Additional Iron & Blood Footage By Video Game Esoterica: M2 Alpha Footage: ua-cam.com/video/9hS513UGTWQ/v-deo.html& More M2 Footage: ua-cam.com/video/7SKqGCPR4fo/v-deo.htmlsi=kv2oXBLad99Ay6sh Panasonic 3DO M2 Console Footage also by Video Game Esoterica: ua-cam.com/video/6-j2qaHcvJI/v-deo.htmlsi=tECbvEA6cSMB2x9k
I get that is what it means but even my autistic ass used combo for most things on my menu when I owned a bar. It is just a clunky word to say even if it sounds nice.
Would it make sense to have a specific tier for former champions? It might be cool for the chart to remember the glory of CritiCom and Expect No Mercy.
Right the Criticom arc lasted way longer. Making you think it was an unrivaled champion of trash. I don’t think expect no mercy is gonna have staying power.
Sometimes you have to hotshot the title to keep things interesting. The only shame here is that, unless a game and it's sequel take the title, we'll never have a two time champ.
Technically it's not a trash game then ? I've played games that had awful reviews, but ended up personally enjoying the games.. GC Dragon's Lair 3D and Legends of the Dragon and Tournament of Legends on the Wii ..
@@joezar33In this case, I don't think the people having a good time = they thought the game was good. Seems like they had a good time being able to play and hang out together, with possibly other extracurriculars involved. Sometimes you have friends that are so fun to be around, you could play with a rock and still have fun.
@joe77andino it's still a trash game, but its fine to enjoy terrible games. For example, I really enjoy Operarion Raccoon City despite it being terrible. If you enjoy something don't let others influence that
Maybe it's just me, but the demon dude in the thumbnail has really strong "Mom said it's my turn on the Xbox" energy radiating from it, brings a smile to my face every time i see it.
I remember playing this one a long time ago and thinking to myself. "Why wouldn't I just play Mace: The Dark Age instead? This is trying so hard to be that game and failing miserably." I still think a game like Dangerous Streets or Shadow: War of Succession could take the title.
The fact Iron and Blood was able to dethrone Expect No Mercy even with all the added stuff is a testament to how unfortunately haphazardly everything was put together. Well done Iron and Blood, all I can say is…holy shit that was bad.
Honestly the idea of a "Sci Fi Fantasy DnD Fighter" sounds awesome, wonder how this game could've been , if they're bosses didn't push the Dev's too make a quick half a$$ fighting game ?
There is a certain charm to some of the character model designs, given the circumstances they're not as ugly as they could have been. And since Matt mentioned it would have been cool if Capcom had done one instead using their 2D beat'em up D&D sprites, let's get someone to make it happen in Mugen.
I have some history with this game. It's been a thorn in my side for many years. Back in '97, I was set to get a PlayStation for Christmas. I asked my aunt to get me two games at the local Toys R Us, which was quite a ways from me. I asked for Final Fantasy VII, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. She got me FFVII, but not SotN. I'm not certain on all the details, but a clerk there convinced her to get this game instead. He claimed it was "better than SotN." It was not. I didn't wanna come off ungrateful being that she went out of her way for all this, so I never raised a stink with her about it. I would eventually get SotN a couple years later for $20, so things at least worked out in the end. But being denied having SotN as one of my first PS1 games still bothers me to this day. So after all that, I at least feel vindicated having this take the crown from Expect No Mercy as The Worst Fighting Game. I have seen the worst fighting game, and it is you.
king clown crown had been given to it. It is kinda acceptable that this crew never had a 2nd game, but take 2 is still being mean to take the modding community down just like Activision do. Well their greediness never stopped even when Rockstar carried them
Here's hoping that Ravenloft can get a much better video game adaptation in the wake of BG3's massive success, especially if the devs can build it on what Larian made during development, just like how Black Isle was able to make Planescape: Torment and the Icewind Dale games on BioWare's Infinity Engine from BG1&2.
You should try Apocalypse Zero (Kakugo no Susume), a Japan only fighter also on the PS1, since it suffers from some of the same problems this game does. Outside of having a regular health bar, the game moves way too fast and has incredibly janky combat mechanics. It was even voted worst PS1 fighter in a reader poll in a Japanese magazine, so it'll probably make a good episode.
I love that hearing Soulcalibur's amazing soundtrack in the background of this video made digesting how they butchered my beloved Ravenloft setting easier to digest.
I actually got to check out a get together of the Society of Creative Anachronism, and it was a blast! They let me put on a suit of loaner armor (made from 50-gallon drums) and sword/shield, and let me get in there in their grand melee. It was a BLAST.
I think a D&D fighter would be great if you leant into it *more* . Pick a team of 3, do a tower, only get some health back between fights, find one-off buffs and figure who to give them too. Also do Body Blows Galactic.
oh my god, rescue heroes! one of the episodes had the "9 dots, 3 connecting lines" problem and that was the only real thing that stuck with me for decades at this point
Played this for the first time this year and as soon as I was done all I could think is "Oh my god... did I just play the worst fighting game I've ever played in my life? Yes... yes I did."
