#the Chun-Li of the new generation of Street fighter fans

[venomouskick-89]

In JP's story.

[mliter]

Kimberly Jackson.

"What is strength"? Well hmmm... that depends on the person you ask, I guess. You know what I'm saying?

Introduced in Street Fighter 6, she's an energetic young genius with a love for anything and everything from the 80s. She's actually a student to Guy, did you know? It's good to know he's doing well. One of Street Fighter 6's biggest themes in both game-play, design, themes and story is the next generation. It's not a new theme to this series, but they're going all in with this one.

Character designer Kaname Fujioka revealed that alongside Luke & Jamie, she's supposed to serve as the Chun Li to the new generation of Street Fighter fans. Ryu, Ken, & Chun Li will always be there but just like athletes, stars and even in your own life you'll see them take a step back and let the kids take over. It's important, and the people behind street fighter also seem to recognize that.

Her design is absolutely amazing. Heavily modifying Guy's Bushinryu uniform, She has that sporty-urban Ninja look, while wearing a headband and ascot with African inspired patterns and colors. The rest of her color scheme plays into it. She also has turquoise colors at the end of her hair, matching her gear.

I really like how they handled her face. She's adorable. I watched wannabe eugenicists online lose their minds over her facial structure, but as i know people that look like that, i take comfort in knowing that these companies are listening to those people less and less.

She also has a alternate costume which quickly became beloved. Capcom once again proving why their art department is on. top.

I've said it a million times on this blog and i wont stop. After living through a childhood of seeing people that look like me be discarded, devalued and disliked in the spaces of the things i enjoy, this turnaround is blowing my mind and warming my heart. The confidence and self acceptance of the young black girls who are currently growing up with this character and many others is going to be through the roof.

[shockdingo]

Starting Over II - Video Essays are Fighting in the Streets!

In my last post I made mention that the Bird app scrapped my page out of the blue, so I figured I'd start over and introduce or re-introduce you all to me & my works over here! I'm a voice actor by trade, but one of my main passions is making Video Essays. I LOVE Street Fighter and tend to make several videos about it; it's a funny thing, it's got a surprising amount of interesting story details & lore, but localization troubles in the 90s affected its spread.

First up is the video that got me into video essaying:

"Man of Mystery"

For years I had speculated about the mysteries of the Street Fighter universe with fellow lore fans on the Shoryuken dot com forums, eventually I wanted to put my findings out into the world and make them easier to consume, thus I thought of a pilot to a YT series!

One of the more obscure of the Street Fighter roster, Q immediately caught my attention. First appearing in the last edition of SF3 - Street Fighter 3rd Strike, Q immediately had people scratching their heads:

"Is that a robot?"

"What's his deal?"

"Fedoras? Those'll never catch on, now Trilby's? I sense the 2000s are gonna love 'em!"

In the 20+ years since his debut, little has been revealed about Capcom's Combat Cryptid, buuut with a critical eye, you can notice some rather interesting details and a possible connection to a non-playable character named David Spender. Check out the vid for a dive into mystery!

G& Q: The Golden Question!

This was a follow up to Man of Mystery and solidified my love of video essays! Street Fighter V dropped a rather striking and strange DLC character 5 years ago, he became known as G, the self-titled President of the World! This video focused on the early, pre-release speculation; when details emerged, people like myself noticed more than a few passing similarities to ol' Q and thus, I threw my thinking cap on, covered myself in gold dust, downed some tea and got to crafting this video!

G & Q: Fool's Gold!

The fantastic follow up! When Capcom sent El Presidente to the world stage it only went to solidify possible ties to G & Q. While more mystery than answer was present, Eagle-eyed viewers noticed even more ties between the two characters, as well as a possible path for G. His story mode also featured an interesting look into the social media world of Street Fighter! Grab a snack and a delightful beverage and give this a view, heck, tell a friend! You'll never know who digs Street Fighter and a good mystery solving caper!

The Road to the New Generation! - A Street Fighter 3 analysis!

The biggest, most involved video yet! As Street Fighter 6 was on the horizon and a user made mention that SF3 characters could use more focus, I got to researching & forging!

SF3 characters are certainly loved now, but upon their debut & for several years, they just couldn't catch a break, thus lived in the shadow of the Uber-Famous SF2 cast. This has resulted in many not knowing what the cast is all about. Quick, tell me the name of Alex's mentor! Okay, good guess, what about Magnificent Mutant, Necro...what's his real name? See?

This is a deep dive into information that's really obscure but captivating. Street Fighter 3 until SF6 was the FURTHEST in the timeline, so for ages, no one knew what happened to Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li and the rest of the cast after 3rd Strike. With SF6, we now have that knowledge and forward momentum with the lore, but at the time, I felt this would be a nice refresher before making the jump into the future.

If you've got the time, grab a snack, maybe a meal, and give this a watch. I've time coded various sections so you can focus on specific areas or even resume viewing if that makes it easier for you.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I put a lot of love and hard work into these, so it means a lot to me if you check these out! If you dug this post, I'll make more highlighting the other work I've done!

Thanks and have a good one!

-ShockDingo

[fancoloredglasses]

Street Fighter (Game over, man! Game over!), part 1

(Thanks to Media Gamut TV & Film)

[All images are owned by Capcom and Universal. Please don’t sue or HADOUKEN! me]

Once again we delve into video game movies. This time we delve into the second ever video game movie, based on the game that inspired the game that the third video game movie was based on (got all that? I hope so, because there will be a short quiz later)

But first, a bit of backstory…

1987 saw arcades debuting a new video game called Street Fighter, which…wait, let’s go slightly farther back…

(Thanks to Indie Retro News)

In 1984, Data East released a fighting game called Karate Champ (trust me, this will be relevant)

(Thanks to Old Classic Retro Gaming)

A year later, one of the developers of Karate Champ went to Konami to help develop a side-scrolling beat-em-up called Kung-Fu Master (I swear, there’s a point)

(Thanks to Hogan Reviews)

Two years later, a member of THAT development team went to Capcom to help make a fighting game called Street Fighter. The playable characters (Ken and Ryu) were loosely modeled after the characters from Karate Champ and in 1-player mode faced off against characters loosely modeled after the bosses in Kung-Fu Master (told you it would make sense)

The game was pretty basic, and Konami would release a number of successful Beat-em-ups and fighting games over the next 4 years, but then magic hit in 1991.

(Thanks to Eurogamer)

…when Komani released Street Fighter II: The World Warriors, which saw an entire cast of playable characters joining Ken and Ryu, as well as a number of special moves (such as the HODOUKEN! fireball, above) that were dependent on the right combinations of joystick movements and button pressing. The game would spawn a number of variant titles using the name “Street Fighter II” (leading to the joke that Konami doesn’t know how to count to 3)

This would lead Konami to want to do a film about their franchise. But it couldn’t just be about a fighting tournament. It had to be an ADVENTURE!!!! That could sell TOYS!!!!!! And it had to have EVERY character from the games (not just the eight from the original Street Fighter II, but all of the ones that were added in the variant games as well)

The film starred world-class karate and kickboxing competitor (he would’ve been called an MMA fighter if MMA was A Thing in the 80s) turned action star Jean-Claude Van Damme as Allied Nations (AN; (because the UN doesn’t want to be associated with this film) Special Forces operative Col. Guile.

Every hero needs a villain, so Addams Family alum Raul Julia (in what would be his final role. Sadly, he died of cancer before the film was released. Happily, it meant he never had to see how much of a train wreck it was) was given the job of chewing up the scenery as the game’s Final Boss, M. Bison. The rumor is he took the role despite his condition because his kids were fans of the game.

[FUN FACT: The US version of Street Fighter II has a boxer character named Balrog. In Japan, he was named Mike after a certain Heavyweight boxing champion. That was apparently not blatant enough, but M. Tyson was obvious enough to warrant a lawsuit, so they named him M. Bison. When the game came to the US, the lawyers didn’t want to further risk a lawsuit, so the names were switched between M. Bison, the Final Boss (Vega) and a claw-wielding matador (Balrog)]

And thus ends the Star Power of the film.

It was very not well received, earning 11% on Rotten Tomatoes. It is considered by some (mostly kids) to be in the “so bad it’s good” category, but you be the judge. If you want to see the film, it’s available on Tubi or behind your favorite paywall.

We open to a news report announcing that the country of Shadaloo has been taken in a military coup by General M. Bison. The AN forces are on the ground to unseat Bison.

On the scene is reporter Chun-Li Zang (another character from the game (I think we can assume that nearly every Named Character will be from the game), played by Ming-Na Wen, who would go on to be the voice of the title character in the animated version of Mulan and Agent Melinda May in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), correspondent for Global News Television (GNT) World News, who reports that Bison kidnapped a team of  63 AN relief workers, killing their military escort (though three are missing), and is ransoming them for $20 billion (or over $300,000 each. I doubt their own families would be willing to pay that much, let alone a world government)

[QUICK NOTE: Chun-Li’s camera man (Balrog) and producer (Edmund Honda) are also characters in the game; As I mentioned earlier, Balrog is a boxer (formerly called M. Bison), while Honda is a sumo wrestler]

Then Chun-Li spots Guile arriving on the scene. Guile is in no mood to talk to Chun-Li, but has some words for Bison.

He then uses PG-13 “sign language” to send a message to Bison. Bison decides to hack the signal to send a message of his own to Guile.

Bison tells Guile that the hostages will die in 72 hours unless his ransom demands are met. He then cuts the signal (before the trace could be completed) and addresses the one captured AN soldier he hasn’t personally killed yet (who happens to be Guile’s best friend. WHAT ARE THE ODDS!)…

…and orders him to be sent to the labs for experimentation

[QUICK NOTES: In the game, Blanka is a savage who is able to electrically charge his body (I’m gonna guess those experiments will make that possible) To the right of Bison is Zangrief, a Russian wrestler from the game. In the movie, Zngrief is fiercely loyal and fiercely an idiot, but I guess wannabe dictators do love the poorly educated.]

Back at the staging area, Guile throws an insult at Chun-Li, who then tries to bond with Guile’s aide, Cammy (played by 80s Loco-Motion singer Kylie Minogue).

[FUN FACT: In the game, Cammy was a clone of M. Bison trained as an assassin before breaking her conditioning and defecting]

We then switch to an underground fighting arena…

…where smugglers Ryu Hoshi and Ken Masters are being escorted to their client…

(Thanks to Dave Law 2013)

[FUN FACT: in the game, Ken and Ryu and friends trained by the same martial arts (which martial art is never specified) master, while Sagat is a Muay Thai master and was the Final Boss in the first game.]

