Countdown to Nirvana: ~Versus to XV~ A Trailer Retrospective

XV days to go! We're almost there!

COUNTDOWN TO NIRVANA: Episode Duscae 1.0 Behemoth Fight (No Ramuh)

The countdown soldiers on. 19 days remaining.

COUNTDOWN TO NIRVANA: Inktober Special - Day XV

I finally got around to feeling ready to carefully craft the XVth picture in my Inktober saga.



1 month and less than a half a week to go.

Woo! Drawing Stuff! Inktober Special *SPECIAL*: Days 7 - 20

All riiiiiight.



After QUITE the hiatus (although, let's be honest, a much MUCH shorter hiatus than I am generally good for) Inktober is back in business! Here be a compilation of some 12-ish drawings so as to make the catch-up all righteous and such. Woo!

Friendly Neighborhood Gaming! Ep. 1: Street Fighter V

Top 10: The Top 10 Games You May Not Have Played

(Disclaimer: This right here? This is recycled content. I wrote this list, like, in 2009. It's only barely edited for formatting and spelling. Yay lazy. But seeing it made me want to continue listing stuff, so I'll probably write a few more parts to this list in the near future. Yay inspiration! Also, I totally didn't include any pictures or videos of any of the games listed, cause lazy. Yay lazy. Anywho, on with the ye olden content!)

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In today's world of video games, the most popular titles have a tendency to dominate the shelves, forcing games that are equally awesome to the bargain bin. As such, games that should be enjoyed are rarely talked about, much to my chagrin.

This list is made to give you, the reader, a list of games that, in my opinion, should be at least tried by everyone, and you may not have ever considered touching. 

Now mind you, I'm not listing games that are truly obscure, as even I haven't really delved into good titles of that caliber. Nor am I saying that all of these games are the epitome of gaming itself. Just titles that you may or may not have heard of, and should give a shot if you haven't. You may find them to be pretty fun, just like I did.

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10: RUN SABER (SNES)

When I was a little kid, I remember going over to my best friend's house, absolutely dying to play Super Mario World, or other similar games. Imagine my surprise to instead be introduced to a game called Run Saber, a side-scrolling co-op game in the vein of Strider or Ninja Gaiden with catchy music, and quite a bit of flash and flare. 

Or at least, as far as my four year old self was concerned. 

The game, featuring (at the time) crazy special moves, fun fast paced combat, and the ever-loved couch co-op became one of my favorites as a child, and even now, I'd be glad to slap it into the SNES, and, along with my little brother, take Allen (The Electric Saber) or Sheeva (The Ice Saber), and go to town against Kurtz, the rogue first saber.

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9: DEVIL KINGS (PS2)

Despite how much I enjoy the Dynasty Warriors series, it eventually got somewhat stale to me. As such, I needed an alternative. Enter Sengoku Basara, or, Devil Kings as it was re-christened stateside. 

As far as I'm concerned, the game is Capcom's answer to Dynasty Warriors, and it does it's job well. Relatively large masses of enemies, cool environments, unreasonably cool fighting styles, large scale special moves, and a stylish take on Japanese history made Sengoku Basara cool. It's English version dropped the history part, and came up with a darker story based around an emperor who sold his soul to the devil, and must be taken out. 

Obviously. 

The addition of the "Priming" system (necessary for those awesome special moves), extra moves, and 'so bad it's good' voice acting, plus the previously stated features make Devil Kings a fun game to play on a rainy day.

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8: SOUL BLADE (PS)

Ah. 

My first encounter with the tale of souls and swords eternally retold occurred when my father picked up this game on a spur of the moment decision when first buying our old PS1. I was initially suspicious of the game, figuring it couldn't be better than Tekken, and the only experience I had with weapon based fighting games was Bushido Blade; A good game, but not my style. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Soul Blade is an unreasonably awesome game. 

Years later, I was further surprised to fins out that there were many people who had played Soul Calibur, and yet never touched the father of the series. I was amazed. Soul Blade was a masterpiece for it's time, what with the varied character list, the ever awesome Edge Master mode, the stellar soundtracks (yes, in the plural), and a story worth telling again and again: A demonic pair of swords are found by a dread pirate, and years later, the pirate slaughters an entire port town in Spain, and takes it for his own. Warriors from around the world know of the swords from different variations of legends, and all converge to fight it out for the right to wield them. Little do they know that the current host to the blades awaits their arrival, so he can feed their souls to the ever-hungry blades. 

What's not to love!?

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7: CHAOS LEGION (PS2)

The first time I saw Chaos Legion, a friend of mine was trying out a demo for the game, and I thought it looked pretty cool, especially since I had just beaten Devil May Cry, and was looking for something to fill the void. I never gave it a second look however until about 2 years ago. Chaos Legion is a rather awesome game. The reason, hands down, being the game's namesake. 

If the game was simply a hack and slash with the fighting style Sieg Wahrheit (the main character) uses, then it could easily be written off as just another okay action game. But the inclusion of the Chaos Legion allows for quite a bit of variation that makes the game awesome. here are 6 different regular legions and one ultimate legion to choose from of which you can equip two at a time, each with their own specialties, be they range, brute force, explosions, swordsmanship, or otherwise. To add to their usefulness, each legion can give Sieg an extra special ability without having to be equipped, be it making Sieg jump high, summoning a legion for a quick assist attack, or taking an attack for Sied to keep him alive. Each legion can be leveled up for added strength and such, and altogether, they make the game. The game also has a good soundtrack that keeps in feel with the game, and interesting gothic level designs. It's not very long, but it will keep you entertained to say the least.

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6: GUILTY GEAR ISUKA (PS2)

The black sheep of the Guilty Gear franchise, Isuka is great fun for one big reason. And that's the GG Boost mode. Almost like a Street Fighter 1/Streets of Rage hybrid revival, Boost mode takes the fighting game characters and system of the regular Guilty Gear games, and slaps them into a 2D co-op side-scrolling beat-em-up with great music, awesome levels, and challenge up the wazoo. Fighting the second stage's version of Robo-Ky in Co-Op mode is by far one of the hardest battles I've ever faced in a game like this. 

It surprises me that despite how popular Guilty Gear is, this entry simply wasn't as well received. Anyone who enjoys games of the beat-em-up genre should give this game a spin.

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5: PHANTOM DUST (XBOX)

In the land of RPGs, turn based battle tends to be king. And even when that isn't the case, action RPGs tend to follow similar formulas and story styles at all times. 

This is not the case with Phantom Dust. 

A strange meld of Action RPG and card game, Phantom Dust is set in the somewhat distant future, where everything above ground is a wasteland due to a strange dust that swept the planet, and the survivors suffer from amnesia save for the lone common memory of an area known as "The Ruins." 

In order to restore their memories, the underground based survivors who can channel the dust to use a variety of powers, known as Espers, travel the surface looking for the ruins in hopes of achieving their goal of curing their amnesia. You play as a nameless protagonist whom the Espers found in a capsule along with one other man. Finding you that you are an Esper yourself, you join the Espers in their search for the ruins in hopes of finding out just who and what you are. 

The gameplay itself is cool in a way I found very innovative, building skills into a deck known as your "Arsenal", which you use to fight your numerous opponents on your missions to the surface. The environments are entirely destructible, and the raw amount of variation your Arsenal is capable of is stunning. Unlike a card game, or a turn based RPG however, you utilize this arsenal while running, jumping, dodging and generally acting as if playing an action game. 

All of this, plus the soundtrack comprised of remixes of classical compositions, and the option for a custom soundtrack if you so choose make this game a solid gem that I would suggest to anyone willing to listen.

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4: LEGACY OF KAIN: DEFIANCE (PS2)

I truly could mention any game in the Legacy of Kain franchise here, but I chose Defiance, as it is my favorite, no contest. 

The grim story of Nosgoth is reason enough to give the games a look, from Kain's start as a nobleman turned vampire out for revenge, to the story of his eldest vampiric child, Raziel, whom he seemingly betrayed and killed, to the revelations of their Elder Gods, and of course, the mystery surrounding the Soul Reaver. 