Between all the common monster types in Barovia, the player classes, and the handful of famous NPC's at the time, they had a good roster of diverse characters. I really wish they would have given them the time to give this game its due.
Just wanted to say that I usually hate "look at how bad this game is!" style content but I really appreciate this series because you actually take the time to find the redeeming qualities of each game and investigate how the game ended up this way in the first place. It's so much better than "lol game bad, like and subscribe!" content that seems to be popular for some reason.
I remember reading cheat code lists in magazines, and they would give names of unlockable characters: "The Lord of Chaos", "The Avatar of Order". And that at the very end of that list was "Count Strahd von Zarovich" and I was "who is that?"
This is the episode I’ve been waiting for since the series began. Never thought it could take the crown though. I had actually forgotten some of the jank. The fact that you could finagle a free three dimensional run produced most of the entertainment I got out of this game rental. I’m still amazed they were given the absolute least appropriate D&D setting for a fighting game too. It just such a tonal mismatch.
I never expected anything could possibly be worse then Expect no Mercy, but I am man enough to admit I was wrong. But now I wonder what could be worse then Iron and Blood? And that honestly scares me a little.
The only thing worthwhile about this game is that it's an interesting idea for a Ravenloft campaign. Imagine two opposing parties, one good, one evil, going through the Curse of Strahd. Both are trying to defeat the Count, but with very different goals, and they'd often come into conflict with each other.
I absolutely burst out laughing at "I have seen the amateur, and it is you!" Please keep throwing that in random places, I absolutely love it and need to make that my text message notification.
This is the beuty of youtube, I already seen a video on this game from William SRD, who presented this game from a D&D enthusiasts perspective and here Matt gives his take from a fighting game enthusiasts perspective.
Funnily enough I just watched the Expect No Mercy episode again before this one and at least that game was fun to laugh at. Iron & Blood was almost as frustrating to watch as it clearly was to play. This makes perfect sense. Hey Matt do you think maybe a "former champion" tier would be helpful to distinguish those toppled titans of terribleness that have been dethroned?
The game consoles I own NES SNES and then the very first Console with the CD ROM disc is the Sony PlayStation 1 console, the best PS1 games library are Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Metal Gear Solid, Tekken, and more. But there will always be the worst PS1 games library are Mortal Kombat Mythology, Mortal Kombat Special Forces, Dungeons & Dragons Iron & Blood: Warrior of Ravenloft, and more.
@@TeruteruBozusama let's just say I'm so glad we ended up getting Crash so soon, otherwise I would have had a bad opinion on the PlayStation for the rest of my life
The first PS1 games we had were Parappa The Rapper and Versailles: A Game Of Intrigue. It was a PAL only release that got horrible reviews for the PS1 version, but it seems the PC version was actually well liked? Either way, I literally never played it, as we got Crash Bandicoot 2 and Final Fantasy 7 right after.
I have wanted this for so long finally my time i am never getting back has been avenged i knew it had potential to be the worst. Thanks for this episode Matt. Next time i run a ravenloft game in person im going to put the plushie i ordered from you in the center as a show of respect.
I actually like the idea of a fighting game where you build a party and equip them with unique items Honestly some interesting ideas and lots of love but a newbie team and horrible publisher is a disgusting combination
HOLY [chaotic-good swearing so potent that it would deal psychic damage to any lawful-good paladins around him]. Expect No Mercy fell. I’m…gonna go thumb through Revelations real quick, I’m pretty sure this is a sign of the apocalypse.
I played this game as the dark knight Balok, and after a few victorie the game would say "...the curse of Balok is upon you". Never knew what that meant or noticed any difference.
Looks like Expect No Mercy was the amateur this time around. But I'm really hoping Iron & Blood gets challenged by Heavy Nova at some point. That fighting game (yes, you can classify it as a FIGHTING game) is just awful on so many levels that I'm concerned Iron & Blood will get toppled.
A few friends of mine were doing a Curse of Strahd campaign a while ago, & I'm just imagining this as a badly retold version, minus the chaotic evil bookstore owner
I've never actually heard of this game before, but it reminds me of another Acclaim PS1 game from this era that used a different major tabletop game IP jammed into a weird genre, which was "Magic the Gathering: Battlemage" (in fact, it looks like both of these games came out within a month or so of each other). In the case of Battlemage, it was trying to take the turn-based trading card gameplay of MTG and apply it to a real-time strategy game ala Starcraft or Command & Conquer. Though unlike Iron & Blood, Battlemage looks like it had a budget and time.