Elsewhere, at Bison’s secret base, Bison checks on the progress of his “guest” scientist, Dr. Dhalsim. Dhalsim is upset that Bison is using his research to conquer.

[FUN FACT: In the game, Dhalsim is a master of…battle yoga?]

Dhalsim shows Bison the conditioning he’s performing on Blanka, filling his brain with violent imagery. During Blanka's programming, Bison plans on turning his mad science division loose on him.

Exactly where is he getting this stuff? I mean, Amazon isn’t yet A Thing.

Meanwhile, back at the fighting arena…

(Thanks again to Dave Law 2013)

[FUN FACT: In the game, Vega (formerly called Balrog) is a ninja (from Spain)]

Well, that’s certainly one way to crash a party!

The next morning, Guile calls a staff meeting to review the previous day’s activities. Cammy reports that though Bison cut the signal before she completed the trace…

Then, the meeting is attacked by a pair of assassins disguised as servers. They don’t last long. Cammy then finds a tattoo marking them as part of Sagat’s organization. Guile figures Sagat (who is currently cooling his heels in the base’s prison following last night’s raid) is working with Bison.

Then Sagat sends Vega and a few of his goons to take care of Ken and Ryu in the prison yard, but the pair hold their own until the guards finally arrive to break things up as Guile looks on

(The man between Cammy and Guile is T. Hawk (short for Thunder Hawk) [FUN FACT: In the game, Hawk is a Native American master of “Thunderfoot Martial Arts”])

Guile takes Ken and Ryu to a refugee camp to guilt them into helping him or else.

Later, Ken and Ryu are put back in the prison’s General Population as the prisoners are being transferred to an actual prison.

Suddenly, Ken and Ryu start an argument, drawing the attention of the guards who break it up and force them into the transport truck with Sagat and Vega.

Smooth, Ryu! As Ryu and Ken free themselves, Sagat makes a deal with them to free him and Vega as well.

Ryu makes the deal and Sagat and Vega free themselves. Vega and Ryu then break out and commandeer the prison truck. Hawk trues to get in the truck, but Ken steals his pistol and shoves him off. Guile tries to stop the truck, but…

..Ken shoots him as the truck drives off! Chun-Li then charges the truck and plants a tracking device on it. However…

Well, that was $8 million (Van Damme’s salary for the film) well spent! Also, looks like Guile’s threat earlier came true.

CAN the AN forces forces win without Guile?

WHO will be Guile's successor?

WHO the hell authorized Van Damme's paycheck?

These questions and more will be answered in Part 2!

[ryukang1995]

My top 10 unpopular opinions.

10. Sevendust is one of the best Metal bands I have listened to I genuinely love Sevendust, but while the band has many fans, some of us can agree that they don't quite get the recognition they deserve, and because of that, several have indeed labeled them as underrated.

They have a great unique sound that is very heavy yet melodic, and they're one of the few bands that haven't really changed their sound all too much, and yet they still come off as great and fresh...that's just me though.

9. Double Dragon (Neo Geo) is one of the most underrated fighting games I have ever played I love the Double Dragon games (most of them, anyways), and this gem for the Neo Geo is no exception.

It's loosely based on the Double Dragon movie (more on that later), and yet it actually does a great job at making the film universe seem very cool, especially as an alternate take on Double Dragon. Beyond that, it's a fun Street Fighter II-esque fighting game, which is ironic because it's published by SNK (Capcom's long-time rival behind The King of Fighters and Samurai Shodown among others).

Definitely a much better Double Dragon fighting game than Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls, and it helps that it was developed by Technos Japan aka the company behind the original Double Dragon arcade games.

8. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is overrated I used to like this movie, but upon rewatch and reflection? I realize just how cringe and obnoxious it was.

Every single character is unlikable, especially Scott Pilgrim himself, and I didn't find it all that funny. It does have a great visual style from Edgar Wright as well as some cute easter eggs for video game fans, but that's not enough to salvage it.

7. Pineapple on Pizza is fine While not my favorite topping of Pizza (I prefer Pepperoni and Meat Lovers), Pineapple Pizza is not as bad as some make it out to be, especially when compared to Anchovies.

6. The old Super Mario Bros., Double Dragon and Street Fighter movies are not the worst The first few live-action movies based on video games pre-Mortal Kombat (1995) get quite a horrible reputation among fans, but as a fan of the games they are based on, I can still watch them.

Yes, they are very loose takes on the classic games, which is largely one of the main reasons why fans hate them, and yes, they're not technically great movies either, but they can be very amusing, especially in that guilty pleasure/so bad it's good way.

I can still let them pass for at least trying to make video game adaptations work, especially since they were among the first examples of the concept. We did get better video game movies, especially the animated Mario and Street Fighter II movies, but believe it or not? We also got much worse examples (such as Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li and the adaptations directed by Uwe Boll).

5. I never got into the MCU's depiction of Spider-Man I love Spider-Man, especially the first two movies by Sam Raimi, but I never really got into later Spider-Man movies beyond them...well, except for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which is honestly the best Spidey flick since Spider-Man 2 (I have yet to see Across the Spider-Verse, but I have heard great things).

Tom Holland's version of Peter Parker did get a lot of praise, but I never really liked him all that much. To me, he was kind of a wuss. I recognize that he does mature by the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, but while it was nice to see him with both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield on screen, I had already lost interest in the MCU by that time.

If you like the MCU Spider-Man movies? That's perfectly fine.

4. Street Fighter III and Mortal Kombat X are some of the most overrated fighting games ever Some will scream blasphemy since I am a massive fan of both Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, hence my nickname Ryu Kang, but I never got into these particular installments.

They were both aiming to be focused on the new generations of both franchises, similar to Tekken 3, which I felt did that concept much better. The two games get a lot of love, especially among tournament players, but they're not my cup of tea, and I do prefer other Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat games.

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) is one of the best incarnations of the TMNT franchise I love the TMNT franchise, whether it'd be the 80s cartoon, the first two live-action movies from the 90s, or some of the video games like the two arcade games by Konami and Shredder's Revenge.

While the 2003 cartoon has a fanbase, it's also one that tends to be pretty underrated, especially in later times. I love how it aims to be darker and mirror the original comic books while still working within the parameters of being a Saturday morning cartoon.

I also have a personal attachment to the cartoon as I used to watch it a lot around 2003-04. Plus, I will gladly take it over later incarnations of TMNT like the Michael Bay movies.

2. Batman Forever and Daredevil (2003) are pretty underrated comic book movies These two movies do get so much hatred, I feel. While neither of them are among the greatest superhero movies ever made, I genuinely feel there was a lot of effort put into them, especially considering that they were victims of heavy studio meddling.

The director's cut of Daredevil (2003) especially salvages that movie, and I would like to see the original cut that Joel Schumacher intended for Batman Forever if they ever plan on releasing it.

1. I prefer Sonya Blade with Liu Kang over her with Johnny Cage Some of you definitely saw this coming, especially if you follow my page, but yeah, I'm not very fond of the CageBlade pairing.

I have already written many times before why I feel this way, but in a nutshell...Johnny annoys Sonya so much, and she only warms up to him whenever she's put in danger and he comes in to save the day. Also, later MK games and movies did a poor job handling their dynamic.

While Liu Kang and Sonya never really hooked up in the canon, the interactions they do have really show that the two get along well, and I do feel the pairing has fan art and fanfic potential beyond what I normally do with them.

With that being said, I don't mind Liu Kang with Kitana either (though recent MK games and movies do a poor job handling them too), and I would be biased and harsh if I said that he deserves only one between Kitana and Sonya.

So yeah, those are my top 10 unpopular opinions. If you don't agree with any of these, it's all good. Let's be civil about it.

[maxwell-grant]

So Street Fighter 6 was recently announced, and it appears they're going for a more realistic artstyle this time around. So I was wondering if you had any thoughts about Stree Fighter's artstyles/ visual design?

I guess they're using the RE engine for a Street Fighter game? I mean, I loved how RE: Village looked, but there's a pretty big world of difference between the art styles for Resident Evil and Street Fighter, the contrast may only make the SF designs look even more ridiculous. Ryu looks so fucking funny in the trailer that I'm dying to see what goddamn monstrosities they are going to make out of characters like Zangief or Blanka or Bison. 

I definitely didn't have a super great impression at first for this. The reactions to this trailer seem to be mostly mixed, with a lot of complaints regarding that cheap-as-shit NFT-looking logo, and most praise being towards Ryu's depiction indicating that they're finally progressing his character past the IV/V state he was in. I disliked Luke and I still do, but I dislike his design a lot less in this new trailer, if only because he no longer looks like Logan Paul as much and they trimmed down a lot of the garish nonsense of his V design, now he just looks like an average fighting game white dude. Now that I've had some time to think about the trailer a bit more, I think my overall impression is

"I get what they're going for. I'm not a fan of what that is, but I get it, and if nothing else I appreciate that the series has a clear vision now of where it wants to go and is taking steps to modernize itself."

I think what Street Fighter 6 is doing, is sort of what the franchise did when it first launched the SF3 line-up, specifically in the contrast between the Alpha games and Street Fighter III: New Generation. The Alpha series retooled the series’ aesthetic and characters to be much more cartoony and expressive, added plenty of new characters (and retooled existing ones), but without moving the timeline past SF2 or removing central characters like Ryu, Chun-Li and Bison from their respective roles, playing it slightly safe by just giving people what they liked from prior installments, but bigger and better. By contrast, SF3 came out of the gate with a different intent. It’s graphics were more elaborate, it’s characters slimmer, younger, more modern when compared to the World Warriors and Alpha characters. It modernized the series with a 90s urban aesthetic and a hip-hop inspired soundtrack, and it scrapped all familiar faces sans Ryu and Ken, who were now older and no longer the “face” of the series. 

And although this tends to go unnoticed nowadays to people unfamiliar with the SF3 series outside of Third Strike (or, to be more blunt, that EVO moment), SF3 was really, really not that popular, partially because of said decisions turning off established fans and/or new ones alike, and it would take quite a while for Third Strike (and Third Strike only, nobody cares about the other titles and, yeah they are very crude to play, by comparison) to be vindicated. This is why it isn’t particularly surprising that SFIV and SFV both took an approach that was much, much more in line with the Alpha series in playing it safer, with the only elements from SF3 carrying over to IV initially being some of it’s most popular characters like Ibuki, Makoto, and Dudley. SFV was the one to bridge that gap between IV and SF3 and include characters like Alex, Oro and Gill in the blend, not with any particular importance, but as part of the “greatest hits” approach and a reminder that, although it seemed that way for over a decade, SF3 has not been forgotten.

