Quick Look: Skullgirls

@Demoskinos said:

God I don't understand people's insanely dumb reactions to stuff like this. Its either

#1. THIS IS SO SEXIST

#2. AHHH CARTOON/ANIME GIRLS THIS IS OBVIOUSLY FOR PEDOPHILES!

When people react this way especially the latter it speaks to me the same way that a overly homophobic person tries to distance themselves from what they hate when in turn they are what they hate the most. God people... its a video game. Its only creepy if you make it creepy. If this creeps you out you have issues and are way to overly sensitive.

Yeah! Thats exactly what I tell people when I'm trying to get down with my dating sims where you fuck your cancer patient little sister! It's only creepy if you think about it.

Apart from any commentary on the pretty terrible deviantart-fan-drawing level character art, the game still looks awful.

So props to those guys for spending 6 years of their life making this sup-par fighter no one is going to remember in a year.

@dudebro said:

The "art style" is far and beyond simply "off putting" some of the sexualized characters have a distinct young look to them and the blatant panty flashes and other nonsense puts it into the realm of disgusting.

IF you want to make the argument that it was an intended design aesthestic where are the hyper-sexualized scantily clad men?

And forget all that noise about not having a move list there is no reason they couldnt of deleted one of the tutorial segments and just had a text dump of characters and moves instead of trying to force fed high level strategy down someones throat in a condescending way.

I feel your being way to harsh i don't think it is all that overly sexual it has a bit of an anime vibe to it but these women are way more tamed than many of the ladies in other fighting games, mortal kombat and DoA come to mind. I can agree with you its very weird they did not include a move list but for a solid fighting game for 15 bucks while others are 60 i say its a nice start and look forward to them building on this.

@dvorak said:

Apart from any commentary on the pretty terrible deviantart-fan-drawing level character art, the game still looks awful.

So props to those guys for spending 6 years of their life making this sup-par fighter no one is going to remember in a year.

So I guess you don't play fighting games and know nothing about them. Why does the Giant Bomb community consist of the worst trolls? It's like you guys aren't even trying. Worse than fucking reddit even.

@FluxWaveZ said:

@Axelhander: You're the prime example of an annoying as hell fanboy who can't find anything wrong at all with the game they love so much.

If you weren't an imbecile, you'd see I agreed with a criticism in this very comment thread (specifically, how some of the backgrounds and character designs can make the fights hard to see).

I criticize the things I love. I just make sure my criticisms are warranted and backed. For instance, though I love Final Fantasy 6, I could write an essay on how the second half of the game played poorly and needed work. But if someone said Terra's hair is green and that isn't realistic and therefore the game sucked, I'd call that person a fool.

________

I really have to stop looking at GB forums and comment threads so much. It's downright GameFAQs in here.

Again, for anyone confused, the following are 100% correct, true, and awesome:

• Lack of an in-game movelist is a bummer but not a critical flaw (and no, unlike what was claimed in the QL, it's not because Mike Z wants more money for a movelist).
• Sexy doesn't equal sexism. Clothes aren't sexist. Princess Peach, in her conservative dress, is 100,000 times more sexist than any Skullgirls character.
• Skullgirls isn't anime. SOME of its animation is anime-influenced. Some of it is also influenced by old Disney cartoons.
• The game isn't supposed to be realistic...
• ... and realism means jack squat in gaming anyway. Sound mechanics trump all in game design.

Anywho, I'm out. I recommend the few people in this comment thread who have a brain to similarly leave, and everyone else can resume the idiotic circle jerk.

I wonder how many people complaining about this game(and ignoring every other fighting game)'s portrayal of women are men and also virgins.

Giant Bomb users: "Waaaaah Fez looks dumb. Waaaaah this looks dumb! Waaaaaaaaaah everything is dumb!!!"