8:32 HOLY SHIT I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO REMEMBERS RESCUE HEROES 😭😭❤️❤️❤️ I loved that show so much as a kid, but even I knew back then the proportions were weird 😂
I guess Matt is still saving Tongue of the Fatman for a special occasion. I'm still wondering where the Ningyou Tsukai/Metal & Lace games would fit on these rankings but if that episode ever happens it will likely not be monetized.
1:50 - lol CHICK Tracts. Such a staple in my childhood. Also, why the hell is it that the overwhelming majority of D&D games, ESPECIALLY the early ones, are utter trash? :( It's crazy...and disappointing... just how consistent that is! As someone who used to run Ravenloft games this "fighting" game elicited a tear from me. WHY TSR? WHHYYY? ....and why the hell did you have to sell out to what ends up being one of the most greedy corporations in history, WOTC?
You know, a modern ravenloft fighting game starring strahd, van richten, Esmeralda d'avenir, baba lysaga and various other companion characters and dread lords would actually fuck really hard.
I want to give a big thank you to Matt and his editor(s) for something relatively small, but still meaningful to me. There's a sci-fi flight sim I've been trying to remember for a while now, and that Take2 history montage allowed me to finally find it - Star Crusader. I remember enjoying it as a kid, and I want to see how badly my memory fails me.
I had forgotten all about Iron & Blood until this video. I had a demo that I played a few times and about all I remember from it is the goblin character saying "I'm dangerous to children"
Thanks for finally getting to this one! I still have my copy (bought new) AND print out of every characters move set. You can see the potential in things like Nym Pimply calling down lighting and passing it through his 2 swords and being slightly electrocuted as a special for example. Maybe someone can do a fan version?
I somehow managed to miss this one back in the day. I was 14, played a ton of D&D, and I owned a PS1. I guess I should count myself fortunate, I totally would have wasted my money on it.
As much as I love this series, it all just feels like preamble to the inevitable crowning of Bikini Karate Babes and it reigning until the end of time. That review is my version of the Fireworks Factory.
Now that the Expect No Mercy Saga has reached its Conclusion thanks to a Terrible D&D Fighting Game Next shall come The Saga of Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft
How to make a good D&D RPG Fighting Game: 1. Be Capcom. 2. Make D&D Beat-em-up. 3. Make obscure but beloved RPG Fighting Game (Warzard/Red Earth). 4. Do Warzard again, but with D&D sprites.
I would like to recommend "FX Fighter" as an entry in this series. Imagine Virtua Fighter, but it runs far, far worse, and the controls are keyboard only. I played it as a kid, and it haunts me to this day.
My dad owned this game as a kid and loved Luthor (the Knight) and actually went out of his way to learn the combos and items. When I grew up and started playing the game myself, I discovered the characters to win you fights the fastest were probably Luthor, Torgo (The Dwarf) and Ardrus (The Skeleton). I mained Luthor and figured out that the easiest method of fighting was to kneel down (down directional button) and just keep spamming the sword thrust (square button). You were more or less invincible and it was most difficult for your opponent to block a low blow. It worked on EVERY opponent, including the secret bosses and Strahd's earthquake attack (which knocks you on your ass if you're not crouched the whole time). So you basically win by holding down and spamming Square.
Awesome video Matt, always love you covering these obscure games. Have you considered covering Dino Rex? I played it with a few friends last year and we were all in tears laughing.
And you are not counting how unbalanced are the characters, the Paladin when he levels up gets a power up that makes him completely invulnerable that improves in time and uses and then gets the ability to completely heal himself in the middle of the combat, making him one of the most broken fighting characters ever. The Dark Warrior is also absurdely powerful, he gets an aura that turns the damage he receives into health and then gets a passive power that makes the opponent lose two lives instead of one when he defeats them.
During the Criticom Saga compilation, I called the Expect no Mercy era "Season 2". Well, looks like Season 2 ended quickly, didn't it? Sorry, Expect no Mercy... I hope your run was good while it lasted... Well, onto the Iron & Blood era! Hope Season 3 of this series lasts longer.
My moms brought this game for me as a kid on my birthday, I don’t have to tell you my reaction, but she knew I was highly disappointed after she asked me did I like the game? I couldn’t answer as I turned out the PlayStation.
Sometimes putting a license on the game that originally didn't have it can work, I mean Dynamite Deka took a lot of obvious inspiration from Die Hard so it made sense to have the Die Hard license when it got released State-side. This having the D&D license however just seemed just a desperate attempt to sell a rotten turkey.
DnD games are such a goldmine of extremes in quality. For every Baldur’s Gate or Planescape Torment there’s an Iron and Blood or Daggerdale. It’s like the dice gods really are in control here, basically RNG determining whether we get a genre-defining masterpiece of an all-timer of trash.
There was an NES game called Captain America And The Avengers, which, although was a side scroller, also featured a Battle versus mode. It was all my neighborhood had as we patiently awaited those Christmas SNES's and eventually, Street Fighter 2.