(Art on the right by WZ)

And now we get to SF6, which right off the bat establishes that, yes, MMA dudebro Luke really is gonna the next protagonist (at least in theory), and more importantly, it seems that are finally doing the one thing with Ryu that fans have begged them to do forever now, which was to give him a beard and make him hotter finally let him grow out of his classic design a little and ascend to the position of Boss. Ryu looms large in the trailer with hardly a single gesture, looking as big and imposing compared to Luke, as Sagat or Akuma once did compared to him. The choice to move him away from his gi top and to have him shirtless with slippers also calls to mind the idea of making him more alike the designs for Boss characters like Akuma and Gouken. It’s a decision I’m very happy with because it indicates a willingness to move forward the stories for these characters in a way that IV and V weren’t willing to, as the cast in IV stayed identical to their prior appearences, and most of the changes made in V were superficial changes in costume. 

The caveat, of course, is that this shift in tone and artstyle is stated by Capcom themselves to be specifically geared towards the e-sports scene, and everything indicates that, with the focus on Luke and even that shitty logo that looks like what you’d find at a local gym advertising whey protein, the goal is to make Street Fighter more similar to MMA, which is the most popular form of combat sports entertainment and, I’m sorry but that sounds unspeakably boring to me. I’m not a wrestling fan but I’m familiar enough with wrestling to understand why every wrestling fan recoils with disgust when hearing it described with the words “sports entertainment” and I get why, and that’s what kinda what this feels like to me. 

I’m not an “esports” fan, I don’t follow any of them, I don’t like MMA in general, and while I don’t mind the idea of Street Fighter dialing down on some of the cartoonier nonsense that’s marked the recent titles and going back to the basics a little, putting a little “Street” back into the Fighter, I’m not exactly optimistic about the series announcing from the get-go a focus on appealing to the MMA and esports consumer base. I’m not gonna call that a bad decision, maybe the series needs that, maybe that’s a consumer base worth focusing on but, again, really not my thing. 

I’m not gonna say I dislike what I’ve been shown so far, I think it’s nice that the trailer already shows that they really want to do something different compared to Street Fighter V and IV, and that they are serious about pushing the series forward with an eye to what modern audiences like and want to see. I’m honestly glad that Street Fighter is getting a kind of drastic shake-up at all to maybe deliver surprises that aren’t reliant on character announcements. I really do want to be optimistic for this, and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for the upcoming news on this. 

(...They really should scrap that logo though)

[super-famicom-star-inactive]

Friday Special #12

March 5, 2021

Hello friendos, and welcome back to another Friday Special!

For today’s article, we’ll be learning about Kinu Nishimura, arguably one of the most famous video game designers for Capcom as well as all time. You may not know her name but you will be familiar with her work. 

Let’s get into it!

So who is she?

To start with, not much is known about her early life other than she was born in the Hyogo Prefecture sometime in 1969. She first became interested in art and design when working on and cleaning up designs for the mecha anime Combat Mecha Xabungle (which originally ran from 1982 to 1983 with 50 episodes) during her middle school years. She was then inspired to take art and design seriously as a career option and she was later admitted into Kyoto University of Art & Design the final years of the 1980s.

In 1991, she was officially recruited by Akiman, a prolific video game designer who Nishimura considered a great inspiration for her own art, into Capcom and was brought on as a video game art designer. This was after she touched up Akiman’s artwork on the games Final Fight and Magic Sword, where Akiman himself was impressed and so thus offered her the position at Capcom. Fun fact, she was also one of the very first artists there to utilize the power of Adobe Photoshop for her artwork, which had only been just released in 1990. 

Her first known project at Capcom was to be the character and monster designer and promotional art designer for Capcom’s 1991 side-scrolling beat-em-up The King of Dragons. Although not listed in the original credits of the game, her artistic influence is still very recognizable in her character design. Her second project not long after that was for the fighting game Muscle Bomber: The Body Explosion as an illustrator responsible for the character portraits in-game. 

(Off-topic, but regarding Muscle Bomber: The Body Explosion, Mike Haggar, one of the characters you get to play as, is the same Mike Haggar from Final Fight! It was said that before the events of Muscle Bomber, Haggar was elected to the role of Metro City, the fictional city in Final Fight, however, in the English version, he’s the former mayor of Metro City.)

Her big break was when she was assigned to be the main illustrator for Street Fighter II: Champion Edition and Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting for arcade. From there, she was responsible for the famous character designs Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li and others that players would come to know and love. Thanks to the massive success of the original Street Fighter II, Capcom would later re-release the same but with update content like extra characters and balanced gameplay. This enormous win for Capcom hurled Nishimura into the limelight as she became sought after for illustration and design work thanks to her appeal as a character designer and video game artist.

Her next project would be the role of promotional illustrator for the 1992 title Varth: Operation Thunderstorm, a vertical-scrolling shooter along the same vein as Twinbee (1985) or Commando (1985). Not long after that in 1994 and 1995, she would be assigned to work on Armored Warriors and its more successful spin-off Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness (You can read the Throwback Tuesday article for Cyberbots here) as character design and promotional illustrator. Although the latter title is the more well-known on the list, her art style is very distinctive for both games. 

Based loosely on the famous Dungeons and Dragons tabletop game, Dungeons and Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara was an arcade beat-em-up that Nishimura was, once again, the character designer as well as promotional designer. Critics particularly praised the game on multiple aspects, one of which being the graphics and the character designs. One year later, she was given smiliar designer duties for the 3D fighting game Rival Schools: United by Fate in 1997. 

Speaking of fighting games, she would be back in the Street Fighter universe as character designer and illustrator for Street Fighter III: New Generation and . Street Fighter III 3rd Strike: Fight for the Future. She also worked on the in-game artwork that can be seen all throughout the games. 

Her next title is a bit of an obscure one by today’s standards, especially for those outside of Japan. As character designer and promotional illustrator as well as being responsible for the in-game artwork, Nishimura was on the staff for the game Gaia Master in 2000. The game in question was basically a fantasy-themed board game video game loosely based on the game Monopoly. 

(Gaia Master also has one of my favorite character designs ever in the form of Princess Tiara, a playable character in the game)

Back on the fighting scene, her next two projects were the legendary fighting games Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 and Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001 that she was the main illustrator for alongside Shinkiro, another prominent designer. These two fighting games are said to be some of the most iconic fighting games in the industry and they have been long-enjoyed by fans and players since their releases. 

Between these two massive titles, she also worked on Cannon Spike doing her usual designer duties of character design and promotional artist. 

The one time she worked in the Darkstalkers franchise was when she did the package art for Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower. Its visually stunning composition has helped sell the game upon release and its beautiful details hold up even today.

One of her final projects, War of the Grail, was a 2006 unreleased Capcom title that was said to be based on the Dynasty Warriors series. She supposedly worked on the character designs and promotional material before its subsequent cancellation.

Her final official project before her departure from Capcom was Street Fighter IV in 2008, the same year she left. Just like in the previous entries, she provided her expertise in character design and promotional illustrations. 

Although nowadays she works as a freelance artist, she would be a contributing artist for several other games, including Capcom titles like Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, on occasion. 

For her excellent, prolific work in the industry, she has been recognized world-wide and is heavily respected as a major designer in the gaming world. She has been praised in a celebratory article by Kotaku and she has even inspired designers like Da-kuro of Gumi for video games like Phantom of the Kill. Her work has been featured in several Capcom art books, mostly devoted to Street Fighter as well as Darkstalkers: Resurrection and Dungeons and Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara. 

Although not much is not known about her personally, her work and crucial contribution to some of the industries most notable franchises to one of the most prolific publishers period, we salute Kinu Nishimura, and thank you for creating our favorite characters. 

So do y’all think about all of this? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Thank you for reading!

[aion-rsa]

10 Best Fighting Game Movies

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Once upon a time, Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly, and John Saxon visited a crime boss’ private island to compete in a fighting tournament and it was awesome. The 1973 movie Enter the Dragon is basically the prototype for the fighting games like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. And when those fighting games became popular, they inspired their own movies that either tried to emulate Enter the Dragon or do something completely new.

The ‘90s gave us the cheesy live-action fighting game movies from Hollywood and the animated movies from Japan. There have been several live-action Mortal Kombat movies as well as a few animated ones. There have also been multiple Street Fighter movies, four attempts at Tekken, a trilogy of Fatal Fury films, and more.

Are most of them bad? Yes. But did we pick our 10 favorite fighting game movies anyway? You bet. Here are our picks:

10. ART OF FIGHTING (1993)

Eh…it’s harmless.

The Art of Fighting series is mostly defined by the twist that the first game’s final boss is the main character’s father and the second game’s final boss is a younger incarnation of the villain from Fatal Fury. Take away those aspects and you’re left with a rather lowkey storyline for a fighting game where a teenage girl is kidnapped by a mobster and is rescued by her brother and her boyfriend.

Wait, I said that weird. It’s two different people, I swear! Except in Capcom, where Dan Hibiki is literally both of them merged into one character.

In the 45-minute Art of Fighting movie about Ryo and Robert, who are like chiller and dopier versions of Ryu and Ken, we watch as the duo gets sucked into a plot about stolen diamonds, martial arts criminals, and angry police lieutenants. It doesn’t take itself seriously and it’s a fine, breezy watch.

Ryo’s incorrect hair color kind of irks me, though.

9. STREET FIGHTER ALPHA: THE ANIMATION (1999)

This movie suffers from the same problem as Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture. It features a cast of heroes from a fighting game taking on a villain created for the movie instead of the villains we actually give a shit about. But the movie does also have some brief but awesome cameos (Kim Kaphwan and Geese Howard from Fatal Fury and Dan Hibiki and Akuma from Street Fighter Alpha) to brighten up a less-than-stellar plot.

Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation does at least get by because the original characters play up Ryu’s whole fear about being overcome by “the Dark Hadou.” This leads to some cool animations where Evil Ryu looks like a mindless, shambling zombie but also an unstoppable fighting machine.

The movie’s main storyline is about a kid named Shun who claims that he’s Ryu’s long-lost brother. He too is a fighter cursed with an inner dark side, which is used as a red herring to suggest that Shun’s father (and presumably Ryu’s father) is actually Akuma. That ends up being bupkis and Shun is just linked to some scheme by a mad scientist or whatever.

Probably the funniest thing about this movie is the directors’ infatuation with Chun-Li’s midsection. She’s wearing her form-fitting Street Fighter Alpha costume and there are dozens upon dozens of random close-ups to her lower torso from the front and back. If this were a drinking game, it would kill you.

8. FATAL FURY 2: THE NEW BATTLE (1993)

Of the Fatal Fury movie trilogy, this one is easily the best, even if it makes all the good guys seem like a bunch of overly-serious crybabies. The basic story is that after having avenged his father’s death, Terry hits rock bottom, dusts himself off, and comes out the other end stronger. Good, good. Going Rocky III is the perfect direction for a follow-up.