Defiance however, has, along with a spectacular story and great level design, a solid gameplay system, based around raw sword combat, powering the Soul Reaver, and, depending on who you're using, either draining the blood of your foes, or devouring their souls. The game is split between both Raziel and Kain, a first for the series that certainly provides a nice sense of perspective. This game is one of my favorites, and should be tried at least once.

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3: SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS (PS2)

The first of two games that are almost required to be mentioned on any underrated games list, and entirely interchangeable with the game in the second place spot, Shadow of the Colossus is, in short terms, a work of art. 

The story of Wander journeying to the Forbidden Lands to bring Mono back to life is extremely well told in the most economic of manners, the games atmosphere is positively epic, and there are so many little details apparent that it makes your head spin with the thought of how much work had to go into the game's creation. And yet, the games shining point is without a doubt the battles with Wander's giant enemies, the Colossi. Scaling the massive beasts and using Wander's mystical blade to find their weak point, a glowing sigil, then stabbing them time and again in a frantic attempt to bring them down is without a doubt one of the most epic feelings one could have playing a video game. It's a spectacularly innovative idea for a game.

One only matched by...

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2: OKAMI (PS2)

The other game required to be on any and every list of underrated games, the tale of Amaterasu traversing the expansive lands of feudal Japan to vanquish the 8 headed demon snake Orochi and restore balance to the world is one of the most excellent experiences I've ever had playing a video game. 

The innovation that matches the battles with the Colossi is known as the Celestial Brush. The ability to affect the very fabric of the world by painting your will across it is one of the coolest ideas I've ever encountered. 

Okami has memorable characters, a beautiful soundtrack, an expansive world, a great amount of replay value, and an absolutely spectacular story. Celestial Brush aside, the combat system is still great fun, should you decide to wield Amaterasu's reflector, the giant blades she comes to possess later, or even the long strings of prayer beads, combat is never dull. Truly, this would have been the number one game for me. Except there's one other that managed to edge it out...

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1: BUJINGAI: THE FORSAKEN CITY (PS2)

This... This is a game that makes the top of the list not for it's story, which is absolutely non-existent. 

It's not for the soundtrack, which, while catchy, isn't anything worth screaming over. 

It isn't for the graphics, which are good, but certainly not groundbreaking. 

It isn't even for the characters, as they're about as well developed as the story, which is to say, not at all. 

No, Bujingai grabs the number one spot because every person I've ever asked has never heard of the game, and yet every person I've ever let play it came to the same conclusion. They've never encountered a more fun combat system in an action game. 

Ever. 

Bujingai's movie-like combat system is one of the most awesome things I've ever had the pleasure of watching or playing. Every move the protagonist, Lau Wong (based on japanese musician Gackt), makes flows together so well that I was blown away by the fact that his fighting style belonged to a Playstation 2 game character. Capable of chaining together combos that number in the high hundreds, the amount of things Lau can do with just two swords and a few special moves is insane. Especially for such a simplistic battle system. Truly, there are better combat systems out there, but I've never had more fun fighting hordes of enemies, running through castles broken into pieces in the sky, or fighting my rival on glowing blue water on a sliced in half portion of the moon than in Bujingai. The fact that you get to create the opening movie yourself by beating the snot out of poor unsuspecting enemies is just icing on the cake. 

High quality icing. 

There's so much I want to say for Bujingai, but I just don't have the words. Don't play the game if you're looking for anything groundbreaking or incredible in terms of story or anything to that effect. But if you want a raw undeniably fun time with great action, and an unreasonably awesome combat system, then grab this game, and PLAY IT!

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I'm sure there's a pile of other games just as worthy to be on this list as anything I may have put up here, and if you know any, you should let people know. They deserve the recognition. These are the games I think should be tried. Thanks for reading.

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Well alrighty. A blast of opinion from the past all set to start a new series of top 10s. I dunno when the next one is happening, but it is, and sometime soon preferably. I kind of look forward to seeing how my opinion of underplayed games has changed in the last 7 years.

Yep.

COUNTDOWN TO NIRVANA: The Magic of Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV

Earlier in at the end of August into the beginning of September, I got the chance to go to the HPGRP gallery here in New York and attend their oh so lovely exhibit: The Magic of Kingsglaive and Final Fantasy XV.

Then I took pictures!

GAZE UPON THEM!

Gallery Link!

I thought it was pretty cool. Nothing out of this world, but a good time all the same. Meant to post this yesterday, but I kinda goofed, so...

Yep.

Conventions about Dragons!

Aloha, homies!

Over the last weekend, I had the ever so lovely pleasure to attend the Dragon Con convention, in Atlanta, Georgia.

It was super dope.

I got to see all kinds of great panels, I got fantastic food, I got to hi-five Will Friedle (Eric Matthews, Terry McGinnis, Ron Stoppable) just because, I got to see Austin St. John slip into the role of one of my childhood (and all time) heroes, and I got to see a whole bunch of amazing cosplay.

And a whole bunch of not so amazing cosplay. (Who cosplays as the twin towers on 9/11?)

And a hundred million Pokemon Go related things.

And a hundred billion Harley Quinns.

But overall, super dopeness.

So here's a photo gallery! Regularly scheduled gaming type stuff will re-commence on Saturday!

https://nomadicdopeness.shutterfly.com/pictures/852

Yep.

No Post Week!

And for a reason! StuffMax will not be updated on it's usual days of Wednesday and Saturday this week, because I will be gallivanting off to Atlanta so as to experience Dragon-Con!

No costume for me this year, but I greatly look forward to the whole experience, and if it proves to be dope, will be re-attending next year. Here's hoping!

Yep.

COUNTDOWN TO NIRVANA: An opinion on Kingsglaive.

Okay, so earlier this month, I had the opportunity to see Kingsglaive (the Final Fantasy XV companion movie for those not following peripheral media for the game) in theaters. While I intend to write a fully fledged review for the game in the (semi) near future, I just wanted to get some less formalized opinions out in the air without being bound to whatever review rules I set for myself.

So, first thing's first, I thought Kingsglaive was "Kinda good" at best, and very definitively "Okay" in general.

The movie is stunningly beautiful, easily some of the most top quality graphics I've ever seen in any video game related media, and if nothing else, it does a solid job of presenting some backdrop for events that will for sure be occurring in-game. But as a standalone tale, it's pretty lackluster.

The acting ranged pretty heavily from extremely strong (good ole' Sean Bean) to nigh unbearable (Whoever the hell played Libertus), and the immense range in acting quality in addition to (in my opinion) some strange casting choices made some of the movie hard to sit through. In addition, the story told in the movie would have been better told in multiple parts as a mini-series or something to that effect, as while the movie does a good job making me want to see how what happens will affect Noctis and his journey, it does rather poorly at making me care for the people the events of the movie are actually happening to.

The pacing and characterization decisions make it so there isn't really enough time to build a relationship with any of the main characters that aren't directly tied to Noctis, and the plight of the characters lacks any emotional punch due to much of their pre-existing strife occurring off-screen, or simply being relayed verbally.

The movie also has a serious uncanny valley problem, with textures and certain animations being mind-bogglingly well done, but general human movement and facial animations striking as distinctly off.

On the more positive side of things, the action in the movie is animated fantastically, and when the movie decides it's time to pull out all the stops in terms of spectacle, there is no shortage of stops to be pulled. When things take off, they do not come back down, and makes for a thrillingly good time.

All in all, I enjoyed Kingsglaive, but it for sure wasn't some amazing experience, feeling more like a nearly 2 hour long expository lore cutscene for the game proper. But Kingsglaive and Brotherhood in tandem give me high hopes for the handling of game itself, as both products have invested me rather strongly in how things will play out for Noctis and his closest friends.


On a separate note, It's Noctis' birthday, according to Square. Woo!

Yep.

Sunny Synergy - Ep. 1 Pt. 3

Random Game Stuff: DMC4:SE - Vergil Boss Rush (Mission 19+20+Ending)

So here's a new show I'm giving a shot: Random Game Stuff!



Random Game Stuff is the show where I upload random game stuff that doesn't fit into any of StuffMax's series (current or future planned) for general enjoyment!