Honestly with the D&D mainstream resurgence I could totally see a fighting game getting made. Either with each character being a class or with characters from D&D lore with stages that mimic iconic locations from the books or from previous games and movies. Fighting in the arena from the end of the new movie as Karlach or Strahd would be fun as hell
My sister and I played this a fair bit when we were kids. I was never any good at it and she'd always play as Sasha. I'd say the only redeemable thing about this game is just the soundtrack alone.
There's Cardynal Sin also a fantasy based fighting game for the ps1 it's been so long since i played it as a child, i remember it leaving a deep impression on me but i have no idea if it was good or not. Will we see an episode on cardynal sin?
PSX was the birth and death of many 3d fighting games. now we have what soul calibur, tekken, vf, dead or alive...4 3d fighters fighting to stand out in an endless sea of 2d fighters.
To be honest, the idea of a DnD fighting game doesn’t sound like a bad idea. There’s a lot of questions that comes with it but again, it could work. This game obviously failed but a modern take surely could be better.
If they can make a beat 'em up out of DnD, anything is possible. All they need is to create a fan made fighting game like Star Wars recently had, and maybe have a marvel versus capcom style of tag team if they want to keep the group system to a more functional standard.
Additional Iron & Blood Footage By Video Game Esoterica:
M2 Alpha Footage: ua-cam.com/video/9hS513UGTWQ/v-deo.html&
More M2 Footage: ua-cam.com/video/7SKqGCPR4fo/v-deo.htmlsi=kv2oXBLad99Ay6sh
Panasonic 3DO M2 Console Footage also by Video Game Esoterica:
ua-cam.com/video/6-j2qaHcvJI/v-deo.htmlsi=tECbvEA6cSMB2x9k
It took over twenty years to get 'COMBINATION" out of my skull and this brought the trauma right back. Thanks McMuscles.
MATCH OBJECTIVE
MAGIC POWER
CHOOSE YOUR CHAMPION
COMBINATION
COMBINATION
COMBINATION
I get that is what it means but even my autistic ass used combo for most things on my menu when I owned a bar. It is just a clunky word to say even if it sounds nice.
CHOOSE YOUR CHAMPION
SELECT ARTIFACT
COMBINATION
Never even played the game, but..
*COMBINATION*
“I have seen the amateur and it is you!” gave me so much joy. Hopefully “COMBINATION!” will be a worthy successor
COMBINATION!
Nothing will ever top "BEAT YOU UP"
@@MYNAMACHEFBICHUAAP
What's driving me insane about this game is that neither the gameplay nor the menu actually show the character's names.
Because they didn't have time to replace them with D&D characters...
Q_Q
@@Ramsey276one Ö
Would it make sense to have a specific tier for former champions? It might be cool for the chart to remember the glory of CritiCom and Expect No Mercy.
Yeah, it would be nice to have a tier of previous/former champions.
The podium of poop?
Good Idea. The horror should not be forgotten! Bring on “Dethroned Garbage” rank!
Yeah the guillotine'd kings tier
@@dominichoughton8119just a shit fest.
I gotta say that "I have seen the amateur and it is you." is my favorite quote from a game ever.
Same 😂
Man the Expect No Mercy Arc ended faster than I expected, hopefully the new Iron and Blood arc at least makes it to 10 episodes.
Right the Criticom arc lasted way longer. Making you think it was an unrivaled champion of trash. I don’t think expect no mercy is gonna have staying power.
Expect No Mercy is very bad and terrible fighting games ever same goes to the rest of it.
Time to bring in Time Slaughter
Well it did everything half-assed so it's fitting it's reign was too.
Sometimes you have to hotshot the title to keep things interesting. The only shame here is that, unless a game and it's sequel take the title, we'll never have a two time champ.
I remember I played this once with a bunch of my high school friends at a Halloween party. It was absolutely trash, and we had a great time.
Awesome!
Sometimes you need a trashy game to play to have a good time.
Technically it's not a trash game then ? I've played games that had awful reviews, but ended up personally enjoying the games.. GC Dragon's Lair 3D and Legends of the Dragon and Tournament of Legends on the Wii ..
@@joezar33In this case, I don't think the people having a good time = they thought the game was good.
Seems like they had a good time being able to play and hang out together, with possibly other extracurriculars involved.
Sometimes you have friends that are so fun to be around, you could play with a rock and still have fun.
@joe77andino it's still a trash game, but its fine to enjoy terrible games. For example, I really enjoy Operarion Raccoon City despite it being terrible.
If you enjoy something don't let others influence that
Maybe it's just me, but the demon dude in the thumbnail has really strong "Mom said it's my turn on the Xbox" energy radiating from it, brings a smile to my face every time i see it.
I remember playing this one a long time ago and thinking to myself. "Why wouldn't I just play Mace: The Dark Age instead? This is trying so hard to be that game and failing miserably."
