How to improve in fighting games (AH focus) - DdRDan's thoughts on how to get better at fighting games, with focus on Arcana Heart. Very good advice for players who want to improve. Why AH3 is Worthwhile - Nadakaineko talks about 3 reasons why he (and many of us who play Arcana Heart) believe that this game is worth playing and learning - or at least trying!
In 1991, Capcom released Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, forming an indelible blueprint for fighting games. Teeming with innovation, many of the game’s mechanics became convention, bequeathing elaborate combos, an intricate multi-button input system, and a cast of characters district in both appearance and play style. Nearly a quarter-century later, we’re still executing the same quarter-circles, albeit with greater fidelity and with fighters that cater to our fetishes.If your preoccupation happens to center around a cast of manically moe-drenched women, then you won’t find a better outlet for anime-based antagonism than Arcana Heart 3 LOVE MAX!!!!! Originally released for the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita, the version with the five exclamation points improved on its predecessor, extending rebalanced gameplay as well as adding a number of advantageous augmentations. Now, PC owners are able to indulge in the pugnaciousness, with a game that delivers graphical spectacle and meritable play mechanics, in this largely proficient port.Venturing into Love Max’s training component reveals the mode to be a misnomer. Don’t expect any guided tutelage, as the locations are only useful for practicing combos against adjustable AI.
Instead, players will want earn their chops in either the Story, Versus, Survival Score Attack, and later- After Story elements. Here, they’ll select from one of 23 fighters as well as an equal number of celestial beings called Arcana. Based on the major suits of a tarot card deck, each of these entities endows players with an additional arsenal, suppling everything from additional offensive strikes to healing abilities. In execution, they provide an interesting way to tweak the offensive/defensive base of each character, offering hundreds of different permutations.Arcana Heart 3’s other signature constituent is the inclusion of a homing button, which can quickly reduce the distance between opponents. Coupled with double-jumps, dashes, and air-dashes, the ability to launch yourself toward either a ground or air-based foe helps to keep matches energetic and pleasingly unpredictable. Most exciting is the game’s integration of counters that can send an encroaching opponent reeling, potentially offering an opportunity to turn the tide of battle.But despite these fulfilling additions to fighting canon, LOVE MAX!!!!! Remains tenaciously accessible.
While veterans will likely enjoy master the moderately intricate movesets for each character, novices can opt for Simple controls, which automatically summons specials, combos, and Arcana moves. For players who don’t own a control pad, or better yet, a fighting stick, this is the only conceivable way Arcana Heart 3 can be played on PC.
Trying to mimic Z-motions on a keyboard is likely transcends the capabilities of any PC prodigy. Either way, each character has at least a dozen special strikes, and for those who opt for the conventional control scheme, the moves can be conveniently referenced on an in-game command list.Fighting games with rosters that encroach on the two dozen mark can often reveal a bit of filler, whether it’s palette-swapped Kombatants, or insipid personalities. Largely, Arcana Heart 3 sidesteps this menace, delivering a whimsical and varied collection of witches, shrine maidens, sword-wielding maids, loligoths, and schoolgirls. Save for a shortage of kitsunemimi and nekomimi, LOVE MAX!!!!!
Covers almost every conceivable fixation, ensuring approval from the Akihabara set. That consistency won’t mind the lack of a dub, and will undoubtedly relish Arc System Works’ straightforward localization of the game’s dialog and the bit of fan-service in the game’s onsen-contextualized After Story.Like any fighting game, the game’s main storyline is largely dispensable, with facets blending a misguided experiment, celestial stones, and the potential devastation of Japan. Plot wisely takes a secondary role, allowing both the colorful cast of characters and hyperreal interpretations of real-world locations to steal the spotlight and charm players. Although each girls’ story is told through six stages, as they attempt to collect the magic mineral capable of saving humanity- the tales are distinct and capably drawn, ultimately unlocking game art.Likewise, LOVE MAX’s aesthetics prove just as capable as its characterization. When played in 720P, Arcana Heart 3 on PC successfully imitates its arcade counterpart, providing fluid animation, dazzling visual effects and a flawless framerate.
Higher resolutions higher can look muddled, as the game struggles to upscale its picture. Although the game’s output is in fullscreen, LOVE MAX makes the most of its peripheral screen real-estate, using animated pictures of each fighter to help articulate the emotions of each fighter. Sonically, fights are highlighted by a suitably stirring soundtrack and enough adorable move-calling and wails to arouse the suspicions of eavesdroppers in the next room.When venturing online to test the mettle of your favorite maiden, LOVE MAX is largely up to the task.