That's about it. It's that simple. Check it out!

Sunny Synergy Ep. 1, Pt. 2

COUNTDOWN TO NIRVANA

It occurs to me that I am not posting anywhere near as often as I should be about Final Fantasy XV. Like, it should be a far more constant occurrence.

Every damn day.

That said, I'm WAY too lazy to keep up with posting something every day as I wait for the release of the one thing I've waited for my entire life. But do not get it twisted. I WILL be creating content leading up to the game's release.

As it stands, the plan is to have something new put out related to Final Fantasy XV at least once a week. At least. It will never be one of the main releases either here on on the channel, as Final Fantasy XV deserves its own day. The day won't be specifically scheduled either as EVERY DAMN DAY is Final Fantasy XV day as far as I'm concerned.

Immediate Paradox!

Instant Contradiction!

Zero Fucks!

Anywho, be ready. The countdown happens in earnest, and waits for no man.

Top 10: Video Games of 2016 (So Far)

Here goes the 2nd of (hopefully) many Top 10 lists on StuffMax.

As the title says, we're gonna be counting down the top 10 games of 2016 (so far.) I had intended to do this list at the halfway point of the year, but I hadn't gotten my shit together yet, so, you know, here we are at the end of August. But here we go!

Rules* of this list are pretty simple.

1. The game has to have been released in 2016, prior to 8/24/2016
2. I have to have at least tried the game. (Or at least that was the plan... I kinda slacked on games this year so far, so I've missed quite a few releases. So interspersed through this list will be games I've at least researched.)

That's kinda it. If it fits those criteria, it counts.

Later (in January next year) I plan to do a Top 10 games of 2016, and have it be based off of review scores as opposed to just off the cuff opinion, but that's for then! This is now!

Pretty sure that covers everything, so lets slide on into the list proper!

*as always, rules are subject to change at my whim, cause fuck it why not.

Runner-ups: Blade and Soul, Furi, Samurai Warriors 4 Empires

10

The continuing adventures of Ubisoft's graphical lies.

The Division

Direct competition for Destiny's spot as #1 MMO shooting game of the generation, The Division boasts solid (though strongly lied about) visuals and very well crafted gameplay, though it admittedly is also not the most groundbreaking effort. (Played)

9

It's everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

Overwatch

First posterchild on this list for taking the world by nonsensically powerful storm, Overwatch came to the table impressive visuals, an excellent cast of characters, fast, frenetic and fun gameplay, and a system of competition that seems to have well and truly solidified it's longevity. (Haven't Played)

8

The King of Pocket Fist Tournament?

Pokken Tournament

Tekkan and Pokemon had a child, then taught it some ABCs and tossed it out into the world. And lo and behold, it was pretty, fun, and surprisingly solid. Plus it gets many points for Lucha Pikachu. Being able to hit the Stone Cold Stunner on Charizard is too hilarious. (Played)

7

Ugh.

Street Fighter V

Stong contender for the most salt-inducing game created this generation and bearer of some of the most annoying online gameplay of all time, from its shitty point and ranking system, terrible Rage Quit penalty system that, as of recently, punishes players who have been rage quit ON, and some of the most barebones content since Street Fighter 1, Street Fighter V can easily be one of the worst experiences ever.

That said, the game looks fantastic, the soundtrack is overall very top quality, the gameplay (when offline) is on-point as fuck, and the simplification of the game to a degree has indeed achieved the goal of making entry to the Fighting Game Community a much easier experience. (Played)

6

Mini-Dark Souls!

Salt and Sanctuary

Haven't touched SnS yet, but everything I've seen and heard leads me to believe that this 2D Dark Souls love letter got the touch. So I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt. It looks good, it sounds good, and is Dark Souls-lite.

On a related note, Salty Struggle Souls: Sanctuary Edition is coming soon! (Haven't Played)

5

If this series could just be movies, that'd be great.

Uncharted 4

Admittedly bending the rules some here, as I've done minimal research on the game so as to avoid spoilers, as I'm still in the middle of Uncharted 3. That said, if the last 3 games, the trailers, the reviews and Naughty Dog's track record are anything to go by, Uncharted 4 is likely just as fantastic as the rest of the Uncharted series. (Haven't Played)

4

To be the greatest master of real life.

Pokemon Go

Exhibit B for unstoppable force of pop culture, Pokemon Go easily became one of the most popular things to exist since the original Pokemon games, re-upped on the Pokemon Series' global phenomenon status, and singlehandedly got millions of people up off of their asses and outside walking and living the dream the be the very best like no one ever was. Team Valor, by the way. (Played)

3

Chop all the things!

Monster Hunter Generations

I haven't gotten much of a chance to play Generations beyond the demo, but from what I have played, it's basically good ole tried and true chopping of monsters with everything that fans of the series have come to expect, with the added bonus of taking place in a whole bunch of hub towns celebrating the series, with an unparalleled number of monsters for the series, and fancy super monster chopping attacks and playstyles, and so it's good. (Played)

2

The end of an era.

Dark Souls 3

The final chapter of in a saga of soul crushing salt, bitter victory, and incomparable reward and relief, Dark Souls 3 is a culmination of everything the series has put forth so far, and it does fantastically almost everywhere, though its vague story is a bit TOO vague this time. But with the DLC on the way, that might change too. (Played)

And FINALLY

EL NUMERO UNO

1

THE SINGLE GREATEST FUCKING GAME EVER OF ALL TIME.

Final Fantasy XV

Yeah, fuck the rules. I don't care. This game is the best game ever, and that's it. This year. Last year. 220 B.C. All time. Ever. (IT DOESN'T MATTER IF I PLAYED IT. BEST GAME EVER. PERIOD.)

Yeah, that about covers this here Top 10. As always, feel free to leave a comment agreeing, disagreeing, or whatever tickles yo' fancy.

Yep.

Sunny Synergy Ep. 1, Pt. 1

For the first time ever, a video with commentary! I can't even believe it. Check it out!

Review Sideed

Sideed, meaning eight in Somali!

Alright, this is for sure a bit out of order, but fuck it, I'll circle back to the seventh review eventually.

Review the eighth from the StuffMax team (a.k.a Me, Myself and I) is...

Salty death, over and over...

Dark Souls III!

Third (and supposedly final) game in the dark fantasy series published by From Software and spearheaded by Hidetaka Miyazaki, Dark Souls III sets out to be the ending the series deserves, attempting to blend all the best parts of the games that came before it, and create the final masterpiece Souls game in the epic saga.

As always, it is my aim to find out if they've succeeded.

Let's find out!

First Impression

Like nearly every other Souls series game, Dark Souls 3 wastes no time in breezing past the company logos and getting directly to the ominous, near abyssal screen harboring only the games' title.

Unlike previous games in the series, Dark Souls III doesn't accompany this simple and dark start screen with haunting and lulling music, no. Dark Souls III leads in with a beautiful angry and horrifying orchestral swell, full of tortured chanting and beautiful bell work weaved within, setting one's blood racing for one final trip through From Software's salt mines.

Once entering a new game, players are treated to a glimpse of the decaying and truly hellish world that has been left by the folly of those who came before, as well as their role in saving it before the last dregs of fire die, and the world fades into darkness.

The character creation has become solidly more robust, and the beginning stage of the game sets a proper tone for how you're going to be spending the rest of the game.

Crawling out of a coffin after you done died again.

That said, the opening cutscene is a tad on the threadbare side, and not in a way that the Souls series usually handles so well. As opposed to providing exposition while still leaving things vague enough to draw your own conclusions, Dark Souls III opens in such a way that more leaves you a bit confused, and doesn't do much for your imagination other than creating the hope that further exposition will increase your understanding of the situation.

8.0/10: While the start of the game does a very good job of hyping you on an emotional level, the opening is somewhat lacking in terms of hooking you from a storytelling position. On some plane, this works, as the lack of information naturally invokes a form of curiosity, but for people with less investment in the series who aren't coming from older games, it may be a bit harder to get into the world off the bat.