@phantomzxro:

Its just really really bad, look guilty gear series had some hyper sexualized female characters but it had a male cast to balance it out it even included a transgendered character. Mortal Kombat has a hyper sexualized johnny cage stereotyped with the self absorbed name tatto on his chest, im not saying mortal kombat is some bastion of equality and not objectifying women, but it wasn't just so blatantly creepy I coudn't get past it to enjoy the (some what shoddy) fighter underneath

Panty flashes every 5 minutes doesn't create style, having half your all female cast resemble underage but sexualized children and the rest groan worthy stereotypes like the giant boobed nurse or whatever goes from style to "creepy/off putting"

If anything im actually quite mad at Mike Z for allowing what seemed to be a very solid technical fighter get side tracked by total useless and off putting nonsense

Instead mike Z put freaking stick figures with hats and use your resources not on pixalated anime panties that cause the hitbox to display and the game to take 10 minutes to load but on polishing up the engine and expanding the roster just a tad

Seriously all of the extra nonsense like jagged short animations and tentacles that obfuscate whats actually a hit box add nothing to the game for those that take fighting games seriously.

I don't care about fighting games at all, but this game's visual style is really cool.

I actually really like the art style and some of the design choices. But overall, this looks like an unspectacular fighter.

@Overbite said:

@dvorak said:

Apart from any commentary on the pretty terrible deviantart-fan-drawing level character art, the game still looks awful.

So props to those guys for spending 6 years of their life making this sup-par fighter no one is going to remember in a year.

So I guess you don't play fighting games and know nothing about them. Why does the Giant Bomb community consist of the worst trolls? It's like you guys aren't even trying. Worse than fucking reddit even.

Yeah because it's trolling to disagree with whatever opinion you have. What a cogent point you've made.

@munnyman5 said:

Girls with skulls!

Well imagine a fighting game featuring girls without skulls ... this would be highly disturbing.

people that are good at fighting games will find a lot to appreciate here mechanically, and that's all the matters. scores from outsiders don't matter, because "it is too deep for you".

the art style is subjective. i like it, personally. but even if i didn't, i would play skullgirls because it is better than most of the big titles that have come out recently, mechanically speaking.

also, the music is amazing.

@dudebro said:

@phantomzxro:

Its just really really bad, look guilty gear series had some hyper sexualized female characters but it had a male cast to balance it out it even included a transgendered character. Mortal Kombat has a hyper sexualized johnny cage stereotyped with the self absorbed name tatto on his chest, im not saying mortal kombat is some bastion of equality and not objectifying women, but it wasn't just so blatantly creepy I coudn't get past it to enjoy the (some what shoddy) fighter underneath

Panty flashes every 5 minutes doesn't create style, having half your all female cast resemble underage but sexualized children and the rest groan worthy stereotypes like the giant boobed nurse or whatever goes from style to "creepy/off putting"

If anything im actually quite mad at Mike Z for allowing what seemed to be a very solid technical fighter get side tracked by total useless and off putting nonsense

Instead mike Z put freaking stick figures with hats and use your resources not on pixalated anime panties that cause the hitbox to display and the game to take 10 minutes to load but on polishing up the engine and expanding the roster just a tad

Seriously all of the extra nonsense like jagged short animations and tentacles that obfuscate whats actually a hit box add nothing to the game for those that take fighting games seriously.

Well man i can't change your mind or anything and you have every right to voice your opinion but i just don't think it is all that bad. This roster from the get go seem like it was going to be an all female cast in which it explains why in the story mode. I also don't think by added a sexy dude in the game will make it all better. there are many fighting games where tladies are in bikini or a very skin friendly outfit for no reason at all but to be sexy. I don't really get that feeling in this game, most of the fighters are properly dressed and the only sexualized thing about it is the off putting panty shots as you put it.

Maybe it comes down to style and taste in which case i can understand if this is not for you but i just thought it was a bit weird to champion this game as such a disgusting showing of women when there are fair worse examples out there.