Save for the diminutive on-line community and the lack of region-selection for matchmaking, the title offers the requisite components, allowing players to participate in ranked matches, looking for quick or custom competitions, or create non-password protected rooms. Once a bout has begun, lag varied from non-existent to tolerable, with the majority of online matches behaving obediently.Although the five exclamation marks in Arcana Heart 3 LOVE MAX’s moniker don’t quite translate to a five-star ranking, Arc System Works all-female fighter is commendable. Benefited by balance, an approachable learning curve, visual charm, and elegant execution, there’s a lot of adore about LOVE MAX. If the developers can improve the quality of upscaling and tweak the netcode, those looking for an adorable fighter could easily fall head over heels with this one.Arcana Heart 3 LOVE MAX!!!!! was placed on the PC with review code provided by the publisher.
In 1991, Capcom released Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, forming an indelible blueprint for fighting games. Teeming with innovation, many of the game’s mechanics became convention, bequeathing elaborate combos, an intricate multi-button input system, and a cast of characters district in both appearance and play style. Nearly a quarter-century later, we’re still executing the same quarter-circles, albeit with greater fidelity and with fighters that cater to our fetishes.
If your preoccupation happens to center around a cast of manically moe-drenched women, then you won’t find a better outlet for anime-based antagonism than Arcana Heart 3 LOVE MAX!!!!! Originally released.
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Arcana Heart is a Fighting Game series developed by Examu. The series features an all-girls cast.
Many years ago, the human world and the Elemental World coexisted peacefully, but were forcibly separated by a dimensional barrier. However, somewhere above Tokyo, there is someone actively working to break down the barrier and merge the two worlds once again, which could bring disastrous consequences to all of Earth. A handful of maidens have been given the power to communicate with elemental guardian spirits known as Arcana, which grant them the power to take the necessary steps to prevent this from happening.
The original Arcana Heart was released in arcades and for the PlayStation 2. Apart from the roster of characters, this game's play mechanics are similar in some respects to Guilty Gear, with their emphasis on speed and combos, and the ability to take battles really high into the air. Each character is actually divided into two parts: The fighter herself and her Arcana. Though each character has one canonically set to her in the story, the game allows you to choose whichever one you want when you play.
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An updated version, entitled Arcana Heart FULL!, addressed some character balancing issues.note
There's also the sequel Arcana Heart 2, and its enhanced remake Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2. The latter got a PS2 port of questionable performance.
Arcana Heart 3 was released December 2009. It was ported to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was published by Arc System Works. The game is only available in North America through the PlayStation Network, while it received a physical release in Europe. The Japanese arcade version saw an Updated Re-release with Arcana Heart 3: LOVE MAX!!!!!, which is mostly about rebalancing issues and a cosmetic update. LOVE MAX!!!!! was ported to the PS3 and PlayStation Vita with extra features such as an After Story scenario and Trial Mode. Another update, titled Arcana Heart 3: LOVE MAX SIX STARS!!!!!!, was released for Japanese arcades in Winter 2014. It features a new character, Minori, and a new Arcana (the Arcana of Blood). As of September 2015, LOVE MAX!!!!! has received a PC port from Arc System Works, and is available in North America on Steam. After initial problems of trying to bring SIX STARS!!!!!! into retail, a Kickstarter was made to bring the game to Steam. The Kickstarter succeeded while also bringing Parace L'Sia back as a usable Arcana and introduced two new playable character, Pistrix and Dark Heart. SIX STARS!!!!!! was released on Steam on December 12, 2017.
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Heart Aino, the first game's main character, would later appear as the sole Arcana Heart representative in the Massive Multiplayer CrossoverBlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, alongside characters from BlazBlue, Under Night In-Birth, RWBY, Persona 4: Arena, Akatsuki Blitzkampf, and Senran Kagura.
The series has had various publishers: AQ Interactive (1 & 2, JP), Atlus (1, NA), Arc System Works/Aksys Games (3 & LOVE MAX!!!!!, JP & NA), Zen United (3, EU), and NIS America (LOVE MAX!!!!!, EU).
Stand-by Angel! FIGHT!
- Animal Mecha: Two of the new Arcana in 3, Gottfried and Baldur are this. This is because they are artificially created Arcana, as is the boss Ragnarok.
- Big Fancy House: Petra's stage. This is justified considering she's the Ojou.
- Capcom Sequel Stagnation: 3 has gotten several updates, beginning with LOVE MAX!!!!!, followed by LOVE MAX SIX STARS!!!!!! and LOVE MAX SIX STARS!!!!!! XTEND.
- Cast from Hit Points: The main gimmick of Sorwat, Clarice's default Arcana.
- Chromosome Casting: As noted in the description, the cast is all-female.
- Combo Breaker:
- Going into the once-per-round Arcana Force mode will automatically free a player from a normal combo. Super attacks cannot be escaped.
- In 3, this has been separated into Extend Force, which acts as a Cancel instead, and Arcana Burst, which functions as a Combo Breaker.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: At least for the semi-boss of Story Mode.
