By Rick Charbs, Onrpg writer
Splash Fighters is a newly released MMO fighting game by Ijji. It goes by the title of “3D action game”, and I suppose it lives up to it… definitely being a matter of opinion. This game is aimed at the crowd who have always enjoyed fighter action games, as well as casual games, with no real effort being done to bring in other types of gamers to this classic style. Personally not being a fan of fighter titles, I can honestly say this game was not as bad as people criticize it to be. That being said, I could easily name a few more elaborate and fun games of this genre.
General Gameplay
If you have ever played a traditional fighting game, you will be pretty prepared for Splash Fighters. Yeah, the controls are different, and the style is all new —ironically, it is an older game than most, but you will still easily spot the similarities and the few differences in comparison with other online action games, but in the end, Splash Fighters follows another cookie-cutter concept.
What Splash Fighters brings to gamers is a more complex level fighting where each area in the game has more than one specific depth, allowing more structured battles, and an easier avoid rate. This ultimately means that you can fight in every direction!
The game also introduces a large cast of semi-cute characters (which are unfortunately mostly up for purchasing) ranging from spies, to space agents, to sumo wrestlers. We are also offered a very in-depth skill and technique system—even accessories such as weapons change your fighting style (you can combine them to obtain over 100,000 possibilities).
Lastly, Splash Fighters has a very special feature that allows players to create custom skins for their characters. Essentially, this makes for a completely unique character, sky-rocketing this game’s customization rate.
Other than these said “unique features”, there is not much left to leave one in awe. The controls and gameplay modes lack originality and can sometimes be frustrating. However, one must take into consideration that even though the game is newly published, it has been developed long before most online fighting games we have today. The many combos, items, and area maps are sure to keep anyone interested as long as you are a very casual gamer. The large array of them makes the game a little more goal-oriented than most, which is a definite plus.
Graphics and Sound
To kick things off, I will be honest enough to say that the graphics did not appeal to me at all. I have previously played such similar games with better graphics that it was always running through my mind while playing this one. Of course the graphics are very old, but a small update would not hurt anyone. Despite this, most of the characters actually retain some sort of aesthetic value, especially due to the fact you can customize them entirely, and some of the game maps are creative and very large. As for sound, I am personally indifferent on the matter. I found most the background music alright (very corny at times, though), except it got too repetitive… very fast. I quickly replaced it with my own media library. The sound effects were not very loud or very numbered in my opinion, so they never bothered me as much. All in all, this game truly depends on its gameplay to do it justice. If you do not mind the graphics all that is left for you is to mind the combat style of the game.
Personal Recommendation
Splash Fighters is the type of game you really need to be captivated to in order to want to play for more than a day. In all simplicity, if you enjoy fighter games and do not mind it to be dated and 3D, you will surely enjoy Splash Fighters. Their customization value is amazing, the maps are huge and interactive, and the skill possibilities are virtually endless. Another great bonus is the thriving community. You will not ever find yourself in search of a game to join, as there are tons open every hour of the day. Ijji does a great job in hosting it, and there are plenty of events to come. I trust the title is in good hands from what I have set my eyes upon so far. I found the game to have a pretty small learning curve, and skill was still involved when fighting others.
Basically, being no good at the fighting genre, it was definitely not the game for me. I started playing with no expectations, and I have learned quite a bit about it. The community was also very helpful and quite welcoming… which derives from most people’s expectations. The competitive spirit is still there, only less vivid. Otherwise, this game was just no fun for me. As I have stated, I was never a fan of this genre of MMO, and so I knew I was not going to be their number one customer. The game is just too simple and the content just flies by way too fast to keep me interested.
That being said, if you are new to this genre of MMO, I am not going to discourage you from trying the game. It may just be an amazing game for you; maybe you will discover a new lust for fighting games. I cannot say Splash Fighters was boring because I still had a great deal of fun playing it. I just lack the dedication that is needed to truly get powerful in the game. For you fighting game lovers out there, look no further! Lots of fighting awaits you if you choose to play, and I hope you enjoy you short or long-lived experience! Happy gaming!
Pros
– Large community
– Great customization
– Creative maps
Cons
– Very repetitive
– Quite dated
– Lack of content