Overall Presentation

Dark Souls' dark fantasy Berserk/Lovecraftian fusion beast of an aesthetic reaches its fever pitch, going above and beyond on the towering spires, horrific bloody tentacle beasts, filthy cretinous backstabbing peasants, and stoic, almost soulless armors ranging from the shiniest of the shiny to the most grody and grimy. The goal of the Souls universe generally seems to be the strongest attempt at making a medieval world that nobody, right mind or otherwise, would want to live in and damn does Dark Souls III hit those notes.

Just don't see me. I'm not here. Not here at all.

In just as many ways though, the vistas and arching stonework sprawled across the kingdom of Lothric can be absolutely breathtaking, with there being moments of legitimate beauty amongst all the filth.

The games menus and text styles suit the mood and tone of the game throughout, and the muted colors of the HUD ensure that there's nearly no point where your immersion is broken by bright colors in this dark, dark world.

To keep you solidly immersed, ambient noise and music trade out at constantly proper moments, at a rate so natural that you almost never notice.

9.5/10: Dark Souls nails it's intended look and feel on every note. If there is anything damn near perfect about this game (and damn near every other Souls game), it is this. That said, there comes a point where things begin to look a bit same-y due to the color tone of the game, but that's easily something overlooked by the time it occurs.

Accessibility

The Souls series is not a series for everyone. Gaming has a reached a sort of position where it has become so popular that most games attempt to appease all comers, which, while benefiting the overall continued presence of gaming in the public eye, has the downside of making most big-name games these days almost feel like they are holding your hand and guiding you along until you're at a point when you don't need it anymore.

And then they may keep holding your hand.

The Souls series does not believe in that philosophy.

That said, Dark Souls III does make more of an effort to make the game more accessible to those who may have been turned off by the Souls games original style of simply pushing you into a spike covered room filled with ravenous zombie wolves, and shutting the door, living it to you to tear a key to the door in the ceiling out of the stomach of the biggest baddest wolf in the room

And when you finally climb out, there are more wolves.

And the breath fire, cause why not.

Not that the game has gotten any easier. But whereas you had to figure out most everything but the basic controls on your own before, the game creates a more forgiving initial environment, with a more comprehensive guide to the controls, faster access to healing items, and super quick access to hub area where you'll spend the majority of your time, in addition to more plentiful checkpoints (bonfires), and the ability to warp from checkpoint to checkpoint, removing the hassle of traveling and backtracking.

So the Souls series now gives you a knife and shield, and the first room doesn't have spikes anymore.

That does make the sudden face first dive into pain a bit more jarring, though.

5.0/10: Dark Souls hasn't changed much in that it's not a big fan of helping you along the pathways of it's world, preferring you buck up and fend for yourself until your strong enough to eat everything that slithers in front of you, but at least it will point you in the right direction for once. And the game's relatively intuitive to get into.

Graphics

Dark Souls III is not the strongest graphical outing on today's systems, but man oh man, does it make use of what strength it has. Where the game isn't as powerful as far as character models and such go, the expanses of Lothric be they disgusting or beautiful are absolutely fantastically rendered, no matter what kind of environment the game throws at you.

From the high castle walls illuminated in the sun being ever so slowly eclipsed, to the unfortunate swamps buried deep below, and ranging to the hauntingly beautiful frozen preserved city of those

who reside above, Dark Souls never lets up on environmental excellency.

In addition, the models for the nerve-wracking boss characters, the excellent particle effects, the trails of light that follow the ridiculously violent swings of weaponry and the fantastic textures of the various equipment all stand out as wonderfully crafted, with excellent design picking up for the few times where less powerful graphics can't manage.

8.5/10: While not the most powerful graphics in the current-gen yard, Dark Souls III makes use of everything it has in fantastic ways. Still, the occasional moments of clip and some rough looking human sized models and faces occasionally stand out as low points.

Sound

The Dark Souls III soundtrack is absolutely stunning, ranging from creepy to pulse pounding, horrifying to haunting, and with some callbacks to older tracks in the serious, even makes tasteful but firm use of nostalgia. There are very VERY few moments where the musical direction doesn't work, but they do exist. But they are thoroughly outnumbered by the constant solid work.

The groans and screams of the unfortunate souls that populate Lothric come across as just as tortured as you would wish to avoid on any day, a solid note in an overall excellently handled example of vocal direction.

The game's characters come across as thoroughly untrustworthy no matter where you are, a feel the game tries to employ with gusto to remind you that nowhere is safe, and you truly don't feel safe anywhere, a fact not helped by the drops in music that leave you with little but ambient noise and silence.

When combat is the name of the game, DSIII does not disappoint, with clangs, bangs, slices, wet thuds and crushing snaps rendered with every excellently animated swing.

9.5/10: DSIII's sound direction is impeccable, easily on of the highest points of the game, with nearly no misses.

Controls

A duel! Please don't stab me...

An area where the Souls series has increased in fantastically, whereas Dark Souls controlled like a well thought out tank, Dark Souls III controls like a finely oiled sleek war machine, movement excellently responsive and hand position quite intuitive, with the minor changes to button layout making certain control decisions feel much more natural.

Offense and defense are handled by the shoulder buttons, with new Weapon Arts taking the place of series staple charge attacks when wielding a weapon with two hands.

Items, dodging and rolling, jumping (which is a bit on the shaky side) and confirmation controls are

mapped to the face buttons, with easy access to a quick menu and emotes on the PS4 touchpad (I've only played this on the PS4, so I am not aware of how the quick menu or emotes work on the X1, though I imagine they're controlled by the Start and Back buttons.)

These smoother controls with less input lag fit the increased pace of the game, where a bit more fast twitch reaction is required of the player.

Despite the increased pace of the game though, attacking is an action you commit to, so it's important to give thought to that when choosing to swing, as swinging wildly or at poor times are an extremely easy way to see that familiar glow of a bonfire far faster than you would like...

8.5/10: Dark Souls controls excellently, fluidly, and comfortably, though some may find the combat buttons being on the shoulders as opposed to the face of the controller a bit off-putting. Also, jumping, while better than previous entries, is still a bit on the unfortunate side.

Difficulty

You know, I want to go particularly in depth for how hard this game is, but I kinda think it's common knowledge that the Souls series prides itself on its difficulty. Now, I didn't find it to be particularly hard, but that's coming from having beaten every other game in the series and being used to this level of difficulty. And there is a lot to be said for how even one person joining you in jolly co-operation will make certain portions of the game far easier.

That said, when playing solo, the game has not remotely fallen off in difficulty, not even a little bit.

Enemies are faster, hit harder, and things that made previous games easier like stacking armor to make your swings unstoppable or racking up nonsensically powerful magic nukes don't have anywhere near the same impact that older games seemed to allow.

And bosses seem to be harder than ever, now with new phases and forms that they assume mid fight, disgustingly powerful grab attacks, teleportation and generally being a million times bigger than you, and reaching you from across the world.

Also, sneak attacks and poison and evil everywhere.

Expect death. And expect it often.

8.5/10: Death is a constant in the game, but almost never is it cheap and not a result of you fucking up. This is for sure a game you should only come for if you're looking for challenge though, as you can't select your difficulty, and on new games, it only goes higher.

Replayability

One of the highlights of the Souls series is it's replayability. DSIII is a bit on the disappointing side as far as that goes, as there isn't much reason to continue playing once you've finished the game besides the challenge of the increased difficulty, as unlike in other Souls games, not much changes as far as your rewards and character interactions go when you start a new playthrough.

420 Praise It!

But if challenge and joining with people in jolly co-operation (or not so jolly invasion) is your game,

then feel free to get yourself in there!

That in mind, there are at least 3 planned expansions coming up, so the game does still have life beyond the first thrill of success. But as that hasn't be released yet, we can only anticipate excitedly.

7.0/10: The game isn't as full of cool surprises on later playthroughs, but the joy of victory and the thrill of jolly co-op (or invasion, if that's your thing) make replays worth it. Plus, it's really easy to miss stuff, so it's nice to find what you missed the second (or third) go-round.

