Aggressors of Dark Kombat

Aggressors of Dark Kombat (ADK)
Developers	Alpha Denshi Corporation
Systems	Arcade NEO GEO MVS JP AU EU: 1994
	PlayStation 2 JP AU EU: 2008
Online Play	PC: Fightcade (Rollback)
Community Channels	Discord

Introduction

Aggressors of Dark Kombat (known in Japan as Tsūkai GANGAN Kōshinkyoku or just GANGAN for short) is a fighting game released in 1994 on the Neo-Geo arcade hardware. The game takes place in Japan, focused on the rivalry between Joe Kusanagi and Goh Kidokoro, which has enough intensity to attract fighters from around the world.

The real originality of the game doesn't come from its scenario but from its gameplay, which is a mix of both beat 'em up and fighting game mechanics. This unique idea creates a game with unique movement options, and some very forefront mechanics for its time. Despite its originality, Aggressors of Dark Kombat struggled to keep up with the abundance of competing fighting games in the 90's and is relatively obscure nowadays.

The Mechanics

This game take the appearance of a beat 'em up, but it will be more interesting to compare it to a 3D fighting game with a very important aspect in the movement, dealing the depth so there is 3 very important options of movement.

This game play with only 3 buttons: A for punch, B for kick and C for jump. You can do stronger kick or punch by pressing longer time on A or B.

C is for jump , but C + down is a taunt , and for whatever reason wenn opponent is down you unlock a new taunt with a+down.

The Movements Options

By doing a hard forward input you can do a run (Except Leonhalt who do a small dash) and you can cancel your run by pressing back to bait your opponent.

By doing a double down or double up input , you can perform a side step , side step are essential in this game. you can escape from dangerous attack and leave you a big windows to punish. Doing correctly or Punishing a side step is the very first step in Aggressors of the Dark Kombat.

And Lastely their is Backdash , while it's not as strongest as side step , a lot of character have a special who can punish an obvious back dash , it still is an option to don't forget. Also if you use it correctly you can have a great reward.

Grab System

Kinda Tricky it makes a big part of the originality of the game. it looks like a Wrestling Game grab with a strange mix of random and mind game. To grab your opponent -> + then when you are in grab animation you have several option you can ; -Do a classic throw with A or B -Do a command throw , each character have at least one. -Go in your opponent back with C (or in front if you grab him from behind) , then after doing a classic throw or a command throw.

Your opponent is not defense less ; you can like in most of the game of this time mashing buttons fast enought to break throw. But most important you can Counter Throw ; to counter throw you should press the right boutton at the right time as your opponent , that why mixing up your throw is important , if you have an easy predictable pattern your opponent can reverse the grab situation to his favor.

Health Bar and Crazy Meter

You have 4 different Health Bar per game: Blue, Green, Yellow, and Red. Each time you hit your opponent, you regain life.

You have also a Crazy Meter. The Crazy Meter slowly goes up during the fight. You're making it go faster by hitting your opponent and lower it if you block too much. After activation the Crazy Meter will return to empty state after 8 seconds. Note: natural meter growth is a little bit faster on Player 1 side, by like 3 seconds or less.

When you have full Crazy Meter, and your opponent has only his red bar, you unlock the GanGan move. normally you will see GANGAN write on your health bar. Each character has one, and it's an unblocable super that kills instantly, so it's like a fatality but more complex.

Stuns, Bone Breaks, Debuffs

There are multiple types of 'stuns' or 'dizzies' in this game. The two basic ones would be the one where the opponent stands up looking angry/dizzy, and another where the opponent lies on the floor for a while. These stuns depend on a hidden stun meter, similar to those found in many other fighting games. Each attack increases the meter, and when it fills up—boom! The opponent is stunned. Other stuns work on an entirely different random algorithm...

(Keep in mind that different types of stuns do not share the same RNG, except for standing and grounded stuns. This means you can easily stun your opponent with one type of stun and follow up with another if you're lucky enough!)

Classic Stuns

A standing stun usually occurs when the opponent is struck by an attack (the one fills up the stun meter) that doesn't normally knockdown, while a ground stun occurs when the opponent is struck by an attack that does knockdown. When your opponent is stunned on the ground, you can use 'Ground Moves' that are unique to each character, or you can pick them up and place them into a grab sequence, from which they have no chance to escape.

Bone Breaks

Next type of stun is a Bone Break. In essence, some throws has a chance to snap the opponent's bone, which will be indicated by an X-Ray sprite that pops up. The opponent will then get up and hold their injured area. Bone breaks are pretty random and can occur at any point during a round, but the chance of successfully breaking a bone increases as your character's health drops. There is also a theory that Crazy Meter increases a chance of successful bone break, but it is not confirmed. So, basically, the lower your HP, the more likely you are to land a bone break. However, not all characters have access to moves that cause bone breaks. For example, Jo and Leonhalt don’t have any bone-breaking moves, while Kisarah has one, but it can only be used on a downed opponent (which means she must first stun her opponent and then attempt to stun them again). With all that being said, the game features a secret bone break available only to Fuuma. It can't be triggered during the match, but the unique sprite will appear if you kill an opponent with 'Cross Face Choke' (press A during the back grapple). This is nothing more than a gimmick.

Groin Kick

Next type of stun is... kind of a gimmick too and available only to Kisarah. Her 'Bells Kick' and back 'Throw Counter' moves have a chance to trigger a unique stun effect. When this occurs, an angry/pained face sprite appears above the opponent's head, followed by them collapsing to the ground while clutching their groin in pain. In this state, the opponent is considered grounded and behaves the same way as in a ground stun. The RNG for this appears to function similarly to the usual bone break mechanic.

Bleeding and Critical Blows

The last things worth mentioning are Bleeding and Critical Blows. You'll notice when you land it when your opponent is knocked away, accompanied by a red screen flash and, occasionally, a large splash of blood. Some (or even all) attacks in the game have a chance to land a critical hit and cause bleeding. Apparently, using a weapon increases the likelihood of landing a critical hit, with the bat and katana being the most effective tools for this. While bleeding, a character takes more damage than usual.

Stages and their Weapons

in a 1v1 game , the stage allways be the stage of P2's character Weapons can spawn or being hide in different stages. To pick up a weapon press down + a , to unpick up it press down + c , each character have a weapon attack with + . Also weapon give you new attack on yours punchs.

There is 5 different weapons: Shovel, Baseball bat with barbed wire, Molotov Cocktail, Katana, and a Rose.

The stage define witch weapons are present.

Kisarah Stage

Their is a molotov in a trash can , and at random moment a girl comes to give molotov or a guy comes to throw shovels.

Fuuma Stage

In a trunk there is one some times two katana.

Goh Stage

Sometimes in a burning barrel there is a molotov , and at random moment their is a guy who drop shovels.

Leonhalt Stage

In the two cactus their is a random chance to found shovel , molotov , baseball bat or nothing. also their is the two random guy and girl who drops molotov and shovel.

Sheen Stage

their is no Weapon .

Jo Stage

Sometimes you can punch the metro guy to get something (kinda rare) , but their the guy who drops baseball bat and shovel and the girl who drops molotov

Bobby Stage

Molotov , allways , every where any times.