I'm sorry, but we have to stop dropping fighting game betas without a training mode. I don't care that developers are trying as hard as they can to siphon players into online matchmaking to stress-test the servers, essentially getting free QA testing; mindlessly mashing buttons with no means of practicing and learning mechanics just sucks the fun out of it, especially when it's a tag fighter as unique as Marvel Tokon.
If you're out of the loop, let me fill you in. On December 5, the second Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls closed beta began. Unlike last time, the beta period would be the full weekend with no breaks in between, ending on December 7. It would also add two new playable characters fans had been anticipating: Spider-Man and Ghost Rider.
It all sounds dandy, right? Well, with even more characters to learn in a limited amount of time, and players trying to figure out if Arc System Works had made any changes to the system mechanics, it was quickly apparent that the lack of training mode just incentivized using the most basic, barebones, boring autocombos to derive some sense of enjoyment from the game in the limited time we had with it.
There may be people who simply want to smash their faces into the controller and watch cool stuff happen. That's understandable, but for me, and many more who enjoy the process of coming up with setups, combos, and understanding the flow of the game, it just took away my desire to even play the beta.
It's a shame, really, because having no means of properly practicing tends to be counterproductive. Plenty of people on social media expressed the same feeling, opting not to play since there wasn't really a point to it. No way of knowing what changed and no way of fully seeing the potential Marvel Tokon could reach, which ultimately damages the perception of the game, with many already claiming it's a "sauceless" game even before we get a proper open beta, let alone a full release.
Sure, you could set up the CPU to the lowest difficulty and have a crack at it. But if you're already giving players means to not interact with the online aspect of your beta, why not go all the way? Good players will still rise to the top and discover the most broken things about your fighting game with or without training mode. As a developer, you're just hindering those looking to actually engage with your game on a deeper level.
To rub salt on the wound, the weekend also featured a closed alpha period for Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game. It included a training mode that actually allowed players to properly discover the game's flow and explore the mechanics on a deeper level. And who would've thought? It actually garnered much more interest than Marvel Tokon did.
So, ArcSys, or any fighting game developer for that matter, is listening, please: do not take away player agency and force us to sloppily test out your games for free. Give us training mode or give us nothing.