I still think a game like Dangerous Streets or Shadow: War of Succession could take the title.
I have high hopes for the craptitude of Shadow.
The fact Iron and Blood was able to dethrone Expect No Mercy even with all the added stuff is a testament to how unfortunately haphazardly everything was put together. Well done Iron and Blood, all I can say is…holy shit that was bad.
Thanks for the spoiler, lol
Honestly the idea of a "Sci Fi Fantasy DnD Fighter" sounds awesome, wonder how this game could've been , if they're bosses didn't push the Dev's too make a quick half a$$ fighting game ?
I figure that 95's Battle Beast can dethrone this game
On top of that a TERRIBLE D&D Fighting Game was able to Dethrone Expect No Mercy o_o
And D&D is a Big IP
@@Naedlus Holy Crap! I thought that BB and Brudal could be the ones to dethrone this piece of crap.
There is a certain charm to some of the character model designs, given the circumstances they're not as ugly as they could have been. And since Matt mentioned it would have been cool if Capcom had done one instead using their 2D beat'em up D&D sprites, let's get someone to make it happen in Mugen.
A lot of them look like RPG miniatures, which is very appropriate.
I have some history with this game. It's been a thorn in my side for many years.
Back in '97, I was set to get a PlayStation for Christmas. I asked my aunt to get me two games at the local Toys R Us, which was quite a ways from me. I asked for Final Fantasy VII, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. She got me FFVII, but not SotN. I'm not certain on all the details, but a clerk there convinced her to get this game instead. He claimed it was "better than SotN." It was not. I didn't wanna come off ungrateful being that she went out of her way for all this, so I never raised a stink with her about it. I would eventually get SotN a couple years later for $20, so things at least worked out in the end. But being denied having SotN as one of my first PS1 games still bothers me to this day.
So after all that, I at least feel vindicated having this take the crown from Expect No Mercy as The Worst Fighting Game. I have seen the worst fighting game, and it is you.
I didn't think it was possible to dethrone Expect No Mercy... but Iron and Blood has done it.
Munchkin...
king clown crown had been given to it. It is kinda acceptable that this crew never had a 2nd game, but take 2 is still being mean to take the modding community down just like Activision do. Well their greediness never stopped even when Rockstar carried them
Here's hoping that Ravenloft can get a much better video game adaptation in the wake of BG3's massive success, especially if the devs can build it on what Larian made during development, just like how Black Isle was able to make Planescape: Torment and the Icewind Dale games on BioWare's Infinity Engine from BG1&2.
You should try Apocalypse Zero (Kakugo no Susume), a Japan only fighter also on the PS1, since it suffers from some of the same problems this game does. Outside of having a regular health bar, the game moves way too fast and has incredibly janky combat mechanics. It was even voted worst PS1 fighter in a reader poll in a Japanese magazine, so it'll probably make a good episode.
Oh my god, that insane anime actually got a video game adaption?
@@Unotuchable And it's a fighting game?!
@@Unotuchable Yep, cause the manga is actually pretty popular in Japan, also even the manga's creator hates the game
I love that hearing Soulcalibur's amazing soundtrack in the background of this video made digesting how they butchered my beloved Ravenloft setting easier to digest.
Also now I am also sad my sweet baby Karlach won't be in a fighting game ever.
Mods may change that.
@bluespaceman7937 true. I've seen many characters modded into SCVI. If they add a Karlach mod I will die.
It's such a weird choice for setting too. Why not, say, Dark Sun which has a whole thing about gladiators?
I actually got to check out a get together of the Society of Creative Anachronism, and it was a blast! They let me put on a suit of loaner armor (made from 50-gallon drums) and sword/shield, and let me get in there in their grand melee. It was a BLAST.
I think a D&D fighter would be great if you leant into it *more* . Pick a team of 3, do a tower, only get some health back between fights, find one-off buffs and figure who to give them too.
Also do Body Blows Galactic.
This is exactly what I was thinking too!! I feel like a modern take on the concept would do _wonders_ if executed right
Capcom's D&D beat'em ups are the closest thing to that concept and they're still awesome to this day.
As a tribute to its tabletop origins, it should also have a goofy alternate mode where every hit has a dice roll attached to it, modifying the damage.
It saw the amateur but, as it turned out, the amateur was in fact itself. Long live our new champion!
Code Lyoko icon POG
Expect No Mercy looking in the mirror:
oh my god, rescue heroes! one of the episodes had the "9 dots, 3 connecting lines" problem and that was the only real thing that stuck with me for decades at this point
Played this for the first time this year and as soon as I was done all I could think is "Oh my god... did I just play the worst fighting game I've ever played in my life? Yes... yes I did."
Between all the common monster types in Barovia, the player classes, and the handful of famous NPC's at the time, they had a good roster of diverse characters. I really wish they would have given them the time to give this game its due.
Shit, that's only Barovia. There's so many Domains of Dread to pull from for fighters and stages.
