Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale Thread

[Dralnu]

I couldn't find a thread for this game here so I decided to start one myself.

I got the game last week and I really enjoy it. The only annoying thing is I kind of suck at the moment and all my friends are better

Dante is my favorite character, most played and most "mastered" so far. I can do all his combos in his tutorial on command except for his 22nd one (and honestly I only use his best two). However, I've been playing more and more Raiden as my secondary character because he feels a lot more powerful, his kit is stronger and harder to counter and his supers are waaaaaaay better than Dante's from what I can tell.

I've been playing online on my friend's account. Just sticking to quickmatch for now, sitting at level 40. I haven't won a single match so far. I'd say the scariest characters to face so far have been Sly, PaRappa, and Toro. I think Sly is the worst. Good ones are impossible to pin down, if you do hit them they use their counter, and their level 1 is the strongest I've seen. It's ridiculous.

My friends and I debate on whether Kratos is OP, honestly I think he's fine. His skills are very strong, stronger than most, and his homing grapple charge thing is very annoying, but he's balanced by crappy supers. If there was anyone I'd call OP at the moment it's Sly and maybe Toro (his level 1 is ridiculous too).

So, anyone else play? What are your mains? Any advanced tips you'd like to share about the game in general?

[Dralnu]

Bump. No one here plays?

[BRC]

Me and my housemates play all the time, which is great. They're both serious Fighting Game players, the type who like to spend hours practicing combos in Marvel vs Capcom. PS All-Stars, with it's simple control scheme and less focus on hour-long combos, plus the anarchic chaos that comes with having more than two players, has revitalized games in our house (Since now combinations besides Housemate A vs Housemate B actually result in all players having fun).

I play Nathan Drake. When I started playing, I hated his level 1 super, now I use it almost exclusively, to the point where I'm disappointed when I only get a single kill with it. It's tricky to use in 1v1, but I'm convinced that the game is properly played in a Free For All, and once you figure out it's nuances, Drakes level 1 is one of the best in the game, especially when combined with his Meter build (I once worked out a fairly easy-to-do combot, starting with his heavy punch, that can get me a full bar).
Also, it took me a few weeks to figure out that the Barrel was basically the best thing ever. It's a Dive Kick that dosn't require you to dive kick, it's a slow-moving projectile that keeps going after it hits somebody, it's a launcher, it's a chargebreaker, it's something you throw out as soon as you have a spare second, and it has an almost eerie ability to explode in people's faces, even if those faces were nowhere near the barrel when you first kicked it.
Housemate 1: Probably the best gamer in the house, so he switches characters a lot in order to keep things fresh. His favorite character is Evil Cole, but for Free-for-alls he likes playing Rangespam Ratchet, saving up for the Level 3.
Housemate 2: Mains Naruko (Aka LadyKratos), He's good with her, and would be amazing if her supers were not terrible. He usually goes for her Level 2 Super (the Rocket Cannon)
My girlfriend (Who dosn't live with is, but hangs out at our house a lot) likes character jumping too much to really master any individual character, but she plays what is likely to become a REALLY nasty Sly Cooper, especially once she gets the hang of going invisible. She prefers Sly's Level 1 (GLAD I COULD HELP!)


There is a running thing in our house of me throwing out my Propane Tank (Drake level 1) When Housemates 1 and 2 are beating each other up. Housemate 1 sees it coming and disengages, Housemate 2 gets caught in the explosion.
Occasionally we'll be doing dishes or something and the following will occur
Me: Hey Catch! *Mimes throwing propane tank*
Housemate 2: DAMN IT!
Housemate 1: I'm Fine!.

We all wish that Sir Daniel was a better character, as it is he's got what is probably the worst supers in the game.


Kratos is broken. His basic attacks hit hard with lots of reach (Never underestimate the importance of reach) plus, you know, Homing, and his early-level Supers (The most important) are simple to use. Raiden is also really, really annoying.


Oh, also, Housemates 2 and Girlfriend are apparently a nasty team online. Housemate 2 ties up the other team with Naurko's Melee, Girlfriend invisible-sly's her way up to the fight then Unleashes the Hippo.

[Zevox]

Eh. It's a game I was interested in when I first heard of it - I honestly am baffled by why there aren't more people trying to use the Smash Brothers style, especially given how popular Smash Brothers is - but the more I've learned about, the lower that interest has gone.

