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acquired-stardust · 3 days ago

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Gaming Spotlight #19: Megaman X (1993)

Acquired Stardust's Spotlight series returns for the month of May! Larsa takes the reigns this month with an article on standout Super Nintendo title Mega Man X, which has a special place in their heart as a devout Capcom fan. Come read along below the cut!

It may be hard to believe with how infrequently the series gets new games in the present day but indeed there was a point where Mega Man (also known as Rock Man in Japan) was the mascot of Capcom's golden age in the 1980s/1990s. It was thanks to Capcom-created series like Mega Man, Street Fighter, Breath of Fire, and eventually in the latter parts of the 90s with Resident Evil that the company began to be considered by many as one of the best game developers of their time, perhaps a distinction they have earned again in the present day thanks to the continued success of their releases after a period of more middling reception starting in the 2000s. During the best times for the company it feels Capcom had an unmatched level of coolness and artistry to their many works that made their games feel that much more significant than they would have otherwise.

And much like the Capcom of the present day their output of quality games stands out as a particularly noteworthy aspect. It feels there are times where Capcom has discovered the secret cheat code of game development where they somehow find a way to not sacrifice quality while maintaining a high output of quantity; or maybe they can at times be so good at being in tune with their fanbase that they trick us into thinking they have that code. And then well naturally the tide pulls back to reveal in their darker times that Capcom's quantity can often be their undoing by 'flooding the market' so to speak, causing a negative effect which we have seen with Mega Man as well as their fighting game franchises.

No matter the era of Capcom the one thing that seems consistent with them is that they weren't afraid shake up an established franchise to make them feel fresh, sometimes to mixed results.

One of Capcom's most successful examples of a shake up of an established series could be seen with Mega Man X. This game was designed to be the series' first foray into Nintendo's newest hardware at the time, the Super Nintendo. The choice to make MMX was a necessary iterative move on Capcom's part that signaled to consumers distinct difference from the classic series, as they previously released Mega Man titles 1-6 on the Nintendo Entertainment System alone, with Mega Man 6 having released only a mere month before the release of Mega Man X. One could be right to assume a MM7 as their first Mega Man title on the SNES would be a difficult title to sell to the public at the time. MMX originally known as "Super Mega Man", an earlier scrapped working title, would be a big departure for the series as a game.

By 1993 it was time for Capcom's beloved mascot to enter the glorious 16-bit age. MMX was designed with the intention to be an evolution of everything that the original games were before it while feeling all the more new thanks to Capcom's impressive usage of the more advanced SNES hardware. Due to this new leap in technology the game would be designed to be more colorful, faster paced, and overall more complex than the previous series.

Responsible for ushering in Mega Man's official arrival on 16-bit hardware, the development team for MMX featured an all-star of game development. This team would be in part led by a young member of team who had in his hands in many aspects of the game, Keiji Inafune. These days Inafune is perhaps more infamously known than celebrated nowadays due to the various ways he would torch his reputation in the future but he does deserve a lot of credit for the first four games in the MMX series, making important contributions like the designs of characters such as the iconic Zero and his general influence over seemingly all aspects of the game. The development of MMX is often told as story about Inafune's legacy due to the nature of common storytelling on the subject so it would be easy to solely focus on his notable contributions. However there were other talented developers who also worked on the game that in my opinion also deserve some shout outs too.

Developers such as Tokuro Fujiwara (credited as Professor F) helped oversee the project as a producer and would go on to make Tomba. Kazunori Tazaki (credited as Ikki) wore many hats when it came to the art of MMX, whose impact on gaming is still felt today due most notably in recent times for his contribution as the lead character modeler of Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising and Nier Automata. Hayato Kaji, one of the art designers of the game, would also be responsible for designing the titular main character, X. One would be remiss to not mention the sounds of MMX, created by a team of composers who were tasked to make a game that sounded little like what came before it.

Mega Man X was as much as sequel as it was a departure for the larger Mega Man franchise that existed at the time. Mega Man was already an established icon in gaming just a step below Mario or Sonic at the time that this new Mega Man series was conceived. Being treated as a new series that built on what had came previously before it, the story was darker and more serious in tone in contrast to the original series. Being in a new setting the story would no longer revolve around the rivalry between Dr. Light and Dr. Wily over their differing point of view on robotics. Instead this story would be focused on a new threat.

By the time of the events of MMX take place many years have passed since the days of the original Mega Man series. The original Mega Man series took place in the vague undefined years of "20XX" and now we are set in the years of "21XX" which means MMX would be set around hundred years later. Much of the story within Mega Man X is set up through the game's opening intro scene - perhaps the last log about his research written by Dr. Light, imparting his last will to whomever would one day discover his laboratory. The details of the log, which entirely revolved around his magnum opus: an android who represented a new advanced form of robotic life.

The game's instruction manual acted as supplemental material and would further explain everything the player is meant to know heading into this new adventure often from a in-universe perspective. Much of the plot for this game is written to the player through the journal notes of a new character, Dr. Cain who we will get to later. This method to convey information to a player through a manual is a lost art these days as physical media in the gaming world has became increasingly phased out with each subsequent hardware generation. These days games no longer come with instruction booklets, at most they come with downloadable content vouchers or small pamphlets to advertise other products. Yes, long gone are the days of completely colored and highly detailed instruction manuals that were supplementary material to a player's experience with a video game.

As anyone who played the original series would know, Dr. Light was a reputable genius who believed that robots could do much to benefit mankind if they are to strictly obey the famed "Three Rules of Robotics" as laid out by Isaac Asimov. However unlike his previous creation "Mega Man", who was programmed to strictly follow the laws of robotics, this new creation simply named "X" was beyond these limitations. X was designed to be a successor to Dr. Light's previous greatest creation, Mega Man, whom Light treated as a son. This relationship is even reflected in X's appearance as he resembles a slightly older teenage form of Mega Man.

