Game:

Bleach: Shattered Blade (2006)

Duration: 11:42

1,467 views

6

And last, but certainly not least, my other request...one that I was unable to decide exactly how I would fill. Overhazard posed a scenario such that there should be a time limit, but there ended the specifics of the request.

I had initially supposed that I would simply make certain to set up a match with a time limit and affix it to the beginning of another request, but alas, I discovered that the other request was also under an extreme crunch for time...and as such there was absolutely no way that I would be able to fit in any other matches without removing one of the most excellent displays encountered whilst questing for the fulfillment of isakuralover's own wishes.

So I thought to myself what could possibly be done with this (relatively) blank slate with which I had been presented, and so I came up with and bring you this: the three time length settings brought to life with three pairs of characters that I would find interesting set against each other...but with a twist of all characters being AI-controlled.

If players against players are battles of wits, and players against computers is picking on a slightly unarmed opponent, then what of computers against computers? I mean, I'm actually surprised to note that up until now, the AI has merely been my captive assistant against which to capture footage, but very little analysis has been spared to consider how it operates and "thinks"...even if it seems a bit silly to do so.

The AI opponents are remarkably pure and simple in their general motivations and triggers for their actions: get in a few hits, launch many critical attacks, occasionally pepper in a special when it seems appropriate, and repeat until the enemy has expired.

AI players spend very little time idle...everything is about attacking, responding to an attack, or getting into position for an attack. This naturally lends to a fair few more frequent critical clashes, as they throw them about so often that it's an extremely common sight.

Incidentally, this offers us a rather frequent reminder that in a timed match, the timer is stopped while a critical clash or attack's cinematic sequence is underway.

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Match #1: Gin Ichimaru vs. Kaname Tosen
Squad 3 Barracks
(30 seconds)

These two don't really see eye to eye...which actually might make some logicstic sense, since one's eyes are always shut and the other's eyes are blind...but something compels them both to follow the lead of Sosuke Aizen.

Poor, poor Kaname...the game balance gods did not see fit to grant him the same blessings as Gin, even though Gin himself isn't exactly a massively-endowed character in this regard anyway, at least within this game's confines...but Tosen's moves are generally somewhere between the states of "unimpressive" to "unusable"...as they're all rather easy to see coming and even if you hit with them, they won't really get you a particularly strong return on your investment.

Realistically speaking, 30 seconds is just barely shorter than the average duration of a game between two computer players...or any players totally dedicated to offense, really.

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Match #1: Ganju Shiba vs. Hanataro Yamada
Training Ground
(60 seconds)

So an idea struck me...what if the two "weakest" (subjectively speaking) characters in the game fought one another? I really shouldn't be surprised that there happens to be specific pre-battle banter between the two.

I had secretly hoped that Hanataro's healing abilities and rather small amounts of damage in the offset would have artificially lengthened these matches to the point that time would be a factor, but alas, AI Hanataro has no idea what it's doing when it comes to the art of evasion, reaction, and trying not to get beat up on while you fill Hisagomaru's meter.

The other main weakness in some AI characters is total slavishness to special attacks under certain situations...in Hanataro's case, all situations, except when he tries to intercept the critical attacks of an oponent, since his regular attacks are all but useless, since any attack launched by Hanataro that's not a special will result in some unwanted healing for your mortal enemy.

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Match #3: Kenpachi Zaraki vs. Sosuke Aizen
Seireitei Streets
(90 seconds)

And last, but not least...I was originally curious as to how this match would turn out, since both participants have a counter attack special move...except that AI characters simply don't seem to want to use their specials as often as other moves, and the same goes for these counter specials...which is weird, because they're the single most abusable moves in either of their repertoires.

So that just leaves their playing styles up against one another...they're both rather slow and nonchalant in their movements and swordplay, almost as if to point out to the player that they're having a rather hard time getting motivated to behave as you would have them.

Note that Kenpachi's counterattack, unlike Aizen's, does not work on projectiles.

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