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.

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.

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.

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...

...

There aren't even words.

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

...

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

...

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)

Street Fighter V: The Misadventures of Scrub Necalli!

Ha! More content in less than a year!

Breakin' records out here.

...


Anywho!

I picked up Street Fighter V on release, and I've been bashing my head against ranked mode ever since trying to stubborn my way to the Gold League so I can feel dope about myself for however long that lasts.

It has not been working.

Finally tired of getting frustrated trying to make it work with my homie Ryu, I've decided a new approach is in order.

Time to learn a new character.

The way I figure it, if I have to learn a new character from the ground up, I'll have to learn things about the game and shit, and eventually, after much winning and losing and losing and winning and replay watching, I'll actually get better, and then achieve my goal!

So.

In a bid to knock out two birds with one stone (namely getting better at Street Fighter AND providing more content here) I've decided to record my scrubtastic struggles for enjoyment for all! The character of choice is Necalli, because if you've seen me, then you know that Necalli is somewhere on the spectrum towards my final form, so this is damn near an obligation.

Join me in my grand adventure to both get good AND make it to gold!

The first match!

The runback!

Yeah!

Can't count on nobody for nothin' these days...

And by nobody and nothing, I am indeed referring to myself and my steadfast lies. Cause clearly, I ain't update a damn thing, and the video stuff didn't happen either.

But!

As usual, I am planning to come back, and say I'm going to do things, and likely fail at doing them, but with much gusto!

This time, my plan is to begin reviewing games again once I play one as it comes out, as opposed to reviewing a game long after it's past it's due date and such.

So yeah. That oughtta be fun. In theory.

So let's make with the relevant updates, and things that mattered to me, I suppose!

• Was gonna beat Dark Souls 2. Did not because Scholar of the First Sin got announced, and I want to play the more definitive version.
• Speaking of definitive versions, Devil may Cry has a definitive edition coming out, and now that time has passed, my hate has subsided, and they've chosen to include a lock-on function, I'm kinda inclined to consider giving it a shot. Admittedly, they made the idea way easier with the second DMC based announcement:
• Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition! For the PS4 and Xbox One! With a very teasing image and voice clip of my main homie Vergil! Dear god, the excitement.
• Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire was rather... Whelming. It did very little with the opportunity it had, and honestly, I think Nintendo kinda just phoned this one in, particularly compare to the phenominal Fire Red/Leaf Green or Heart Gold/Soul Silver. Not to say OR/AS is bad, just... It's nothing crazy.
• Winter-Een-Mas has come and gone. My goal was to beat 2 Final Fantasy games. I unfortunately failed. Poor time management lead to me making it to the end of the second game, but not quite finishing it in time. Much to my dismay. But I did get to go to:
• Distant Worlds, the Final Fantasy orchestral concert! It was great. And I met Nobuo Uematsu. So I am rather happy.
• Took a trip to MagFest in Maryland. Great convention, Met Smooth McGroove, chilled at a Death Battle panel, had a great time overall.
• Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is on the cusp of release, and it looks amazing. And a special edition New 3DS is confirmed to release here in America. My money...
• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 has been out for some time... But I'm finally playing it!

That should cover general news type things. There are a few others (Got a Vita, started pushing through uncharted series, grabbed a PS4 and an X1) but they're less important.

And for some quickie reviews/FF series progress!

FFV: Everything I loved about FFIII, but with a better story, and far better characterization. 7/10

FFVI: The first FF in the series to convey its story and characters with such strength, despite its sprite-based graphics. By this point in time, the overarching story isn't massively original, but the fleshed out cast and cool scenes are much appreciated. 7.5/10

FFVIII: Squall is one of the most strongly developed characters, perhaps of all time, especially in the area of developing as the story goes along. Zell amuses me, Seifer has a cool coat. Laguna's kinda cool. The rest of the cast sucks, and the story was very meh and unnecessarily complicated after maybe halfway into the second disc. Junction system is fun, and Triple Triad is one of the most addicting games I've ever played. 6.5/10