In order to truly be a successor, X was created to be far more advanced. So much so that he could develop his own emotions and free will, meaning his personality was not bound to any hard pre-programmed limitations like his predecessor. He believes this new creation X would be a being of infinite potential and possibilities - this meant ultimately that X would think and feel like a human being, free to choose his own path in life.

Light was not just simply cautious he was outright afraid of X's potential destructive capabilities falling into the wrong hands, or perhaps worse, his beloved creation willingly choosing to turn against the human race. Further stoking his concerns was that Dr. Light feared that his own life would not last much longer due to his old age and he would not personally be able to guide X in the future to come. Furthermore in Dr Light's last testament he lamented he had nobody else living whom he could trust to carry on his work. So it was for these reasons which Dr. Light took it upon himself to seal X away in a capsule hidden under his laboratory where X would undergo a rigorous diagnostics program to iron out any foreseeable issues.

This testing program which would take 30 years to complete with the goal being that by the end of it all that X would be immune to any viruses or malfunction by his time of waking. X was created in hopes he would decide to live alongside humanity in peace for himself and hopefully as a last resort be able to fight in defense of humanity against catastrophe with his incredible combat capabilities. Ideally he could live out in peace in the future if that same future allowed him to do so.

As feared, it was true that X would be Dr. Light's final gift to the world as he sadly passed away shortly after the automated testing began on his final creation. X would stay in isolation for over a hundred years until he was discovered by another revolutionary mind, the aforementioned Dr. Cain. The man was a scientist much like Dr. Light was in his own time but Cain was more focused on environmental endeavors. Never one to let his time go to waste, Cain was an on an excursion to find fossils of ancient Japanese plants for his research and he instead stumbled upon something else entirely - a laboratory lost to time. The same lab which which once belonged to Dr. Light and where X remained dormant. Dr. Cain would awaken X and immediately be astounded by his advanced technological workings.

Cain eagerly used the schematics he found in the lab in the hopes of using this technology to benefit the state of the world and the human race at large. Dr. Cain would replicate the incredible technology that created X and quickly the world entered a new, more advanced age. This new copied technology gave a birth to a new race of robots known as "Reploids", a name short for "Replicated Androids", a term roughly meaning 'beings copied from X's specifications'. Each of these new Reploids were all customized personally by Dr. Cain on an individual level to handle different tasks alongside humanity and were crafted with the best of intentions to aid the world, much like the classic series' Robot Masters. However in Cain's rush to do great things he would cut corners in the creation of his Reploids. Within short order things took a turn for the worse as many of these Reploids malfunctioned and in turn lost their free will. Before long as the number of malfunctioning Reploids grew they would come to be labeled as "Mavericks" - carriers of the "Maverick Virus", a strain of computer virus which causes Reploids to lose their own thoughts to madness.

Unlike X, who went through decades of testing imposed by his creator Dr. Light, these new copied creations were not subjected to the same testing process, with Dr. Cain rushing them to task and ultimately leaving them vulnerable. As a response to the increasing threat posed by these Maverick Reploids it was then that Dr. Cain would decide to create a Reploid-led police force known as "The Maverick Hunters", led by his own personal greatest creation, a further advanced Repiold with the greatest capacity for combat of his creations named Sigma. Created to bring order to the world before things got out of control, it was by Cain's hand that Sigma was molded to be the commander of the Maverick Hunters, a squad of combat-capable Repiolds with the mission of routing the dangerous Maverick types.

Unfortunately, despite being more advanced than his fellow Reploids, Sigma too would be vulnerable to the virus and turn Maverick himself, declaring war on all of humanity as well as those who supported them. Whether through malfunction or plain fear, other Repiolds on the police force felt compelled to follow under Sigma's command in his new ambitions against the human race. This would be what ultimately kicks off the events of the game itself. Much like his predecessor, X was an optimistic being who detested violence, but would understand the necessity of fighting for the betterment of the world. X reluctantly accepts that his responsibility as "Maverick Hunter" would mean he must put Sigma and the rebel army down to achieve peace, and joining in the defense of humanity would be the few Maverick Hunters left, now led by a red warrior with flowing blonde hair armed with the Z-Buster known as Zero, the now most senior member left in the squad after Sigma's revolt shrank their ranks. Zero serves as a partner of X in the war against the Mavericks, somebody that X looks up to as a mentor figure.

As for the gameplay, this game feels like a treat to play with highly responsive controls on its native hardware. The game wastes no time in giving you chance to learn it as right away you are thrown into the front line, being dropped into the iconic highway stage to defend a city under assault and while tackling this first mission Zero may assist X when necessary. Perhaps your first impression as you control X for the first time is that things may feel familiar yet distinctly different from the original series. MMX is more demanding on the player expecting you to think fast and be ready with more complex inputs. X feels more responsive to player's input, more than Mega Man ever did previously, and his buster cannon, the X-Buster, feels much more powerful as a default weapon by comparison to the classic Mega Buster. This new higher level of action created more of a need for tight controls and as a result X was given the helpful ability to kick off walls. This ability alone changes how you may think of maneuvering around stages natively to allow for more mobility options whether you are in the heat of battle against a boss or attempting to avoid a stage hazard, also providing plenty of opportunities to save yourself during precarious jumps. Often in Mega Man X well timed positioning and movement is even more important than your offensive capabilities. Additionally much like the previous series with the successful defeat of a stage boss you will obtain a new special weapon you can freely toggle through to use at any time. These Maverick weapons are worthwhile to experiment with when given the chance and mastering how to use them will make your time with this game that much more fun. Maybe the most noteworthy innovative feature of Mega Man X is the ability to evolve X's native capabilities and theoretical limitless potential by equipping armor found in mostly optional to discover capsules scattered throughout levels. These capsules too were created by Dr. Light before his passing and allows the genius to support X from beyond the grave. As you collect every individual piece of armor the appearance of X's sprite will change along the way. X will go from heavily resembling an older teenage version of his predecessor to looking more distinct clad in bright colors. These newer vibrant colors of X's first armored form feel like a direct homage to some of Japan's beloved mecha franchises.