Story

Dark Souls III's story surrounds the struggle of  you, the reborn Ashen One, conglomerate of all those who failed to link the fire and save the world as you rise in a last ditch effort to use the souls of the Lords of Cinder (the big baddies spread across Lothric) to give energy to the First Flame before it's snuffed out, and everything goes to hell in a handbasket....

Well, more to hell in a handbasket. A lower circle.

Aaaaand... Well, that's about all you get, story-wise. There are some more threads and such, connections to previous games, but the game does it's damnedest to let you know that any story you gather is almost conjecture. And while in some regards, that can be the beauty of the Souls series, it doesn't work if the game doesn't give you much to formulate ideas with.

There's plenty of fantastic lore in the item descriptions and environment, but very little by way of what's happening as the main story progresses.

Now, admittedly, there are fans who have likely looked harder than I have, and gleaned a much more complete story, but admittedly, I didn't really feel like enough was given to have a satisfying and fulfilling conclusion.      

5.0/10: The lore of the Souls series is always strong, and it's a solid base, but the game feels too vague to even enjoy the regular art of Souls theory-crafting.

Fun Factor

I still don't like these odds...

All that said, we come to the most important part. Is the game fun?

Hell yes.

The story is not solid, sure, there's a solid chunk less content, and damn is this game sometimes like beating your face against a wall until your blood transmutes into pure rage-induced salt.

But between the beautiful world, extensive lore, dope armor and weapons, cool attacks, fending off invasions, Jolly Co-operation, and the sweet, sweet taste of victory...

Man.

There's pretty much not a damn thing like it.

I just wish it was longer. I wish there was more.

9.5/10: I have every intention of going home and swinging in to this game later this week. Maybe even tonight. My one gripe is it's over too soon. Good thing there's both New Game + AND incoming DLC!

SCORE

And so, we reach the goal-line!

Survey says....

THE VERDICT

DARK SOULS III SCORES A

79.0

A GREAT DAMN GAME

Woo. Yeah!

Dark Souls III is a really solid game, and despite the score, I love it way more. Maybe I'm getting better at this bias thing!

Anywho, I will revisit this game once the expansions drop, and see how it looks to me then!

WOO! Just before deadline.

Alriiiiiight.

Look out for new video content on the StuffMax youtube channel on Saturday!

Yep.

The Necalli Scrub Saga SPECIAL: Road to Silver - The Karin Gauntlet

It's as if the Street Fighter gods themselves didn't want me to make it to Silver! What kinda nonsense is this?! Check out this special episode of the Necalli Scrub Saga and find out!

Top 10: Fighting Game Main Peoples!

Okay, so this list has been bubbling about in my head for a while now. I wanted to get it out of my head while the iron was still hot, but, you know, I suck at deadlines and stuff, so that didn't work. BUT I'M STILL GONNA PUT DIS SHIT OUT!

Just way... WAY later than planned...

Here be the rules and regulations.

First and foremost, regulation-wise, it is worth noting that this list is very subjective, and the criteria I am judging upon is first personal preference, followed by (much less importantly) impact and legacy, followed by and least importantly, general popularity.

Think of it sorta like 50% Cause I Want To, 30% Impact/Legacy, 20% Popularity. Sort of.*

As for numerically ordered rules:

1. Must be the/a generally agreed upon protagonist/main character. No deuteragonists or rivals.

2. Must have appeared in more than one installment of the series, provided the series has more than one installment.

3. Series must primarily consist of fighting games. So no side games of a series that is another genre.

4. Series must be original, so no fighting games based on other series.

*These numbers and percentages are not to be taken as gospel, and subject to change as I go, cause fuck it.

So. With those caveats out of the way, let's get it on!

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First and foremost, Top Five honorable mentions in no particular order include Kasumi from Dead or Alive, Eiji from Battle Arena Toshinden, Haohmaru from Samurai Shodown, Jago from Killer Instinct and Akira from Virtua Fighter.

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Oh, and for those who have any interest in such things, there are very likely to be spoilers in this here list. So, keep that in mind.

-

And onto the list proper:

10. Yugo Ōgami (Bloody Roar)

"Yugo Ogami (大神勇吾 Ōgami Yūgo) is a fictional character from the Bloody Roar series.  His beast form is the wolf and he's currently the leader and founder of the organisation World of Co-Existence.

Yugo is very aggressive, impulsive and short tempered; he is also somewhat childish and very upbeat. Despite his hot-tempered nature however, Yugo is actually a caring and kind-hearted man who hates injustice and will always lend a hand to anyone who needs it.

Yugo appeared in the first installment, Bloody Roar. He is considered to be the main protagonist of the series, and often viewed as the series' mascot."

The main character of the Bloody Roar series, Yugo makes the list for me and beats out the honorable mentions because his fighting style (a mix between overly speedy boxing, and whatever the hell he does as a wolf) is enjoyable as hell, and he acts as the figurehead of one of the more fun and unfortunately overlooked fighting game series that I've had the chance to get my hands on. 

I mean, shit, the entire series is the clashing of characters who transform into raging were-animals ranging from Dragons, to Unborn, to Rabbits to Chimeras, and whatever in-between!

I also have a tendency to enjoy "character duality" (a term likely to pop up a lot in this list), mirroring, and other things regarding two sides of a coin, or things of that nature when applied to fictional characters. Especially cool ass transformations. The shift from man to beast is not necessarily well executed here, but damn does it look cool.

Between his biker style, boxing techniques and rather cool wolf transformation, Yugo hits some sincerely right notes. At least enough to place him at number 10.

9. Morrigan Aensland (Darkstalkers)

"Morrigan Aensland (Japanese: モリガン・アーンスランド Hepburn: Morigan Ānsurando) is a video game character from the Darkstalkers series of fighting games developed by Capcom. Morrigan is a succubus and a princess of the demon realm Makai, who is very vain and lives for little more than the excitement of battle, but slowly takes up more of her royal responsibilities seriously despite her obsessive fascination of the human world.

Morrigan was introduced in the 1994 game Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors and has since appeared in every game in the series and in various related media, as well as in multiple video games outside the Darkstalkers game series. She is the central character of the extended Darkstalkers franchise and is widely perceived as one of the most popular Capcom characters."

One of the originators of video game sex appeal, and longtime fan favorite, Morrigan has been able to spread her influence far outside of her own games, appearing in nearly every crossover game that Capcom even thinks about putting out and then some.

Interestingly, her character sprite is probably one of the most used sprites of all time, hilariously appearing in nearly every entry of every game she's appeared in utilizing her original sprite from the first Darkstalkers up until Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, where there was no longer a choice but to update, as Capcom had made the transition to 3D models.

My personal enjoyment of Morrigan, however, comes from the fact that she plays like a Shoto character, so in addition to being all different kinds of sexy and being iconic than a motherfucker, at least as far as Darkstalkers is concerned, she also plays in the most familiar fashion possible. And that's great.

She's also a case of character duality, in the case of the shard of her soul, the more impish but innocent looking Lilith.

But all things considered, Morrigan earns her spot on this list due to her impressive legacy, having become the face of Darkstalkers with no doubt, and gaining arguably more popularity outside her own games than within.

8. Kyo Kusanagi (King of Fighters)

"Kyo Kusanagi (草薙 京 Kusanagi Kyō) is the main character in SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series; he was first introduced in The King of Fighters '94 as the leader of the Japan team. He is one of the iconic characters of the series and regularly appears on publicity material and merchandise. 

His name and abilities were designed in order to relate him with the Yamata no Orochi legend. Because he was highly popular and his outfit changed along the series, the designers created a few clones with his old appearance.

Kyo is first introduced as a cocky delinquent high school student who is the heir to the Kusanagi clan, who can use pyrokinetic powers. In The King of Fighters universe, his clan is one of the three clans that sealed the legendary snake entity, Yamata no Orochi. Due to his clan's past, Kyo fights against the Kusanagi's enemies; his rival Iori Yagami, the last member of the Yagami clan, and the Orochi's soldiers. He enters every The King of Fighters tournament representing Japan and uses his clan's fighting style to combine fire with kenpo. Aside from the main series, Kyo also appears in several other media series such as spin-offs and crossover video games as well as comic adaptations of the series."