FFIX: This game feels like what the first 3 Final Fantasies well and truly wanted to be, but couldn't because of technological restrictions. Fun, whimsical, but not particularly gripping. There was for sure a plight, but I didn't find myself feeling the weight of it, or caring about it until near the end of the game. 7/10

FFXIV (part 2): I'm at level 50 and playing the endgame content. At this point, I feel whatever MMO you play is sort of just a skin for the genre, there isn't a massive amount of differentiation, so it comes down to what aesthetic you like best. That said, I still love FFXIV, The references to the rest of the series don't stop, and I enjoy them in all of their forms. It's also a far more story driven MMO than I usually get my hands on, so that's fun. The downside to all of it is things like the finial fight in the game are restricted to 8 man parties, so if you want to enjoy the story and watch the cutscenes at your leisure, you're gonna want to do those dungeons with people who are willing to wait, which is uncommon this late in the game. It's mostly people doing speed-runs at this point. But a good time all the same. Main story was fun, and I beat it, so I'm at 11 FFs defeated so far. Feeling good. 3 to go. 8.5/10

After going through bits of VII again, I'm gonna amend that score to an 8.5, and I'm considering a 9, but I'm staying away from it, because fanboying is not how one should write reviews.


That covers everything for now. Gonna try and update more! Will talk about future plans soon. Don't quote me on that.

More Poke-musings!

So, filler material until I finish the next review.

Within recent times, Nintendo was kind enough to finally grace me with the news of the remakes of my favorite Pokemon Generations: Gen III.

The ever wonderful Hoenn, home of Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald are set to be remade in glorious 3D in the forms of Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

My excite level is off the charts.

Anyway, shortly after the announcements, rumors and theories ran rampant, due to the new look presented for the game's mascots; Groudon and Kyogre, in addition to Nintendo's choice of words regarding the presentation of the remake, specifically: ""

My own particular points of interest lie less so in the choice of words for Nintendo, as I have no doubt, and as far as I am aware, it has been confirmed that this is a straightforward remake. Sure, there will be some minor differences and stuff, graphic bueno-ness and some new features, mayhaps some storyline changes, but in all, I imagine the core of the game will retain what I loved about Hoenn in the first place.

No, I'm interested in the new glowy designs for both Kyogre and Groudon. Aside from the new Tron-like lines carving huge swathes across both legendary poke's bodies, both Pokemon now seem to have symbols on their body representing Omega (Groudon) and Alpha (Kyogre). I really wanna know what kind of significance this has on the game itself. Are these things representative of new forms and powers? And if so, are they only for the legendaries? Or are they some new spin off of the Mega Evolution? And what does that mean for the ever-awesome third member of the legend trio, Rayquaza?

Or perhaps it's all just fun new designs for the covers? Who knows? All musings. Anywho, that's what's on my mind right now. That, and the ever-present spectre of Final Fantasy XV. It haunts my dreams.

But that's a tale for another time.

Yep.

Guest Vid!

So, my bro John is gettin' into that online Street Fighter scene, (though he may lie to you and attempt to tell you otherwise. You ain't low John.)

He started posting replay vids, and the ending for this one was just lovely, so, with permission, a-posted it goes, right here on StuffMax.

El Link!

Side note, much respect to the Fei-Long. I shall love Ryu and Ken until the end of days, but maaaaaaaan, am I tired of fighting them. Dat variety makes the soul happy.

Yep.

Fight Vid courtesy of Johnanthony Gonzalez (sub to that youtube channel, sucka!)

Review Fünf!

Today's review number is brought to you by: Germany. Thank you, Germany.

Moving on.

The (supposedly) triumphant return! Alrighty. Let's jump right into it.

Today's review iiiiiiiiiiiiiis:

Cause colors and stones aren't good enough anymore.

Pokemon X and Y! (but mostly X, cause that's what I got!)

The next chapter in the seemingly endless saga of children leaving their homes to catch super-evolving monsters to pit against each other in a worldwide battle for dominance, these sequels look to do what the prior games in the series did, but better!