@bigs5078 indeed, freaking Vecna is inprisoned in a Realm of Dread, having him as the secret super-boss would be sick.
If neither of the two HyperScan fighting games can claim the 'throne' from the champion, I don't know what will.
Just wanted to say that I usually hate "look at how bad this game is!" style content but I really appreciate this series because you actually take the time to find the redeeming qualities of each game and investigate how the game ended up this way in the first place. It's so much better than "lol game bad, like and subscribe!" content that seems to be popular for some reason.
Its one of the best kind of contents wdym
90's CGI Nicholas Cage vampire doesn't exist, he can't hurt you. (Enter the Iron & Blood good guys FMV ending)
I remember reading cheat code lists in magazines, and they would give names of unlockable characters: "The Lord of Chaos", "The Avatar of Order". And that at the very end of that list was "Count Strahd von Zarovich" and I was "who is that?"
It was Tips and Tricks where I saw that too!
@@JCM-x84 I'm glad someone remembers.
This is the episode I’ve been waiting for since the series began. Never thought it could take the crown though. I had actually forgotten some of the jank.
The fact that you could finagle a free three dimensional run produced most of the entertainment I got out of this game rental. I’m still amazed they were given the absolute least appropriate D&D setting for a fighting game too. It just such a tonal mismatch.
I never expected anything could possibly be worse then Expect no Mercy, but I am man enough to admit I was wrong. But now I wonder what could be worse then Iron and Blood? And that honestly scares me a little.
Early to late 90s was the wildwest of bad fighting games
The only thing worthwhile about this game is that it's an interesting idea for a Ravenloft campaign.
Imagine two opposing parties, one good, one evil, going through the Curse of Strahd. Both are trying to defeat the Count, but with very different goals, and they'd often come into conflict with each other.
I can't believe we found a game that knocked out Expect No Mercy as The Worst Fighting Game!
The virgin "I have seen the amateur, and it is you!" vs the zetachad "COMBINATION"
1:52 that is an excerpt from the Chick Tract "Dark Dungeons" which was made into a movie.
I've never heard of at least half these games but for some reason I'm so invested in this series it's nuts.
I absolutely burst out laughing at "I have seen the amateur, and it is you!" Please keep throwing that in random places, I absolutely love it and need to make that my text message notification.
This is the beuty of youtube, I already seen a video on this game from William SRD, who presented this game from a D&D enthusiasts perspective and here Matt gives his take from a fighting game enthusiasts perspective.
Funnily enough I just watched the Expect No Mercy episode again before this one and at least that game was fun to laugh at. Iron & Blood was almost as frustrating to watch as it clearly was to play. This makes perfect sense. Hey Matt do you think maybe a "former champion" tier would be helpful to distinguish those toppled titans of terribleness that have been dethroned?
i’ll always love the soulcalibur music used as background themes for matt’s videos
This was my very first PS1 game, with Crash 1 being the second. Wild to see this being covered today!
Well... my condolences
What were your thoughts on them back then?
The game consoles I own NES SNES and then the very first Console with the CD ROM disc is the Sony PlayStation 1 console, the best PS1 games library are Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Metal Gear Solid, Tekken, and more. But there will always be the worst PS1 games library are Mortal Kombat Mythology, Mortal Kombat Special Forces, Dungeons & Dragons Iron & Blood: Warrior of Ravenloft, and more.
@@TeruteruBozusama let's just say I'm so glad we ended up getting Crash so soon, otherwise I would have had a bad opinion on the PlayStation for the rest of my life
The first PS1 games we had were Parappa The Rapper and Versailles: A Game Of Intrigue. It was a PAL only release that got horrible reviews for the PS1 version, but it seems the PC version was actually well liked? Either way, I literally never played it, as we got Crash Bandicoot 2 and Final Fantasy 7 right after.
I remember when they turned PC RPGs into action games - Baldur's Gate, Fallout, Bard's Tale...
But never expected... this
A man of great culture playing Soul Calibur 2's - Eternal Struggle in the background of the vid.
I think Iron & Blood deserves the top spot because it doesn’t have the PRETTY GREAT Sound Bites of Expect No Mercy.
I have wanted this for so long finally my time i am never getting back has been avenged i knew it had potential to be the worst.
Thanks for this episode Matt. Next time i run a ravenloft game in person im going to put the plushie i ordered from you in the center as a show of respect.
I actually like the idea of a fighting game where you build a party and equip them with unique items
Honestly some interesting ideas and lots of love but a newbie team and horrible publisher is a disgusting combination
13:40 Forgot about Vega and his stage did we?
HOLY [chaotic-good swearing so potent that it would deal psychic damage to any lawful-good paladins around him].
Expect No Mercy fell.
I’m…gonna go thumb through Revelations real quick, I’m pretty sure this is a sign of the apocalypse.