The hunting for armor upgrades aspect of the game goes a long way in establishing the story told here. From the point of view of the player these armor upgrades might reflects X's character growth throughout the journey gaining the confidence to truly own his new identity and responsibilities as defender of peace against the Maverick revolt. All in all the armor system is delight, it feels good to be made stronger and the capabilities bestowed by the armor pieces can change how you can interact with the game's world. Thankfully this idea of building power through exploration established in this first title turned out to be so popular that every subsequent MMX released is sure to include the hunt for new armor parts to equip onto our hero for the purpose of overcoming whatever obstacles lay in his way.

As for the armor parts in this game there are the boot armor upgrade that gives X the ability to dash, make longer jumps, and break certain objects with the wall kick, further advancing the platforming aspects of the game. The helmet upgrade gives X the ability to break certain objects with a headbutt and nullifies the damage of most falling debris. The body armor upgrade cuts down the incoming damage X takes from attacks. Last but certainly not least, the buster cannon upgrade powers up X's weaponry which allows him to charge his arm cannon attack even further and this upgrade also allows X to charge Maverick weapons (obtained through defeating the game's various boss characters much like the classic Mega Man series) resulting in even more devastating special attacks. As a fun aside, the idea of MMX's armor parts system apparently came from the surging popularity of role playing games in Japan.

Speaking of special attacks, there is even a hidden Dr. Light capsule containing a special final upgrade. This last capsule is where X can learn how to do the Hadoken, one of the signature moves from Capcom's megahit Street Fighter series, which Dr. Light claims to have learned by personally training under a waterfall in the background of the stage where you can find the capsule. To perform this attack you must do the actual input for the special move as featured in the fighting game series it hails from. I have to say that I thought this easter egg was awesome and when I was a young kid, it made me feel like that perhaps the Mega Man games may theoretically take place in the same world as Street Fighter.

The Hadoken is hugely satisfying to pull off and the massive power of the attack is unmatched. There are few things that feel as delightful as getting X to throw a well-timed Hadoken at an enemy at the last possible moment before you take a hit. Like so many other elements that comprise this game it reinforces that Mega Man X is a game that feels fantastic to play and the basis of this gameplay will be drawn on for many future titles in the series.

On my most recent revisit I found that the gameplay of MMX still holds up well to this day and it is still one of the best action platformer games there has been to date in my opinion. I think to add to it all is the feeling of your skills as a player growing alongside X as he gets more confidence and becomes stronger too. To further illustrate the leap between Mega Man games up until this point, you could say the real-world technological leap between the hardware of the original series and the X series mirrors the fictional technological hardware leap between Mega Man and X.

After successfully clearing the opening stage you will be brought to the iconic Mega Man stage select screen. The eight Maverick commanders represent one of the game's eight opening stages, representing a key locale in their world they seized and hold under occupation. These Mavericks leaders being Chill Penguin, Flame Mammoth, Boomer Kuwanger, Sting Chameleon, Spark Mandrill, Storm Eagle, Armored Armadillo, and Launch Octopus. Each of them make for memorable challenges to overcome as their designs are fascinating and their animations in combat full of personality. Something that makes these Mavericks stand apart from the Robot Master bosses from the original series is that the Mavericks tend to have been built in the image of animals, allowing a lot of variances in their designs.

Each of the stages these Mavericks occupy must be liberated from them before you are able to invade Sigma's Fortress at the end, in a formula familiar for players of the classic series. One of the key things that make this first game in the Mega Man X stand out from the crowd are the stages themselves. Every stage in MMX feels like a character all its own with distinct visual flair and adrenaline pumping music. The stages are a blast to play and serve as a great canvas to employ the more complex gameplay elements of the series, and still hold up will against any example found in the series or even genre up to the present day. Of course one shouldn't forget these areas are also ripe with secrets such as the previously mentioned armor capsules as well as heart containers to increase your max health bar.

The stage select formula featured here is very much like the classic Robot Master stages of the older series but like with many aspects of MMX there is an evolution on the previously established formula of the series at play here. Traditionally in Mega Man you find whichever stage you think you can best tackle with the buster cannon and clear that one first, then using the weapon you earn from defeating that stage's boss to make an informed choice of which boss to challenge next, by estimating who is weak to the weapon you earned previously in a manner reflecting rock-paper-scissors. You repeat this until you get through all eight stages and then go to the final boss's lair, typically Dr. Wily's castle in the classic series, where you will fiercely battle through a gauntlet of new extra stages and after a climatic final boss fight ultimately save the day.

However in MMX, while the core formula remains intact, there are now even more choices because you have new engaging ways to interact with the game itself. Some boss weapons can open up new means of traversal, and as mentioned earlier the same goes to some of the armor upgrades. The thing that makes MMX1 stand out in this regard from other Mega Man games is that occasionally you may find that a Maverick weapon like Boomer Kuwanger's "Boomerang Cutter" can actually cut off the parts of a few enemies, altering their combat behavior even though the weapon in these instances itself isn't doing bonus damage, and this aspect may change your routing through the nonlinear stage select.