The problem is that Terry comes off as a bit of a whiner and the other heroes try way too hard to vilify the movie’s main antagonist, who hasn’t actually done anything that terrible. Krauser shows up one day, challenges Terry to a fight, wins, and says, “Okay, when you get better, train and fight me again.” Krauser isn’t trying to take over the world or murder orphans or whatever. He’s just a dude with huge shoulder armor who wants a good fight.

But everyone acts like Krauser’s the absolute worst. Terry starts drinking and falls to pieces while his buddies hope to get revenge. What a bunch of jerks.

While a fun romp, the worst thing about this sequel is how they redesigned Krauser. Gone is his mustache and forehead scar for the sake of making him seem younger. Kind of a bullshit move, considering he’s supposed to be the half-brother to middle-aged Geese Howard.

7. TEKKEN: THE MOTION PICTURE (1998)

This hour-long anime is almost great but just can’t stick the landing. It runs into the same problem as Mortal Kombat: Annihilation where the game series tells a specific overall story but the movie cuts corners to tell the same story. Tekken: The Motion Picture covers the first Tekken while setting up Tekken 3 and skipping Tekken 2 completely.

It means that everything’s well and good until the confusing and rushed finale. Otherwise, the movie is a fine use of the Enter the Dragon formula. Heihachi Mishima has a special island fighting tournament and the entrants include his vengeful son, a couple of cops investigating the situation, a gigantic robot, an angry Native American girl, two feuding assassin sisters, and a bunch of awesome characters who only get about three full frames of appearances each. Really would have liked to see something from Paul, King, and Yoshimitsu, though.

Other than Kazuya being pissed at everything, the best scenes are the over-the-top ones. When Jack does crazy robot stuff, when dinosaurs show up and start eating people, and that memorable sequence where Heihachi catches a hatchet with his mouth and then shatters it with his jaw.

6. STREET FIGHTER (1994)

I know this movie is just a GI Joe script with Street Fighter names pasted over it. I know it’s a cheesefest of dopey ideas and Belgian accents. I’ve long accepted that. Thing is, the movie is still a total blast to watch. What it lacks in faithfulness to the source material, it makes up for with pure camp and ham.

The 16 characters from Super Street Fighter II are represented here, except Fei Long is replaced with the forgettable Captain Sawada. How ironic that the movie star character isn’t even in the movie!

In general, the movie features some head-scratching depictions of classic Street Fighter characters. All-American Guile is played by Jean Claude Van Damme, Charlie Nash and Blanka are the same character, Dee Jay is an evil hacker, Ryu and Ken are comedic conmen, and Dhalsim is a frumpy scientist.

It’s Raul Julia’s M. Bison who keeps this guilty pleasure afloat. He’s to Street Fighter what Frank Langella’s Skeletor was to Masters of the Universe. He gives 110% and his performance is easily the best reason to watch this movie. It’s truly a wonder to behold.

Read more

Games

The Forgotten Fighting Games of the 1990s

By Gavin Jasper

Games

King of Fighters: Ranking All the Characters

By Gavin Jasper

The movie is infamous for inspiring a fighting game based on it, but you know what nobody ever talks about? The Double Dragon movie also had a fighting game based on it made by Technos and released on the Neo Geo. And Double Dragon wasn’t even a one-on-one fighter to begin with!

Anyway, if you intend to sit back and watch Street Fighter, make sure to add in the RiffTrax commentary.

5. DOA: DEAD OR ALIVE (2006)

Enter the Dragon meets Charlie’s Angels is a heck of a concept, but DOA: Dead or Alive is so confidently tongue-in-cheek that it succeeds as an action comedy that’s way better than it has any right to be. Part of why it works is that Dead or Alive has never had much of an overarching storyline, but is more defined by the individual characters (plus, you know, all the cheesecake). Enough of those characters appear in what’s your regular “fighting tournament on a mysterious island” setup.

The whole thing moves with such energy that it’s easy to get sucked in. It’s the opposite of the live-action Tekken movie, where even though the film features accurate versions of all the characters, everything is so drab and lifeless that you just can’t wait for it to be over. In DOA, the combatants spend their downtime playing cartoony action volleyball with Fake Dennis Rodman on commentary, while in Tekken everyone mopes about dystopian capitalism.

Other than Helena’s character being “important dead guy’s daughter,” most of the main characters are charismatic enough to keep your attention during the 3% of the movie when fights aren’t happening. It must suck for Ninja Gaiden fans that Hayabusa is depicted as a total dweeb, but he at least gets to do some cool stuff here and there.

The movie also has Kevin Nash playing a character based on Hollywood Hogan and he’s so likeable that I’m genuinely bummed that he peaces out about halfway into the movie. Luckily, the movie is entertaining enough that I didn’t even notice until after it was over. It helps that during that time, we get more of Eric Roberts, his amazing hair, and his special sunglasses that turn him into the ultimate martial arts master.

Spoiler alert, but the secret to defeating him is, get this, removing his sunglasses!

4. MORTAL KOMBAT LEGENDS: SCORPION’S REVENGE (2020)

It took a while, but Warner Bros. Animation is on fire these days. After that Batman vs. TMNT movie and Teen Titans Go vs. Teen Titans, the studio appears to be hitting more than they miss. That’s exactly the kind of team needed to put together the latest animated Mortal Kombat movie.

This is the umpteenth retelling of the first game’s story. Not only does it have to compete with the first live-action movie, but also the events of Mortal Kombat 9, which depicts the tournament in cutscene format. Fortunately, Scorpion’s Revenge has a few tricks up its sleeve. First, it puts Scorpion in the forefront as the protagonist. He was barely a character in the original movie and the game just had him kill Sub-Zero and feel bad about it for the rest of the story mode. Now he feels like a character in a crossover, making a mark on the original story instead of being put in the sidelines.

We also have the wonderful stunt casting of Joel McHale as Johnny Cage. More importantly, Jennifer Carpenter plays Sonya Blade, which is such a step up from Ronda Rousey’s voice acting in Mortal Kombat 11.

This cartoon has a very hard R when it comes to violence. From the very beginning, Scorpion’s origins are gruesome and grisly. Once Jax is introduced, it doesn’t take long until we realize, “Oh, that’s how they’re dealing with THAT plot point in this continuity.” Then there’s a surprise villain death late in the movie that not only comes as a shocking development, but it’s so graphic and nasty that you can’t help but be taken aback.

Scorpion’s Revenge is a fantastic first chapter of what is hopefully a series of animated movies, but it does have its pacing issues. Scorpion being the protagonist may be a welcome change, but at times it does feel like a square peg being crammed into a round hole.

3. TEKKEN: BLOOD VENGEANCE (2011)

One of the best things about the Tekken series is the endings. While the cutscenes from the first couple games haven’t exactly aged well, these CGI epilogues have become a staple in nearly every installment. What better reward for your time and success than watching a rocking action sequence with Yoshimitsu and Bryan Fury killing each other in the jungle?

And so, to play to the series’ strengths, Bandai Entertainment released a Tekken movie that’s really just one big ending cutscene. It’s not canon, but it feels at home with the games.

Since Tekken’s main conflict is with two ruthless megalomaniacs (Heihachi and Kazuya) and a disgruntled nihilist (Jin), it’s hard to treat any of them as a real protagonist here. Instead, they go with Ling Xiaoyu, who is portrayed as the person who sees the good in Jin and wants him to see the light. She’s given a robotic BFF in Alisa Bosconovitch because Xiaoyu is kind of a tame character and needs someone with chainsaw arms and a jetpack to liven things up.

The first hour or so is good enough to keep your attention and its lightened up by a couple appearances by Tekken’s best character, Lee. But once it gets to the third act, it just becomes a completely awesome Heihachi vs. Kazuya vs. Jin fight, with Xiaoyu taking a backseat to watch all the crazy shit going on. It’s a full-on fireworks factory, as we not only see Devil forms of Kazuya and Jin but a very special final form for Heihachi that’s a true delight for Tekken fans.

2. STREET FIGHTER II: THE ANIMATED MOVIE (1994)

Let it be said that for someone who grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, finding a faithful cartoon adaptation of a video game property was not easy. Link and Simon Belmont were unlikable sexual harassers. Mega Man was a more annoying sidekick than Scrappy Doo. Mario and Luigi teamed up with Milli Vanilli. Power Team was…a thing. When we got an animated movie based on Street Fighter II, it was mind-blowing. This was a movie where the very first scene was Ryu tearing Sagat’s chest into a bloody gash thanks to a well-animated Shoryuken.

There’s a lot going on in this movie, but at the same time, nothing is going on. By this point, there were 17 characters in the various Street Fighter II games, and outside of a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Akuma cameo, it feels the need to include every single one of them. Some get minor roles, like Cammy and Dee Jay. Then there’s Zangief and Blanka, who fight each other for no reason other than for the sake of giving them something to do. Even Ryu vanishes for a huge chunk of the runtime.

Once everything funnels into the third act, this movie is great. And the earlier fight scenes are straight fire too, including the memorable Chun-Li vs. Vega brawl. Even though the movie already feels true to Street Fighter II, it’s even better when you realize that it’s all supposed to be a prequel to the game itself.

Or at least I hope so. Otherwise, all Sagat gets to do is get his ass kicked by Ryu and get chewed out by Bison.

1. MORTAL KOMBAT (1995)

The stars truly aligned for this one. Mortal Kombat Mania was at its peak, so it makes sense that this movie was a retelling of the first game’s story with added aspects from the second game, all while hyping up the arcade release of the third game. CGI was such a novelty in Hollywood in the ’90s that even if it looked primitive, it still looked cutting edge at the time. It was the perfect time to release this movie.

But Mortal Kombat isn’t perfect. Reptile is embarrassing. Scorpion and Sub-Zero being relegated to goons still stings. I still roll my eyes at the part towards the end where Sonya is suddenly the damsel in distress and Raiden flat-out verbally buries her by saying she couldn’t beat Shang Tsung in a million years. Otherwise, it’s the perfect storm of ‘90s action garbage.

There are so many over-the-top and charismatic performances here. Johnny Cage, Raiden, Shang Tsung, Kano, and even Goro are a blast to watch. All 10 characters from the original game are given something to do and, most importantly, they realize how uniquely weird the game’s story is and actually dive headfirst into it. The movie isn’t embarrassed to be a Mortal Kombat movie but handles itself well enough that we aren’t embarrassed to be watching a Mortal Kombat movie.