Brad quitting out after blocking one hard mixup is pretty indicative of the value of his opinion regarding fighting games. That's fine and all, but don't complain that games don't offer in-depth tutorials, and then when they offer them say PFF WHATEVER.

The complaint about it resetting the number when you mess it up can't be serious. It's for practicing. You can't phone in practice...it's not just something you do solely to complete it and never think of again.

@lordofultima said:

Brad quitting out after blocking one hard mixup is pretty indicative of the value of his opinion regarding fighting games. That's fine and all, but don't complain that games don't offer in-depth tutorials, and then when they offer them say PFF WHATEVER

exactly. anyone that considers themselves a fighting game fan: come up with your own opinion regarding this game. this video will not help you.

@Jayzilla said:

@depecheload said:

Word to all you white middle-class straight men here, you don't get to decide what's sexist. Sorry.

my bad. i forgot that someone named depecheload has a patent on what's sexist, and by your name, what's classy and tasteful.

You apparently forgot what my point was, how to respond to a comment in an insightful manner and proper capitalization too, but whatever.

@CaptainInvictus:

enjoy those sweet characters turning into hit boxes and hard to see super busy creepy animations that all detract from the game. Im on board with no x factor comeback nonsense and a real working reasonable inf prevention system. But the excuse for not having a movelist ( memory issues ) would be entirely solved by not going hog wild with panty shots

A fighting game with panty shots and cleavage? I'm shocked and appalled! No but seriously, this game is alright. It's not the second coming of christ as some people make it out to be, but it's a pretty solid fighting game with fun characters and an amazing netcode.

@CaptainInvictus said:

@dudebro said:

Its just really really bad, look guilty gear series had some hyper sexualized female characters but it had a male cast to balance it out it even included a transgendered character. Mortal Kombat has a hyper sexualized johnny cage stereotyped with the self absorbed name tatto on his chest, im not saying mortal kombat is some bastion of equality and not objectifying women, but it wasn't just so blatantly creepy I coudn't get past it to enjoy the (some what shoddy) fighter underneath

Panty flashes every 5 minutes doesn't create style, having half your all female cast resemble underage but sexualized children and the rest groan worthy stereotypes like the giant boobed nurse or whatever goes from style to "creepy/off putting"

If anything im actually quite mad at Mike Z for allowing what seemed to be a very solid technical fighter get side tracked by total useless and off putting nonsense

Instead mike Z put freaking stick figures with hats and use your resources not on pixalated anime panties that cause the hitbox to display and the game to take 10 minutes to load but on polishing up the engine and expanding the roster just a tad

Seriously all of the extra nonsense like jagged short animations and tentacles that obfuscate whats actually a hit box add nothing to the game for those that take fighting games seriously.

bluh bluh bluh this anime game offends my delicate sensibilities and I cannot look past an art style because I have asperger's I will never touch a woman and will die alone bluh bluh bluh

I thought stuff had to be japanese to be anime. I think that's part of the definition, right? I could be wrong.

@dvorak said:

@Overbite said:

@dvorak said:

Apart from any commentary on the pretty terrible deviantart-fan-drawing level character art, the game still looks awful.

So props to those guys for spending 6 years of their life making this sup-par fighter no one is going to remember in a year.

So I guess you don't play fighting games and know nothing about them. Why does the Giant Bomb community consist of the worst trolls? It's like you guys aren't even trying. Worse than fucking reddit even.

Yeah because it's trolling to disagree with whatever opinion you have. What a cogent point you've made.

There's disagreeing and then there's saying it's a sub par fighter no one will remember in a year. You're entitled to your opinion and I'm entitled to say you're an idiot for having it.

I'm with Brad. That horrific blob should stay a horrific blob. How am I supposed to stay hard when it keeps turning in to a lady!?