I think I have two major problems depressing that interest: the characters and the combat mechanics. For the characters, it's that I have practically no connection to most of them. I didn't get a playstation system until after the current-gen systems came out, and that was a PS2. I only just got a PS3 now. For half of the cast I'd never heard of them before hearing they were in this game, and most of the other half fall into the category of "heard of them, never played their game(s)." The only exceptions are Kratos, whose games are fun but who I don't like as a character and isn't exactly one that comes to mind as someone I'd want to see in a Smash Brothers-style game, and Dante. Dante I'd be quite happy to use... except it's not the Dante I like, it's reboot Dante, which puts a serious damper on any enthusiasm he could've mustered from me. Oh, and Heihachi, but the only game I've played with him is SFxT, and I didn't like him there.

As for the gameplay, well, my biggest problem is the whole "only supers kill" part. That just seems incredibly lame. It makes everything but the supers matter only insofar as it builds meter for the supers, which is boring. The game also seems to focus much more on 3-4 character fights than Smash Brothers, with level 2 and 3 supers mostly being better than level 1s in that they can more easily kill multiple opponents. I don't like that - even in Smash Brothers I prefer one-on-one fights. Team fights are okay occasionally, and FFAs more rarely, but I prefer a good duel. Also, I'm not even sure if the game has stock matches - every video I've seen uses timed ones, which again, I don't like as much as stock matches in Smash Brothers.

So, yeah, even now that I have a PS3, I'm not exactly in a hurry to try this. I'll likely rent it sometime, but I've been left without high hopes for it.

[BRC]

As for the gameplay, well, my biggest problem is the whole "only supers kill" part. That just seems incredibly lame. It makes everything but the supers matter only insofar as it builds meter for the supers, which is boring.

When you think about it, it's not much different that how things normally work.
If I may be flippant.

As for the gameplay, well, my biggest problem is the whole "only losing hp kills" part. That just seems incredibly lame. It makes everything but the final blow matter only insofar as it reduces their hit points, which is boring.

Or

As for the gameplay, well, my biggest problem is the whole "only ringouts kill" part. That just seems incredibly lame. It makes everything but moves that launch enemies matter only insofar as it reduces gravity for the ringouts, which is boring.

Really, things work in much of the same way. A hit that would deal lots of damage in another game, in this one builds a lot of meter.

I could see why this system seems weird to people, but I like it. In Psychological terms, a normal HP system is directly punishing (The person who gets hit LOSES something), and Indirectly Rewarding (The person doing the hitting is closer to victory because their opponents HP is lower). This system reverses that, the person doing the hitting is Directly rewarded (They gain something, in this case AP) the person being hit is indirectly punished (They are closer to losing because their opponent is closer to performing a potentially lethal super).

The result is that this game encourages a much more aggressive playstyle (I frequently forget the block button exists), based around constant movement and pressure, rather than waiting for your opponent to drop their guard. SSB's block mechanic does the same thing, but in a different way, and both games benefit from it.


As for the characters...Can't help you there. I had basically no knowledge of any of them, outside from what I picked up from following general gaming culture.

The game does have Stock matches, but I think it's best played Timed, to keep with the Reward mechanic.
And yes, it is very much focused towards 3+ person Free-for-alls. This may be because of my specific situation, but that's what I like about it. 3 Person FFA's especially discourage the sort of lengthy combo-nonsense that my housemates mastered in MvC, keeping the game a moment-to-moment affair.

It's not going to be everybody's cup of tea, but I would recommend trying it out. Like all multiplayer games, it's best played with friends in the room.

[Dralnu]

As for the gameplay, well, my biggest problem is the whole "only supers kill" part. That just seems incredibly lame. It makes everything but the supers matter only insofar as it builds meter for the supers, which is boring.

I don't see how it's boring. The better you are at combo'ing and landing hits, the more chances you get at getting kills with your super. There's also the added challenge of trying to stop other people from unleashing their more powerful supers by removing AP from them with throws or items.

The game also seems to focus much more on 3-4 character fights than Smash Brothers, with level 2 and 3 supers mostly being better than level 1s in that they can more easily kill multiple opponents. I don't like that - even in Smash Brothers I prefer one-on-one fights. Team fights are okay occasionally, and FFAs more rarely, but I prefer a good duel.