For those select few determined to live under a mountain of soundproof rocks and/or born yesterday, Pokemon is a long beloved turn based RPG franchise published and owned by video game giant Nintendo, developed by Game Freak, and created by Satoshi Tajiri. It is the second most successful video game franchise in the world, and X and Y collectively are the sixth generation sequels of the main series.

Anyway, this is supposed to be the next step in evolution for Pokemon as a whole.

But is it?

Let's ask the review!

First Impressions

Expansive!

The first thing this Pokemon game hit me with was an option to change the language of the game. This is an idea I generally feel more games should have, as too many games simply don't make it out of their native countries *cough*Japan*cough* and selfish as it sounds, if I'm going through the trouble of importing the game, then dammit, I want to be able to read it!

Granted, I didn't import this, it was an american copy... But still!

Anywho.

As Pokemon games have progressed over the years, their introductory sequences have gotten more and more intricate. X and Y seem to take a sort of side road to this trend, choosing to go straight to the start screen rather than presenting an introductory scene first. However, the game takes advantage of the two screens of the 3DS to present a small showreel of sorts on the bottom screen, showcasing some of the new features of the game.

Now personally, I was a fan of the little intro sequences, so to see it delegated to a sort of accompaniment for the start screen is a tad saddening, but it's not too much to get beaten up over. The showreel isn't all that great anyway, only giving a sort of half baked look at how the new features work.

However, once you pass the start screen, the game makes it apparent how much larger in scope they are attempting to take the handheld franchise. The game begins much like every other, with the game's resident professor introducing you to the world of Pokemon, an allowing you to define your character. But the sequence itself is wonderfully rendered, the shift from sprites to 3D models working rather well off the bat. After being treated to a walk through a museum of sorts that helps show a bit of Pokemon history, you are shown to a mirror, where for the first time in handheld Pokemon history, you can change the look of your character.

Once you've chosen a gender, a look, and a name, you head into the world, where you're treated to a nice little sequence following the view of a bird pokemon flying around your room before crashing into you and waking you up so you can start your adventure.

As a whole, it is a solidly more animated experience than I am used to with Pokemon, and is very welcome, certainly making me look forward to what else is in store.

8.5/10: While sparse in terms of hyping up the game pre-start screen, the actual introduction of the game is well animated accompanied by fitting music, and does a good job of getting you set for the adventure at hand.

Overall Presentation

Vast!

If there is one thing that X and Y do well, it's presentation. The game, particularly for a 3DS game is very pretty, with a huge landscape, vibrantly animated characters, good use of camera angles, and very attractive menus.

The game's main aim seems to be to invite you into a world where adventure is the name of the game, which, as most Pokemon games do, it does a very well. The game feels large and alive, with various characters to interact with and grow with, and while character development is pretty much non-existent, the simplicity of the game makes that mostly a non-issue.

Everything in the game moves with a sense of life, Gamefreak spared no little detail it seems, especially when it came to animating the titular critters, be they battling, or simply jumping for joy when you play with them.

The land of Kalos is supposed to be very inspired by France, which shows very particularly in the first half of the towns of the game, something that lends itself to some pretty architecture.

The music, while fairly common fare for Pokemon games, is catchy and happy, and does a solid job of getting itself stuck in your head when you aren't paying attention.

My favorite part of the game's presentation however, would have to be it's presentation of the Pokemon League itself. Each Gym simply gets more and more intriguing and cool as you go along, and when things finally culminate in the Elite Four and the Champion, things reach a nearly epic level of cool. Not quite epic, but it certainly has it's foot in the door. In general, the league has a very good sense of ramping up and building to the final battle, one I enjoyed.

9.5/10: The game is exactly what it is supposed to be as far as presentation, an upbeat adventure through a new land, an image brought to life with vibrant lands and people, and generally happy music. 

Accessibility

The amount of Pokemon is too damn high. And this ain't even all of em!

