

Each character is different, and that's what fighters NEED.

Each character has their strengths and weaknesses, and gimmicks that are displayed in their toolkit. Yes, it's true, there isn't the largest selection of fighters, but each offers so much depth that exploring two characters fully is nearly impossible. This title teaches developers a worthy approach to balancing a roster. But it doesn't end there, the developers put expert care in the gameplay. Think Avatar The Last Airbender but with animals. The project has been lead by a passionate and talented team and it clearly reflects on the product after playing for hours upon hours.The characters are fleshed out masterfully in all aspects. The project has beenNot only is Rivals of Aether a great competitive fighting game but it is one of the biggest surprises of indie gaming. Not only is Rivals of Aether a great competitive fighting game but it is one of the biggest surprises of indie gaming. Everything Rivals does Melee does better, even online. Something about that still irks me.Rivals has more good than bad, but I honestly can't see a reason to play this game over Melee. Still, though, I can't get over that most of the characters are approaching "furry" territory. There are lots of cool personal touches you can add to the gameplay. Just don't even bother with it.I do really enjoy the stage variation in this game as well as the customizability of character colors. I have no idea why this was even put into the game. Not really my thing.The single player story and gameplay are completely awful.

The fact that they're mostly weird furries is a little. The cast isn't disappointing (aside from Zetterburn), but it doesn't feel exciting either. The devs think they're being creative I guess but in essence are just giving the snobs that play this game an excuse to shout, "go play Melee if you don't like Rivals." Many of the other characters in this game are also clones or mashups of other Melee favorites (the goat is Mewtwo/Zelda, the sword guy is Marth with a little Roy, etc), with a few other semi-creative originals thrown in.

Why is the "shine" equivalent neutral B? Why is the projectile side B? Why would you bother essentially copying a character but mixing up the moves? For the sake of originality? Please. The character is mostly melee Fox with a pinch of PM Wolf thrown in, but with half the control scheme tossed in a blender and spilled back out onto the ground. While I don't think that direct ports of characters would necessarily benefit the game, I do think that if characters ARE ported over, they should remain faithful to the original(s). I understand there are some hurdles to get around when making a game like this that's meant to be played online, but Melee online even with some lag spikes feels far better than the 6 frame buffer in this game.The characters. A buffer NEVER feels right or good, no matter how long you spend trying to get used to it. Overall this is not a bad game, but I think there are a few key points it really misses on that keep it from being either a good competitor orOverall this is not a bad game, but I think there are a few key points it really misses on that keep it from being either a good competitor or successor to Melee.