Even with a PG-13 rating, the movie was violent enough. Kano talked up seeing a pile of frozen guts in the wake of a Sub-Zero fight, Scorpion got his skull sliced apart with demon brain goo spewing all over the place, and Shang Tsung got impaled to death.

With the reboot being rated R, going for the gore could very well be the right route to go, but for the love of the Elder Gods, don’t forget to have FUN. All I’m saying is, if even Johnny Cage isn’t hamming it up, then what’s the point?

The post 10 Best Fighting Game Movies appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[eyebeastposts]

Fan Fiction Road: Altar of EyeBeast Results

The votes have been cast and the winners have been decided. Let’s go over how things panned out and answer some of the questions given to me through the survey. To start, I’ll go over each scenario, the character picks for each, and some general thoughts about each one. I’ll be covering each scenario in the order of popularity.

Scenario C) Royal Reversal-49 votes

1.      Midna (Zelda)-17

2.      Wonder Woman (DC)-14

3.      Lucina (Fire Emblem)-11

4.      Jasmine (Disney)-10

5.      Satsuki (Kill La Kill) and Risky Boots (Shantae)-9

6.      Sonia (Danganronpa)-8

7.      Karin (Street Fighter) and Catarina (My Life as a Villainess)-6

8.      Emelia (Re:Zero)-3

-I’m honestly surprised this one got the top spot considering the subject matter. If I were to return to this scenario, I’d probably reverse the genders and ask for only male subjects to go through the transformation. As for the winner, Midna, you’ll find the results to which version was picked down below.

Scenario A) Couple’s Feast-48 votes

1.      Link + Zelda (Breath of the Wild)-28

2.      Male Reader + Doki Doki Literature Club Girl-13

3.      Joker + Persona 5 Girl-11

4.      Chris + Jill (Resident Evil) and Male Reader + Huniepop Girl-10

5.      Shuichi + Kaede (Danganronpa)-6

6.      Kimihito + Monster Musume Girl-5

7.      Inuyasha + Kagome (Inuyahsa)-4

8.      Ryu + Chun-li (Street Fighter) and Joey + Mai (Yu-Gi-Oh)-3

-Coming up close for second is the mutual weight gain couples. The winning pair is Link and Zelda, coincidentally the one couple I’ve seen the most fat art of together. I’m already considering doing this scenario again, this time focusing on Reader + Popular Vote Girl selections.

Scenario D) Pig Deity-43 votes

1.      Rosalina IMario)-23

2.      Palutena (Kid Icarus)-16

3.      Aqua (Konosuba)-15

4.      Venus (Huniepop)-11

5.      Sophitia (Soulcalibur)-9

6.      Panty (Panty and Stocking) and Holo (Spice and Wolf)-6

7.      Tiki (Fire Emblem)-4

8.      Hestia (Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?)-3

9.      Crim (Interspecies Reviewers)-0

-In third place, we have the scenario that’s admittedly the safest of the 5. Rosalina came out on top, strange considering the various choices we had. To be honest, it will probably be a one and done with this scenario. I’ve done plenty of pig stories before and this scenario was the one with the least suggestions. Still, I’ll do my beset to turn the goddess of the cosmos into the goddess of the pig pen.

Scenario B) Princess Makeover-41 votes

1.      Ryuko (Kill La Kill)-20

2.      Korra (Avatar)-18

3.      Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)-15

4.      Chie (Persona 4)-11

5.      Ganondorf (Zelda)-8

6.      Asuka (Evangelion)-7

7.      Kazuma (Konosuba)-6

8.      R. Mika (Street Fighter)-4

9.      Sakura (Street Fighter) and Lady (DMC)-2

-For fourth place, we have the first scenario that doesn’t have any form of weight gain included. I’m kind of glad Ryuko won over Korra, considering Korra already had her time to shine in a previous Fan Fiction Road. I’m also surprised at how high the male options got in comparison, making me consider an all male selection if I do this scenario again.

Scenario E) Pokemon Fusion-29 votes

1.      Whitney/Miltank-29

2.      Roxie/Koffing-15

3.      Sabrina/Slowpoke and Lusamine/Buzzwole-12

4.      May/Slaking and Bea/Hariyama-8

5.      Hilda/Scolipede-4

6.      Cynthia/Garchomp-3

7.      Serena/Mega Charizard X-2

8.      Kiawe/Salazzle-0

-Finally we have Pokemon Fusion, with the somewhat predictable winner of Whitney and her Miltank. Considering how vague this one was in terms of what the final story would contain, I can see why so few people voted for it. That being said, I would consider doing a Fan Fiction Road just with this scenario alone since there are so many combinations to choose from.

Character Popularity Polls:

Persona 5 Girls

1.      Makoto-24

2.      Futaba-13

3.      Ann, Haru, and Kawakami-11

4.      Takemi-8

Monster Musume Girls

1.      Centorea-26

2.      Miia-19

3.      Suu-9

4.      Papi and Rachnera-8

5.      Mero-6

Doki Doki Literature Club Girls

1.      Yuri-31

2.      Monika-23

3.      Natsuki-20

4.      Sayori-8

Huniepop Girls

1.      Nikki-11

2.      Beli-9

3.      Lola-8

4.      Venus-7

5.      Tiffany, Aiko, and Momo-6

6.      Jessie-5

7.      Celeste and Audrey-3

8.      Kyu-2

9.      Kyanna-1

Character Version Polls:

Lara Croft

1. Classic-55

2. Reboot-31

Midna

1. True Form-59

2. Imp Form-31

-I see that shortstacks are a bit more niche for my audience than I thought.

Miscellaneous Polls:

Fan Fiction Road Version Select

1. New-66

2. Old-16

-While I wont’ say that I’ll never go back to the old method, I can promise that I will go back to these varied scenarios again. Perhaps I’ll do smaller selections occasionally to replace a prompt request session or two.

B-Movie Selection:

1. Tremors-41

2. Deep Blue Sea-20

3. Dollman vs Demonic Toys-12

4. From Hell it Came-6

Franchise Select:

1. Mass Effect-36

2. Final Fantasy 7 (Classic)-22

3. Nier Automata-18

4. Xenoblade Chronicles-13

-As much as I despise EA, I have been meaning to give the Mass Effect games a try. I’ll snatch up the first game when it goes on sale and see how it goes. Don’t worry about the other options, I’m going to try to get to each of them eventually.

Questions and Answers:

Q: “ I don’t know if this is required to be filled out, but I’ll fill it out anyway. I like reading your stories when you do release new ones. I thought I’d ask why you don’t put the full content warning at the start of the story, and instead in the description, never understood that. “

A: It’s mostly an aesthetic thing for me. I just think it looks a little gaudy to shove so much information at the start of the story. That being said, this is a Deviantart only issue and who knows how things might change if Eclipse keeps screwing things up.

Q: “Here’s a question, will you try using Mulan based stories or Inuyasha based ones in the future? Just curious. “

A: For Mulan, probably not, really not my style. Inuyasha on the other hand depends on how much people want to see stories based on the characters.

Q: “ 2020 may be a huge bitch but that ain't nothing masturbation and weed can't solve! “

A: True, just make sure to do it in moderation before you’re found stoned out of your mind in the middle of the street with no pants on.

As for the various people that gave me words of encouragement to get through the rest of the year, I can’t express how thankful I am for your support. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some writing to do.

[razzleryan]

Top 10 Most Wanted Newcomers and Echo Fighters

NiI’d like to start this post by saying this is all my own personal opinion. I respect all feedback, be it positive or negative, so feel free to message me anytime! Fair warning, there’s a lot of characters I’m not familiar with, so please go easy on me!  I’ll present my #10 echo fighter and then my #10 newcomer until we reach number one, each with a paragraph describing why I want them. Let’s start with...

ECHO #10 - KEN (Street Fighter) (Echo of RYU)

I haven’t played a lot of Street Fighter, but I do know that Ken is a fan favorite of the series. I can’t see any third party characters getting a unique rep (RIP Chun-Li) so the best thing would be a Ryu echo fighter. The only person who I feel deserves that role is Ken. As stated before, I’m a novice to Street Fighter so I can’t name any differences between the two, but Smash Bros. would be a fantastic way for me to see these differences.

NEWCOMER #10 - RAYMAN (Rayman)

Remember when Artsy Omni made that fake leak of Rayman in SM4SH? I was one of the many people who thought it looked too real to be fake. Nearly everything about the leak looked real, and the fact that there was a Rayman trophy in the game only lead me to believe it further. With his detached limbs, I could see Rayman having one of the longer grabs in the game, with his hands and legs flying far from his body to deal some damage. 

ECHO #9 - FUNKY KONG (Donkey Kong Country) (Echo of DONKEY KONG)

I’ve been playing a lot of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, and with the Switch port adding a fifth playable character in the form of Funky Kong (only in Funky Mode), he’s gaining a new following that he hasn’t had before. Rather than rolling in his dash attack like Donkey Kong, Funky could ride his Surfboard. If not a dash attack, it could work similar to Wario’s bike where it will disappear for a bit if it’s destroyed. His recovery could involve him surfing upwards, too!

NEWCOMER #9 - REX AND PYRA (Xenoblade Chronicles)

I haven’t gotten around to beating Xenoblade Chronciles 2 yet, but I really like the dynamic between these two. I don’t have much to say about them, they’d probably function semi-similar to Shulk but not close enough to be an echo fighter. Rather than giving Rex alternate costumes, each costume could be a different sword rather than Pyra.

ECHO #8 - IMPA (The Legend of Zelda) (Echo of SHEIK)

Using her Hyrule Warriors appearance, obviously. She’d play as a fast moving just low damaging attacker like Sheik, but I could see her dash attack and other moves using her sword like she does in Hyrule Warriors. 

NEWCOMER #8 - SPRINGMAN (ARMS)

So I’ve heard that Sakurai is primarily drawing from the Smash Ballot back in SM4SH, which means we may not being seeing any ARMS characters in the base roster. The game may have been underwhelming, but Nintendo rarely releases new major IPs, so bringing in a character from ARMS may help with sales. As Springman is the primary posterboy, he would fit best into the roster. Similar to Rayman, he’d have long range due to his spring-like arms.

ECHO #7 - NINTEN (Earthbound) (Echo of NESS)

I know absolutely nothing about this character because the only Earthbound/Mother game I’ve played was Mother 3, but I’d love to see another representative of the series. Seeing as Ness and Lucas were the protagonists of Earthbound 2 and Mother 3, I see no reason to not include the protagonist of the first game in the series.

NEWCOMER #7 - DECIDUEYE (Pokémon)

I’m going to be quaint. I don’t want Incineroar to be our Gen. 7 rep. It may be easier to implement than an owl with a bow and arrow, but we already have Greninja to represent a water starter and we have/had Charizard to represent a fire starter, so I would much rather have our first grass starter in the form of the unique Decidueye. He’d have a fantastic recovery due to his being an owl, but his kit would be primarily ranged based. You could take a lot of his movement from his Pokkén Tournament incarnation.

