HAH, I already tricked you all! This is actually going to be a rant about 2d fighters, so all of you except maybe Titus should probably just ignore all the rest of this post : ). But if you are curious about 2d fighting games and are bored, then maybe I would suggest reading this ^_^.
My history with 2d fighters goes like this-
About a year ago, I'd notice Titus would occasionally ramble off about some cool 2d fighting game he's been playing. I would not care XD, but I would generally half pay attention to him. That and I thought those little sprites he made of whatever character I've never even heard about were so cute! So the only interest I had with 2d fighting games were how cute and more animeish some of the characters looked : ). See, at the time, I held the opinion that 2d fighters were udder shit and wonder why the hell they still existed when omg 3D FIGHTING GAMES dominated the market... Now, that's given the fact that the only "experience" I had with them was watching those arcade-holics play them maniacally whenever I got the chance to go to an arcade. So the first 2D fighting game I really liked was Capcom vs SNK. I played it in some little arcade in Tahoe because I was bored and remembered Titus mentioning it ^_^*. I instantly loved the game... I think the main reason was because the difficulty was set on like level 1 or 2 and I beat the game with only one continue, using mainly Yuri, heh. I thought some of the characters were very cute, and I was surprised I liked it so much. After that day, sometime in December 2003, my interest in 2d fighting games grew. THEN one day in March Titus and I played Cap vs SNK 2, and even though I couldn't figure SHIT out, I still really liked it... So yeah, I'd say that Titus is pretty much the only reason I like 2d fighting games nowdays : ).
After that, I learned a bit more about the 2d fighting game genre, mainly through Titus, hehe. I learned that the companies "Capcom" and "SNK" dominated this market, and both were pretty cool develepors... maybe that's why Cap vs SNK was such a big hit... So then as my "experience" grew, I began to mentally get a grasp on how these two companies differed, because on the outside, they appear exactly the same. At least to me. Over a bit of time, I found that I liked SNK slightly better than Capcom, one reason actually tipped the scales for me- the characters are better looking ^_^**. And to me, that is a very important reason. In *any* game, I will always refuse to play an unnattractive-looking character(if I have the choice to chose against them so NO, Mario does not count ^_-). Because well, I have to deal with this character, they might as well be cute enough looking for me to play as them. I've noticed that most Capcom characters, especially males, are DAMN ugly. The most attractive one- Vega, rarely shows his face, and besides that, is a damn shitty character ^_^*.
But disregarding the cuteness aspect of the companies, and mind you, SNK has a LOT of very attractive-looking characters, I think I like SNK better because... well, it has TERRY BOGARD, but mainly because I like King of Fighters better than Street Fighter. What's funny is that I like the oldsk00l Street Fighter much better than the old school King of Fighters/Fatal Fury. Every Fatal Fury game I've seen, okay maybe it's been like 2 of them, but really, they look like udder crap, and they feel like udder crap. One of the newer Fatal Fury games called "Real Bout Fatal Fury 2"(Uh, I *think* that's the name of it, at least...) is kinda not crappy, but it had the feel of a button-smasher to me... The oldest KOF game I have played is KOF '94. I don't know when the hell Super Street Fighter came out, but is is so much of a better game than that one ^_^*. Maybe I have a slight Bias towars Super Street Fighter because it was ported to the SNES(which we all know is the best console EVAR), and also because I'd played it long before I even touched King of Fighers(Wei-Chen had it out one night :p), but in general, I think that game is cool.
A quote in some fighting game magazine said something like this: "The King of 2d fighters has always been Capcom, despite any claims SNK can make". yeah, I'd tend to argue that... wtf is THAT based on, first of all, and second of all, SNK is cool, yeah! Heh, I think I appreciate Capcom a lot more than SNK because well, it's 2d fighters have this timeless sort of quality to them... I mean, I remembered that Ryu was a character on Cap vs SNK, and when I first tried him out at Wei-Chen's, I figured out his moves very easily. That's because his moves are *exactly* THE SAME from effing 10 years ago! Where as with SNK, they can't seem to make up their damn minds, so every one of their games has different move sets for all the same characters ^_^**. I think that one of the reasons for that is because there are so many SNK 2d fighters, at least that I know of. The only Capcom 2d fighter that I have heard about is the Street Fighter genre 0_o. I bet if I asked Titus, he could give me a handful more of them, but they will probably suck anyway ^_^**. So with all of these 2d fighters around, they have to put them all together in a few games- namely KOF and Cap vs SNK, and maybe that new Chaos game out there that I have never played(but which looks pretty cool anyway).
