Game 27: Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior
I'm just going to have to acknowledge that Art of Fighting is not a good series, and largely I think that has to do with how stagnant it's combat is. While the first two games have a lot working against them when it comes to liking the appeal of this game, Art of Fighting 3 really just comes down to the fact the fighting system just isn't a good one.
When I mean Art of Fighting 3 comes down to it's combat, I really do mean that everything else in the game kinda works for it. The character design feels more alive, the stages look beautiful to look at while not being completely distracting, the soundtrack has some really good bangers, and just everything feels like it's moving. Well save for the combat.
Like I never really faced a fighting game quite like this before. I honestly can't picture myself landing any combos or learning anything about a character because of how aggressive the AI can be even on a lower setting, but also due to the fact that it just feels stiff. I honestly feel like I'm always fighting against the controls whenever I do something, and if I were to able to land more than two hits, it largely came from spamming and not linking attacks together.Every button press just feels like a commitment, and while that was the standard for the time, newer games have spoiled me with an open marriage to press whatever buttons I like till I can move on to the next one.
The game is at least charming at every other area though, and frankly I'm happy a lot of these characters live on through King of Fighters and Fatal Fury. It just saddens me that previous games were too hard and lackluster that they just didn't appeal to me, and while a game finally has, the bad taste in my mouth has only grown milder and my memory colder at the thought of playing another Art of Fighting game. Frankly I just don't see a reason to play any of these games.