Pokemon stands tall as one of the most comfortably accessible games of all time. The game is very happy to guide you through the easy steps to playing like a Pokemon master. The world is simple, and the depth of story is not so massive that you need prior entries to jump in. The hardest thing as far as I can tell is trying to keep track of the admitted overabundance of creatures to catch in order to catch 'em all.

Once you've gotten comfortable enough with the game, it's fairly easy to jump into the multiplayer world as well, ranging from competitive battling to trading with friends.

9.0/10: An immensely welcoming experience, Pokemon does not ask much of you to get into it aside from remembering your critters' names. And you can give them nicknames if you want, so even that's not too hard. There are a rather immense amount of critters though.

Graphics

Grand!

Pokemon X/Y have taken the 2D landmarks of Pokemon, and dragged them rather comfortably into the 3D world. The transition has been excellent, to say the least. The land of Kalos is a large, beautiful world, containing more depth than has ever been possible in a Pokemon game, and an ambitious sight on a handheld game.

The game doesn't skimp on the vibrant colors, which create a bright and adventure filled feel that is always pleasant, and very appealing to the inner child. Graphical glitching is non-existent, and the game runs smoothly at nearly all times, only truly slowing down when the 3D is active during battle.

The game makes plenty of use of new camera angles, and various effects to truly make the world come to life, and this doesn't just hold true when exploring. In battle, the new camera views are plenty, creating a dynamic battle feel that is much appreciated in a turn based outing such as this.



Battle effects aren't often skimped on either, be they the subtle but well implemented weather effects, the wind blowing through the sky during the new "Sky Battles, or the extremely widely varied attacks and expressions of the Pokemon themselves, ranging from simple and direct, to dynamic and action packed.

9.0/10: A beautiful vibrant sight, with very little to complain about, if anything at all, aside from slowdown during battle while 3D is active.

Sound

Sound quality is very solid in X/Y, with catchy music and a series of well fitting sound effects.

Town music and the battle effects are of particular note, as they really help fill out the world each in their own way.

As a whole though, the soundtrack comes off as a bit generic from time to time, and if you've played one Pokemon game you'll understand, battle effects aside, the little beeps and boops, while charming, don't do much by way of standing out. This is a bit unfair however, as I am admittedly holding it up to other Pokemon games...

On it's own merit, the soundtrack does get stuck in your head fairly easily.

7.5/10: A great piece of work, but nothing overtly stand-out within it, X/Y's sound seems to take an "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" sort of approach to things.

Controls/Gameplay

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can...

A solid part of the appeal of the Pokemon games, at least for me, comes from the simple, but fun gameplay. Players walk around the massive world with a starter friend, running into the innumerable powerful creatures roaming the land, battling them, and catching them for the eventual end goal of catching 'em all, and raising the best to put a beating on the main antagonists, and then usually the Pokemon League.

It being a turn based sort of RPG, battles are handled via random encounter, whereupon which a player will choose to either fight, run, or use an item. Pokemon are limited to 4 total attacks, and then the player uses said attacks to either wear the opponent down and capture them using one of various Poke Ball items, or defeat them to gain experience to get stronger.

X/Y follow the good ole formula, with some nice upgrades. In older games, it was something of a pain to heal up your Pokemon out of battle as using an item involved going into the menu, selecting the item, which took you to another menu which had your list of Pokemon, then selecting one and healing it, which would take you back to the first menu, starting the process over. In this edition, thins are far more streamlined, with your Pokemon's status and such being shown next to the item list when using an item, so no more multiple screen back and forth type experience.

In battle, one can now hold down the L shoulder button when picking an attack to see a solid description of what it does, aiding in strategy with moves one is unfamiliar with, as opposed to having to go into a menu mid battle to check status, then moves, then so on and so forth.

D'aww.