But yeah, I find it irritating. EVERY SNK game I have played that has Terry Bogard in it, has a different version of him. I noticed that I like the Cap vs SNK Terry Bogard the best, but that might be because I'm most used to him. Terry Bogard in Garou has a different look that I really will never approve of, they made him so fucking much slower (but a powerhouse at that), and they made one of his moves simpler(oh, and got rid of one), and then Terry in the later KOF series is just "OKAY!". Yeah, that's just one example. I can't even STAND to play as Joe in KOF because I just can't get the damn feel of him... and then there is precious Yuri. I can't stand to play as her in Capcom vs SNK anymore because well, one day I discovered the KOF Yuri and fuck was I astounded at how much more I liked her.
So one aspect of Capcom that I like better than SNK, that I already kinda hinted at before, is that their moves are pretty much standardized, and they have been for years. Another is that their engine(s) are just so easy to use... SNK has such complicating ones that I really don't like. They are too compicating for a fighting game, in my opinion. I believe that modes/grooves/engines/whatever you want to call them should be very *simple* in order to make the fighting game more fun. I mean C groove, the GENIOUS of Capcom, first invented in the Street Fighter Alpha series, is the best engine I have ever encountered simply because... it is so simple to use, even the beginner who has never played a 2d fighter(similar to myself in a way ^_-) can get a grasp of it and have a fun time with the game.
This is C groove also called Special combo(meh, SOMETHING like that...)- You have a super that builds up(heh, actually in Alpha you START with a level 3 combo 0_o). It builds up VERY SIMPLY, unlike any of the other groves in Cap vs SNK... So what happens is that your super bar builds up by both the amount of damage you receive, but also the amount of damage you give, and yes, the bar builds up faster the more damage you give... You build it up about a third of the way, you get a level 1 combo, something not all *too* powerful. You build it up about half way, and you get a level 2 combo, well, something more powerful than a level 1 combo ^_^*, and then if you are so patient as to build it up all the way to level *3*, you can do a SUPAA ULTRA COMBO, most characters have one of those, well, some of them do anyway(Terry does not ;_;) . This= BIG DAMAGE. Like Joe's Double Cyclone? KILLAR!! Now, the only downside is conserving your supers by building up to a level 3 combo and then MISSING it(mind you, to be fair, your powerbar goes back to nill after every combo), so timing is really everything... One reason Cap vs SNK is my favorite 2d fighter is because of all these "groves" it has in it. It took me such a long time to settle with C groove, and really, with more practice, I can find another groove that I like better, but they make the game so much more interesting!
Now I'd just like to ramble on about some characters that I like... heh.
Awww lookie, I found a piccie of Ryu that I actually like XD. mainly because it reminds me so much of the sprites Titus used to make, heh. I'm pretty sure that one is from pocket fighter, as well... But yeah, for a while I was stuck on Ryu vs Ken. Which character do I like better? THEY ARE BOTH THE SAAAME, AAHHHH! I asked Titus this question one day, how are Ryu and Ken different? he told me that Ken was more offensive than Ryu, and that's why he liked him better. So yeah, after that day, my favorite became Ryu. I had such a hard time because well, Ken is so much more attractive than Ryu(apparently he is supposed to be some sort of movie star or something 0__o), and yeah, I am incredibly into such trivial things while playing fighting games.... I was especially discouraged when I took a look at street fighter alpha and noticed that Ken just grew out his MANLOCKS so damn much! GAAAAAAH! He looks so hawt in that game ;_;. But yeah, I pretty much like Ryu better because Titus likes Ken better and I think I felt like I was "copying" his choice of characters he liked ^_^**. I didn't want Ken to fall into the insane void of where Yuri, Terry, and Joe lay, so I chose Ryu. Also, another reason I *think* is because well, I've been trying to see what kind of playing style I like, and I notice that my fighting game style is well, a lot more defensive than a lot of peoples... I think defense is one of the very most important techniques to get a hand on, and it's the only reason why I'm so good with SCII, I know how to use Talim's defense to my advantage, and perhaps even Melee, I notice SO few people blocking efficively in that game... So yeah, Ryu it is.
And then we have Terry. Oh precious Terry. Just the thought of him brings tears to my eyes. I don't know *how* I got into Terry so much, i just did. IT WAS DESTINY. Hehe. Maybe I'll find another cute picture of him : )(other than my icon). Yeah, I've given up the search for cute pictures, but maybe I will show some
DISTURBING piccie instead. maybe it's because I don't get whether that Mary there is a crossplayer or not, and this disturbs me 0_o. Anyway, usually I can't stand the sight of outrageously buff men, but Terry's MANLOCKS make up for it all. That and I like his personality, he is much cuter than his retarded brother. Maybe I shouldn't ramble on about him further, for it will just be about how damn HAWT he is : ).
Hey, for the ONE(yay Titus!) or maybe 2 people who read through this thing, notice what the time says. 2 something, right? It's past 4 now XD. I've been sidetracked by "research", heh. So right now, I'm off to the library to donate some books and to pick up some more of my own and then... something. I want to beat Super Street Fighter 2 before then, though!!
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