akiTONE's video: Nettou Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special - Vs Billy

"Be tough, or be dead, big guy!" Welcome to another Nettou RBS vid! This time, I'll be taking on Billy (who thankfully got to keep HIS theme!) Since the Joe vid served as intro to the game, here I'll go a little more in depth. I've probably played RBS enough times that I'm pretty familiar with how Billy behaves. Considering it's just a handheld port, much like First Contact on the Neo Geo Pocket, the AI probably isn't as terribly nuanced as it would be in the games these ports are based on. Billy lacks his usual bite, despite having his moveset mostly intact. He doesn't go for his anti-air as often, and he doesn't spam his Dragon Flame as often either. He's a lot less aggressive in general. Still, it's quite surprising how much of RBS at its core is left intact. As mentioned previously, the Line and Corner Dizzy systems are brought over mostly intact. The Line System in particular is quite a neat feat for a handheld, though it's lacking the ability to Sway while dashing. (For the record, not even SNK's own First Contact features the Line system, on a Neo Geo Pocket, to boot.) What's more, the Real Bout signature ability to combo off of Reach Attacks is possible, so the game feels as good as the console Real Bouts. Sadly, RBS' signature inter-Line juggles that could extend for a crazy amount of hits aren't possible, as the command normals and chain enders that force the opponent to the other Line don't seem to be around. On the flipside, you can now breakfall/ukemi to the other Line and Breakshot/Guard Cancel to your heart's content. Apparently, these no longer require meter to do, so you can go nuts. Breakshots are also no longer as restrictive as they were in RBS, and you can use more moves as a Breakshot now. As for what's new: the game uses punches and kicks of varying strengths like the older Fatal Furies, but with the ability to cancel much more seamlessly into special moves. The face buttons themselves use a pressure/hold system like the Neo Geo Pocket software does, so fans of that handheld won't feel too out of place playing the Nettou games and vice versa. Nettou RBS is also rather floaty, so it ultimately comes off feeling a bit like Fatal Fury 3 at times. All in all, all this technical stuff results in an experience that's surprisingly close to the base game, and a surprisingly capable fighter on a handheld where games like these are very far and few in between.