Veteran developer NBA MT Coins Yu Suzuki

[fifadiy]

Veteran developer NBA MT Coins Yu Suzuki has been out of the limelight for a while now, having started up his own studio at Sega. However, Suzuki's absence from the arcade scene ended today with the announcement of Psy Phi, an original fighter being developed on Sega's newly announced Lindbergh hardware. The new arcade board boasts next-generation performance thanks to a beefy architecture, and the game is a spin on fighting games that, it's safe to say, no one was expecting.     The futuristic fighter's premise casts you as one of several warriors who are engaging in the time-honored tradition of trying to beat the crap out of one another. However, Psy Phi's twist is that, à la the old Dreamcast fighter Psychic Force 2012 or a Dragon Ball Z episode, you'll be floating around your foes and relying on powerful blasts of energy to do your butt-kicking.

Granted, the premise and setting aren't exactly going to set the world on fire; but they certainly offer a workable setup for a fighter.    What sets Psy Phi apart from pretty much anything we saw at the Amusement Machine show, and at most arcades in general, is its unique control scheme and battle system. Basically, the game has no traditional inputs--such as a joystick or buttons--and instead uses its monitor, which is a touch screen, as your primary means of controlling your fighter. While more than a little unorthodox for a fighter, the touch screen mechanic has been a growing trend in Japanese arcades and, obviously, the portable market, thanks to Nintendo's DS.     Though it may seem like an odd choice for a fighter, Psy Phi's combat system works surprisingly well with the touch screen.