DNF Duel re-emerges with new trailer & social accounts

Remember Dungeon Fighter Online? It’s been a long time since the heyday of 2D MMORPGs but DFO is still going strong! Publisher Nexon is expanding the franchise into spinoffs games and that includes a fighting game. Co-developed by Neople, Arc System Works and Eighting, DNF Duel is promising to bring the stylish cast of DFO to a traditional fighting game. It’s been almost a year since the initial reveal trailer was shown in December of 2020, and there haven’t been any trade show teases to date. That all changes with the official trailer posted last night. Take a look:

The Dungeon and Fighter RPG franchise of 16 years is now back as a 2.5D fighting game! Join the battle as a Berserker, Inquisitor, Striker, Grappler, Ranger, and more!

The characters in these trailers are based on Dungeon Fighter Online’s classes, which dictate their visual appearance as opposed to complete customization. Undoubtedly people more familiar with DFO will recognize some of the techniques used in the trailer. Other than showing us a dazzling anime style more reminisce of Granblue Fantasy Versus and Guilty Gear Xrd, there’s not much else we know about the game.

DNF Duel socials have appeared

DNF Duel was previously announced via Nexon’s channels and now dedicated accounts have appeared. Follow DNF Duel’s English Facebook, Korean Facebook or Japanese Twitter accounts for updates in the respective languages. English speaking Twitter users may also wish to follow Anime FGC News for updates served by the community.

Eighting’s unexpected return

It’s safe to say ArcSys is killing it right now in the niche of traditional fighting games based on popular IPs, but can the Japanese company be spread too thin? To tackle this it seems Eighting has been enlisted to assist in the production of DNF Duel. People hip to that studio’s name have not shut up about it on Twitter, and for good reason. Here’s a list of fighting games developed by Eighting in the past:

• Bloody Roar 3 & 4
• Naruto: Clash of Ninja series
• Fate/Unlimited Codes
• Castlevania Judgement
• Kamen Rider Climax Heroes
• Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All Stars
• Marvel vs. Capcom 3

While you probably associate many of the games listed to their publishers like Capcom and Type-Moon, Eighting has been around for a while and have produced a few gems. As your writer is a big TvC fan, I’m right there with them. Will their design influences rub off on ArcSys and Neople? Would the kind of nonsense from F/UC and UMVC3 make their way into the DNA of this game? I have no idea, but it would be really funny.

There are more pressing matters such as the netcode, roster, and pricing – but Nexon hasn’t even hinted at a release window or when we’ll see this game next. We can only hope it’ll take notes from the recent successes of Guilty Gear Strive, and I’ll be following this game’s drip feed of news closely.