ECHO #6 - ISABELLE (Animal Crossing) (Echo of VILLAGER)

Isabelle’s assist trophy has not (at the time of making this) been reconfirmed, so I believe there’s a strong possibility that she’ll make it as our second Animal Crossing representative. She’s quickly become one of the most popular characters of the series and with her very expressive faces, I’m sure Sakurai can make her into one of the cutest characters we have.

NEWCOMER #6 - FAWFUL (Super Mario)

Nintendo seems to have forgotten about the Mario & Luigi franchise, which saddens me because they were my favorite games. Fawful is an important character in Superstar Saga, Partners in Time, and Bowser’s Inside Story, even being the main antagonist in the third. He could be a very unique fighter, using his head-jetpack-thing for his recovery and his final smash could be the Dark Star Core.

ECHO #5 - VIRIDI or MEDUSA (Kid Icarus) (Echo of PALUTENA)

Viridi is a fan favorite who could echo Palutena, but rather than using general light magic, Viridi could focus on more nature-based magic. Another echo of Palutena could be Medusa. I’m not quite sure what a moveset for her would be like, but more villains is a must.

NEWCOMER #5 - SKULL KID (The Legend of Zelda)

Apparently there’s a lot of people who believe Skull Kid is confirmed already? I don’t know if I’d go that far, though I admit the proof is very believable. I don’t know what a potential moveset for Skull Kid could be, and his final smash probably wouldn’t be the Moon, as it’s an assist trophy now. But who knows, maybe it’s possible?

ECHO #4 - SHADOW (Sonic the Hedgehog) (Echo of SONIC)

Shadow just makes sense to me. We know third party characters are open to echo fighters, and Chrom showed us that “echo” doesn’t mean “exact copy”. Shadow could echo Sonic but keep his unique dark and edgy attitude. He could be a stronger but slower Sonic who skates on his shoes and uses the power of the Chaos Emeralds for his attacks, with Chaos Control and other emerald-based powers. No guns though.

NEWCOMER #4 - PAPER MARIO (Super Mario)

With five games to take from, the Paper Mario RPG series is a classic and loveable series to Nintendo fans. While the recent games have failed to live up to what The Thousand-Year Door built, the series still has a strong following. He could use jump based moves and his hammer would be an integral part of his moveset. Various partners from the series, like Goombella, could also be part of his moveset.

ECHO #3 - OCTOLING (Splatoon) (Echo of INKLING)

Now that we know that not all Octoling are evil, this may be their chance to make it into the lime light as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. The major problem I see with the Octoling is how to differentiate between their ink and the Inkling’s ink. Plus I just really want an Octoling amiibo.

NEWCOMER #3 - MONSTER HUNTER (Monster Hunter)

I have never played any Monster Hunter games and to be honest they just aren’t my cup of tea, but since Rathalos is in the game as both a boss and an assist trophy, I’d be kind of upset if we didn’t get a hunter as a character.

ECHO #2 - DIXIE KONG (Donkey Kong Country) (Echo of DIDDY KONG)

Another fan favorite character that I’m honestly surprised hasn’t made it yet. Her hair could whip forward like Shantae’s does in the Shantae games, and it could also be used as her recovery, working the same as Donkey Kong’s, low height but long distance. 

NEWCOMER #2 - GENO (Super Mario)

I haven’t played Super Mario RPG personally, but I’ve seen my friend play a bit of it and I know how popular Geno is. With his appearance as a Mii Costume in SM4SH, I don’t think it’s unreasonable that Sakurai put him in. It seems like all those who got Mii Costumes have made it in as playable characters (except Ashley, RIP).

HONORABLE MENTIONS  Amaterasu, Banjo-Kazooie, Chibi-Robo, Chorus Kids, Dillon, Elma, Isaac, Leon Kennedy, Lloyd Irving, Marx, Quote, Tetra, and Wonder-Red

ECHO #1 - DARK BOWSER or MIDBUS (Super Mario) (Echo of BOWSER)

Psst, hey. Fun fact. This is actually my most wanted character in the entire list. Even more than my #1 Newcomer. Dark Bowser is the final boss of Bowser’s storyline in Bowser’s Inside Story, happening the same time as the Mario Bros. fight the Dark Star Core. He’s bigger than Bowser and a lot tougher. He breaths blue/purple fire among other powers, and I plan on making a whole separate post dedicated to why I want this character in Smash Bros. For now, I’ll just leave you all with Dark Bowser’s battle music.

NEWCOMER #1 - BANDANA DEE (Kirby)

Bandana (Waddle) Dee has become a stable character of the Kirby franchise, usually being a boss character or a playable character, his popularity rivals that of King Dedede and Meta Knight. He could throw his spear as a neutral attack, and spin it around for his recovery like he does in Star Allies. If you want to see what this looks like in action, I suggest checking out some gameplay of him in Super Smash Flash 2 (Please ignore Goku, he’s never getting in).

[usagirotten]

Reebok x Street Fighter sneaker collection is coming

Reebok and Capcom announced a new collection of footwear and apparel designed to be the champion of the streets. Reebok x Street Fighter will be available on December 15. On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the renowned video game franchise, the two brands come together to create the Reebok x Street Fighter collection. Thank you for watching Designed to offer fans of the franchise the complete wrestling experience through the iconic Reebok shoe models. The journey begins with gear to help train and play hard, through the Classic Slide and Nano X2, and leads to an all-round matchup with the legendary Instapump Fury95 and Zig Kinetica 2.5. Here's a breakdown of all the sneaker styles and other items included in this collection - Classic Slide (HR0591 and HP2208, $45 bucks - general Street Fighter theme - Nano X2 (GZ9540, $150): Inspired by the training mode of Street Fighter - Club C 85 (GZ9543, $100) - Ryu Theme - Classic Leather (GZ9544, $100) – Chun-Li Theme - LX2200 (H06329, $110) - Cammy Theme - Furylite 95 (GZ9542, $100) - Akuma Theme - Instapump Fury 95 (GZ9541, $200) – Zangief Theme - Zig Kinetica 2.5 (GZ9539, $130) - Dhalsim Theme - Shaq Attaq (HR0603, $200) - Street Fighter II: Champion Edition Theme Each piece of footwear in the collection pays homage to a fan-favorite Street Fighter character or memorable moment from the game.  

    Read the full article

[parisrolli]

Mortal kombat project 4.1 multiplayer

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EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 4.1 The Shadow of New Despair.

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You can also download Mortal Kombat Project – Ultimate Revitalized V1.7 from here and Ultimate Mortal Kombat Trilogy from here. SteamDB is a hobby project and is not affiliated with Valve or Steam. You can download Mortal Kombat Project 4.1 Remastered from here and The King of Fighters Zillion MIX from here. Moreover, each character has his/her own Arcade Ladder. The first titles made employed fighters rendered in the image of actors who gave.

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This free MUGEN game also comes with a 2v2 semi-tag system. Mortal Kombat is a successful fighting game series that emerged in the early 90's and has continues to this day. Ultimate Mortal Kombat Trilogy is based on the Fabian Arispe’s MK Komplete, with Sega Genesis/Mega Drive sound effects. engine, which is sort of open source freeware stuff, download the latest version from links provided here and do. Borg117 & the MKP Team have fixed numerous characters, and added new features like the Wall Jump. Hi there kombatants, while searching for some infos of MK series, I found this great project which combines MK 1, MK2 and MK3 along with some bonus characters and stages. Similarly to The King of Fighters Zillion MIX, the roster in this game is HUGE. Download Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for Windows now from Softonic: 100 safe and virus free. Furthermore, the game has the add004’s Tag System.Īs a bonus, I’ve also included the latest versions of Mortal Kombat Project – Ultimate Revitalized and Ultimate Mortal Kombat Trilogy. According to Gui Santos, the gameplay in general is a great combination of KOF 2002 UM, KOF XI and KOF Memorial styles. It even has some Street Fighter fighters like Ryu, Chun Li, Ken and Blanka. This free MUGEN game features a lot of fighters. On the other hand, The King of Fighters Zillion MIX appears to be the ultimate fighting game for The King of Fighters. on the website of the game Mortal Kombat Project Final of Season 2 (MKP 4.1. The end result is amazing and turns MKP 4.1 into one of the best free MK MUGEN games. Black Clover: Quartet Knights is a stylish new multiplayer combat game based. This remastered version has been improved by borg117 and Boris Suworov. Mortal Kombat Project 4.1 Remastered is basically an enhanced version of Mortal Kombat Project 4.1. Anunciado em junho de 2014, Mortal Kombat X trar os personagens clssicos reestilizados. Mortal Kombat X o dcimo jogo da violenta franquia de games de luta. Gui Santos has made Mortal Kombat Project 4.1 Remastered and The King of Fighters Zillion MIX available for download. Veja muito sangue e lute com seus personagens favoritos nesta verso impecvel de Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat, The King of Fighters and Street Fighter fans, here is something special for you today.

[atakportal]

Street Fighter IV - Xbox 360 Capcom Video Game

New Post has been published on https://idealz.cloud/2018/07/31/street-fighter-iv-xbox-360-capcom-video-game/

Street Fighter IV - Xbox 360 Capcom Video Game

Item specifics

Condition:

Brand New: An item that has never been opened or removed from the manufacturer’s sealing (if applicable). Item

Platform: Microsoft Xbox 360 Game Name: Street Fighter IV Release Year: 2009 Publisher: Capcom Rating: T-Teen MPN:

013388330119

Genre: Fighting UPC:

0013388330119

EAN:

0013388330119

Street Fighter IV – Xbox 360 Capcom Video Game

Product Details

Product Information The fighting game series’ first true sequel in three console generations, Street Fighter IV re-creates the classic characters, settings, and time-tested 2D fighting mechanics, at resolutions and frame rates that make use of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 potential. Favorite characters and backdrops, once depicted in 16-bit pixels, appear as colorful, hand-drawn illustrations brought to life in full, fluid 3D. The game introduces a slew of new special attacks, but the series’ basic moves are at the heart of the six-button control scheme. A challenging new Focus Attack system can allow a low-health fighter to absorb an attack and then unleash a powerful counterattack, strong enough to grab an unexpected victory with a last-moment turnaround.