Another innovative measure is that even the stages themselves can change depending on the order you are able to take down the Maverick bosses. By defeating Chill Penguin at his snow research facility for example you will receive the dash boots armor upgrade, and the resulting climate change will cause Flame Mammoth's burning factory to cool down. This choice makes an otherwise difficult stage like the factory much easier to traverse due to the lava hazards being removed and now opening up new routes to otherwise unobtainable items.

For instance if you decide to deal with Flame Mammoth first that will give you access to the Maverick weapon "Fire Wave" which is the strongest weapon to utilize against Chill Penguin, as fire is his weakness. Despite not being the weakness of Storm Eagle, you can make the battle against him more manageable with proper use of the boots' dash ability. Furthermore if you decide to take down Storm Eagle then afterward the airship that you fight Storm Eagle on will crash to the ground, causing a power outage in Spark Mandrill's power plant stage, resulting in blackouts throughout the stage altering the hazards found in it. There are even more effects than this one can make on the world depending on how you play, not all of which will necessarily make the game easier, but I will leave that for you to discover for yourself one day.

The art team did a fantastic job of creating a dark futuristic world that still feels very much alive but not unfriendly or overly grim, and certainly not too far removed from the classic series that came before it. There are a great amount of graphical effects done through smart use of sprite techniques that are utter eye-candy, such as the shattering glass in Storm Eagle's stage. To speak on another aspect of the art of course the character designs are incredible, characters such as X and Zero are still being widely recognized to this day as gaming icons even for those who have never played these games before. Just as well, each of the Maverick bosses are also very visually memorable.

But as much as I praise the visual design this is a game that is as delightful to listen to as it is to look at. The weapons have such cool sound effects and even the movement sounds cool which creates a positive feedback loop of trying to get the most out of your gameplay. The soundtrack is strong, bringing high energy and urgency as the mood requires. Songs such as Spark Mandrill, Chill Penguin, Storm Eagle, and more populate my playlists to this day. MMX radically shaped my taste in art as a whole as I am sure that it has for some people reading this spotlight.

All these aspects that made up this title really resonate with people and Mega Man X has become a cult classic, fondly looked at long after the days of its initial success as a best-selling Super Nintendo title. Even for its time Mega Man X as a video game was a massive success for Capcom selling over a million SNES carts, which for the time was a smash hit. Following this first game would result in several direct sequels to follow it up over the years, turning it into a full blown series proving the team behind it was able to get Mega Man X to step out of the original Mega Man's shadow.

Eventually over a decade after the original release Capcom would remake the initial Mega Man X as Maverick Hunter X, a game with perhaps a more fitting title for the series, on Sony's Playstation Portable. The remake would serve as a reboot for Mega Man X as a whole, intended to be a new starting point for the series. As a game it featured more bells and whistles, including a fearsome fan favorite character, the Maverick known as Vile, becoming playable for the first time. Sadly this reboot sold poorly and Capcom has since seemingly abandoned the series outside of bundling the games up into collections. Unfortunately these collections, while nice, do have significant extra input lag not present in their original releases which could hamper the experience.

Despite the setbacks the series have faced over the years it still feels like the legacy of Mega Man X is still strong to this day. It is a title still held in high regard and the proof of that is everywhere as other games still draw to it for inspiration such as the Azure Striker Gunvolt, The Messenger, Shovel Knight and a slew of other indie game titles created decades after the first MMX game. Kohei Horikoshi, the creator of the ultra popular My Hero Academia manga and anime series, has also cited the MMX series as a point of inspiration from his childhood which you can really feel in his art.

Even the sounds of the game have stood the test of time, and its soundtrack has been the subject of countless remix and arrangement albums in the years since. MMX would in more recent times go on to be a staple of the speed-running community and for me it was the first game that I got wrapped up in myself, attempting to speedrun MMX because the game is so appealing to play. The first MMX is a standout hit, even among a series known for outstanding titles, and it should be on every gamer's bucket list to try out for themselves.

In closing Mega Man X is an incredible game in my opinion well worth the time for anybody of any age to play. The challenge of the game can feel harsh yet fair, without much in the way of "cheap deaths" or timer wasters. For those looking for a higher level of difficulty I recommend you try a "X-Buster"-only playthrough, this challenge run can greatly change how you approach each boss battle. And while the story of the game itself is simple enough, the world which Capcom created still holds up as one of their best efforts.

A gem hidden among the stones, Mega Man X is undoubtedly stardust.

-- Larsa

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scaryspears · 2 months ago

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I Love Christie Monteiro

The first time I was ever introduced to Christie was when I was 10 years old. My brother had Tekken Revolution on his Playsation 3, and I used to play the hell out of it after school. Revolution was like a demo version of ttt2, so there weren't a lot of available characters. I was surprised to find out she was my opponent, but only because I hadn't seen her before. It was like she was some kind of hidden character.

I noticed 3 things about her:

She's black or biracial.

She's dressed colourfully.

Her fighting style.

I had never heard of capoeira before playing Tekken, so learning about a fighting style that had African roots that resembled dancing entranced me. I was super into dancing (though not professional), and I grew up on martial arts films. I did some research here and there, and eventually, I grew an attachment to capoeira. I had never actually learned it professionally, but I do occasionally like to practice whatever I learned on the internet.

She's a black character, which means a lot to me (even though it's not about me). I had been using Xiaoyu as a self insert, and I still do. I was never able to do the same with Christie, and I think that's what makes her interesting. She was her own person, and someone I couldn't find pieces of myself in. Christie is bright, determined and mature. I think that was the difference. Her maturity. (I'm currently 20 years old, but I still have a long way.)