I played this game as the dark knight Balok, and after a few victorie the game would say "...the curse of Balok is upon you". Never knew what that meant or noticed any difference.
I love the SC II OST, a fine choice. Spent many hours mastering Link's move set
Looks like Expect No Mercy was the amateur this time around. But I'm really hoping Iron & Blood gets challenged by Heavy Nova at some point. That fighting game (yes, you can classify it as a FIGHTING game) is just awful on so many levels that I'm concerned Iron & Blood will get toppled.
A few friends of mine were doing a Curse of Strahd campaign a while ago, & I'm just imagining this as a badly retold version, minus the chaotic evil bookstore owner
I've never actually heard of this game before, but it reminds me of another Acclaim PS1 game from this era that used a different major tabletop game IP jammed into a weird genre, which was "Magic the Gathering: Battlemage" (in fact, it looks like both of these games came out within a month or so of each other). In the case of Battlemage, it was trying to take the turn-based trading card gameplay of MTG and apply it to a real-time strategy game ala Starcraft or Command & Conquer. Though unlike Iron & Blood, Battlemage looks like it had a budget and time.
8:32 HOLY SHIT I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO REMEMBERS RESCUE HEROES 😭😭❤️❤️❤️
I loved that show so much as a kid, but even I knew back then the proportions were weird 😂
And thus, the "Expect No Mercy" saga concludes.
Man, Soul Calibur 2's soundtrack is still so good.
I guess Matt is still saving Tongue of the Fatman for a special occasion.
I'm still wondering where the Ningyou Tsukai/Metal & Lace games would fit on these rankings but if that episode ever happens it will likely not be monetized.
There's no point to putting Karlach in a fighting game unless it includes a dedicated hug button
1:50 - lol CHICK Tracts. Such a staple in my childhood.
Also, why the hell is it that the overwhelming majority of D&D games, ESPECIALLY the early ones, are utter trash? :( It's crazy...and disappointing... just how consistent that is! As someone who used to run Ravenloft games this "fighting" game elicited a tear from me. WHY TSR? WHHYYY?
....and why the hell did you have to sell out to what ends up being one of the most greedy corporations in history, WOTC?
You know, a modern ravenloft fighting game starring strahd, van richten, Esmeralda d'avenir, baba lysaga and various other companion characters and dread lords would actually fuck really hard.
Casually tossing in "floral shoppe" for one sec when he mentioned the 90s, peak vaporwave
I never heard of this. But as a DND guy this jank is amazing and on brand. DND has had like 3 good games. Baulder's gate. Planescape and DDO.
The Darksun games were pretty good for their era . For that matter so were the Ravenloft RPGs, especially the second one.
Love all the Soulcalibur II music!
6:17 was i the only one that loved Edgelords T_T
9:51 why does Strahd look like Nicholas Cage?! Did this game predict Renfield???
I want to give a big thank you to Matt and his editor(s) for something relatively small, but still meaningful to me. There's a sci-fi flight sim I've been trying to remember for a while now, and that Take2 history montage allowed me to finally find it - Star Crusader. I remember enjoying it as a kid, and I want to see how badly my memory fails me.
The ending track does have that “uncanny, experimental, somewhat obscure PS1 game” feel.
I had forgotten all about Iron & Blood until this video. I had a demo that I played a few times and about all I remember from it is the goblin character saying "I'm dangerous to children"
Thanks for finally getting to this one! I still have my copy (bought new) AND print out of every characters move set. You can see the potential in things like Nym Pimply calling down lighting and passing it through his 2 swords and being slightly electrocuted as a special for example. Maybe someone can do a fan version?
Shadow: War of Succession still waits in the....well, shadows. It's been letting Iron and Blood get nice and fat before the harvest...
I somehow managed to miss this one back in the day. I was 14, played a ton of D&D, and I owned a PS1. I guess I should count myself fortunate, I totally would have wasted my money on it.
Yeah, same here. I got the 2e Ravenloft sourcebook back then too.
As much as I love this series, it all just feels like preamble to the inevitable crowning of Bikini Karate Babes and it reigning until the end of time. That review is my version of the Fireworks Factory.
Hell yeah! Another episode! (Still waiting for an episode about "Battling Butlers", aka. "ShadoWriters" for DOS though 😏)
Now that the Expect No Mercy Saga has reached its Conclusion thanks to a Terrible D&D Fighting Game
Next shall come The Saga of Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft
The spazz at 14:58 shows me that Matt doesn't really hate us dnd nerds. Also devs that cared.
How to make a good D&D RPG Fighting Game:
1. Be Capcom.
2. Make D&D Beat-em-up.
3. Make obscure but beloved RPG Fighting Game (Warzard/Red Earth).
4. Do Warzard again, but with D&D sprites.
I would like to recommend "FX Fighter" as an entry in this series. Imagine Virtua Fighter, but it runs far, far worse, and the controls are keyboard only. I played it as a kid, and it haunts me to this day.
