Games with clever defense functions?

Now, we've all played those games where in the end, you slugfest until you or them die.

But what are some games where a mechanic or function in the game gives you a fighting chance via a counter or parry system?

My examples so far:

Ikaruga: The polarity light and dark system
Alien Soldier: The bullet catch attack
Devil May Cry 3: Royal Guard

Anything else?

edited 17th Aug '12 12:15:35 PM by Schitzo

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

There are so many games out there with dodge systems. I'd even argue that defense in DMC 4 is more about dodging and countering than about Royal Guard. Generally I've observed that people tend to see evasion as more skillful than blocking or parrying because you also have to worry about not landing in another fire as you roll out of the first.

I like the defense systems in the various Mario Rpg's. Being able to dodge an attack instead of just standing there and taking it makes them much more enjoyable for me than most JRPG's.

Dark Souls has an amazing one. Usually you have to block an attack yo stagger the enemey before you try to hit or you get stabbed. And if you can parry you get to do extra damage and gain more souls.

On the subject of Blocking vs Dodging. I find dodging easier a mistimed block can cost you qiute a bit of HP.

"All worlds begin in darkness and all so end. The heart is no different."-Ansem

When enemies try to grab you from behind in God Hand, you're given a split second to press a button, and if you press it in time, you will instead grab them and slam them into the ground.

Bayonetta's Dodge-Offset, which allows you to continue a combo you've just dodged out of.

Umbran Climax◊

Dark Souls. Yeah.

The Mario RPG games have a fantastic defense/counterattack system.

There was also this one FPS whose name escapes me. Its gimmick was that you had a riot shield,and it was really important in the gameplay, because cover is hard to find and there's lots of guys out for your blood. The shield also gets damaged so it gets to the point that you can't see anything when you block.

I actually like Infinity Blade's too, if only because it's practically Punch-Out with blades.

Seconding Ikaruga as well.

Dwarf Fortress. You could let your militia battle the goblins, inevitably taking casualties... or you could hand-craft a corporeal hell for them to walk into by, say, diverting a magma flow and a river into your foyer simultaneously.

Smile for me!

Zero Wing (yes, that Zero Wing) has a cool defensive manouver where you pull in your enemy with a tractor beam and then shoot them away, sort of like the gravity gun in Half-Life 2.

edited 17th Aug '12 9:41:13 PM by cfive

For puzzle games, Super Puzzle Fighter and Panel De Pon both have mechanisms where you can take the garbage blocks sent to you in an attack and turn them into regular blocks, which you can then use as ammo for your own attacks.

If you pit two expert Panel De Pon players against each other, chances are you'll end up with an intense round of garbage block tennis: Each player sends an x13 garbage block (the cap, a garbage block the size of the entire playfield plus one row, and would be a guaranteed One-Hit KO if not for the 2-second grace period you have to start countering a garbage block before it KO's you). Then both players counter the entire garbage block, sending another x13 garbage block in the process. Repeat until one player can no longer counter. I've had some intense matches go for over 10 minutes that way.

edited 17th Aug '12 10:31:49 PM by PoochyEXE

Extra 1: Poochy Ain't Stupid

Ah, a puzzle game example! Not bad.

More to think of:

• Third Strike: Parrying. No match is a lost cause thanks to this, as long as you have the twitch skills.
• Garou: Mark of the Wolves: Just Defense. Similar to Parrying, except that you get back a tiny sliver of health for each well timed block.
• Knights Of The Round: You can block attacks by pressing the attack button and immediately pulling back on the stick. You get one or two seconds of invincibility when you do. Careful. If you block at the wrong time, you leave yourself open during the recovery period.
• Guilty Gear: Faultless Defense, which saves you from chip damage at the cost of meter.
• Red Earth: Similar to Knights Of The Round AND Faultless Defense, is Perfect Guard. You're protected from chip damage and you're given an opportunity for a counter, but if you're not attacked, you'll be forced to recover and leave yourself open.

ALL CREATURE WILL DIE AND ALL THE THINGS WILL BE BROKEN. THAT'S THE LAW OF SAMURAI.

Ninja Gaiden for X Box. Think you won't need to block or dodge? Haha. You'll see. You'll see.

edited 18th Aug '12 12:34:06 AM by Talby

It's probably not so much clever as it is cool as fuq, but Sakuya's Perfect Maid alt special from the Touhou fighters is pretty neat. She strikes a Dio Brando pose and in that period of time, if a melee*

attack would make contact, then she is replaced by an exclamation mark, time stops, she appears behind her opponent, and her opponent, who is probably still in their attack frames, is surrounded by knives.

Time resumes and you can probably guess what happens.

edited 18th Aug '12 7:10:05 AM by hnd03

So. Let's all pause for a moment to smell what the Rock was, is, and forever will be... cooking.—Cave Johnson

Reminds me of Triggerheart Exelica where you can grab enemies and use them to beat up other enemies instead of doing things the usual shmup way.

Mabinogi kind of does. You have to play defensively, or at least carefully. Lots of counterattacking and defending involved. If you just rush the enemy and try to tank, you will die. It takes some practice to get good at, and it's pretty atypical as far as MMORPG combat goes.

At least, that's the way it was last I checked.

edited 18th Aug '12 3:08:43 PM by SapphireBlue

Xenoblade incorporates the story-important visions of the future that the main character gets into the combat by showing you lethal or otherwise extremely dangerous attacks ahead of time, giving you limited time to do something about it; whether that's putting a shield up around the target, killing or incapacitating the foe in question, giving the target immunity to whatever status effect is being used, healing the target until he can survive the attack, or simply getting a different party member, who can handle the attack, to force the enemy's focus to them instead.

It's an interesting, and I think unique, way of dealing with attacks. It can also be frustrating (when the vision of the future doesn't tell you that you're dealing with an area attack that hits more than the intended target), or downright frightening (when you get into a battle way over your head, and the first and every attack triggers a vision.

I have a message from another time...

Batman Arkham Asylum and Batman Arkham City both rely heavily on countering and dodging in order to get combat to 'flow' - it's a damn smooth system as well, with opportunities for two or even three counters occuring simultaniously.

Danger's over, Banana Breakfast is saved. FC: 0576 - 4632 - 1517

I've always liked a lot of the unique sword moves in Twilight Princess, and the way they give you cool counterattacks. Especially the Back Slash. By jove, if it didn't feel awesome to roll circles around Ganondorf's back after he attacks you and get him! Fatal Draw was nice, too.

Also, Okami's counterattacks with the shield. Snarling Beast, you are a... um... beast.

"Proto-Indo-European makes the damnedest words related. It's great. It's the Kevin Bacon of etymology." ~Madrugada

Wind Waker was much the same way. When fighting Darknuts, Ganondorf, or Orca (at least I think it would), as they prepared an attack, sometimes the onscreen A button would swell, a sound would play, and the controller would vibrate as a cue to give you an opportunity to evade their attack and follow up with either a Back Slice or a Helm Splitter.

edited 18th Aug '12 4:09:11 PM by hnd03

So. Let's all pause for a moment to smell what the Rock was, is, and forever will be... cooking.—Cave Johnson