Tobonomu Itagaki lists Image Fight among his favorite games

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 6:32 pm

I am absolutley 100 percent sure that he was just trying to make us laugh by saying that Tekken sucks there.

sethsez · Post by **sethsez** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 7:01 pm

Pretty much. And I doubt he did it to attack his competitors since he's admitted in the past that DoA is just a stab at a more user-friendly Virtua Fighter.

He does think it all went downhill after 3, though.

Klatrymadon · Post by **Klatrymadon** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 7:20 pm

I can see why people might dislike him - in the past he has expressed homophobia and elitism, and not necessarily in terms of gaming. However, he's just having a laugh in this article... he doesn't say anything to elicit such harsh responses (unless you're a Tekken buff, hehe).

Besides, the man who created this...

... is surely above critique?

zakk · Post by **zakk** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 7:26 pm

I love all you people seriously "responding" to his top 5 hated. It's obviously a damn joke; laugh a bit.

Randorama · Post by **Randorama** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:23 pm

This thread has also gone blatantly off-topic, dear moderators.

benstylus · Post by **benstylus** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:01 pm

zakk wrote:I love all you people seriously "responding" to his top 5 hated. It's obviously a damn joke; laugh a bit.

might be funnier if he didn't do it every single chance he gets.

Just do a google search for itagaki tekken and you'll see what I mean.

It's like he can't give an interview without badmouthing Tekken at least twice.

It's childish and it's just not funny after the 50th time.

Acid King wrote:
benstylus wrote: I don't consider enemies hitting you from offscreen a game mechanic.

But you do consider the fact that there is a block button and the fact that simply pressing the button will block most any attack from any angle a game mechanic, right?

How fast can you move while holding the block button down?

Ninja games should be fast paced, like ninjas. If you're blocking everywhere you go it really slows the whole pace of the game down.

Besides, Ninjas should evade attacks, not block them*.

This is why I prefer Shinobi on the PS2. It may not look as pretty, but the gameplay is forty times what Ninja Gaiden Xbox has to offer. Interestingly enough, though, I prefer the NES Ninja Gaidens to the Genesis Shinobi titles.

How often did Ryu block in the NES Ninja Gaidens?

* The only exception is when they substitute themselves for a piece of wood the moment before a strike hits.

sethsez · Post by **sethsez** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 10:19 pm

Bal-Sagoth wrote:in the past he has expressed homophobia

Got a link for this? Just curious.

Acid King · Post by **Acid King** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 12:36 am

benstylus wrote:

How fast can you move while holding the block button down?

Pretty fast, considering that's how you roll.

Ninja games should be fast paced, like ninjas. If you're blocking everywhere you go it really slows the whole pace of the game down.

Besides, Ninjas should evade attacks, not block them*.

This is why I prefer Shinobi on the PS2. It may not look as pretty, but the gameplay is forty times what Ninja Gaiden Xbox has to offer. Interestingly enough, though, I prefer the NES Ninja Gaidens to the Genesis Shinobi titles.

You don't have to block everywhere. Suggesting someone should actually take use of the ability to block and turtling are two different things. As for Shinobi having "40 times" Ninja Gaiden has to offer... zah? NG has more weapons, more moves, an intensely better fighting system and way more depth than Shinobi. Shinobi is good but has no where near the depth or technique that Ninja gaiden has.

How often did Ryu block in the NES Ninja Gaidens?

How often did Shinobi lock on to enemies in the original Shinobi or perform tates?

MichiyoNoShiroIV · Post by **MichiyoNoShiroIV** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 1:08 am

Bal-Sagoth wrote:I can see why people might dislike him - in the past he has expressed homophobia and elitism, and not necessarily in terms of gaming. However, he's just having a laugh in this article... he doesn't say anything to illicit such harsh responses (unless you're a Tekken buff, hehe).

Besides, the man who created this...

... is surely above critique?

He actually hadn't played the Orignal Ninja Gaiden he did the XBOX Gaiden but he had nothing at all to do with the orignal.

His First Game was the Arcade Version of Tecmo Bowl.

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 1:53 am

Randorama wrote:This thread has also gone blatantly off-topic, dear moderators.

Yep, agreed.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 5:57 am

Just finished reading this topic. I like it. Seth, your posts are solid. I might not agree with you the whole time, but this time I had to tell you the above posts are some of the most reasonable and solid I have seen on the board in a long time.

Back on topic, I never liked Tekken. Sure, lots of characters. None of the depth of VF. I still don't see what's the deal with the fighting system, and boy am I sick of that Phoenix punch.

Klatrymadon · Post by **Klatrymadon** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:40 am

Got a link for this? Just curious.

I haven't, sorry. I just tried google, but I can't find the article I'm thinking of.

That's come as a blow to me, Michiyo! Do you know who the real creators of the series are (not the producer... Christ, it boils my blood to hear Gunpei Yokoi constantly credited as being Metroid's creator)?

I guess that's exactly the same thing I've fallen for here - accepting the producer as the series' creator!

The n00b · Post by **The n00b** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 3:43 pm

I've always thought that Itagaki had an extremely abrasive personality. He's a loudmouth and a jackass in general. If we had drinks together, we would probably end up in a drunken fist fight. The man does have some cool opinions on gaming and he's pretty hardcore so I do admire him a little from a distance. I wouldn't want to hang out with him though.

That said I liked DOA 2 and 3 and I freakin hate the Tekken series. The whole Tekken series, except maybe 3, is a pile of smoking shit. I've always preferred the Soul Calibur series and the Virtuafighter series.

Of course the one area where Itagaki is just the freakin master is Ninja Gaiden. Ninja Gaiden just freakin destroys the Devil May Cry series and God of War. The game is just that damn good. I really don't even know why Itagaki wastes his time with making new entries in the DOA when it's so freakin obvious that the man has found his calling in Ninja Gaiden.

Moogs · Post by **Moogs** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 5:54 pm

I'm not a big fan of Itagaki as a person, but I do enjoy his games for the most part (with the exception of DOA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball, though that's about as much of a video game as Nintendogs is). That said, I've always thought that Tekken felt like I was controlling wooden marionettes; the games just feel so stiff compared to Dead or Alive. Dead or Alive may not be as serious or as technical as some fighting purists would like, but it's still fun to play.

Icecap Veiwin · Post by **Icecap Veiwin** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 11:23 pm

I find both DoA and Tekken to be remarkably simple.

I don't even like either series. I find Itagaki to be a moron -- at least Namco is a good company, the developers of other good games, such as Soul Calibur 2 and (supposedly) Namco x Capcom.

sethsez · Post by **sethsez** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 11:54 pm

I've never heard him say anything bad about Soul Calibur, and everything I've heard about Namco x Capcom seems to indicate that it sucks. Personally I think Katamari is their high point right now.

Either way, of course DoA is simple. That's the point. While most fighting series are tweaking and updating themselves further and further into a niche, it's nice to see a series that's fun for the average person to get into. It is to fighting games as Advance Wars is to turn-based war games. There are products with infinitely more depth out there, but if you just want a casual spin through a game in that genre, they don't offer much. If you're a hardcore fighting fanatic, DoA isn't really meant for you.

I don't really see what place Tekken has in today's marketplace, though. DoA is flashier and easier to get into, Virtua Fighter is deeper, and Soul Calibur has weapons. I guess Tekken has the jack of all trades thing going for it.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 1:08 am

^^ The purpose of Tekken is to serve as first gen showcase game for each iteration of Sony hardware. Nothing else, IMHO.