DNF Duel, a brand new fighting game from acclaimed studio ArcSystemWorks and Neople Inc., was recently revealed with a spectacle of a trailer. DNF Duel quickly garnered tons of attention from the fighting game community due to ArcSystem's trademark visual style and action-focused gameplay being very apparent in the trailer. Fans of the MMORPG Dungeon Fighter Online were also drawn to the game, as DNF Duel is set in the game's universe and seems to borrow plenty from the action-focused MMORPG. If that wasn't enough to get people excited, some of the logos boasted in the trailer tie the game's lineage to teams behind hits like Dragon Ball FighterZ and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Dungeon Fighter Online is an interesting MMORPG that, according to its Steam page, takes inspiration from classic beat-em-ups like Golden Axe and Double Dragon. This is certainly an interesting fusion of gameplay styles that seems to have attracted a fairly dedicated fanbase. Dungeon Fighter Online is a game that those who don't typically play many MMORPG games may not have heard of, but it's actually one of the highest-grossing media properties of all time.
Dungeon Fighter Online is incredibly popular, with a record of 700 million active players worldwide, and has also made a staggering $15 billion in profit in its 15-year lifespan. Dungeon Fighter Online has a case for being one of the most successful MMORPGs of all time. Going off of YouTube comments on DNF Duel's trailer and on related videos, it's apparent that there's a huge fanbase for Dungeon Fighter Online, despite the game having been around for the last 15 years.
At first glance, it might seem odd for a fighting game to be built around an MMORPG. However, MMORPGs often have vibrant worlds and characters that could easily be translated to a fighting-game formula, and that's not even taking into account Dungeon Fighter Online's unique combat. Critics have said that Dungeon Fighter Online has enjoyable skill-based combat that utilizes several fighting and beat-em-up game mechanics. In short, it seems as though Dungeon Fighter Online's world is about to make a long-overdue debut in the fighting game community.
Speaking of community, it's important to mention that Dungeon Fighter Online's developers, Neople, have always managed to keep a fantastic relationship with the game's player base. That's actually one of the biggest points of praise many fans and critics have with the game. Developers who can build a positive relationship with their game's community are essential for a fighting game. More often than not, players will be one of the biggest influences over a fighting game's lifecycle.
Neople is directly involved with DNF Duel's development alongside ArcSystemWorks, which bodes well for the project. Neople have shown themselves to be incredibly dedicated to everything they work on, especially when it comes to the world of Dungeon Fighter Online. Given that the game has been seeing active development since its original South Korea launch in 2005, the team's dedication to the project should be fairly apparent.
ArcSystemWorks needs very little introduction given their recent success with games like Dragon Ball FighterZ. They're best known for the incredibly well-received fighting-game franchises Blazblue and Guilty Gear. Their anime-inspired art style and incredibly flashy combat seem to be well on display here, based on DNF Duel's trailer.
As if all of this wasn't enough of a reason to be excited for DNF Duel, Eighting's logo appeared in the trailer as well. Eighting is perhaps best known for co-producing the legendary Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The full extent of the team's involvement is currently unknown, though they're sure to bring plenty of fighting-game experience to DNF Duel. Since working on Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Eighting has continued to work with Capcom on the Monster Hunter series, as well as developing the Switch version of Pikmin 3.
Outside of those involved, a few smaller aspects of the game can be gleaned from the trailer. Many DFO fans have spotted several iconic classes from the MMORPG as playable characters. In addition, DNF Duel seems to take a few mechanics from DFO, including how it handles combos and canceling special moves. It seems as though DNF Duel will be more than just Blazblue with a DFO coat of paint, which should be incredibly exciting for both fighting game fans and fans of Dungeon Fighter Online.