It's just as focused on a type of match as super smash bros is. If anything, the opposite is true. Duels are the most consistent place to pull off your characters combos since there's no outside interference. Also, if higher level supers weren't better, they wouldn't make sense. Each level takes more AP to reach and you're at risk of losing more AP by getting hit with throws, items, or hazards.

Also, I'm not even sure if the game has stock matches - every video I've seen uses timed ones, which again, I don't like as much as stock matches in Smash Brothers.

So, yeah, even now that I have a PS3, I'm not exactly in a hurry to try this. I'll likely rent it sometime, but I've been left without high hopes for it.

There's stock matches.

I'd try it out, but to each their own.

[Zevox]

When you think about it, it's not much different that how things normally work.
If I may be flippant.

Yeah, not the same at all. For a normal hp system, every move reduces the opponent's hp, and any move can kill. For Smash Brothers' system, every move builds damage, and in the right situation or with enough damage, every move can kill. Heck, that's one of the brilliant things about Smash Brothers - learning which moves are optimal for killing at what point in a match, and how to do things like spikes that can kill much earlier than is normally possible.

In comparison, PS All-Stars' normal moves can never be lethal, they can only build the meter you need to do the lethal moves. Also, perhaps it's just the people I've seen playing, but it doesn't even seem like the supers can be comboed into or anything. They're all defined by being unblockable, and often big, making them hard to avoid. Which, again, seems dull to me.

As for the characters...Can't help you there.

Didn't expect anyone could, I was just explaining where my feelings about the game come from.

[BRC]

The AP/Supers system DOES make certain characters much better in Duels than in Free For Alls, usually based on their Supers, and vice versa.

For example. Nathan Drake, he's a versatile character, he's got the range to match anything but the range specialists like Ratchet and Radic, and while his punches may look silly next to sword-swinging characters like Dante, they build lots of meter, and can combo easily. He's even got some built in combos, like his directionless punch, or my personal favorite: AK-Fire into Stock-Smash.

However, his level 1 super, the one that is by far the most important in a 1v1, is really hard to set up if your opponent isn't distracted. Since they can avoid it by hitting you after you throw (but before you detonate), being on ground, or just moving out of the way. Unless you learn some specific setup techniques, you need to wait for his level 2 for a reliable kill.

However, his level 1, with a wide area of effect, is ideal for getting multikills in free-for-all.
So while drake is good in FFA matches, he suffers in 1v1
Now, lets take Sweet Tooth.
His level 1 super is easy to use, you get close, and you kick them. However, unless you have two opponents right on top of each other, or get really luck and hit somebody with the bouncing body of the first victim, you're probably not going to get a multikill with his level one. His level 2 is just terrible, and there isn't really a Level 3 that's worth it in 1v1.

So, Sweet Tooth suffers somewhat in FFA, his level 1 is good (For a level 1), but his level 2 is terrible, and his level 3 is somewhat subpar as things go. However, in 1v1 you rarely gain enough meter for a level 2 or 3 anyway, but an easy-to use Level 1 is very valuable.

[Dralnu]

Cool to hear about a Nathan main. I've seen him all of once online. He's an interesting character, but I'm a sucker for fast people with swords.

We all wish that Sir Daniel was a better character, as it is he's got what is probably the worst supers in the game.

Yeah, he was the first character I tested. He has some strong AOE but he was way too slow for me. I've never seen him online.

Kratos is broken. His basic attacks hit hard with lots of reach (Never underestimate the importance of reach) plus, you know, Homing, and his early-level Supers (The most important) are simple to use. Raiden is also really, really annoying.

I think he's on the strong side but not as overpowered as some other characters I've encountered. He probably has the best basic attacks in the game but I think his supers are some of the weakest too. I mean, even his level 3 is laughable, I can dodge it all day with Dante or Raiden.

And Raiden is totally annoying His level 1 and 2 is so friggin' strong. I've even seen online Raidens combo into their level 1's to ensure the kill, which is bonkers. I need to figure that out, and more importantly if Dante has ways to secure his level 1 too.

Oh, also, Housemates 2 and Girlfriend are apparently a nasty team online. Housemate 2 ties up the other team with Naurko's Melee, Girlfriend invisible-sly's her way up to the fight then Unleashes the Hippo.

