(Yes, prepare for a KoF/BB study, lol. I've seen so much anti-KoF in this thread, that I think it's perfectly fair, though! It's not just fanboy ranting, I promise!)
I've never heard one person who actually plays KoF XII call the CC system broken.
I've seen some pretty damaging ones, yes, but something I like about it (much like I like in Blazblue) is that it's not just a "LAWLZ, High tier character has high damage!" situation. Practical use of every character seems to be able to land a 50%+ damage CC with excellent execution and timing, in the right circumstances.
Just about every throw-involved combo in Blazblue does 50% damage, lol. (Slight exaggeration) Why would KoF's CC system, based off a single technique that you can only use after some time in a match, that is baitable, risky, and full of workable countermeasures, be more broken than BB?
Anywho, KoF has always been my main goal, BB was just a distraction/side-dish (even though it's a very well put together one at that.) I'll be getting XII day one, enjoying it's liveliness and style, and it's vastly better animation!
I keep looking at Blazblue, and wondering about some of the places they don't have animation, such as how counter blows don't even have billowing clothing or shaking knees (dude, Streets of Rage and Guilty Gear did that detail better!), or why the opponent is completly still when Tao does her "I'mma beat the crap outta you!" super. Or how my much loved Bang's "sentai-style rear explosion" victory stance looks quite low in frames. It might all be high res, and some animations look fantastic, such as all stance animations, and Tao's crawl and crouching 3C. But other parts look no better than, for example, HD remix.
On the gameplay side of things, I've always found XII much more interesting to watch than BB. More intensity! Also, things that HURT, are over pretty fast. Mid match combos are to the point. This, to me, makes the pacing much more interesting. Not to mention the Zoom on CC's also makes them feel more like supers, rather than just long combos. The sound effects, and the fact it has a beginning and ending, make it feel more like a chorus in song, a climatic situation, and exclimation point!
Getting combo'd in BB sometimes feels like you could just walk away for a bit... like getting in a 14 hit combo at any time by a good Litchi, or some of Tao's combos. The gattling combos are very slowly paced in BB too, input wise (though I hear XII feels slower than many KoFs), which actually lowers my hype JUST a bit while playing it.
Otherwise, PLAYING BB does excite me alot more than any gameplay vids of it ever did. Sometimes it feels like a chore, but more often than not, it's actually fun.
On the next topic of gameplay, for all those people I saw mention how epic BB feels in battle... I just can't 100% agree. BANG, easily, makes every battle epic. He IS the embodiment of Epic and Awesome. But the Astral finishes, while very nice looking, actually FEEL slightly thrown into the game.
After Bang's wonderful install super (Fu Rin Ka ZANNN!) having an AWESOME themesong, I would at least expect the music to either fade, or to have a shared "You're gonna die!" theme like Soul Calibur 4. But Astral's just... happen. Other than the nice animation, they sometimes feel less impressive than supers, because of this. (AND WHY DOES BANG CARRY A HUGE NAIL, only to use it for a finish he didn't even HAVE till console release? SUCH A WASTE! -ahem-)
And my last BB vs XII criticism... Characters and Balance.
BB's characters do feel vastly unique, and I love this about them. But there are 2 things that stand out to me that I dislike, also:
1. Because of this difference, not everyone feels accessable or even much fun to play, without deeply learning them, especially Carl. Because of this, I have much less fun playing multiple characters, than in most other games. While I don't think this'll make me tire of the game long term, I do think it makes it less fun to play for hours on end, because who wants to play characters that feel like utter trash in your hands, when in a 6 man lobby?
2. Characters balance feels off, at least for mid-level, casual play. Arukune has infinite curse/bug summon, yet Bang has limited nails? Why should 'kune have no summon limit? Jin has higher HP, quicker gauge refil, ability to freeze after combos, and lightning fast, generally safe moves? Some of the things that are gauged, while others are not, just feels kinda reasonless.
KoF might have a small cast at 22, for KoF, but everyone, even "lacking moves" Clark and Mature, look viable. While character have different ways of getting in and doing damage, and different ways to excel, they ALL look like they can excel. Noone looks fundamentally crappy, nor does anyone look insanely overpowered.
Every time I've seen something really powerful come out of XII, I've seen someone find something equally cool about the next character on the list. And every time I've seen someone say a character is poor or lacking, I've seen vids of players who play so good, that they make the formerly "weak" character, now look OverPowered to the casual observer.
But it all looks like legit stuff. Some corner combos, and some strong use of weak and strong specials, or counterhits. Nothing that looks like a glitch (Oh Carl, I'm talking about your loops!), or that you feel dirty for using, lol.
Don't get me wrong, I definately enjoy BB, but for the first few days of getting it, in between being stoked about how great it's "extras" were, I also kept hearing in the back of my head, while playing, "THIS?!?! THIS is what people kept saying felt SO much better than my KoF?!? These slow chains?!? This small cast of characters?!? And WHY does Jin feel so BROKEN!?!" XD
It just seemed so obvious that BB had some big negatives, too, but it was like everyone JUST focused on KoF's negatives, and BB's positives.
When it comes down to the gameplay, (From playing BB, and just seeing KoF, no arcade with it here!) I feel both games are equally worthy of being in fighting game fans collections. I personally perfer KoF, but I'm obviously bias at a personal level, lol. But after watching KoF XII matches since April, and watching and playing BB in the past 2 weeks, I just can't see how people who've played both VS good competetion, can act like BB is SO much better, on an objective level.
Anywho, this fight thread needed a bit more pro KoFness from a fan who has grown to like the retooled cast! I swear most KoF detractors simply dislike that one character or another are not there, or that this re-birth isn't at the same place as 15 years worth of mostly recycling old assets, lol.
Watching this game grow, from those first matches in Portland's AI, to were Japanese and even English (as in England) people have taken it now, has one of the coolest evolutions I've seen in the course of any fighter.
Reply to that Crouch Cancel Alpha 3 Video: Man am I glad that the play I had in Alpha 3 was never like that. To me, that's when games go from being fun and enjoyable, to just being robotic spamfest. It doesn't even LOOK fun anymore; it might be kinda funny, like watching SFII Rainbow Edition, but that sure doesn't make me wanna PLAY the game.