Oh, now you've put the idea of Karlach in a fighting game in my head. And my day is completely ruined because it'll never happen.
My friends and I genuinely enjoyed this game as kids.
I always played the dual wielding goblin.
Damn. You just unlocked a memory from that Rescue Heroes reference!
My dad owned this game as a kid and loved Luthor (the Knight) and actually went out of his way to learn the combos and items. When I grew up and started playing the game myself, I discovered the characters to win you fights the fastest were probably Luthor, Torgo (The Dwarf) and Ardrus (The Skeleton). I mained Luthor and figured out that the easiest method of fighting was to kneel down (down directional button) and just keep spamming the sword thrust (square button). You were more or less invincible and it was most difficult for your opponent to block a low blow. It worked on EVERY opponent, including the secret bosses and Strahd's earthquake attack (which knocks you on your ass if you're not crouched the whole time). So you basically win by holding down and spamming Square.
Awesome video Matt, always love you covering these obscure games.
Have you considered covering Dino Rex? I played it with a few friends last year and we were all in tears laughing.
And you are not counting how unbalanced are the characters, the Paladin when he levels up gets a power up that makes him completely invulnerable that improves in time and uses and then gets the ability to completely heal himself in the middle of the combat, making him one of the most broken fighting characters ever. The Dark Warrior is also absurdely powerful, he gets an aura that turns the damage he receives into health and then gets a passive power that makes the opponent lose two lives instead of one when he defeats them.
During the Criticom Saga compilation, I called the Expect no Mercy era "Season 2". Well, looks like Season 2 ended quickly, didn't it? Sorry, Expect no Mercy... I hope your run was good while it lasted...
Well, onto the Iron & Blood era! Hope Season 3 of this series lasts longer.
I'm going to miss the "I can see the amateur that it's you!"
My moms brought this game for me as a kid on my birthday, I don’t have to tell you my reaction, but she knew I was highly disappointed after she asked me did I like the game? I couldn’t answer as I turned out the PlayStation.
Sometimes putting a license on the game that originally didn't have it can work, I mean Dynamite Deka took a lot of obvious inspiration from Die Hard so it made sense to have the Die Hard license when it got released State-side. This having the D&D license however just seemed just a desperate attempt to sell a rotten turkey.
It appears Except No Mercy has seen the ammeter. And it is, itself.
("My Friend and the Setting Sun" from Kirby Super Star Ultra)
DnD games are such a goldmine of extremes in quality. For every Baldur’s Gate or Planescape Torment there’s an Iron and Blood or Daggerdale.
It’s like the dice gods really are in control here, basically RNG determining whether we get a genre-defining masterpiece of an all-timer of trash.
I do have to be honest, I enjoy the designs. The dwarf with the large hammer and only one arm? Love that.
Yeah, and Darius' theme is pretty cool, ngl
There was an NES game called Captain America And The Avengers, which, although was a side scroller, also featured a Battle versus mode. It was all my neighborhood had as we patiently awaited those Christmas SNES's and eventually, Street Fighter 2.
I wanted this game so bad when I was a kid. Never got it.
Now I feel so lucky I could piss myself.
This is the one I’ve been waiting for. This game I couldn’t even do a special move
Honestly with the D&D mainstream resurgence I could totally see a fighting game getting made. Either with each character being a class or with characters from D&D lore with stages that mimic iconic locations from the books or from previous games and movies. Fighting in the arena from the end of the new movie as Karlach or Strahd would be fun as hell
Or a new Beat 'Em Up.
That ending reminded me, wasn't there a Rocky fighting game that literally refused to work most of the time?
My sister and I played this a fair bit when we were kids. I was never any good at it and she'd always play as Sasha. I'd say the only redeemable thing about this game is just the soundtrack alone.
I knew Iron & Blood would be a strong contender, but I never expected it to unseat the reigning champion!
There's Cardynal Sin also a fantasy based fighting game for the ps1 it's been so long since i played it as a child, i remember it leaving a deep impression on me but i have no idea if it was good or not. Will we see an episode on cardynal sin?
1:14 "never attempted again" What is Chaos Breaker if not a D&D inspired fighting game done right?
Didn't say "inspired" I said an official D&D licensed game.
Gonna keep going for Battle Blaze! I will NOT GIVE UP!
PSX was the birth and death of many 3d fighting games. now we have what soul calibur, tekken, vf, dead or alive...4 3d fighters fighting to stand out in an endless sea of 2d fighters.
To be honest, the idea of a DnD fighting game doesn’t sound like a bad idea. There’s a lot of questions that comes with it but again, it could work. This game obviously failed but a modern take surely could be better.
If they can make a beat 'em up out of DnD, anything is possible. All they need is to create a fan made fighting game like Star Wars recently had, and maybe have a marvel versus capcom style of tag team if they want to keep the group system to a more functional standard.