My friend mains Sly too, so we do the exact same thing with Dante + Sly. It's fun!

[Dralnu]

In comparison, PS All-Stars' normal moves can never be lethal, they can only build the meter you need to do the lethal moves. Also, perhaps it's just the people I've seen playing, but it doesn't even seem like the supers can be comboed into or anything. They're all defined by being unblockable, and often big, making them hard to avoid. Which, again, seems dull to me.

Supers can definitely be combo'd into. I've already seen this done with Raiden and Evil Cole. No doubt many supers can be combo'd into but I'm new and haven't figured this stuff out yet myself.

[BRC]

In comparison, PS All-Stars' normal moves can never be lethal, they can only build the meter you need to do the lethal moves. Also, perhaps it's just the people I've seen playing, but it doesn't even seem like the supers can be comboed into or anything. They're all defined by being unblockable, and often big, making them hard to avoid. Which, again, seems dull to me.


Didn't expect anyone could, I was just explaining where my feelings about the game come from.

It's a very different system I admit, but it's following the same general structure. Hitting the Enemy leads you to victory. This is just going a different route.

As for Combos/Big and hard to avoid, that's where the FFA focus comes in.

In a 1v1 match, it's all about being in control of the fight. You do combos, block carefully, zone with ranged attacks, and keep pressure on the enemy in order to be in control. This is why 1v1 games usually have small, flat, interchangeable stages, because the stage isn't supposed to get in the way of the player's struggle for control.

A Free-For-All game like Brawl or PS allstars (The latter moreso than the former) is all about Opportunity. The stages are designed with different levels and stage hazards, to introduce chaos, and turn a struggle for control into a battle for opportunity. Items spawn randomly in order to introduce new priorities to the fight (do I keep up the pressure, or go for the item), stage hazards appear to force the fight to stay mobile (This spot is about to explode, I need to move), other characters interrupt your combo by swooping in and joining the fray.

While it's possible to Set Up or Combo into a Super, what makes a super good is how frequently opportunities to use it come up. Daniel Fortesique's level 1 (like all of his supers) is one of the worst in the game because opportunities to use it are fairly rare. The enemy has to be coming at you from a specific angle (If he's facing towards 3:00, they have to be in the 1:00-2:30 range, or it misses). Sweet Tooth's Level 1 is good because opportunities to use it come up all the time, you just need to be on the ground and within melee range of an enemy.

Now, if you like the cerebral struggle for control of the fight, good for you. There is a reason basically every other fighting game on the market uses that model, it's a good one that offers a lot of strategic depth. Personally, I love the Chaos of PS Allstars. For me, fighting games have always been about honing instincts rather than memorizing combos or techniques, and PS-Allstars plays towards that.

Now they just need to add in Commander Shepard (Two of them, Paragon Maleshep and Renegade Femshep (They've already got a Bioware character in there)...Go Go Gadget Disingenous Assertations!)


Edit: as for Kratos. Level 3's, even in 4 person Free-for-alls, are largely showboating anyway. They're still good (Housemate #1 can usually average about 2 kills per opponent with Ratchet's Level 3), but a good Level 1 (Which Kratos has), and a good Level 2 can more than make up for a bad level 3.
Meanwhile, a good level 3 does very little to forgive a bad level 1 or 2.

[Dralnu]

Maybe I haven't seen a good Kratos yet, but his level 1 doesn't seem very good. Easy to dodge. His level 2 is solid, but it's small range and short duration means he'll kill about 2 people with it. Compare that to someone like Sly, Toro, Fat Princess, their level 1's are devastating. They're very hard to dodge and can easily hit multiple people.

I do admit I'm a little disappointed with the character roster. It's small, and there's some obvious ones that for some reason didn't make it. Where's Crash Bandicoot and Spyro??? Crash WAS the official mascot of Playstation back in the day and those two characters are far more recognizable than obscure ones like Sir Daniel.

[Scowling Dragon]

Game sounds interesting but a few major turn-offs:

Brand names on titles never works.

It gives this creepy vibe. You would never see "Sony Brand Shooter game!"

And the characters don't have much connection to each other. And most aren't really something sony created. They are on the Playstation, but Sony isn't the real header.

