Why are none of the fighting fans here talking about this?



Cassy just picked me up the limited edition (see below) for PS3 for just under £20 and after a quick blast, discovered it was far more technical than I first assumed.

After a lengthy session on the Arcana Heart 3 Wikia, have realised that not only is this game amazingly deep when it comes to fighting (button mashes do NOTHING) but this game could overtake SSFIVAE as my favourite beat-em-up of this gen.

23 characters (all girls), 23 different Arcanas (read: summons), and the first twist is, each Arcana gives you different buffs as well as debuffs for both you AND your opponent, they also give you a whole new set of extra moves unique to each Arcana, and they drastically alter the way you fight.

For instance, choosing Weiss (the character I'm learning at the moment) means nothing. Choosing the Love Arcana means that I get no buff or debuff and neither does my opponent. However, my super bar increases the more I attack, and the Love Arcana's big attack only does one hit.

If I choose the Metal Arcana instead, I get an extra 240 HP and my opponent has 720 HP deducted, but my super bar only ever increases when I get hit. However, the Metal Arcana's big attack does ninety-nine hits...

Each Arcana is completely different, and choosing the right one is all about how you want to play, and anticipating the enemy's Arcana is part of that fight.

I always wanted to pick this up just because I'm a sucker for limited editions, but Jesus wept, folk. This game is amazing. If you're in the UK, head on over to Shopto.net and pick it up. If not... then I'm pretty sure you can find it somewhere, but be warned, if you're a button spammer, then this is NOT the game for you.

Don't play this because no one plays it. Did you see them Evo turnouts for it? A hell of a lot smaller than Street Fighter, Marvel or even Mortal Kombat.

If there was more competition I would probably try to get into it. I played BlazBlue for a bit, but I lost interest after the interest for the game started to dwindle. Sure there is always online play, but I like going to the arcade.

Changed the title to see if this can get more than 1 response and 18 views.

But srsly, this is amazing. Loving it so hard. Got me thinking incredibly hard about how I play fighting games.

Edited for clarity

plus the game looks good but i am not good at fighing games :/

except when i have eddie gordo and can use all them lovely kicks

Eddy Gordo should be removed from Tekken. In fact, any capoeira fighters should be banned from any fighting game. They suck and they're cheap.

Steve Fox is god-tier. King is just for multipart throws and giggles. And thats my repertoir.

you just bitter because i beat you a few times

Had a copy for review... wouldnt play on my Jap xbox (go figure).

Every time I saw it have though... Maybe... but never have, too much other stuff. But will look at work tomorrow. Staff discount could help.

(for the record I read this before the headline edit)

Button mashing does nothing? That's... a pretty fucking big shift from AH2. Only had that on my system a month or so ago, and button mashing using the girl on the crayon monster got me through the entire thing.

Seriously, no supers or anything like that, just good old fashioned kicking people in the face...

Also, damn you Carl, I was expecting something more from this... *shakes head*

Well, there IS "Simple Mode", which is made for people who can't play games, and just gives you one attack button and one special attack button, and does all the hard work for you. Then button mashing works. But if you wanna play it on normal mode, then you HAVE to learn how to play it.

Dude less than £20? Where from?

http://www.shopto.net/PS3/SALE/PS3AR07-Arcana%20Heart%203%20Limited%20Edition.html

and its 2 quid cheaper than what i bought it for.

Simple mode was retarded. I'm talking about it being on normal mode.

Well I'm planning on making a video about how this shit works for anyone whos looking to pick it up, but trust me. Button mashing ONLY works if you set it to easy difficulty and the control system to simple.

Try playing on a normal level with normal controls and button bash, and you'll soon find yourself staring at the "continue" screen.

Aside from the normal specials, you have the extra moves given to you by the Arcana you choose, you have supers for the character AND the Arcana, then you have Extend Force mode, which totally changes your fighting style for several seconds and can even have you summon your Arcana... but then theres all the tech cancels and homing attacks and clashes that you have to consider and plan for...

Hell, the final boss is nigh-on impossible, and thats on easy difficulty and spamming Arcana - on normal... well, I still haven't managed it yet. But to be fair, I've been spending a LOT of time in Training Mode learning all the ins and outs.

Planned video is completed.

Advanced follow-up to follow.

got this right before the psn shutdown. still play it time to time