Arc System Works’ upcoming anime fighter has an interesting background: Based on the original and wildly popular Dungeon Fighter Online MMO, 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 the Dungeon Fighter Online classes coming to the game, altogether showing DNF 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 of Dungeon Fighter Online certainly makes a lot of sense, and Arc System Works developing the DNF Duel spin-off couldn’t be a more perfect fit. Dungeon Fighter Online is 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 made Dungeon Fighter Online’s experience stand out among other MMOs, and also makes DNF Duel even more enticing.
While it was originally revealed in 2020, Arc System Works re-revealed DNF Duel earlier 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 other ArcSys fighting games like Granblue Fantasy: Versus and Guilty Gear Strive, DNF Duel emphasizes the original flashiness and style from Dungeon Fighter Online into a one-vs-one scenario. Neople and Arc System Works are implementing characters into DNF Duel as their proper class/subclass names as well, rather than giving characters canonical names or messing with the original Dungeon Fighter Online roster’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, but DNF Duel is 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 Duel appears to be a sort-of Guilty Gear Strive-adjacent adaptation of Dungeon 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.
Considering Guilty Gear Strive received such a positive reception from critics and fans, DNF Duel is absolutely in good hands with Arc System Works. The original Dungeon 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 for DNF 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 from DNF Duel looks 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 Duel looks 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, like Guilty Gear), then DNF Duel could 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 Duel has a lot going for it, and perhaps after the beta, the upcoming fighting game could gain some mainstream momentum.
DNF Duel is in development, with an open beta coming to PS4/PS5 on December 17-18, 2021.
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