The delinquent of delinquents when it comes to fighting games, Kyo is bad-boy-style cool personified. His character design is so well loved that whenever it changes, SNK makes a story related clone of him just to be able to keep the costume in circulation. He's not the most original personality, but said personality is so classic, and pulled off with such shameless gusto in Kyo that I cannot help but enjoy it.

In addition, Kyo represents one of the few gaming series willing to go head to head with the mighty giant "Street Fighter", and not come out completely chewed up and spit out like so much rotten food. Not to say that KoF wasn't still soundly handed it's ass, just less so than other series competing at the time.

7. Ragna the Bloodedge (BlazBlue)

"Ragna the Bloodedge (ラグナ＝ザ＝ブラッドエッジ Raguna za Buraddoejji) is the main protagonist of the BlazBlue series. Also known as the Grim Reaper, he is feared by the NOL for being the most powerful individual to have ever rebelled against them since the Ikaruga Civil War. His actions, which included destroying countless number of their branches, has labeled him the most wanted criminal to received the largest bounty ever in the history of the NOL. He possesses a powerful form of ars magus called the Azure Grimoire, or simply referred to as the titular BlazBlue, which is often either the secondary or primary target of those after him and his bounty. His ultimate goal is to destroy the NOL, for he blames them for destroying his family.

Ragna is sardonic, rude, and abrasive to anyone he comes across. He is also quick to anger, quite stubborn, and never misses a chance to use as much vulgar language as possible. In this regard, Ragna is similar to the stereotypical anime delinquent. This is caused mainly by Yūki Terumi practically destroying Ragna's life, which has created a mass of hatred in him; stronger than that of any other individual. Ragna often becomes infuriated at first sight of Yūki Terumi, which he often takes advantage of through taunting him. However, even in cases where he cannot win or is on the brink of death, Ragna possesses an undying will and refuses to give up, something many characters either hate or admire.

Beneath his gruff exterior, however, Ragna does possess a softer, more compassionate side. He chooses to keep up his public front because of the path he chose – that of revenge. He does genuinely care for certain people, and despite Jin's role in the destruction of his life, still cares for him as a brother.

Later on after the events of Chronophantasma, Ragna goes through more personal development which changes his opinions about the reasons he fights. He starts to rely on his own strength instead of the Azure Grimoire, as its power is to "steal" instead of "protect". He declares that he will no longer fight to destroy and for revenge, and instead, decides to fight in order to protect his loved ones. "

Whereas Kyo is delinquent incarnate, Ragna is a the slow developing delinquent who eventually embraces his destiny as the hero he is meant to be. To me, Ragna belongs where he does on this list 1: Because his design is fucking awesome, and 2: because I am hard pressed to think of a fighting game that so well fleshes out both it's story and characters in game. More often than not, character development in fighting games either doesn't exist, or is delegated to external materials and theory on the interwebs. Ragna and BlazBlue blatantly defy that mold, crafting a lengthy and deep story through which Ragna subtly shifts and changes from hardened criminal, to selfish delinquent, to reluctant champion, to selfless (most of the time) hero, all while still maintaining the surly, angry and sarcastic qualities that make him amusing in the first place.

The story of his struggle against his potential destiny of becoming the Black Beast of legend that will go on to destroy everything only adds to my enjoyment of him, and seeing little pieces of the Beast in his fighting style are little details that add together to make me thoroughly enjoy the Bloodedge.

The only reason he doesn't rank higher is because as much as I love him, I feel like he needs a bit more time to expand his legacy. Those higher on this list are people who have stood strong in my head as the faces of fighting games for quite some time.

6. Terry Bogard (Fatal Fury)

Terry Bogard (テリー・ボガード Terī Bogādo) is a video game character created by SNK Playmore (previously SNK), and is the main character of the Fatal Fury series. In the series, he is an American fighter who enters the worldwide tournaments called The King of Fighters to kill Geese Howard, a criminal who killed Terry's father. Terry becomes a formidable fighter, earning the title of "Legendary Hungry Wolf". In the fourth tournament he participates, Terry nearly kills Geese, but relents at the last moment. Geese responds to this by apparently committing suicide. Terry then decides to become the guardian of Geese's son, Rock Howard.

Terry Bogard is an incredibly charismatic, cheerful and friendly man with everyone around him. He bears no ill will towards anyone other than Geese Howard, the killer of his adoptive father. His relationship with Andy is that of respect, recognizing his younger brother as a potential rival. He feels a sense of kinship with Blue Mary for her loss, and the two developed a long time relationship. He treats Rock as his son, but allows him to choose his own path in life. He teasingly calls Rock, "Rookie". Terry is also well-informed of what goes on in the streets.

In Gamest's 1997 Heroes Collection, Terry was voted as the staff's eighth favorite character. In a 2005 poll made by SNK Playmore USA, he was voted as the number one fan favorite character with a total of 10014 votes. He was voted as the second most favorite character at the time of Garou: Mark of the Wolves with one commenter saying that "Terry's the eternal hero". In the character popularity poll on Neo Geo Freak's website, he was voted as the fourth favorite character with a total of 2,479 votes.

He has appeared in every Fatal Fury and King of Fighters game, and is one of the characters of choice to symbolize the company in crossover games, merchandise and publicity."

Terry Bogard, quite possibly the epitome of the Japanese Vision of the All-American Hero, Terry Bogard is a better version of what Kyo Kusanagi should be for SNK: A worthwhile protagonist and face to go up against the mighty, mighty Street Fighter.

A man of simple tastes and cool as fuck style, Terry looks every bit the part of what is imagined to be the simple American hero archetype, with simple, functional clothes that still look cool, an upright attitude, and all of the muscles. He would fit right in to damn near any 80s and early 90s action movie.

Terry's hilarious/awesome and instantly recognizable engrish, in addition to his explosive and rather cool fighting style easily add to his iconic aesthetic. The culmination results in a classic style of character, one who gets over on being as much the archetype as he can possibly be.

His classic styling make him quite possibly the most popular single creation that SNK has ever produced. He no doubt deserves a spot on the list for that alone.

But my biggest personal reason for including him on the list is because I just really fucking love the Buster Wolf.

5. Jin Kazama (Tekken)

"Jin Kazama (Japanese: 風間 仁 Hepburn: Kazama Jin) is a fictional character and main protagonist of the Tekken series released by Namco Bandai Games. Jin is consistently voiced by Isshin Chiba since he debuted in Tekken 3, making him the only Tekken character and one of the video game characters that are consistently voiced by one actor in every appearance.

Trained by his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima, in order to enter the King of Iron Fist Tournament, Jin wishes to avenge his mother's apparent death. However, during the tournament it is revealed that Jin possesses the Devil Gene (Japanese: デビルの血 Hepburn: Debiru no Chi (Lit. 'Devil's blood')), a genetic abnormality within his body, which causes the betrayal of Heihachi who wants to take it. He is also antagonized by his father, Kazuya Mishima, from whom he inherited the gene. While dealing with them, Jin loses control of the Devil Gene, which causes his transformation into an alter-ego named Devil Jin (Japanese: デビル仁 Hepburn: Debiru Jin), first introduced as a non-playable character in Tekken 3 and playable in Tekken 5.

Jin's personality ranges from calm to angry at various moments, and his words and actions hint toward the bitterness within. He also has one personality trait which is common with many Japanese action heroes. Once Jin's mind is focused in any particular direction, it is very difficult to get him to change or even notice the events and people around him. People close to him, including his friends Ling Xiaoyu and Hwoarang, are always going to extremes to gain Jin's attention, and yet, he rarely seems to notice. It is known, however, that he will help them if they need it, as related media has shown."

Maaaaan talk about a character with family issues?

Jin Kazama debuted as a smooth, cool, apathetic version of Kazuya Mishima, taking over for the former when he went the rout of villain and supposedly kicked the bucket. (Turned out to be not so dead about a game later, but eh. Death is cheap in fiction anyway.)

Easily the best apart about Jin (yet another character struggling with some inner dark side... This is really a trend for me...) is the amount of development Jin has gone through over Tekken's lengthy lore, from being the hip young Kazuya clone, to becoming whatever form of tortured soul he was when he abandoned the Mishima Martial Arts in favor of straight up Karate, to the out of his mind world domination plans he enacted in an attempt to become powerful enough to end the Mishima Bloodline problems forever.