Her outfits were always colourful and sultry. It wasn't like Anna Williams, where it's dangerous, but more of a "product of environment" kind of way. Christie's outfits resemble what a lot of people wear in Brazil (according to the little research I've made), and have a party goer look to them. Some of her old concept art even gave me 'Rihanna' vibes. Brazil is an overall artisitc, warm and colourful country, so the developers did a very great job pouring all of that into Christie.

I had gotten super obsessed with Tekken, and did some deep dives, which led me to the 2009 film. I was pretty surprised that Christie was nothing like anything in the games, especially since she had a romantic relationship with Jin. On the other hand, her outfit was no longer colourful. Capoeira trousers are typically white, so movie Christie seemed to have a traditional approach when it came to her costuming. It's still, however, stylised to suit her playful and spunky personality (even though the film made her a completely different person. She was also played by a white actress. *Shaking my head*.). It could hint to her inexperience, and how she's not looking for revenge or greedier things, like everyone else, but is there for something as simple as finding Eddy. Or maybe even wanting to raise money for her grandpa's illness.

Back to her out of the blue and out of character romance with Jin. It hadn't occurred to me until currently on other potential relationships she could have outside Eddy. I understand that Christie doesn't have to have those things, especially since Eddy has an actual story. Thing is, why add her to the game if you're going to ultimately do nothing with her in the end?

Movie Christie is nothing like the game Christie, but at least the film was doing something with her.

You know what, let Christie have friends and romantic interests outside of Eddy. Tekken x Street Fighter doesn't count because that was heavily Capcom based.

I got some scenarios. Christie takes over the orphanage that Eddy runs, and enters the tournament to get some cash. She could cross paths with King, who visits his own share orphanages. Common ground. They both have good hearts.

Maybe even a friendship with Miguel. Christie kind of resembles Miguel's sister. They could be in a match, but he can't bring himself to lay a hand on her because of their resemblance.

EDIT: How could I forget, Bruce Irvin. She had one interaction with him in Tekken 5, and that's it? Romantic interest?

But yeah, that's all the info dumping I have for you guys.

#tekken #christie monteiro #black girl aesthetic #black girl magic #black women #black beauty #tekken Miguel #Miguel Rojo #Eddy Gordo #king tekken

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braddocklegacy · 1 year ago

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With all the Marvel Vs Capcom news it’s a great time to look into the lore of two of its characters. Betsy Braddock and Cammy!

- both British intelligence

- both brainwashed by evil organizations

- have similar movesets in the game

- Betsy saved Cammy from the Hand in X-Men vs Street Fighter.

Can’t wait to play as these two super cool ladies again!

#betsy braddock #psylocke #captain britain #marvel #x-men #Cammy #street fighter #marvel comics #mvc2 #marvel vs capcom #mvc #capcom

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the-monkey-ruler · 2 years ago

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SonSon (1984) ソンソン

Date: June 1984 Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System / Arcade / Wii Shop Developer: Capcom / Micronics Publisher: Capcom / Romstar Incorporated Genre: Action / Platformer Theme: Fantasy Franchises: SonSon Aliases: SonSon / Son Son II / Capcom Generations / Capcom Generations 3: The First Generation / Strider 2 / Capcom Classics Collection / Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded / Minna to Capcom All-Stars / Rockman ×over / Capcom Arcade Cabinet / Street Fighter X All Capcom / Capcom Super League Online / Capcom Fighting Collection / Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium Type: Retelling / Crossover

Summary:

Son Son is Capcom's tribute to a Chinese legend called Xiyou Ji, meaning 'Journey to the West', considered to be one of the four classic pieces of Chinese literature. The main character in Xiyou Ji is Sun Wukong, or, when the words are pronounced as if they were Japanese kanji, Son Gokuu (hence the name Son Son).

All of Son Wukong's companions besides Zhu Bajie (Pigsy) are snatched by a demon and it's up to the two of them to chase after the demon and rescue them. The game auto-scrolls with multiple platform "tiers" and the player must switch between them and attack incoming enemies with their weapon. By switching tiers, the player can collect score items.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SonSon

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aI62ns_zTk&ab_channel=OldClassicRetroGaming

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bronzemettle · 6 months ago

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Superhero media is pretty popular IRL. If superheroes are part of the real world in the BronzeRealms, what does that mean for the movies and games and stuff?

Some of it still exists as in-universe licensed semi-biographical media or propaganda.

There is an officially licensed X-Men comicbook published by Image Comics since 2000. It was originally based on the adventures of the original X-Men in the 60s and 70s, but it runs to this day and has fictionalized versions of many more modern events in the current generation X-Men's lives.

Similarly, Fox made X-Men movies starting in 2005 with the participation of Consulting Producer Charles Xavier. He thought both these projects would help normalize Mutants for the public to see them in a heroic light, even if executives demanded they would primarily be fighting against other "bad" Mutants for most of the movies.

Spider-Man, thanks to debuting in Pro Wrestling before he became a superhero, is a copyrighted character whose name and image are wholesale owned by someone who is not Peter Parker. Wilson Fisk bought out that wrestling company in 2006 and immediately started marketing the fuck out of Spider-Man.

Halloween costumes, lunchboxes, popsicles, a newspaper strip, multiple movie series, many cartoons (often running during the same years as other Spider-Man cartoons on different networks), musicals, theme park rides... Spider-Man is just as much of a brand in the BronzeRealms as he is in our world, and he is NOT HAPPY about it.

Marvel Comics exists as a company. It is US government propaganda. It published heavily sanitized and fluffed accounts of the at-the-time recent exploits of Captain America during World War 2, and then continued with entirely fictional stories of Commie-punching after he went into the ice.

