Why The Last Blade 2's Meter is Amazing

You heard me right, this game has sick metered options, it's no Xrd but it's still damn good. This is partially inspired by Leon Massey, but it's also because of how much I've been talking about meter with Mifune recently.
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[@spiffythealien]

Well I'm glad I watched your video about a basic resource in a niche fighting game from the 90s for like 10 minutes. You bringing up how most games don't tie offensive AND defensive utility to the same meter reminds me of hypothetical meter system I wish the next Soulcalibur would use.

[@oklimbo]

This game is tight and one of the first classic SNK games that got retrofitted with rollback on modern consoles. That's the reason I even tried it out. That makes it a pretty revolutionary game for our modern fighting game landscape imo. I never got deep enough into the mechanics though, just mashed through arcade mode and ran crusty sets with a couple of my friends who were willing to drop like $6 on it on console.

[@ssgcheddar5785]

When I found this game... I was BLOWN AWAY! Very good game! I found this on an emulater back in 2005 while in Iraq on my second tour when I had time off missions 😂

[@1MCElias]

Yeah is an amazing game and is all about the player how they do will spend the resource at their favor.

[@Neogears1312]

This is legitimately why 98 is my favorite fighter. The amount of decision making with tons of options that are all very important to use makes it super fresh every match.

[@yagyufgc]

Lots of layered decision making is really what keeps me coming back for more in fighting games for sure

[@ElzaWalker-ur2xh]

This make me miss the old day when player meet each other when play this game

[@GS_CCC]

Granblue rising ties pretty well the defensive and offensive use of each recource i'd say. Lots of characters need to spend 50% meter to have an invincible reversal or use one while on cooldown. You also need to spend diamonds to extend mid screen combos and get better dmg in exchange of less changes to block a guardbreak or end the opponents pressure. You can also use your super to get a diamond back, so a lot of times I end up using it to not be so vulnerable instead of just for dmg.

[@domovoi_0]

Great big brain video. Junior electric underground?! Love and blessings.

[@darkerm76]

I hate fighting that use weapon but last blade is maybe the one i love. I want a new Last blade game made by Arc System Works so it will look awesome

[@yagyufgc]

A new Last Blade with Arcsys animation would go so unbelievably hard, 100%

[@realamericannegro977]

They may give it a nice cell shaded look but Arc would make the moves look less interesting and have floaty walking animations

[@jaynyc154]

Great Vid

[@dr.philweeb2944]

This video was really cool even if I'm fighting game illiterate

[@ShinUltima]

The level of decision making you're applying to LB2 happens in other fighters, albeit in different ways. Most games that have EX Moves (i.e. enhanced special moves that overlap with other resources), for example - while you could argue that most supers/desperation moves are offensive in nature (which is a bit of a simplification, since many supers/DMs can be used defensively), you wouldn't (or shouldn't) say that for special moves in general. Many EX Specials have invincibility (and nowadays, that's probably the only way certain characters get access to an invincible special at all) and thus might be used strictly as a defensive option, with any accompanying damage being a bonus. A decision to use an EX Special now means they might not be able to use a guard-cancel move or a super later. In fact, I would say _most_ fighters that have a modicum of offensive and defensive features involving extra gauges tie offense and defensive systems to the same resource, usually super gauge: KoF series, SF series, Marvel vs., Capcom vs., etc. It's only a handful of titles like SFIV series and Rumble Fish where you have notable separate gauge systems for offense and defense. Samurai Shodown is an interesting case. The Rage Gauge is traditionally a defensive-based gauge, where it only fills as you take damage. When it's full, you do increased damage and have access to your super (a.k.a. Weapon Flip Technique), but you only stay fully raged for a short period of time, so your decision making in that regard is constrained (not all characters gain rage and stay raged at same rate). BUt in numerous SS games you can "Explode" your rage gauge at any time for additional additional options (which ones depend on the game), with increased damage and, usually, access to a single potential extremely powerful move, but doing so makes you lose the gauge for the rest of the round. So it's still a combination of offense and defense tied to the same gauge, just in a very unorthodox way. "How well your character interacts with the gauge" is older than this: In Street Alpha 2, you had access to Supers, Custom Combos, and Alpha Counters, but not everyone wanted to use all options equally. Ken/Sodom had busted ACs and some characters had CCS that could do 60-100% damage, depending, and Rose had a busted L1 super. So who was going to spend on what gauge option(s) depended on who you played. And since you mentioned SF6, SF6 has far more elaborate decision making in this regard. It's not as though Drive Gauge is only for Parries, after all. Yeah, supers have been (mostly) removed from the offensive/defensive decision making (though there is decision making there too - do I use multiple L1s, a L2 with chance to get another, or a L3 for big comeback?), but the Drive Gauge is a whole _pile_ of offensive/defensive decisions on its own. Sure, you might complain it's a Drive Rush fest, because Drive Rush is a) inexpensive and b) _extremely_ rewarding, BUT Drive Rush cancel is also extremely powerful, as are Overdrive (EX) moves and Drive Parry is very useful (with many complaining about Perfect Parry, LOL). So over-relying on one option might not only cost you an opportunity to use other options at a given time, but overusing _any_ option leads to Burn Out, where you lose ALL the Drive Gauge options _and_ makes you extra vulnerable since you can now be chipped to death, DIs will cause you to get stunned near the corner, you take more block stun and can be stun locked by some characters, etc. So yeah: Last Blade is cool and all If "micro-managing gauge" is your jam, SF6 Drive Gauge is the standard bearer, even if it's not "super gauge" that is being managed.

