Fighting games had a good year in 2021, especially for those who like anime fighters. On both ends of the anime fighter community, ranging from mainstream to relatively obscure, fans got two great new entries in storied fighting game franchises.Guilty Gear StriveandMelty Blood: Type Luminawere both long-awaited sequels brought forward into the next generation with new mechanics and art styles.Strivein particular saw some serious mainstream popularity among ArcSys and fighting game fans in general, and has still maintained a lot of its appeal post-launch. However, Arc System Works has another new anime fighter coming in 2022:DNF Duel.
Arc System Works' upcoming anime fighter has an interesting background: Based on the original and wildly popularDungeon Fighter OnlineMMO, developer Neople is partnering with Arc System Works to develop a fighting game with caricatures based on the different RPG classes players could select in the original MMO. While the game was originally announced in 2020, a slew of new character trailers have been coming out since the game was re-revealed this November. Each subsequent trailer has highlighted all of theDungeon Fighter Onlineclasses coming to the game, altogether showingDNF Duel’s potential as the next big ArcSys anime fighter.
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From Dungeon Fighter Online To DNF Duel
A fighting game adaptation ofDungeon Fighter Onlinecertainly makes a lot of sense, andArc System Works developing theDNF Duelspin-offcouldn’t be a more perfect fit.Dungeon Fighter Onlineis a wildly popular action-RPG MMO, topping out at over 700 million registered players, and over $15 billion in revenue since its original Korean launch in 2005.
Unlike other action/hack and slash MMOs,Dungeon Fighter Online’s unique battle mechanics rewarded players who performed fighting game-like inputs to activate characters' special attacks or abilities. Inputs could be assigned to hotkeys, but players were rewarded with less MP cost and less cooldown when performing the “true” inputs for each special skill. Additionally, also similar to fighting games, several abilities were also special-cancellable, meaning players could chain together unique combos in-between normal attacks as well. This madeDungeon Fighter Online’s experiencestand out among other MMOs, and also makesDNF Dueleven more enticing.
While it was originally revealed in 2020, Arc System Works re-revealedDNF Duelearlier this year, and has since been pushing out a ton of character reveal videos since. Borrowing from the iconic fluid animation and art design seen in otherArcSys fighting games likeGranblue Fantasy: VersusandGuilty Gear Strive,DNF Duelemphasizes the original flashiness and style fromDungeon Fighter Onlineinto a one-vs-one scenario. Neople and Arc System Works are implementing characters intoDNF Duelas their proper class/subclass names as well, rather than giving characters canonical names or messing with the originalDungeon Fighter Onlineroster’s identities.
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Why DNF Duel Could Be A Surprise Hit
Fans of anime fighters will obviously be hyped about any fighting game that Arc System Works develops, butDNF Duelis especially unique because of its distinct source material, as well as its marriage between its origins and with ArcSys fighting game mechanics. In a way,DNF Duelappears to bea sort-ofGuilty GearStrive-adjacent adaptationofDungeon Fighter Online; incorporating elements of the stylish combat from the MMO into a fighting game framework. There’s combos, reset and mixup opportunities, special input abilities and attacks, air-dashes, and character variety, all of which make up an excellent anime-inspired fighting game.
ConsideringGuilty Gear Strivereceived such a positive reception from critics and fans,DNF Duelis absolutely in good hands with Arc System Works. The originalDungeon Fighter Online’s combat systems were so complex that dedicated players even put out combo videos from the MMO itself, both from PvP and PvE modes. Based on the trailer forDNF Duel, Arc System Works clearly recognizes and celebrates that capability, with tons of flashy effects for each classes' unique attacks and abilities. Even with some minor similarities between classes and weapon designs, every character shown fromDNF Duellooks incredibly distinct and interesting.
Players will get a first taste this upcoming weekend with the game’s open beta on console, but so far,DNF Duellooks like it could be a surprise hit among the fighting game community. Especially if the game receives rollback netcode, like recent Arc System Works fighting games (as well as old ones, likeGuilty Gear), thenDNF Duelcould be setting itself up for success. Even players from the MMO itself may be interested to try out the game, even if they’re not necessarily ingrained in anime fighters or fighting games in general.DNF Duelhas a lot going for it, and perhaps after the beta, the upcoming fighting game could gain some mainstream momentum.
DNF Duelis in development, with an open beta coming to PS4/PS5 on December 17-18, 2021.
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