- Disturbed Doves: One of Petra's winposes has her shoot one of her guns in the sky, and a flock of doves fly past her.
- 'Do It Yourself' Theme Tune: The first game's opening is performed by Mikako Takahashi, the voice of series' protagonist Heart Aino.
- Doppelgänger Attack:
- Two of Konoha's super attacks, a normal super and her Critical Heart in 2.
- Ditto for Akane.
- Doppelgänger Spin : Lilica uses 'afterimage' (i.e. extreme speed) style doppelgängers in two of her supers.
- Elegant Gothic Lolita: Obligatory German girl Lieselotte practically defines this.
- Elemental Powers: In addition to the characters' standard attacks, the Arcana grant additional powers to the Maidens, and can be used interchangeably by anyone.note
- Empathic Weapon: Yoriko's staff, who is actually a very powerful demon.
- Enfante Terrible:
- Kira Daidouji, who already has world domination aspirations at the tender age of 11.
- Lieselotte's pretty damn creepy. She carries her sister's soul in the body of a legless puppet.
- Excited Show Title!:
- Arcana Heart FULL!
- Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2
- Arcana Heart 3: LOVE MAX!!!!!
- Arcana Heart 3: LOVE MAX SIX STARS!!!!!!
- Extremity Extremist: Saki and Akane mostly kick, and Zenia mostly punch. However, they also have one or two moves which involve their unused limbs.
- Fanservice: In large quality and quantity, mainly in moe archetypes. Compared to other fighting game series known for fanservice, mainly Dead or Alive, it's pretty tame.
- Five-Man Band: Heart, Saki, Maori, Yoriko and Lilica: as seen in Heart's ending and their dialogues, they are all classmates and great friends among each other.
- Full-Frontal Assault: One of the concept characters that never came to be named Omega takes the games' fanservice to its logical extreme. Aside from the tattered remains of the straitjacket that used to bind her and some manacles, she walks around stark naked. The only thing preventing one from getting a peek at her privates are various objects that conveniently get in the way such as a belt or her hair.
- Genki Girl: Heart and Lilica. In the case of the former, she won't allow anything to deter her.
- A God Am I: The big bads of the series have attempted to use the Arcana for their own gain.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: The names of many of the Arcana attacks. For example, one of Bhanri's Super Moves is called Fearg Lorg.
- Half-Human Hybrid:
- Lilica is an half-demon.
- Konoha is part-dog.
- Akane has fox ears that she's somewhat embarrassed about.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Surprisingly, Mike, of all
peopledemons, is implied to do one in Yoriko's bad ending (first game), shielding Yoriko and Lilica from the energy of the spirit world long enough for them to escape:'Don't worry about me, even this much power is but a refreshing breeze to a demon king!' - Hero of Another Story: Everyone to each other in 3 because every single character ending is merely a short scene on how everyone is affected afterwards. And Elza's story ending takes place before the game even begins.
- Humongous Mecha:
- Well not humongous per se, but the mech Catherine drives is fairly large (standing, it fills the vertical screen space).
- Ragnarok, the final boss of 3, is a true humongous mecha. Sort of. It's actually an oversized artificial Arcana.
- Improbably Female Cast: Justified since this is an all-girls fighting game series.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Mike, the self-proclaimed 'demon king' sealed in Yoriko's staff. He's abrasive, boastful, and often callous (he's the one responsible for Yoriko's pact with the Death Arcana, which terrifies her), but he's also intensely protective of Yoriko, and seems to cause her inconvenience only out of denseness.
- Kamehame Hadoken: Partinias' Ouranio Toxo. In the second game, Petra's Critical Heart.
- Leotard of Power: Mei-Fang and Catherine both wear one.
- Limit Break: The Arcana Blazes, which can only be used in Arcana Force mode. Critical Hearts in the second game also count.
- Little Bit Beastly:
- Konoha is a dog girl ninja with the cutest little ears to match.
- Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2 adds a kick happy dog girl and a dog girl who is basically an expy of Nakoruru (complete with bird), mounted on a wolf with a staff. There.
- Mighty Glacier:
- Kira is slow, because of her large blob, but deals a lot of damage with her grapple moves. Catherine, who was added in the second game, uses a mech instead.
- Fiona. She's extremely slow, she does wear pieces of plate mail armor and carry around a sword larger than she is, but has very high HP and defense ratings, her Arcana's defense oriented and she hits like a truck with that sword.
- Nebulous Evil Organisation: The Drexler Institute in the third game and its updates.
- Ninja: Konoha.
- Nuns Are Mikos: Elsa and Clarice. Elsa plays this straight, but Clarice is kinda naughty.
- Panty Shot: Surprisingly, for a fighting game like this, it's almost completely averted. The sole exception being one of Petra's supers, with the appropriate Lampshade Hanging from Petra herself.