Jin has been through a lot, and his struggle to keep doing the right thing, no matter what he does in pursuit of it is a fantastic concept.

4. Siegfried Schtauffen (SoulCalibur)

"Siegfried Schtauffen (ジークフリート・シュタウフェン, Jīkufurīto Shutaufen) is the main protagonist character in most Soul series's games and the most central character of the series until Soulcalibur V.

He is one of the only characters that have been included in every game in the series since Soul Edge, appearing in Soulcalibur and Soulcalibur II as the story's main villain, as well as appearing in Soulcalibur III and Soulcalibur IV as the main hero. In Soulcalibur II, he is an unlockable costume for his temporary alter-ego, Nightmare, and Nightmare's unmasked appearance (his alternate costume) is that of Siegfried. The non-canon spin-off title Soulcalibur Legends was released in 2007 with Siegfried being the central character, and he has returned in Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny. Siegfried returned as a major supporting character in Soulcalibur V and he also is playable in the PS3 exclusive Soulcalibur: Lost Swords.

In Soul Edge and Soulcalibur Legends, Siegfried is somewhat cocky and arrogant, never stopping to achieve what he desires. However, after being freed from Soul Edge in Soulcalibur, he stops being selfish and strives to atone for his sins. When he becomes Nightmare again in Soulcalibur II, he is portrayed as a heartless beast. But when he becomes himself again in Soulcalibur III, he regains his desire for atonement. In Soulcalibur IV, Siegfried fears that he would get other people hurt if he lets them join him. So he isolates himself from others in order to destroy Soul Edge and repent for his sins. However in Soulcalibur V Siegfried is much calmer and relaxed, he also acts as a mentor to his comrades."

Tortured soul with a giant sword fighting to save the world. The tragic struggle of Siegfried Schtauffen from his nonsensical patricide-colored past, to his foolhardy quest to undo history via an insane quest to become powerful enough to murder the bastard who killed his father (hint: It was Siegfried. Siegfried is out of his damn mind) to his fantastic tenure as the Azure Nightmare, terror of the world, and finally ending with his free and clear mind waging one last sacrificial battle against the essence of evil itself that he unwillingly released upon the world covers is riveting from beginning to end, and his aesthetic is positively fantastic. Especially when he's Nightmare in Soulcaliur 2.

I mean damn. Who the hell even needs to look that cool?

That aside, Siegfried, along with Heishiro Mitsurugi and Ninja-in-a-Painted-On-Suit Taki are the faces of one of the most successful, deep, and well crafted 3D fighting games ever to exist, to say nothing of being probably the only successful weapon based fighter aside from maaaaaybe Bushido Blade.

Maybe.

For that alone, he deserves the props. Add the Nightmare costume from 2 to that, and it's on like Donkey Kong.

3. Sol Badguy (Guilty Gear)

"Sol Badguy (Japanese: ソル＝バッドガイ Hepburn: Soru Baddogai) is a fictional character in Arc System Works' Guilty Gear video game series. He first appeared in the 1998 video game Guilty Gear, as the main character and namesake. In the series, he is a bounty hunter who has dedicated his life to the destruction of Gears, a race of magical bioweapons that plunged the world into a hundred-year war known as the Crusades. He was once a member of the Sacred Order of the Holy Knights.

At first glance, he is an aloof, anti-hero bounty hunter, whose apparent laziness and gruffness belies his terrifying fighting ability, and the amazing genius and emotional depths beneath that brash exterior.

Sullen and unrefined, Sol only speaks to others when absolutely necessary. This is reflected in everything he does, and his fighting moves, while rough and unpolished, are executed with absolute precision. He also tends to be impatient and rude towards those who wish to interact with him, whether they are friend or foe. Overall, Sol is not a friendly man, but he is not an inherently evil one neither. He is a person who prefers to convey his intent with his actions.

While he cynically mocks those who speak of justice, he has exhibited a staunch sense of righteousness that motivates him to prevent anything that might potentially threaten the world and the peace established after the Crusades. He is also surprisingly compassionate as seen when he spares and even helps both Dizzy and Solaria, despite both being Command Type Gears whose power could potentially endanger humanity if left unchecked. It is seen through the course of the series that Sol has much deeper emotional depths that he normally doesn't display towards people."

So there's Kyo, the Basic Super Delinquent. And then there's Ragna, the Good Hearted Dummy Delinquent Hero. And then? Then there's the man what all delinquency the world round aspires to be. The final form of delinquency, if you will.

The avatar of the moment you surpass the simple idea of delinquency, ride your flaming motorcycle straight past every other step in-between and finally evolve into the Downright Unforgivably Sinful Epitome of Cool (tm? Sure. tm).

Easily one of the single coolest characters of all time, from aesthetic to personality to moveset to even his goddamn voice, Sol Badguy exudes awesome from every pore, lights it on fire, uses it to light his cigarette, and goes on about his day with a yawn.

The titular Guilty Gear, when he was still a human scientist, Sol took part in experiments that basically broke everything, started World War 3, eradicated Japan, and fucked up life for everyone ever. Rather than letting his dumbass life-ruining decisions turn him into an emo candyass punk, The Badass formerly known as Fredrick decided to just become the most powerful motherfucker the world has ever seen. And then proceed to use his endless swole-ness to make money by beating the shit out of everything. Probably while bored as fuck.

Plus his favorite band is Queen.

2b, Scorpion

"Hanzo Hasashi (波佐志半藏), now known as Scorpion (全蠍人, "Full Scorpion Man"), is a resurrected ninja in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He is one of the very few original characters, debuting in the first Mortal Kombat arcade game. He holds the unique distinction, along with Raiden and Sub-Zero (in one form or another), of appearing in every generation of Mortal Kombat games as a playable character.

Scorpion is a hell-spawned spectre, inexorably seeking vengeance against those responsible for the destruction of his clan and the death of his own family. Despite his malevolent appearance, he is not inherently evil. He joins the forces of evil when promised a means of resurrecting his clan on Earth, or the chance to inflict his wrath against those who butchered them. Scorpion has also (indirectly) assisted the game's protagonists to fulfill these motives.

Although Scorpion is often strict and wrathful, at times he shows a caring side and is very honorable. In the original timeline, when he discovers the Sub-Zero in the second tournament isn't Bi-Han and in fact his more merciful brother, Scorpion vows to protect Kuai Liang instead for killing his kin. In the second timeline, Scorpion truly intended to spare the first Sub-Zero in exchange for the resurrection of his clan, but Quan Chi prevented this. Most notably, in the Mortal Kombat X Comic, it's shown he took in victims and survivors of the Netherrealm War into his iteration of the Shirai Ryu while also raising Takeda. During this time, he treated Takeda like his own son, such as when he comforts Takeda after Fox's death."

Fuck the Ghost Rider, this dude here is the REAL Spirit of Vengeance.

A fire-breathing, sucka-impaling, kung-fu slingin', whirling ninja dervish of pain, vengeance, and rage, and bearer of one of the single most iconic fighting game sound bytes of all time, Scorpion is like the embodiment of every kung fu revenge flick ever smashed into one ninja, rolled in hellfire, then shot out a cannon to wreak havoc on any and everyone standing in his way.

Shit, even if the fate of the world is at stake, if some dumb bastard done goofed and crossed Scorpion in any way? He's dying. Guaran-damn-teed.

I always gotta respect the guys willing to let everything burn for their cause. If you're gonna go for it, you go all the fucking way, no matter what.

Plus, he's one of the OG video game ninjas. Regardless of how overused they are, Ninjas are automatically cool, especially 90s ninjas.

2a. Liu Kang (Mortal Kombat)

Liu Kang (Chinese: 劉康; pinyin: Liúkāng) is a fictional character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He was introduced in the series' original video game installment in 1992, as a Shaolin monk who enters the Mortal Kombat tournament to save Earthrealm (Earth). Since his victory in the tournament, Liu Kang becomes the champion and chief defender of Earthrealm, guided by his mentor, the thunder god Raiden. He also becomes romantically involved with Princess Kitana, an adopted daughter of Shao Kahn, the evil emperor of Outworld.