The Justice League as an organization assists any heroes who care to do so in managing their brand. They do not partner with any one specific comicbook company, but a collection of smaller companies, Charlton Comics, Fawcett Comics (based out of Fawcett City), Wildstorm, Quality Comics, Milestone, Gold Key Comics, and National Allied Publications.

Some of these Justice League-managed brand deals have led to movies and cartoons, but not anything directly analogous to the ones we know. The 60s Adam West Batman series is culturally more or less replaced by the Fearless Ferret and Grey Ghost franchises.

After the Mortal Kombat tournament concluded in 1990, Johnny Cage got most of the earth-based participants to sign him as their Agent, allowing him to license all of their likeness rights into a fictionalized arcade game retelling the story of their adventures, which quickly became a successful video game franchise under the new NetherRealm Studios, several movies, and more.

In 2005, to go alongside the first movie, Charles Xavier approved the creation of the fighting game X-Men Vs Street Fighter. In 2008, NetherRealm Studios would make Mortal Kombat Vs Justice League, and then in 2013, a much more popular and less charitable fighting game based on real superheroes, Injustice: Gods Among Us.

These two previously unrelated projects would crash together in 2014 with Injustice Vs Capcom 3 (titled such recognizing X-Men Vs Street Fighter and Injustice 1), which later became Ultimate Injustice Vs Capcom 3.

NetherRealm would next attempt to separate from Capcom for another solo game, Injustice 2. However, now that this was becoming an undeniable franchise... the inevitable lawsuit arrived from the real world Justice League after years of being presented in game narratives as murderers, totalitarians, traitors, etc. The game was forced to release a major update renaming and reskinning the entire roster into original characters.

Capcom would return to the franchise with Injustice Vs Capcom: Infinite. Injustice 2: Monsters Never Die Edition would clean up many of the rough edges that the lawsuit-mandated updates had introduced and bring in a handful of new characters. The most recent game in the series, Injustice Vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, is a prequel that uses a retro pixel art visual style and was released in 2024.

Now we've been talking about superheroes, but the BronzeRealms is much larger than that, so let's talk about some other things that have various justifications to both exist as real things, and also be recognized as in-universe media in some way.

The Xena Scrolls, written by the Battling Bard Gavriil before she departed to Themyscira along with the rest of the Amazons, were found by Indiana Jones, and passed through various hands until they were acquired by Ted & Sam Raimi, who pitched an adaption of the scrolls as a tv franchise.

Benny Russell was a comicbook writer, artist, and sci-fi novel author in the 1940s and 1950s. Almost no-one knew it at the time, but he was psychically linked with Captain Benjamin Sisko across centuries into the future. So, when Gene Roddenberry acquired some of his unused worldbuilding notes and directly adapted them into the tv franchise Star Trek, he was unknowingly fictionalizing real future events. This same coincidence would repeat with a different collection of Benny's notes 10 years later for the series Galaxy Quest.

Now, you may wonder why, in the future, no-one starts to notice that these tv shows are coincidentally guessing a lot of real events. This is because, by an extremely convenient coincidence that most definitely wasn't assisted by the intervention of Time Agents, all historical record of the existence of the Star Trek franchise was destroyed in World War 3 and the Post-Atomic Horrors.

There are probably many other similar temporal shenanigans leading to franchises that most people reasonably assume to be fictional actually being loosely adapted from some account of real future events. There are also things like Wormhole X-Treme, a franchise that was knowingly created to obstruct the truth by presenting people trying to claim it's real as obsessive fanboys. This post is not a comprehensive list, just a grab bag of examples.

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spunkytomboybeat · 10 months ago

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Long post about Makoto x Elena from Street Fighter

Once more I am thinking about Makoto and Elena from street fighter and i am debating on making a youtube video on my thoughts about me shipping the two.

I had my old post on here reblogged and it got me thinking about how Makoto x Elena is a rarepair for some reason, sure there's some fans about it (I've slowly been finding people who take interest/like it) but it's somehow the least common one when talking about the street fighter 3 gals. It is significantly more common for me to see Ibuki x Makoto, Elena x Ibuki, or even Elena x Makoto x Ibuki somehow. I'm not saying any of these pairings are bad, I do like them (I am somewhat mixed on Ibuki and Makoto for a handful of reasons but this isn't about them) and I love seeing art about them, what I am confused about is that the one with the LEAST art of talk about is Elena x Makoto.

These two have been on my mind forever. A taller than average bubbly capoeira PRINCESS is dating a shorter slightly grumpy tosan karetake tomboy is so funny to me. These two are just the polar opposites and yet despite it all they are dating? Incredible.

Like through the games and side media it's fairly obvious the writers and artists commonly pair the two together now on whatever they're doing.

First it was on sf3 where despite Makoto being a new character (and even having a special intro with Ibuki), Elena was the ONLY person to have a conversation on their own arcade ladder with Makoto (Makoto has a convo with Ryu since she was trying to find him to fight). And thing is Makoto wasn't even the most welcoming at first (dialogue below)

Makoto: What's wrong with you?! Stop smiling like that! It's creepy! Makoto: I'm here for a serious fight! I'll punish you if you make fun of me! Elena: I just want to be your friend! Elena: That's the reason why we fight! So let's enjoy the battle! Makoto: Friend?! I don't think I could ever understand you. [Dialogue ends.]

