Buster = Quick Time Event?

[Goldsickle]

From time to time, I keep on seeing people who confuse Nero's Buster grabs as a Quick Time Event, putting them next to cinematic attacks seen in games like God Of War and Ninja Blade.

Personally, I think not.

I see Nero's Buster as a grab/throw attack, similar to what you see in fighting games like Tekken or Soul Calibur.

What do you guys think?

 

[Keaton]

I agree, Quicktime events are seen in both Sonic and Force Unleashed.
Where you have to press a specific button to unleash a prerendered event.

In Devil May Cry 4, an enemy or boss is weakened then made vunrable to the Buster which after execution there is no control input from the player -- aside from pressing the Buster Button to increase damage (or double press Buster and Firearm when DT'd for even more delicious damage).

Quicktimes were done to an acceptable standard in Star Wars Force Unleashed, primarally because they were optional. In Sonic Unleashed, I detest them with an utmost passion - they're different every time and have tiny windows of excecution, not only that, but failing them deals damage to yourself and restores health to your enemy -- WTF?!

I love the Buster moves, primarally because it gives you a really nice variation when battling enemies

 

[Sparda™]

I personally think the introduction of the Devil Bringer and Its moves are QTE-s.

You just stay there and watch the whole cinematic in the prompt of one button.

It made the game easy, even in extreme modes such as Dante Must Die/Hell or Hell/Legendary Dark Knight (PC Only).

Where you have to press a specific button to unleash a prerendered event.

Pressing the Buster attack button, lets you see a pre-rendered event. You don't make It by pressing a specific or custom button combination, but by just pressing one button.

I see Nero's Buster as a grab/throw attack, similar to what you see in fighting games like Tekken or Soul Calibur.

Strongly disagree this.

Throws in Tekken or Soul Calibur are related to a fighting genre of gaming and therefore are not to be mentioned, compared or confused with Quick Time Events.

Nero's Buster moves are 100% QTE.

 

[Goldsickle]

Throws in Tekken or Soul Calibur are related to a fighting genre of gaming and therefore are not to be mentioned, compared or confused with Quick Time Events.

But then there's a lot of melee combat involved in the DMC series, so it's not too far removed from the fighting game genre.
For example, they were able to include Street Fighter moves for Dante and they were able to make an action adventure spin off out of Soul Calibur without much problems.

Telling me "therefore they are not to be mentioned" sounds like you are forcing it on me...


Let's take a look at the "anatomy" of a quick time event.

1. On-screen button prompts.
There are none here. You are briefed that the Circle/"B" button is to perform the Buster and you can use it when the time is right or whenever you please.



2. QTE (usually) requires no contact.
For QTE attacks, finishers and grabs, you usually stand within range of the enemy and press the on-screen button prompt and the move will trigger just like that.
Busters require you to actually make contact with the enemy.
Busters will also vary depending on where you grab the enemy, such as Berial's head or Bael's tongue.
This is the reason why I made the comparison between the Buster and fighting game grab/throw attacks, since you need to physically make contact and it can vary depending on where you hit (front or back of opponent).



3. QTE attacks are (usually) not mapped on the control scheme.
For example, Resident Evil 5. Punching, kicking, crouching and dodging are never mapped into the default controls but the prompts for them will appear when the conditions are right.
Nero can perform Busters anytime. The effect varies depending on which enemy he hits and the enemy's state when he uses the Buster on them. Busters isn't just for grabbing but it's also a guard-breaker and for interrupting enemy attacks.



4. Trigger QTE, sit and watch.
QTEs usually can't be interrupted by making the player character invincible during the move. This is so that the action's "cinematic" effect are undisturbed.
Busters on the other hand is a double-edged sword. You could prolong the Buster to increase damage on the enemy but you also increase the risk of being hit by other enemies around you.
Busters are no free lunch.
The only exception would be Busters used against bosses. These are cinematic and comparable with the QTE finishers in God Of War or Ninja Blade.
When you think about it, it's probably because:

-You're fighting the bosses one-on-one, so they can get all cinematic and bullet time all they want, since there are no enemies around.
-For bosses with other enemies present (Echidna & Angelo Agnus), try to look at it at a developers' point of view.
Wouldn't it be annoying after all that effort to stun Agnus, your Buster gets cut short by a stray Gladius?
I think this is fair.

So Busters aren't really 100% QTE as mentioned, since they vary too much from traditional QTEs and are more closely related to grab attacks in the fighting game genre.

 

[Sparda™]

Still, the use of QTE made the game less fun than It should be.

 

[Goldsickle]

As you can see from my sig, I despise quick time events.

If Buster is a QTE, then I would have hated DMC4.

It's more or less a "cinematic grapple move" that has existed long before Shenmue invented QTE and God Of War made them popular.
These are easily confused nowadays.

Buster has it's pros and cons, it seamlessly blends into free form combos as seen in a bunch of Devil May Cry 4 combo videos, so it fits nicely in DMC.

For future Devil May Cry games, I hope either they bring back Nero, create a new character with grappling abilities or give such abilities to Dante.