Fuuka σ Taisen - Story Mode (Shizuru)

Download the game here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zw5d48077u...

(This video was made at the request of shana sakai (‪@shana_sakai‬). Thanks for the suggestion!)

Now have two uploads for the price of one! My description of my previous video about this game isn't as adequate, so I think that this game needs a bit of a re-introduction.

Fuuka σ Taisen is a fighting game released by doujin circle Rei no mono back in Comiket 74 (so around August 2008). Being a fangame of the My-HiME anime series (also taking several elements from its spinoff series My-Otome), Fuuka σ Taisen roughly follows the story of the original anime (with the final boss of each character route being the series' main antagonist - the Obsidian Lord).

The game has several mechanics. Besides your standard attack buttons (light, medium and heavy), you also have a "Child" attack, where you basically make your assigned guardian deity (each matching their Child from the source material (save for Mikoto who does not have one in the anime)) attack for you. Each Child attack is different for each character, and afterwards you typically have a cooldown in which you cannot use the attack until it is recharged.

Besides that, counter-attacks can be pretty fatal. The "Beat Back" mechanic could be triggered if you counter-hit the opponent with specific moves. Guides online say that it's done by using a move stronger than the opponent (the order goes something like Light - Medium - Heavy - any command move), but I had the most success of getting this mechanic by hitting the opponent during recovery of their special moves. Either way, successfully doing this leaves your opponent stunned and open for more damage.

Another thing of note is how juggles are a thing. You can tech almost immediately following any attack, but if you don't (and the AI here seldom do), you can basically do a couple of juggles and keep the opponent afloat for a bit, racking up some damage. It's not shown here because Shizuru's air attacks aren't optimal for this purpose (and thus most of the time I missed), but it's a pretty weird damage opportunity overall.

Anyways, let's talk about Shizuru. Her moveset here seems to be on zoning, with her naginata not only making her standing medium and heavy attacks long-range, but also her special moves extending the polearm via various ways (236X extends it forward, 214X does a sneak attack from the ground from a set distance depending on the button). This, combined with her Child Kiyohime, which also functions as a 214X with a bigger hitbox, and her unusually high meterless damage, makes her a threat if you aren't close and personal (where she would have to deal with slower frame data on attacks)

As stated before, story mode has you loosely follow the events of the anime, assuming if you'd play a major character such as Mai. The story is implied to be based on a later story arc, where the main heroines are forced to fight each other, but in Shizuru's route, the plot point is sidelined as she gets worried about her fellow classmate Natsuki having a cold, and tries to find her. I assume that the game assumes that we have already watched the show in order to justify steamrolling enemies along the way (using that story arc), or maybe it's because every fighting game needs no justification to throw hands (I'm guessing the latter).

I think she gets taunted by Nao, Miyu shows up and attacks her to continue her mission, and by the time she meets Natsuki, who isn't as affected from the cold, Natsuki attempts to ward her off by saying its not that big of a deal. This doesn't deter Shizuru, however, who eventually convinces her to rest in her house. She is then invited by the Obsidian Lord to basically be her wife, but Shizuru tells him to fuck off. Her story ending involves doing lewd shit to Natsuki, further doubling down on the ShizNat ship (as if that wasn't already sailing on full steam before).

One final note: There exists another version of Fuuka σ Taisen, which adds Sakuya Amakawa (from a visual novel that also kinda follows the anime story) as a playable character. I should probably check that out soon, given that it was also in the download link I used...