And it's honestly funny that Makoto of all people underestimates Elena, a capoeirista (I'll give her the benefit of the doubt since Makoto isn't the most knowledgeable of the world and doesn't know that Capoeira is arguably one of the scariest fighting styles to have on a tall person). Girl wanted to have a new friend and up for a friendly spar on her travels around Japan and Makoto assumed she was just here to make fun of her (And I assume they either went on a draw or Makoto lost the fight since I do believe Elena is stronger between the two). But even what Makoto said, Elena is unphased and knows she didn't mean any harm, Makoto is just someone who is very direct with words and is honest about what she says even if she's not the best person at communicating. Elena likes her friends and Makoto is her friend and is there to listen, be her with a grumpy face or not, Elena isn't here to make fun of you on purpose and would rather laugh with you.

Before 3rd strike Elena was normally paired with Ibuki (Even if Ibuki was being paired with chun since she was the most famous of the 2) because she was one of the 2 girls on sf3. But after 3rd strike something shifted and suddenly Elena was being paired with Makoto more often than not, and when they weren't it'd either be the sf3 girls trio, Elena was paired with Narumi (i wish we had more Narumi content) or Makoto was chilling with Ibuki. But other than that a lot of comics and official art just had Mak and Elena enjoy their time together and i think it's really cool we have more content of them, I really want the two to interact with each other more in SF6. Capcom please put me in that writing's room when you do decide to do a cutscene story mode for sf6 that isn't world tour (I like the mode I just wish it was the real characters interacting more with each other since we finally have a proper budget and can experiment more)

I really enjoy that I've been seeing more content of the Tall goober and the short goober kissing though, really lovely stuff :3

Like imagine being a Tosan girl with barely any social experience because majority of your life you were secluded because everyone didn't care about you or your dojo's history after your father died and dressed like a tomboy and did karate so much to the point you make your hands, which are bigger than that of a common girl, bleed and also one of your interests is woodcarving and then suddenly this foreigner capoeirista taller than your doorframe (and taller than you by two heads) comes up to you smiling saying they want to be your friend because you looked like a fun person to talk to even if your past wasn't the most superb thing ever to look up to. She doesn't mind what happened to your past and isn't here to make fun of you or to shun you away because you worked all your life for a goal that you set yourself to do for years, even if it was alone, she was here because she liked you as a person and found you cute and would yell at the world that she's your friend and would go out to eat, watch movies, do work, train, spar, debate fighting styles, study and just relax with each other. And then suddenly a year passes and you're in her bed and shes sleeping soundly next to you and you call her your girlfriend that you love very much and you don't know how to react. And then the next morning she picks you up because she found it funny since she's still significantly taller than you but you love her since she's someone you care about for all this time, giving you a kiss on your big forehead.

I like these two a lot, I really do.

#streetfighter #elena street fighter #makoto street fighter #rant #makena #spunkybeats #makotoxelena #lesbians #i really like these two it's hard to put it into words #if you like them do speak up i love them so much #ship

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eboni-napalm · 8 months ago

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𝒦𝒾𝓃𝓀𝓉𝑜𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟦 - 𝒟𝒶𝓎 𝒪𝓃𝑒 | 𝒞𝒽𝑜𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔/𝐵𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓎 - 𝒜𝓀𝓊𝓂𝒶

Akuma (Street Fighter 6) X Reader Summary: An attempt to disguise something sexual you want to try with your criminally attractive sparring partner ends up backfiring on you- but not in a way you're fully complaining about.

Word Count: 1,739

Warnings: Implied smut/sexual content, pet names, choking, swearing/cursing. Reader is kept as gender neutral as possible but is implied female/AFAB with female genitalia. MINORS DO NOT INTERACT! AUTHOR'S NOTE: Dear Capcom, give whoever finally decided to pull the trigger and make Akuma a literal silver fox ALL of the fucking awards. I've said it once before and I'll say it again- I am eternally thirsty for this man; I can and will climb him like a tree until I'm fucking dead.

The moment the words left your mouth, you physically tried to hide the sight of the lump in your throat as you swallowed heavily. "I'm just thinking, you know?" You spoke as calmly as possible, trying extremely hard not to stammer or stumble over your words. "It's a bit of a stretch, yeah, but if I had better breath control during fights, I'd be able to monitor my stamina better." The broad-shouldered man simply raised an eyebrow at you, his stance still wide and his mane of wild silvery-white hair catching the breeze in waves along his shoulders. "...And you wish to accomplish this by having me... choke you," He said the last two words of his sentence slowly, almost as if trying to understand your logic. You had to mask the sharp inhale that sounded through your teeth. Shit- you had to think fast. "Not hard," you quickly replied, holding up a hand in an attempt to dissuade him. "Not enough to make me black out. Just... enough to where it's a challenge for me to control my breathing. You get me?" In truth, you were completely lying out of your ass.

While you assumed the explanation would satisfy him enough to slide under the radar for the most part, you knew just how smart the man in front of you really was- he'd catch on very quickly if you weren't careful. One little slip-up, one single reveal of your true intentions for what you were asking of him, and you were rightfully screwed. And not in the way you wanted to be. To say you were absolutely smitten with the powerful martial artist in front of you was an understatement; Akuma was built like a well-oiled machine- dare you say an absolute tank, muscles upon muscles rippling under caramel tan skin and accented only by fur pelt-lined hakama pants, which had been slightly shredded at the ankles over time due to constant training and combat. You'd fantasized numerous times about being pinned underneath him, holding you down, not being able to walk the next day... but with how he was, you knew better than most that your dreams were just that- dreams. But a little dreaming in that regard never hurt you before. Still, to your surprise, he let a silent breath fall from his lips as his crimson eyes bore into you with an emotion you couldn't immediately seem to place. "Very well, then," he mused in a low tone, motioning you forward with a finger. "Come here." Lord, have mercy.