Street Fighter IV follows Street Fighter II in the series narrative, taking place before the events of Street Fighter III. Over two dozen characters are available for play, including core heroes and villains from Street Fighter II such as Ryu, Ken, Chun-li, and M. Bison. There are also series newcomers, such as Gouken, the trainer of Ryu and Ken, C. Viper, a government agent with moves as tight as her uniform, and the weapons master Seth, who can use the special moves of other characters. Home versions of Street Fighter IV also feature characters not in the arcade version of the game, including Fie Long, Dan, Gen, and Cammy, who won the most fan votes in an online poll, prior to the game’s U.S. release.

Product Identifiers Publisher Capcom Game Street Fighter IV MPN 013388330119 UPC 013388330119 eBay Product ID (ePID) 63319075 Key Features Platform Microsoft Xbox 360 ESRB Rating T – Teen Genre Fighting Location USA Tech Details ESRB Descriptor Alcohol Reference, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence Control Elements Gamepad/Joystick Number of Players 1-2 Release Year 2009 Game Special Features

Over two dozen characters, including classics, newcomers, and home-edition exclusives

Rich, expressive, effects-laden 3D graphics; Classic, time-tested 2D movement and mechanics

Engaging single-player storyline follows key heroes and villains from Street Fighter II

Game Series Street Fighter Series

Price : 23.93 Ends on : 3 weeks

BUY on eBay

[terryblount]

Mortal Kombat Project 4.1 Remastered & The King of Fighters free games available for download

Mortal Kombat, The King of Fighters and Street Fighter fans, here is something special for you today. Gui Santos has made Mortal Kombat Project 4.1 Remastered and The King of Fighters Zillion MIX available for download.

Mortal Kombat Project 4.1 Remastered is basically an enhanced version of Mortal Kombat Project 4.1. This remastered version has been improved by borg117 and Boris Suworov. The end result is amazing and turns MKP 4.1 into one of the best free MK MUGEN games.

On the other hand, The King of Fighters Zillion MIX appears to be the ultimate fighting game for The King of Fighters. This free MUGEN game features a lot of fighters. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. It even has some Street Fighter fighters like Ryu, Chun Li, Ken and Blanka. According to Gui Santos, the gameplay in general is a great combination of KOF 2002 UM, KOF XI and KOF Memorial styles. Furthermore, the game has the add004’s Tag System.

As a bonus, I’ve also included the latest versions of Mortal Kombat Project – Ultimate Revitalized and Ultimate Mortal Kombat Trilogy. Similarly to The King of Fighters Zillion MIX, the roster in this game is HUGE. Borg117 & the MKP Team have fixed numerous characters, and added new features like the Wall Jump. Ultimate Mortal Kombat Trilogy is based on the Fabian Arispe’s MK Komplete, with Sega Genesis/Mega Drive sound effects. This free MUGEN game also comes with a 2v2 semi-tag system. Moreover, each character has his/her own Arcade Ladder.

You can download Mortal Kombat Project 4.1 Remastered from here and The King of Fighters Zillion MIX from here. You can also download Mortal Kombat Project – Ultimate Revitalized V1.7 from here and Ultimate Mortal Kombat Trilogy from here.

Have fun!

The post Mortal Kombat Project 4.1 Remastered & The King of Fighters free games available for download appeared first on DSOGaming.

Mortal Kombat Project 4.1 Remastered & The King of Fighters free games available for download published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[kajaroj]

When we think of video game movies/adaptations, the thing that first come to mind is the horribly forgettable 1993 Super Mario Brothers movie. That movie laid the foundation of a string of multiple bad video game movies made by Hollywood, and one of which was 1994 Street Fighter starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. While there somewhat of a redeeming value with the movie (mostly for the wrong reasons), the 1994 Street Fighter movie represents the difficulty Hollywood has had in adapting a long-running fighting game franchise.

A year ago, I was full of excitement and hyperventilation when they announced that the live-action TV series based on the popular Street Fighter video game franchise—that had been in the works since 2014—was finally moving forward. What’s really exciting about the upcoming TV series is that it will be a sequel to an already existing live-action Street Fighter adaptation. Thankfully it’s neither the 1994 movie nor the Chun-Li movie.

https://deadline.com/2018/03/street-fighter-video-game-franchise-adapted-tv-series-entertainment-one-mark-gordon-1202352026/

To put things in perspective, this article will be a retrospective about the 2014 live-action web-series/movie Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist (to which the upcoming TV show sequel is based on), and why I consider this live-action foray to be one of the finest and most faithful screen adaptations of any video game to date and why this needs more mainstream exposure.

Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist is the brainchild of British actor and stuntman Joey Ansah. If you are not familiar with this man’s work, I suggest watching one movie he is most known for: The Bourne Ultimatum.

  The Bourne Ultimatum was the perfect stepping stone for Joey Ansah to showcase his talents that would eventually get him the opportunity to do a live-action Street Fighter adaptation, especially one that is done properly and faithfully. Out of all the Street Fighter aficionados that I’ve seen, Joey is arguably the only one that is genuinely passionate for the entire lore and universe, and it is very much evident in Assassin’s Fist on how much he carefully crafted dimension and humanity to well-known characters that are basically two-dimensional polygons in a fighting game.

Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist arose from a proof-of-concept short film that was released on YouTube in 2010, and it immediately got positive traction from fans and numerous media publications. The well-received short film, Street Fighter: Legacy, was done as a mere response to Hollywood’s failed attempts at adapting CAPCOM’s popular IP. Hearing from Joey’s interviews, like many Street Fighter fans he disliked the two Hollywood adaptations, and he really wants something to be done right.

Joey initially pitched a TV series to CAPCOM, but because of the certain difficulties of trying to get a TV show to be made, he re-approached his pitch into a short film which eventually became Legacy. Fast forward to 2012, the announcement of a new live-action Street Fighter feature-length series made me feel apprehensive at first. However, when I heard that it would be made by the same guys who did the Street Fighter: Legacy short film, it sparked a huge amount of hope, as I thought this might be the first live-action Street Fighter that will be done right. Two years later, the series Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist, was about to arrive. It was around 4-AM, and I was all prepared with early morning breakfast. Going in, I was feeling a bit anxious because, given the current status of video game adaptations in Hollywood which are still a work-in-progress, I still didn’t feel that a live-action Street Fighter series would merit any artistic or narrative value. However, after watching the series in its entirety, tears started pouring down and I felt so happy and relieved that it was very good. I thought it was the most intense, emotional and immersive experience I’ve ever had cinematically.

Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist was first released as a web series on YouTube, consisting of 12 episodes which are 10-12 minutes per episode, so if combined, it’s like a 2 & 1/2 hour movie. In terms of its production value, the series is very cinematic in quality, and so I feel it could have been released in movie theaters. Assassin’s Fist is truly a fan’s wet dream, having a huge amount of in-game references and Easter eggs for fans familiar with the games. But underneath its fan-service contains an incredible amount of deep narrative that strongly flushes out each of the characters. Of all the video game adaptations that I have seen, this is one that I would watch over and over. So, I asked myself: “Why did this work?” “What were the strengths?” Here are a few reasons as to why Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist worked so well as a fighting game adaptation:

This live-action adaptation is Street Fighter to the core.

The film/series stars the franchise’s poster boy, Ryu, played by Korean-American actor, Mike Moh. It also stars his American best friend/rival, Ken, played by British actor, Christian Howard. What I can truly say with this is… FINALLY!!! We have a live-action Street Fighter that is very true to the core essence of the games.

The main actors are well-cast, especially Ken Masters because he looks exactly like Ken in real life. Ryu was also spot-on that he reminded me one of the artworks from Street Fighter III: Third Strike. 

    The story takes place in Japan.

Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist’s setting takes place in the secluded mountain wilderness of Japan, which should have been the appropriate start for a live-action adaptation of the game. Street Fighter may be a global game franchise, but its roots will forever be ingrained with Japan. So, who lives in Japan? Who else?! The franchise’s poster boy, Ryu.

Ryu, perfectly embodied by Mike Moh.

The great thing about Assassin’s Fist is that it mostly tells the story of the Japanese characters. The story is set around the late 80s’ Japan where Ryu trains in the deadly style of martial arts known as “Ansatsuken” (Assassin’s Fist) under the tutelage of his master, Gouken. Though Ryu is not the only one learning the art of Ansatsuken, his American best friend Ken Masters is also learning the arts after his father brought him to Gouken when he was young to change his way of life after his mom’s death. During their final years as students, they learn the ways of the Hado, learning to do the 3 signature moves: Hadoken, Shoryuken & Tatsumaki Senpu-kyaku.

Assassin’s Fist is 2 storylines told in a non-linear way. The present-day storyline takes place in the late 80s’, while the past takes place around the late 50s’ as flashbacks. In the past storyline, we get to learn how Ryu and Ken’s master Gouken learned the ways of Ansatsuken under his master Goutetsu, and how the dark traditions and legacy of the art led to Gouken’s younger brother, Gouki, into becoming a powerful entity known as Akuma.

I don’t know about you guys, but I love Japanese storytelling, especially in cinema. What I love about Assassin’s Fist is that, despite this being a western adaptation, every aspect feels authentically Japanese. Of course, there were lots of English dialogue, but it balances it with Japanese dialogue that makes the film feel like an authentic Japanese movie. The landscape cinematography and film scope often reminded me of classic Akira Kurosawa films I’ve watched.

It’s not an adaptation of any Street Fighter game.

Among the major strengths of Assassin’s Fist is that the core essence of the games remains intact despite the film not being a direct adaptation of any existing Street Fighter game. The movie acts as a prequel to the events of the first game, while referencing a variety of narrative elements from the games. Aside from the 2 terrible Hollywood film attempts, Street Fighter has had several adaptations, mostly in the animation and comic field. Having read a number of Street Fighter-related comics and watched all of anime, Assassin’s Fist makes a number or references and nods to the various animations and comic book iterations.

The balance of drama and martial arts is perfectly-paced.

What made Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist work as a piece of film was the intricate balance between character drama and martial arts. The film runs at 2 1/2 hours, which was perfect for adding fight scenes at the right pace. The film had about 4 fight scenes and 2 training sequences, which is a total of 6 action scenes. The martial arts scenes were superbly-shot and tightly choreographed, and what really helped make this happen was the fact that the actors themselves are actual martial artists.

As a whole, Assassin’s Fist plays more as a “drama film with martial arts” as opposed to being a martial arts film. The drama worked very well because it was very non-linear, yet straightforward—as opposed to being convoluted and scattered. The character development perfectly humanizes each character’s motivations while still adding a bit of mystery to them. Moments of interaction between Ryu, Ken & Gouken were great to watch, especially the training sequences. My favorite dramatic moments, though, were from the flashback scenes between the young Gouken, Gouki & Goutetsu. The movie is mostly serious in tone, but I also enjoyed the comedic moments just to lighten the mood.