[@TheL1arL1ar]

I have yet to try and get into sf6, I purchased it day 1, but had to make space for Elden ring, I liked what I played but I’m a 3rd strike guy, then alpha 3. I do miss my sf5 Karin. For my steam deck I want to play this and or the current samsho.

[@lorenzo689]

Sick game sadly me and my friends never got around to playing it

[@z4e7ajij5]

Snk games need better press in the west i dont get it there's so much good stuff theyve made; they got magic series, theyve got link based, they even mixed the two in lb2, they got shoot em ups they got windjammers they got KoF, a slew of lovable diverse characters from various titles and largely the western fgc response to being asked about any snk game is "yeah ive heard of that game, i tried it for like 15 mins and moved on" *note: excluding mexico, the neogeo machines were the bread and butter there due to pricing so kof is big there

[@yagyufgc]

I'm sure one of the reasons why LB never got a new game after 2 was because of how it got review bombed by critics comparing it to the new 3D games coming out and Marvel 2 which is NOT a fair comparison whatsoever

[@DecepticonSwag]

Great vid homie, love this game too

[@Dirtboy37]

where can i find people to play? ive been on fightcade and the last blade discord server but i havent been able to face anyone

[@yagyufgc]

There's usually people online, honestly surprised you've never had a run in with Mifune. If you're really having a hard time finding people you can trying pinging the matchmaking role on the discord

[@Dirtboy37]

@@yagyufgc maybe it was just bad timing. I'll check again

[@godofthegodofthegod3431]

what music is used in this vid?

[@yagyufgc]

This is the music I used in order: Super Bell Subway - Mario Kart 8 Departure - Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicals Revenge Blues - Disgaea 5 Northern Desert - Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky

[@Shining4Dawn]

Most JAPANESE fighting games don’t tie offensive and defensive mechanics to the same bar. Mortal Kombat has done just that for at least 3 iterations. That’s doubled in MKX specifically where you don’t only have the Breaker mechanic tied to your super bar, but backdashing takes away half of your stamina bar, which you would usually use for running. And backdashing in MKX is an incredibly important defensive mechanic as it has invulnerability frames for every character. Also, please don’t stretch 4:3 video to 16:9. The animators at SNK worked too hard for their beautiful pixel art to be distorted like that. I’m also watching this on an iPad and if you used 4:3 ratio - this video would have filled my whole screen, which could have been nice. But thanks for making this interesting video about The Last Blade 2, a really cool niche fighting game from the 90s which I’ve only played casually in single player during my teens.

[@yagyufgc]

The footage that's stretched isn't mine but recorded replays of top players that you can find on youtube. Also Mortal Kombat is one of the few fighting games that I don't keep up with, I didn't know they had those mechanics lol

[@slashmaru]

VSP

[@khocengbelang594]

Lee Rekka is still a broken character?? That normal moves is so speed in power mode, and super desperation moves so cool with easier input

[@yagyufgc]

He's definitely in the top 5, and the easiest of them to pick up

[@elfascisto6549]

Why is guilty gear's meter "goated" ?

[@yagyufgc]

Basically it's because it's tied to bunch of different mechanics all at once and doesn't carry over between matches so it's use it or lose it. The options you get off it are both offensive and defense and allow for lots of player expression.

[@otterdonnelly9959]

Which one though? I know so many GG heads that hate Post-Xrd YRC and want XX FRC back

[@yagyufgc]

@@otterdonnelly9959 Xrd specifically

[@otterdonnelly9959]

@@yagyufgc oh that’s a good debate to have. “YRC or nah?” 🤔 there is a sect that thinks it ruins GG.

[@FA-nd9uk]

Imagine not liking GG 😞 Except Strive, that game is garbage.

[@yagyufgc]

After saying that I gave Xrd another shot and it's not as bad as I remember lol

[@youcantbeatk7006]

Dear god. I get you may not be able to afford a good mic but there's free software that allows you to improve audio quality. Learn what de-essing is.

[@yagyufgc]

I have a new mic in my last two videos, still learning lmao