@CaptainInvictus said:

@dudebro said:

Its just really really bad, look guilty gear series had some hyper sexualized female characters but it had a male cast to balance it out it even included a transgendered character. Mortal Kombat has a hyper sexualized johnny cage stereotyped with the self absorbed name tatto on his chest, im not saying mortal kombat is some bastion of equality and not objectifying women, but it wasn't just so blatantly creepy I coudn't get past it to enjoy the (some what shoddy) fighter underneath

Panty flashes every 5 minutes doesn't create style, having half your all female cast resemble underage but sexualized children and the rest groan worthy stereotypes like the giant boobed nurse or whatever goes from style to "creepy/off putting"

If anything im actually quite mad at Mike Z for allowing what seemed to be a very solid technical fighter get side tracked by total useless and off putting nonsense

Instead mike Z put freaking stick figures with hats and use your resources not on pixalated anime panties that cause the hitbox to display and the game to take 10 minutes to load but on polishing up the engine and expanding the roster just a tad

Seriously all of the extra nonsense like jagged short animations and tentacles that obfuscate whats actually a hit box add nothing to the game for those that take fighting games seriously.

bluh bluh bluh this anime game offends my delicate sensibilities and I cannot look past an art style because I have asperger's I will never touch a woman and will die alone bluh bluh bluh

same

@CaptainInvictus said:

@dudebro said:

Its just really really bad, look guilty gear series had some hyper sexualized female characters but it had a male cast to balance it out it even included a transgendered character. Mortal Kombat has a hyper sexualized johnny cage stereotyped with the self absorbed name tatto on his chest, im not saying mortal kombat is some bastion of equality and not objectifying women, but it wasn't just so blatantly creepy I coudn't get past it to enjoy the (some what shoddy) fighter underneath

Panty flashes every 5 minutes doesn't create style, having half your all female cast resemble underage but sexualized children and the rest groan worthy stereotypes like the giant boobed nurse or whatever goes from style to "creepy/off putting"

If anything im actually quite mad at Mike Z for allowing what seemed to be a very solid technical fighter get side tracked by total useless and off putting nonsense

Instead mike Z put freaking stick figures with hats and use your resources not on pixalated anime panties that cause the hitbox to display and the game to take 10 minutes to load but on polishing up the engine and expanding the roster just a tad

Seriously all of the extra nonsense like jagged short animations and tentacles that obfuscate whats actually a hit box add nothing to the game for those that take fighting games seriously.

bluh bluh bluh this anime game offends my delicate sensibilities and I cannot look past an art style because I have asperger's I will never touch a woman and will die alone bluh bluh bluh

bluh bluh bluh people are saying mean things about a game I like bluh bluh bluh

@Alkaiser said:

I thought stuff had to be japanese to be anime. I think that's part of the definition, right? I could be wrong.

You're right. And the designs are more Tex Avery than anime(indeed, the artist literally says Tex Avery was his main inspiration, alongside other fighting games, comic books, and anime), anime seldom has as exaggerated proportions as these characters do, while Tex Avery is never NOT Hips Twice As Wide As Shoulders. I was mocking the extremely generic angry responses people give this game.

@dudebro said:

@CaptainInvictus:

enjoy those sweet characters turning into hit boxes and hard to see super busy creepy animations that all detract from the game. Im on board with no x factor comeback nonsense and a real working reasonable inf prevention system. But the excuse for not having a movelist ( memory issues ) would be entirely solved by not going hog wild with panty shots

How does the art direction have anything to do with it not having a movelist you dumb motherfucker

goddamn son, you pathetic

You know, like 50% of the complaints about this game stem from people forgetting this is only 15$ and made by a relatively small team. The lack of a command list is worth a complaint but not game ruining, the art style is like all other art styles, you'll either like it or you won't, and the low character count isn't something that can't be "fixed" through DLC anyway (although I have no problem with that at all considering the variety of play styles supported).

Speaking as a mid-level fighting game player, I love a lot about this game, but understand it has flaws. However, those flaws just seem to be getting blown up to bigger problems than are deserved.