The huge amount of dramatic depth was mostly shown in scenes in the past, especially in scenes between Gouki and Goutetsu where they’re arguing about the traditions and philosophies of the Ansatsuken lineage. There is no clear protagonist and antagonist in the movie, but what really immerses me with each character is that fact that they’re dramatized as very multi-dimensional. They have moral grey areas, flaws, fears, struggles and insecurities that would make you root for any of the characters.

Reflecting on its release, Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist provides a solid proof that fighting games and video games in general can work as cinematic adaptations if done faithfully and properly. This movie is the perfect template for any filmmaker attempting to adapt any video game that properly balances in-game action and story. It’s just slightly disappointing that with everything that was accomplished here, mainstream press overlooked this piece of cinematic gem.

My only assumption as to why Assassin’s Fist not getting its much-deserved mainstream exposure is because it was a fan-made adaptation. But I feel like some of the press overlooked that this movie was made with CAPCOM’s involvement. I guess bigger attention to Assassin’s Fist will subsequently pick up when more updates with the upcoming TV series is released. Thankfully, many of the actors who appeared in this movie/web-series are now getting much bigger opportunities, particularly the Ryu actor, Mike Moh who recently got his Hollywood breakout portraying Bruce Lee in Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

From Ryu to Bruce Lee.

So, I’m going to end this article by saying… Thank you, Joey Ansah, for giving us a true-to-heart live-action cinematic adaptation of Street Fighter, and a great yet overlooked video game movie which I truly hope will find its way into much bigger publicity than its initial release.

After over a year trying to sum up my overall thoughts on this particular topic, this is a retrospective on what I consider to be the most overlooked and underappreciated video game adaptation ever. Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist. When we think of video game movies/adaptations, the thing that first come to mind is the horribly forgettable 1993 Super Mario Brothers movie.

[xb-squaredx]

The Capcom Quagmire

Once a name highly regarded, a mark of quality, and a producer of some of the most well-loved video game franchises around, Capcom hasn’t been having a good time as of late. Drawing the ire of fans and critics with every action, financially they’ve also struggled, and while they seemed to be making a bit of a comeback in recent years, the backlash against Street Fighter V and Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite seemingly has the company back at square one. The question then should be…just how did we get here? It’s a long, depressing journey. Are you brave enough to take it with me?

One of the first things to look for when examining Capcom’s fall from glory is just who makes up the company. People come and go from companies all the time, however in Capcom’s case, many of their more acclaimed members have left and no one’s really stepped up to the plate to fill those voids. One of the first big departures was Street Fighter II producer Yoshiki Okamoto in 2003, but more would follow suit. One of Capcom’s more well-known studios, Clover, was closed down in 2007 following the financial failure of Okami. This included the likes of Shinji Mikami (considered the “father” of Resident Evil), Atsuchi Inaba (producer for Clover Studio’s work) and Hideki Kamiya (the man behind Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe and Okami) with them going on to form the now-acclaimed PlatinumGames (even though Mikimi would later go independent). Meanwhile the franchises they created would begin to decline in the eyes of critics and consumers. For many, a major death blow to the company was the loss of Keiji Inafune, the “creator” of Mega Man and a major creative force for the company in 2010. Inafune’s departure meant the cancellation of several Mega Man games in development, including the hotly-anticipated Mega Man Legends 3 on the 3DS. It is undeniable that Capcom of today is far different from the one a decade ago, a shadow of its former self.

Following these departures, Capcom would release a string of games that were controversial with fans, either for their content or the business structures put in place around them. While Resident Evil 5 & 6 were financially successful, they faced a variety of criticisms for the gradual move away from survival horror into pure action games. 2013’s Dmc: Devil May Cry faced a lot of criticism, it being a reboot that barely resembled the series it drew its name from. Fans were put off by developer Ninja Theory’s seeming indifference to the criticisms, believing Capcom to no longer care about one of their beloved franchises. But by far the greatest amounts of criticism surrounded Street Fighter X Tekken in 2012.

(They even went and made Angry Joe angry!)

Perhaps because Capcom’s name has been so tied to fighting games, the bad press this game received seemed to sting all the more. What should have been a legendary crossover of two fighters, in a similar vain to the Capcom vs. SNK series, Street Fighter X Tekken instead was ridiculed for a variety of gameplay decisions and what was perceived as dishonest, money-grubbing business practices on the part of Capcom. The game’s tag mechanics, “Gem” system to customize fighter’s stats and choice of guest characters was a point of contention. Both Capcom and Namco placed two of their mascots in the game, in the form of Pac-Man and Mega Man…in the style of his legendary off-model North American box art. Many felt Mega Man’s depiction here was a kick in the groin after the cancellation of the Mega Man games in development, but it didn’t end there. The PlayStation 3 and PS Vita versions of the game also received Toro and Kuro (Sony of Japan’s feline mascots) as well as the protagonist of the Infamous games, Cole MacGrath. Microsoft Xbox 360 players, however, did not receive any of the guest fighters, nor a Microsoft equivalent for Cole or Toro and Kuro, in addition to lacking online tag-team battles, despite it being advertised on the game box. But by far the greatest point of criticism were the 12 DLC characters included on the game disc and locked behind a paywall, as incentive to buy the PS Vita version, which included all characters by default. This was also hot off the heels of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, which already tested fan’s patience with Capcom’s business decisions.

With Capcom’s larger franchises either put on ice or receiving mixed reception, their lesser-known franchises weren’t getting much love either. The likes of Rival Schools or Darkstalkers received little to no attention, though there was a highlight in a Strider reboot in 2014. For many years, the Monster Hunter series was about the only big franchise that kept Capcom afloat, with a rare Ace Attorney game here or there. Capcom did seem to be undergoing a bit of a course correction of sorts following all of the negative press, with a number of game announcements generating buzz…at least at first.

It’s here that we move into the present, with 2016 and 2017 being rough years for the company yet again, and while there is a silver lining in the form of Resident Evil VII, the next installments in the Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom series have received a fair share of backlash. Street Fighter V, despite initial hype being high, was met with lower sales than Capcom expected and criticism from both hardcore and casual fans. Many pointed to the bare-bones nature of the release, criticism of the visuals, the lack of many classic characters and online connection issues at launch. Hardcore fans disliked the perceived “dumbing down” of mechanics, as well as input lag that seemed to be intentionally placed into the game, among other reasons. The game’s console exclusivity on PS4 also drew backlash, though Capcom stated they would learn from these mistakes with their next title…until history would indeed repeat.

(Left, Chun li and Dante, from 2008. Right, Chun li and Dante, from 2017.) 

The lead-up to release for Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite has been littered with issues, critics and consumers alike picking apart the game’s visuals, perceived lack of depth with the scaled-back 2-on-2 combat, a lacking roster and announcement of DLC characters well ahead of release. Many of Street Fighter V’s flaws have seemingly returned with a vengeance, such as a new “auto combo” system that allows players to mash the same button and perform a powerful (though not entirely optimal) combo for each character, faces on the character models attracting vitriol, and the lack of many classic characters, most notably the X-Men characters. The game is set to release in September, though many feel the production is being rushed, and in a rare move for gamers, many seem to be asking for a delay to polish the game. But Capcom has continued their course, all the while sticking their foots in their mouths.

They attracted mockery from fans when addressing various criticisms, at first attempting to laugh off the various complaints about visuals, before stating that a day one patch would be released to fix several character’s faces, most notably Chun li’s, as an example. When addressing complaints over certain characters missing from the roster, Capcom’s community manager, Peter Ross, stated that players wouldn’t care if certain characters made the cut, so long as a given character’s “functions” were present in the game, which has since become an infamous statement for the game’s detractors. Following a leak of the game’s base roster, many have proclaimed the game “dead on arrival,” though obviously the jury is still out on that. But it is the latest in a series of blunders in the Capcom stable…so what can be done?

As much as fans might wish for Infinite to be delayed for polish, it’s too far along in development for such a hasty action to be made, not to mention Marvel likely has a say in the matter. Street Fighter V is already being written off as a lost cause, though at little over a year old, it’s unlikely that a fresh start is in the cards as of now. It should be noted that it is not all doom and gloom for the company. The Ace Attorney games have continued to enjoy relative success, as has the Monster Hunter franchise, with the return to non-Nintendo platforms with the release of Monster Hunter: World in 2018. The above mentioned Resident Evil VII was also a success and seen as a return to form for the franchise. Despite the many issues Infinite faces, many who have played the game’s versus demo have noted there to be plenty of depth to the combat, so there still exists hope for the game overall. But it is clear they must learn from their mistakes going forward.

More than anything, I think Capcom has a major disconnect with what consumers actually want. Their recent comments concerning “your modern Marvel fan doesn’t even know who the X-Men are” or “characters are just functions” feels remarkably condescending, and this kind of corporate spinning language needs to stop. At times like this, a little transparency and humbleness would go a long way. Capcom needs to look in the mirror and admit they’ve done wrong and that, in order to move forward, they must rise above where they are now. A company known for some truly influential games in many different genres, at present they don’t exactly seem to be much of a competitor in the field. Compare the excitement in the announcement of Geese Howard as a guest character for Tekken 7 to the rather cold reception Abigail received when revealed for Street Fighter V during the Evolution Championship Series (EVO) in July of 2017. Then there’s the real lack of a running and gunning platformer in the vain of Mega Man that Capcom seems hesitant to try and fill, while several competitors are jumping at the chance to become the next Blue Bomber. Despite the finished product, the initial hype for Mighty No. 9 demonstrates that there’s a market out there Capcom is ignoring. The bare-bones nature of Street Fighter V’s story mode and the perceived flaws in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite’s story mode show them lagging behind Western fighters like the newer Mortal Kombat series and the Injustice series, and looking at the number of fighters and features or modes in Injustice 2, it’s honestly quite hard to recommend Infinite over the DC fighter. There’s no contest at all.

It’s clear Capcom can’t do all that it used to do, at least alone. The Strider and Devil May Cry reboots were outsourced, for one, not to mention they required funding by Sony for Street Fighter V to be made in the first place. If they have certain roles that can’t be fulfilled alone, various partnerships could still be reached, if they choose the right people. Imagine a new Devil May Cry being worked on by PlatinumGames, or Inti Creates working with them on a new Mega Man. Hell, there actually HAVE been several Mega Man games made by Inti Creates anyway, so one has to wonder why there’s been silence.

At this point, it’s clear Capcom’s lost the trust of a lot of their fanbase, and it’ll be a long road to get it back. Their recent blunders will likely stain them for a while, but if they look back on the feedback they’ve received and demonstrate they both listen to and respect their fans, there is hope yet for them. Here’s hoping we can have the term “Crapcom” retired as soon as possible.

Until next time.