A shirtless, phenomenally ripped man with spiky hair and a sword the size of a Smeg fridge-freezer, and a woman who pulls out a bazooka for one of her weakest attacks? Yup, this is another anime-styled beat-’em-up to hurl onto the pile. That said, you’ll want to give this one your attention. The glorious excesses of the character design and attack animations are here to decorate, not distract from the gameplay.
Although it’s based on the MMORPG Dungeon Fighter Online, you don’t need to know anything about that for this (and not just because BlazBlue and Guilty Gear have already taught Arc System Works fans to expect largely impenetrable storytelling). What you do need to know is that DNF Duel is built on smart yet surprisingly accessible systems.
Take damage, for example. There are two types: Red damage and white damage. Red works the way you’d expect, ie it’s a portion of the health bar that is gone immediately and permanently. White,