Taking a few slow strides forward, you only stopped when you were less than a foot in front of him, tilting your head up to properly look him in the eye. You weren't that much shorter than him, maybe only a couple of inches at most- but the literal glow of his gaze still sent shivers up your spine, and the situation that had presented itself to you in the manner that it was almost made those same shivers even more intense now. Akuma had since removed the thick rope that bound one of his hands, dropping it on the rocky ground beneath your feet as he lifted that same hand up to be level with your neck, but made no further move forward. Almost as if he was waiting for you to guide him on how you wanted him to hold you.

Your heart thudded wildly against your chest. Calm down. Breathe in, breathe out. "Here," your voice wasn't quite a whisper, but was at a near similar volume as you gingerly took his wrist with one hand and brought it towards you- it still boggled your mind that your fingers barely made it halfway around his wrist- and placed it over your throat, his fingers just barely grazing your skin. "Like this. Your thumb on one side, your first finger on the other, and then you just... push." You pantomimed the motion with your free hand. "Not directly down, but almost at an angle- kind of like you're cupping my throat with your hand." At that, you took his hand properly in your own to press it against your throat, and your pulse thrummed like a metronome underneath the ghost-like touch of his warm skin against your own. "...Does that make sense?"

No words left his mouth after you had finished speaking, but he gave you a nod with a short grunt of affirmation. With that, you relaxed your shoulders with an exhale and lowered your hand- a sign of trust; you wouldn't allow just anybody to do this, and you had a feeling he was fully aware of that.

Just probably not aware of the actual reason- the reason why your heartbeat increased dramatically in a matter of seconds. Almost immediately after taking one final breath, you felt the sensation of Akuma's hand press firmly onto your neck, and you knew you were a goner- the sudden pressure was so deliciously tight that it made your eyes snap shut with a single flutter of your eyelids, and you had to fight with every bone and muscle and instinct in your body to not let a downright pathetic moan fall from your lips. A rush of ice-cold sweat shot to the tips of your fingers and you swore you felt your toes curl in response along with it. All at once, the world around you was muted, silence flooding your senses as if all sound was suddenly sucked away from you- the wind, the echoes of the cavern entrance you stood in, even the rushing of the waterfall about a hundred feet away from you all disappeared; the only thing that seemed to remain was the constant, seemingly amplified sound of your pulse slamming against your eardrums like the pounding of an amplified drum. And not once did you fight it. No hesitation, no flinching, just you struggling not to gasp for air- and then you felt his grip tighten, just ever so slightly, and god help your fucking soul; the tiniest of sighs, wanton and desperate, escaped your mouth and you couldn’t help but have one of your hands snake up his arm to tenderly grab at the one against your neck, your fingers unconsciously weaving to fit within the spaces between his own. How utterly idiotic did you think you looked right now? How absolutely helpless would you have appeared had you not figuratively held your breath to make sure you didn’t look like even more of a whimpering mess in front of a man with one of the most imposing auras you’d ever been in the presence of? Oh, just the thought of him using that aura to completely dominate you in every way imaginable nearly made your legs give out from underneath you. What you wouldn’t give to be pressed flush to his hips, bent over and weak in the knees as you were absolutely defiled. Filled up to the very hilt, fucked so thoroughly, all accompanied by the strong grip at your throat that would no doubt leave you a sobbing mess beneath him, begging for him to slam into you faster, to choke you harder, more, god, please, more, holy shit- and only after you repeatedly pleaded in broken whimpers to let you come, when your voice was borderline raw, would you finally be satiated. God, you were fucking pathetic.

A low, dangerous, almost knowing chuckle brought you to your senses, snapping you back to reality. Your eyes flew open at the sound, and then widened almost instantly at the sights and predicament you found yourself in. When had your head fallen back to give Akuma more access to your neck? When had your other hand moved to grip at the waistband of his pants? When had you ended up with your back pressed against the wall of the cavern? And more importantly… when had he maneuvered himself to be close enough to where he had since shoved a knee between your legs? With dilated, shaking pupils, you met his glowing crimson eyes, his neutral expression replaced by a wicked glint in his eyes and a smirk crossing his lips. Oh no. You were fucking done for. That same familiar chuckle reached your ears again, and he leaned in to be able to hum into your ear. “You devious little minx,” the words were accompanied by a sharp nick of his teeth to your jawline, and the gasp that escaped your lips was akin to the squeak of a trapped mouse. “If you wanted me to assist you with your stamina, all you had to do was ask.”

Your heart skipped a beat as your swallowed the lump in your throat. Someone needed to pinch you, you had to be dreaming again. There was no fucking way in hell this was real. Despite your better judgement, you tugged him closer by the hold you had on the thick fluff of fabric that sat around his waist so that his chest was pressed to yours, testing your luck by moving your hand to brush at his inner thigh, your voice little more than a shaky, high-pitched whisper. “...Can we?” You received no response from Akuma in words, but were met with another hum of dark laughter instead- the next thing you knew, your mouth had been crushed against his, hard enough to where you were certain your lips would be bruised, the bitter taste of wild berries and saltwater lingering on your tongue from the flavor of his kiss, enough to make your head spin at speeds you couldn’t fathom were possible. Just as soon as it had happened, he parted from your lips, momentarily releasing his hold on your neck to spin you around to where your cheek was pressed up against the damp rocks, bending you slightly down at the small of your back before his hand once more gripped at your throat in the way you taught him, and you finally allowed yourself to moan softly at the rough touch of his calloused fingers against your skin. You almost jumped when his other hand slipped beneath your shorts, silver hair tickling the back of your neck as his teeth traced along the shell of your ear, and you swore you could hear the smirk in his voice as the words that left his mouth made you nearly come apart beneath him.

“Don’t hold your breath.”

#kinktober #kinktober 2024 #kinktober prompt #akuma #gouki #street fighter #street fighter 6 #akuma x reader

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