POWER STONE
In 1999, 3D fighting games were hardly new. Despite its commitment to its signature brand of sprite-based fighters, even Capcom had taken the leap to polygons, from its debut 3D fighter Star Gladiator to even Street Fighter getting the EX treatment. But even with these new graphical changes, most 3D fighting games rarely utilised the 3D space. Apart from the odd side step, most would keep the action to a 2D plane, still confined in a ring. But the arrival of new hardware in the form of NAOMI – Sega’s arcade board counterpart to the Dreamcast – was the perfect opportunity for new innovative ideas.
Enter , a new breed of 3D fighting game from Capcom, and . On the surface, the one-on-one fighter might have echoes of , notably the anime art illustrations for each character or the way you were fighting competitors from around the world depicted with larger-than-life stereotypes, albeit set in a romanticised steampunk 19th century. It was however a huge departure from the hardcore technical nature of fighting games where memorising complex input commands or timing your attacks were paramount. Instead, combat was a much simpler affair of stringing basic punches or kicks, with some movesets differing based on each character, while the greater importance was on being aware of your environment, and using it to your advantage.