Liu Kang is one of the most popular and accessible characters in the series. He is one of Earthrealm's greatest warriors, having defeated many to prove his valor. Throughout the series he has been gradually portrayed as the main hero, becoming champion after the first Mortal Kombat tournament. Liu Kang has found a nemesis in the traitorous Shang Tsung, a sorcerer who he has defeated on numerous occasions. Kang is often considered the greatest threat to the plans of Tsung and his emperor, Shao Kahn. He is a member of the White Lotus Society and trains extensively at the Wu Shi Academy. It was at the Academy that he was murdered by the Deadly Alliance of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi.

His body was resurrected without his spirit in Mortal Kombat: Deception. This physical half killed hundreds of innocent people, with the skills he refined to protect them while he was alive. He retained his personality as a zombie, as he still had his trademark yells. A notable exception is the intro of Armageddon, where he groans like a recognizable zombie.

He is said to be one of the Great Kung Lao's last descendants through various media (a trading card, the first film, etc.) It is possible that Liu Kang and Kung Lao are cousins. He is referred to as "The Immortal Champion of Mortal Kombat" in later games, and his ending in Mortal Kombat: Deception has him again assuming the role upon his restoration to life.

You know? I'm not even gonna lie to you. I love Liu Kang, but his placement this high on the list is for certain 90% thanks to his characterization in the first movie. Liu Kang is great. That's about it.

AND NUMBER ONE

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1. Ryu (Street Fighter)

Ryu (リュウ or 隆 Ryū) is the protagonist and main character of the Street Fighter series. Ryu has made an appearance in every Street Fighter game, as well as in almost every crossover fighting game with Capcom characters in it.

Ryu has arguably become the most famous character in the fighting game genre, starring in early fighting games such as Street Fighter, and started to become popular in Street Fighter II, where he was considered a "basic" character. He, along with Mega Man, is considered one of Capcom's unofficial "mascots".

Ryu is usually a silent, humble, serious individual whose severity is often juxtaposed against the light-hearted, fiery persona of his best friend and oldest rival, Ken. He travels the globe with a stern nature, often appearing to others as boring or detached. On rare occasion, Ryu shows a very bad sense of humor. Cool and calculating, patience is Ryu's biggest strength. Ryu's overarching goal in Street Fighter is to become a total master of his fighting style. To this end, Ryu plays the part of the wandering warrior, and takes both his travels and his training very seriously. Although he appears to be aloof and unemotional, Ryu is actually a kind and good-hearted person. He respects others with skills equal to his own and holds heroic figures like Captain America, Spider-Man and Cyclops in high regard, as seen in the Marvel vs. Capcom series. However, by the time of Street Fighter III, it seems that Ryu has developed a somewhat more friendly personality. He is still very quiet and reserved, but is willing to greet people with a smile and some kind advice, very much like his master Gouken. Ryu doesn't exactly consider himself a heroic person, but he does fight for innocents when he sees injustice.

There is, however, a dark side to Ryu. His drive to improve himself, no matter the difficulty, can sometimes develop into a drive to win and to be the best, no matter what the cost, as these two goals are so dangerously similar. This darker drive is fed by, and in turn feeds, the Satsui no Hado within him, an influence which Ryu must constantly fight to suppress (at least until the time of Street Fighter III). Ryu's desire to be better can sometimes make his advice to his defeated opponents seem more arrogant and judgmental than Gouken's, though he is fundamentally well-intentioned. In times when his inner darkness threatens to overcome him, Ryu relies on his friends and rivals - primarily Ken, Chun-Li, Gouken, Rose, Sagat and Sakura - to keep him grounded and snap him out of it.

Early Street Fighter manga often depicted Ryu having a more "rough and tumble" personality, as well as a bit of a goofy side. He was also shown to be quite irritable when hungry. In his short story in Street Fighter Gaiden, he was shown to be a rather happy individual and, personality-wise, somewhat like Goku from the Dragon Ball series. This is quite different from the stoic person he is often shown to be in the games.

Ryu is consistently ranked as one of the most popular and memorable characters from the Street Fighter franchise as well as gaming in general among critics. GameSpot featured him in their article "All Time Greatest Game Hero". He additionally ranked number seventy-one on UGO Networks's "Top 100 Heroes of All Time" article. UGO also placed him at #2 on their list of "Top 50 Street Fighter Characters", stating "Whereas Ken is flashy, Ryu is contemplative, tortured and driven." IGN ranked him first in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article, stating "Ryu is a testament to the virtue of simplicity in character design. White gi, dark gloves, red headband for a little touch of color, and that is it. It's rare, when you think about it, to see too many fancy pieces go into the making of an icon". GameDaily listed him at number two in their "Top 20 Street Fighter Characters of All Time" article, stating "He always seeks a bigger challenge, and that determination makes him one of our favorites"; in a later character profile article for Ryu, they stated "Ryu is a formidable fighter that gets the job done.... Bottom line, you can't go wrong with Street Fighter's most iconic character." The same site ranked him sixth along with Ken in the Top 25 Capcom Characters of All Time with editor Robert Workman saying "It was just impossible to choose between one of these world warriors". 

He has also been recognized as one of the best gaming characters from all time. He was voted as one of the best fifty characters in both a Famitsu issue and the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition from 2011. In the February 1992 issue of Gamest magazine in Japan Ryu ranked third Best Character of 1991. In the January 30, 1997 issue Ryu ranked number thirteen in Top 50 Characters of 1996. In a 2010 survey of 4000 online matches for Super Street Fighter IV, Ryu was the most popular character, with 16.6% of the usage. In 2011, Empire ranked him as the 27th greatest video game character, adding "he has remained the definitive beat-'em-up fighter and go-to-guy for the discerning player since the days of SF2."

UGO listed Ryu's headband twenty-sixth on their list of "The Coolest Helmets and Headgear in Video Games". In GamesRadar's article "The 56 characters of Marvel vs Capcom 2", Ryu was described as "The heart and soul of the Street Fighter series" and "probably the most well known fighting game character in the world"

Honestly.

Seriously.

If you thought any

AND I MEAN ANY

other person was gonna be in this #1 spot?

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Man...

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There aren't even words.

Just go home. Go on, get. Get away from me. Friendship over.

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You still here? Kick rocks! Touch gravel! Go away!

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Okay. Now that that's been handled

Ryu is the greatest fighting game character ever. Period. Bar none. There isn't even competition. He is the face of not only the most popular fighting game series ever, but (NOT) arguably the face of the entire fighting game genre.

His iconic (and often mispronounced) special moves, both on the stage of look and execution are the base influence for almost every fighting game protagonist to follow him.

He is the fighting game basis, if you know how to play with Ryu, you can get into damn near any 2D fighting game at a basic level with almost laughable ease.

He is the eternal wanderer, gracing innumerable fighting game titles, and a major draw to a nonsensical amount of crossover games and references. From his moves appearing in other Capcom titles, to clones of him appearing in other media ranging from Avatar: The Last Airbender to Gravity Falls and countless others, Ryu's influence is felt across a huge range of pop culture.

He's the friggin' man.

He's the best.

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Alrighty! That took foreeeeeeeeeeever to finish. I don't think I've ever had a more severe case of writer's block. Like, I've been late and lazy before, but damn. 

That said, I'm trying to keep content coming out semi-regularly, and while the blog's been kinda stagnant, the youtube channel has been updating significantly more regularly, so, you know, keep an eye out on that. I do intend to eventually post stuff there that isn't me getting my ass handed to me in Street Fighter, maybe the next top 10 list will be a video instead or something.

Ooh, that could be fun, actually... We'll see!

Anywho, more stuff coming soon! If you got beef with the list, feel free to let me know with a comment or something about how wrong you are!

Cause this list is infallible. Fact.

Mwahaha.

Yep.

(Basic character descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and the Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, King of Fighters, Capcom, Soul Calibur BlazBlue and Guilty Gear Wikia pages)