I could see the Brawl characters as a family of sorts. As they apear in each others games, and seem interconnected. But these characters feel more like people who barely know each other forced into the same room and demanded to act out a scene of a family.

[NeoVid]

Not having a Sony system in this generation means I haven't gotten to play it, but I was impressed they added Sir Dan, since he was one of the few characters on my wishlist when I heard about this game.

The fact that it doesn't have Robbit is just wrong, though.

[Zevox]

It's not going to be everybody's cup of tea, but I would recommend trying it out.

I'd try it out, but to each their own.

Oh, I intend to. I actually checked for a demo the other day, but apparently there isn't one. And as I said, I'll likely rent it at some point. It's just that I haven't been left with the impression that I'll like it very much, so it's taking a back seat to the many games I got for Christmas, at the very least.

I don't see how it's boring. The better you are at combo'ing and landing hits, the more chances you get at getting kills with your super.

There's the key word right there. All that meter building ultimately does not matter, at all, if you can't land your super. In a regular fighting game, a dropped combo or a stray hit that you fail to convert still does damage, just not as much as a full combo. In Smash Brothers, whiffing what would have been a killing blow doesn't change that the enemy's damage is high enough for you to kill if you hit them. In PS All Stars, however, whiffing a super means that all the work you put in to build the meter for that super was a total waste from which you ultimately got no benefit.

It's a system that leaves me with the feeling that the supers are the only thing that really matter. Three moves out of your entire arsenal are the only things that can actually accomplish your goal, and everything else feels like filler. For me at least it certainly makes the game less fun to watch, and while I can't say from experience yet, I strongly suspect that it would make it less fun to play as well.

Also, if higher level supers weren't better, they wouldn't make sense.

Yes, quite true. But my point was that the way they work seems to be that they're "better" because they can more easily kill multiple opponents, indicating that they're balanced around 3+ player fights, not 1v1s, where you would rather have the ability to kill the same person multiple times, or more frequently. BRC has also stated that level 1 supers are by far the most important in 1v1s, which seems to support that impression.

As for Combos/Big and hard to avoid, that's where the FFA focus comes in.

Yeah, but like I said, that aspect is one reason my interest in the game declined after seeing it in action. You bring up how FFAs are more chaotic where 1v1s are more about control, and that's exactly my issue. I am one of those fighting game players who can spend hours in training mode and enjoy myself doing it. Learning the various intricacies of the fighting games that I enjoy is fun for me, and applying that knowledge in a fight even better.

This translates somewhat to the Smash Brothers style, too, where I prefer 1v1s with items turned off because it's more a test of the players' skill against each other - this is also why I prefer team 2v2s to FFAs when playing with more than two people. The chaos of a 4-person FFA can be fun too, but not the same degree, and I definitely lose what interest I have in it far quicker than I do with other styles of play.

[Dralnu]

I found a youtuber that's showing advanced combos for most characters. This stuff isn't covered in the game's combo tutorial.

It looks like most characters can combo into level 1 (some easier than others, Raiden looks like the easiest). And if the character can't, they can with level 2.

BRC might like his Nathan Drake vid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxTT...Ttu8JJ49-KH0xw

The Dante one blows me away. I tried it but it's waaaay too hard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxap...KH0xw&index=20

[Tiki Snakes]

This translates somewhat to the Smash Brothers style, too, where I prefer 1v1s with items turned off because it's more a test of the players' skill against each other - this is also why I prefer team 2v2s to FFAs when playing with more than two people. The chaos of a 4-person FFA can be fun too, but not the same degree, and I definitely lose what interest I have in it far quicker than I do with other styles of play.

One of Smash Brothers strengths as a game, is that there is room for both Fox Only Final Destination No Items duelling and wacky free for all chaos.
I can't comment much on Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, but I'm finding the discussion interesting at least.

[Zevox]

One of Smash Brothers strengths as a game, is that there is room for both Fox Only Final Destination No Items duelling and wacky free for all chaos.
I can't comment much on Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, but I'm finding the discussion interesting at least.

Oh, certainly true. That's part of why I like Smash Brothers so much - it allows for a variety of such game styles to be equally viable. Which is why I became concerned when seeing that PS All-Stars seems balanced around one style over the other, due to how its supers work. Since it's the style I like less, that seems to me to be reason to suspect I'll like the game less.