This game isn't hurting anyone. Criticism is one thing, but crapping all over it because it isn't your cup of tea is uncalled for.

@CaptainInvictus:

because the excuse was memory issues or some bullshit and without all the shitty animes and craptastic jarring animation more of the small teams limited resources could go toward stuff that actually matters, but now all we get is janky jank fighter that sometimes the characters turn into hitboxes and other flaws not playable on a big stage

Sad you needed it spelled out you dumb fuck

@Axelhander said:

Great QL, as usual. Not exactly from the tourney player perspective, but it doesn't always have to be. Besides, GB guys are too charming. No homo.

Just to counter the usual unfounded criticisms no doubt appearing in the comments:

• The art style is amazing, and a mix of styles the world over, not just whatever one you happen to (dis)like.
• No in-game move list yet, but it's coming, and that's not a crippling flaw. SRK has a handy Skullgirls wiki; use it. Yes, you can; you used the internet to get the game.
• Skullgirls is better than most 2D fighters released since Super Turbo.
• It's not sexist.
• Cerebella is balls awesome.

EDIT - I admit, I said "Great QL" before watching it, expecting it would be the usual goodness. It was not, and full of stuff like "they said they'll add a move list if enough people buy it." Disappointing, GB. Disappointing.

Hah. This post is hilarious. Way to completely reverse your opinion.

Hey guys please don't jake jeff and brads word on this quicklook, check out the recent top 8 at power up for a better idea of what this game is, you can find the video here - http://www.own3d.tv/teamspooky#/watch/581765
 
I love the guys and the site a hell of a lot been coming here since the beginning but I dont' want to see this game loose out on fans cause these guys aren't too into the genre

@Axelhander said:

Great QL, as usual. Not exactly from the tourney player perspective, but it doesn't always have to be. Besides, GB guys are too charming. No homo.

Just to counter the usual unfounded criticisms no doubt appearing in the comments:

• The art style is amazing, and a mix of styles the world over, not just whatever one you happen to (dis)like.
• No in-game move list yet, but it's coming, and that's not a crippling flaw. SRK has a handy Skullgirls wiki; use it. Yes, you can; you used the internet to get the game.
• Skullgirls is better than most 2D fighters released since Super Turbo.
• It's not sexist.
• Cerebella is balls awesome.

EDIT - I admit, I said "Great QL" before watching it, expecting it would be the usual goodness. It was not, and full of stuff like "they said they'll add a move list if enough people buy it." Disappointing, GB. Disappointing.

http://shoryuken.com/2012/04/10/skullgirls-will-be-patched-with-movelists-and-dlc-if-the-game-sells-well/

This might be the most fun comment section I've seen since the early days of the P4 Endurance Run.

@dudebro said:

@CaptainInvictus:

because the excuse was memory issues or some bullshit and without all the shitty animes and craptastic jarring animation more of the small teams limited resources could go toward stuff that actually matters, but now all we get is janky jank fighter that sometimes the characters turn into hitboxes and other flaws not playable on a big stage

Sad you needed it spelled out you dumb fuck

Yeah no there's like one dude working on the animations, you look like Literally The Dumbest Motherfucker, my statement stands:

goddamn son, you pathetic

@Undeadpool said:

This might be the most fun comment section I've seen since the early days of the P4 Endurance Run.

I know I'm having a blast!

"DLC (which includes male characters)" thank frikken god

@the_red_mage said:

@munnyman5 said:

Girls with skulls!

Well imagine a fighting game featuring girls without skulls ... this would be highly disturbing.

Yeah, y'know what? I didn't really think that through. I've never really cared about the quest system, but I saw that there were no comments on the video and the first thing my studying-and-sleep-deprivation-addled mind could come up with was what you see written above.

Yeah a game featuring girls lacking skulls would be... well it would be a Mortal Kombat game, I know that much.

I finish watching the video, glance down at the comments and...... nothing to do here.....

