should seriously look into Garouden's fighting system, since it has so much potential applications for realistic/semi-realistic fighting games.

[Dingofist]

I've been meaning to upload more videos to Youtube, but Marvel has sort've taken over my life right now, and I wind up playing it instead of Garouden every time I've got friends over. Hopefully before too long I can throw some more specials up, probably gonna do a video focusing on Yujiro next.

If that goes well, maybe move on to other character specific videos, for the 5 people who actually see 'em.

[MrAsura38]

Hi There!!! I once owned the 2 Garouden's games... really good gaming experience... I played tons of fighting games, but I think Garouden offers the best 'pain feeling' among al the games I played.

[MrAsura38]

The second game should be on PSTORE / XBOX live to download !!!

[Ryudrake]

I like the facial expressions they make when things turn in their favor. It's a cross between hilarious and "you're screwed."