/vr/ - Retro Games

>>5986302
>Something I never liked about DOA is that everyone gets the fancy stuff (reversals, low throws, catch grabs, lots of strings that are delayable and non-linear) but not the basic stuff (reliable pokes)
That's because despite having rich basic mechanics, DOA operates on the logic that these mechanics fall into 3 fundamental categories: Strikes (punches & kicks), Throws (grabs), and Holds (counters). The characters are balanced by having a stronger toolkit in one or two of these categories over the remaining. You say,
>a game where everyone feels the same
But that really isn't the truth. Take your grapplers: Tina, Bass, and Leon. You have Bass as the strongest grappler in the game (if you don't count Hayabusa's Izuna Drop) whose throws are highly damaging, good for positioning, and useable in more occasions than others have access to; on the downside, his strikes are simple and slow. You have Tina and Leon who are faster than he is at the slight expense of grab game; Tina plays more like a striker and has better mobility than both of them. They share a common gameplay tactic but shift priorities; it suits different players.
>yet it's also massively unbalanced
The only character that is consistently pointed out as being superior to others is Hayabusa, and that almost wholly comes from Izuna Drop being not only so damaging, but also accessible through a Throw and a Hold--in DOA4, he possesses a level of mobility greater than anyone else, but it's all reactable. Otherwise, he has unremarkable grabs, unremarkable counters, and combos that don't do a lot and don't go on for very long---he is weaker in all categories compared to not just the other ninjas but other characters in general, with the exception again being mobility that he nevertheless still lacked in the first three games. Izuna Drop isn't a crutch exactly, it's a necessary part of his toolkit; and it's not like it's free to pull off---as far as inputs in the game go, it's one of the most complex.