Rivals of Aether

[Progenitor]

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if, instead of being coded like a party game, Melee was designed as the fighter it became?

 

Well my friends, that's the entire concept of Rivals of Aether.

 

Percent based damage system with stocks.  But that's not all.

 

 

There are some major differences.  First off:  You can't grab the ledge.  That means any and all offstage game is extraordinarily risky.  However everyone has tools to mix up their recovery.  Everyone can air dodge multiple times per jump, however L-Canceling and Wavedashing are not present.  Shielding is gone.  However, you can Parry.  More on this later

 

And to Yui's absolute delight:  Grabs do not exist

 

So what's so great about it?  Well everything.  The game essentially boils down to utilizing your low knockback tilts, aerials and specials to juggle your opponents into your finishing move.  Yet every character does this differently.  One character might be based around misdirection, someone might be straight up rushdown, etc.

 

Every character is incredibly unique and each offers a unique playstyle:

 

Zetterburn

 

is your standard rushdown.  He has very good combo tools, and he even has a pseudo shine as one of his specials.  But he has a very interesting mechanic.  His Bair and all of his specials light your opponent on fire.  While they are on fire, they take damage over time, but more importantly, when you hit a smash attack on a character who is on fire, they take double knockback and the burn is negated.  This makes him super scary.  If you can correctly coordinate a shine or any special into a combo, and finish it with a smash, 0-Death is almost certain.  But he's not without his flaws.  He has Fox's recovery, and remember you can't grab the ledge.  This means his recovery is super predictable, and you can gimp him very easily.  Additionally, none of his combos are true.  With proper DI you can escape most of them.  This makes Zetterburn your standard glass cannon.  High risk high reward.

 

Wrastor

 

plays very similar to Zetterburn, but he prefers the air :: .  He has one very defining trait:  He can only execute smash attacks while airborne.  Wait what?!  Allow me to explain.  All of his tilts and aerials are very low knockback stringing moves.  His character is essentially:  (1) get them in the air (2) combo the sheet out of them (3) Finish it with a smash attack in the air to shorten the distance they actually need to fly without actually landing first.  Additionally, one of his specials allows him to create a small horizontal Jet Stream.  This stream does knockback on startup and while it's active, Wrastor gains vastly increased movement speed while in the same plane as the stream, allowing you to Juggle much easier and have devastating approach options.  His recovery is astounding.  Multiple jumps and a shuttle loop-type move for that last bit of height.  Downsides?  he has no neutral game.  He can only combo in the air, and can't actually perform smash attacks when airborne.  Wrastor is very skill based.  You have to know how to combo with him, and how to mix up your opponent so that you can actually get them in the air to start your combos or end their stock.

 

The list goes on.

 

Final thoughts conclude that this is a fantastic game.  Music is excellent, the characters are all extremely unique with respect to each other and all have set playstyles, controls are tight and responsive, the action is fast paced and constant, etc etc etc.  GO BUY THIS GAME

 

 

http://store.steampowered.com/app/383980

 

Any questions?  Just ask them here.  I have a pretty solid understanding of the game as of now and can probably give you an answer.