@Vortextk said:

People still going fucking crazy over an animated breast or two; whether good or bad crazy. Amazing. Word to the fucking internet, sometimes a real woman just wants to be thought of as sexy to. It's not a damn mortal sin.

But they're not real women. And it's not because its a nudity = evil thing, it's because it's incredibly pandering to have a panty shot every 5 seconds. Thats why people bag on shitty animes all the time.

@CaptainInvictus: holy fuckballs captain , it appears a wild shitstorm has appeared

I dig the style a lot and I really love how the tutorial is on "How to play a fighting game" and that the game in general doesn't try to divert too much from what standards been set by Street Fighter II. Still, it could really have done with more characters. 8 feels like way too little, especially in a game that wanna do tag-style fights.

@Vortextk said:

@Alkaiser said:

@Vortextk said:

People still going fucking crazy over an animated breast or two; whether good or bad crazy. Amazing. Word to the fucking internet, sometimes a real woman just wants to be thought of as sexy to. It's not a damn mortal sin.

But they're not real women. And it's not because its a nudity = evil thing, it's because it's incredibly pandering to have a panty shot every 5 seconds. Thats why people bag on shitty animes all the time.

You know what is actually pandering? Pornography. And that shit is more popular than ever. Skullgirls has been about bouncing breasts and panty shots for over a fucking year now, people need to get over it.

Hey, I personally don't have a problem with Skullgirls. I've become inured to that kind of stuff from other games in the genre, so it doesn't bother me unless it's really egregious. I don't begrudge people for what they like, but so far Skullgirls doesn't have anything I'm too interested in so I'll probably pass unless some of the dlc characters that come out look cool or something.

And yeah, porn is popular. But porn also caters to a market that's looking for exactly that. It's different when its say, some anime show like High School of the Dead that overdoes it to such an extent that you can't help but think why they didn't just say fuck it and make it a porno. Or, for video games, the Dead or Alive volleyball spinoffs would probably be a better comparison.

@envane said:

@CaptainInvictus: holy fuckballs captain , it appears a wild shitstorm has appeared

Everyone into the shitstorm shelter!

Why would you QL tutorials argh....

@Superfriend said:

@BiggNife said:

It wasn't laziness - apparently they've been having some serious memory-use issues, and one of things they had to sacrifice to get everything working on time was the movelists. Granted, I still think it's a completely ridiculous omission, but it's not like they didn't do it because they didn't care.

Yeah right, like a couple of fucking pages of text would fill up all the memory the have available. I think they just don´t want regular people to play their game. Well, good job! Because any normal human being is not going to go to a fucking website to print out a move list in this day and age.

If they didn't want "regular people" to play their game, then they wouldn't have bothered putting in a tutorial. They've already said they're going to add the movelist in a patch.

I like how the Giant bomb comments section has become a battleground for political correctness.

I never noticed those weird hit box frames while playing on the ps3... Is that a bug on the Xbox version?

I really like the Player Select music.

I just have a quick question to those people saying that the characters all look under aged ......... What the hell are you talking about? The only character that really looks young to me is peacock... And she is not sexual issued at all in this game. Yes you could make the argument that they have an underage girl smoking cigars but that's about all I can think of. I dunno maybe I just don't see it but I really don't get how people can say these characters look underage.

I like the graphics

The art style seems to be an american cartoon take on anime stylizations. Which is cool to some but as Jeff pointed out can also put off some. Why the original trailers divided the community.

@munnyman5 said:

Yeah a game featuring girls lacking skulls would be... well it would be a Mortal Kombat game, I know that much.

It would probably also sell suprisingly well in Japan because they have all sorts of crazy people.

Urgh, I love the art STYLE but the level of boobs and panties here is weirdly uncomfortable. And I'm all for both, it's just...it feels like too much for me, and too glamorized.

Maybe I'm being a big wimp because I also sucked at the game, but hey...gotta call it like I see it. I was embarrassed to play this game and my wife wasn't even watching.