- Playboy Bunny:
- Catherine's outfit. Or perhaps, better said: Swimsuit + Bunny Ears.
- Dorothy plays it straight in one of her special victory poses in 3.
- Playing with Fire: Mei-Fang's default Arcana.
- The Power of Love: Taken literally with Heart's default Arcana Partineas, the Arcana of Love that launches Energy Balls and huge beams of sheer whoopass.
- Powers as Programs: The Arcana.
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: In the After Story mode of LOVE MAX!!!!!, when Elsa warns Petra about the dangers of the rainbow-colored stones, she responds, 'Why. Didn't. You. Tell me?!'
- Rapunzel Hair: Yoriko, Kamui, Mildred, Weib, Scharlachrot, Petra, Clarice, Angelia, Saki, and Maori.
- Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: Saki and Heart, and maybe Lilica and Yoriko; others are by one's own interpretation.
- Samurai: Kamui.
- Save Both Worlds: This is the main plot of the series.
- Secret Character: Fiona in the first game, Scharlachrot in the third.
- Shout-Out:
- Scharlachrot has two. A number of fans have compared one of her attacks with the Omega Destroyer, while on the character select screen she may mutter 'Anta baka?'
- Eko's Critical Heart bears more than a passing resemblance to Oni Sign 'Missing Power'.
- One of the console trophies is named 'Sword Summoner mark III.' Mark I and II were used by Nu and Lambda in the BlazBlue series.
- Some of the downloadable color palettes in Arcana Heart 3 make references to Guilty Gear and BlazBlue (ASW's other works). For example.
- Saki's DLC 3 palette is Ky Kiske/Millia Rage.
- Clarice's DLC 3 palette is Bridget.
- Fiona's DLC 3 palette is May.
- Konoha's DLC 3 palette is Bang Shishigami.
- Kamui's DLC 3 palette is Hakumen. For a moveset Shout-Out, she gets something of Johnny's Mist Finer.
- Mei-Fang's DLC 3 palette is Litchi Faye-Ling.
- Petra's DLC 3 palette is Rachel Alucard.
- Dorothy's DLC 3 palette is Carl Clover.
- Lilica's DLC 1 palette is Morrigan Aensland.
- One of Scharl's is Black*Rock Shooter.
- One of Lilica's is Etna.
- One of Heart's is Yukiko Amagi.
- Several of the characters' alternates unlocked through DLC/Online resembles Puella Magi Madoka Magica, in particular, Heart as Madoka Kaname, Saki as Homura Akemi, and Petra as Mami Tomoe.
- Catherine's color scheme and fighting style resembles Dr. Eggman/Robotnik.
- The Xbox 360 achievements are all over the ears with these such as 'Atatatatatatatatatatatatatata!', 'Do You Feel Lucky, Punk?' and even 'Yukkuri Shiteitte Ne'.
- Petra is a Guns Akimbo character in 2 and 3. One of her win poses has her shoot in the sky, followed by Disturbed Doves flying past her. She's obviously a reference to John Woo movies.
- Pistrix's Shark Tornado super is a pretty blatant nod to the Sharknado franchise. Meanwhile, her Critical Heart is a giant nod to Jaws, complete with a Jaws theme sound-a-like.
- SNK Boss:
- Both Avalonnes.
- Parace in Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2. She comes back in the Score Attack Mode of the console port of Arcana Heart 3. Oh, Crap!.
- Ragnarok in Arcana Heart 3 gets extra points for being a boss designed for an entirely different style of gameplay. And if time runs out, you can't continue.
- The final fight against Kamui in Survival Score Attack: Kamui moves ridiculously fast; showering you with attacks, barely giving you any opportunities to attack or guard. Kamui is also in permanent Extend Force mode and to top it all of she can use Anutpada's abilities.
- Super Mode: Arcana Force mode. Can be activated once per round, and provides an additional Arcana-specific benefit.
- Teen Genius:
- Kira, who is actually a preteen. She built her own ether-powered blob, and the ether-circuits used to power Mei-Fang.
- Catherine Kyohbashi is another one, having built the huge robot she controls by herself.
- Time Stands Still: Anutpada (the time Arcana)'s Limit Break.
- Tokyo Is the Center of the Universe: Though, the third game's scope expands to all of Japan.
- Tokyo Tower: The backdrop for Lilica's stage in the first game.
- Variable-Length Chain: Scharlachrot uses them. Lots of them.
- Victory Pose: Starting with the second game, this is notably inverted. If you win a round, but not the entire match, the loser is the one who has an animation and voice line while the winner remains in her idle pose. You do get a normal victory pose upon winning the match.
- Widget Series: All. Moe. Fighting. Game. The fact that it actually stands on its own merits is notable.
- Zettai Ryouiki:
- Heart has the knee socks variant.
- Petra's outfit. Long boots version.