Other new features include Sky Battling, where one can only battle using Pokemon capable of flight, the PSS (Player Search System) which makes it easier than ever to find your friends wirelessly and battle, trade, or whatever suits your fancy, Super Training, where one can participate in mini games, to add extra points to Pokemon's statistics, and the Pokemon-amie mini game, where players can take a breather to simply sit and play with their Pokemon, generally garnering affection and such, and building a bond. This bond shows in game, as Pokemon gain more experience, survive attacks that would normally defeat them, dodge and land critical hits more often the more your Pokemon loves you.

In addition, there's also perhaps the most infamous update, the Mega evolutions. Pokemon holding a certain type of stone are capable of undergoing a temporary evolution that makes them a super-powered version of themselves, with various effects, sometimes changing typing, the stats or abilities of the Pokemon and most radically, their appearance, going quite over the top. Designs range from terrible to awesome, and as a whole, they have the potential to turn battles on their head with the drop of a dime.

Personally, I like them.

One also now has the ability to nearly completely customize their trainer by visiting boutiques around the game, changing clothes, hair color, putting on contacts for eye color, and generally making the avatar of your choice. Something of great excitement for me.

There is also the competitive battle aspect, where players get online, and battle players around the world with the best they have to offer, which has it's own huge levels of depth.

In all, the gameplay comes together in an excellent fashion.

Plus... You can finally move diagonally. The world as we know it is changing. It's a brand new frontier.

10/10: Pokemon gameplay at it's best, X/Y take the Pokemon formula, which was already excellent, and add enough changes and innovations to make it refreshingly different, and yet oh-so-comfortably the same. And you get skates! And diagonal motherfucking movement!

Difficulty

Difficulty? In a Pokemon game? Pfft.

At the very least, the game is one that doesn't require any real difficulty, as simplicity tends to be the name of the game, so no difficulty kind of works for it. Kind of.

1.0/10: LOL, difficulty. Right. Okay. Sure.

Replayability

Pokemon is a very social game, and restarting reaps no benefits to battling or anything in the endgame, so restarting the game to beat it again serves almost no purpose other than to re-enjoy the game. It is a game I would beat maybe one more time though just to try the adventure with a different team.

1.0/10: Any replayability the game has comes from self imposed challenges, or nostalgic enjoyment and the like. No actual reason to restart.

Story

Click here for all you need to know.

...

Yep.

...

No, but in all seriousness, Pokemon X/Y follow the adventures of you, the trainer, as he/she journeys around Kalos to become the best of the best amongst Pokemon trainers. Journeying alongside you are four hometown friends who help through your journey, one of whom is your primary rival.

Along the way, you run into Team Flare, a group of fashion focused terrorists who seek to create a world for the super elite, using the powers of the Pokemon of Life and/or the Pokemon of Destruction: Xerneas and Yveltal.

Of course, it becomes your duty to stop them, and afterwords, finish your journey to become champion.

Along the way, lessons are learned about friendship and the environment.

Standard Pokemon fare, to be honest.

5.5/10: Rolling face first back into "if it ain't broke, don't fix it territory", Pokemon X doesn't do much to distinguish itself from other games in the series save for a slightly better sense of exposition.

Fun Factor

Kersplooey.

And wouldn't you know it, it's that time again. The whole point of even playing a game, fun, in numerical measurements accompanied by text.

And, very unsurprisingly, Pokemon does not even come close to failure in that regard, appealing to all kinds ages and types of people, an enjoyable romp through utopian fantasy where all of life's problems can be handled by trusting in your monster buddy and battling it out so that everything works out in the end.

Exploring the world is a treat, and the social aspect is excellent as always, with the battling and trading being the major draws for the game after all is said and done.

10/10: Pokemon X/Y stands extremely strong as a fun time from beginning to end and then some.

And so, to the score!

THE VERDICT

POKEMON X and Y SCORE A

71.0

A GREAT DAMN GAME!

While it's not the best in it's class...

C'mon. It's Pokemon. It was bound to be really good, at the very least.

With that out of the way, got one more that I'm gonna try and push out this week. Here's hoping that works out.

Also, considering changing my score system somewhat, making a change to perhaps the difficulty section or something.

Something to think about anyways.

Yep.