On a Mission

[Gomess]

Aaaaaaand my least favourite fighting game lady:

Mina Majikina. I got so excited when I heard there was a BOW WIELDER in the new Samurai Spirits. Then I saw what she looked like. Jeeeesus. If I want porn, I'll draw it myself. I couldn't even react to Iroha when she was introduced. SNK kinda died around that time for me. =/

...I haven't played any Zelda games since the ones I mentioned, because I haven't really played on a Nintendo console since the N64. My heavily modded PS2 has served all my humble gaming needs for years!

[Mako Crab]

*looks up Mina*

I see what you mean.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YF1tNfQVN8w/S ... header.jpg

And Iroha, what's she supposed to be? A sexy maid?

[Gomess]

AND LOL SHE'S GOT A CUTE SIDEKICK MONSTER

BUT UH OH IT'S REALLY A HELLISH DEMON

omg spoilers.

Iroha is... ugh. The ultimate fanservice character. She's not related to ANY other character, has a daft backstory, and personally addresses the player in her quotes, calling them "master". And she has a super where she gets nekkid. THAT'S. ALL. SHE'S. THERE. FOR. And her name is the Japanese equivalent of the ABC, which pushes the whole thing into Inappropriate+ territory.

I can't believe she's in the same game as Charlotte Corday (no, not "Colde"!), who wears *plate armour*. ...And high heels, but whatever. A fighting game without casual misogyny is like a curry without indigestion. Sometimes I wonder how I can bring myself to play them! =p

[Mako Crab]

Omg, so I was reading the wiki about Mina, and it says, "As a result of her isolation, Mina is unable to express emotions." Ugh. What is with the whole broken doll syndrome of japanese games and anime? Mina, Rei in Evangelion (overrated crap show, IMO), Anita in Darkstalkers, even as recently as Shanoa in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. I was so bummed out when I started that game to find out that this cool looking, monster slaying woman was devoid of emotion. Because that's such a compelling character trait, right? Ugh. And it's always the girls too, isn't it?

You know what's really sad? I did a quick search for Samurai Spirits just to find the wiki and the first thing it brought up were a couple pics of both Mina and Iroha.

[Gomess]

Well, it's all in the execution. Leona's quite the stereotypical emotionally stunted blue-haired young lady, but you're given the impression that her heart will be opened by friendship and laughter, rather than TEH HEALING CAWK... Unlike the examples you gave, which are little more than fetishised sex objects (maybe with the exception of Anita, but it's still of course a Big Strong Man who can make her feel aliiiive).

An idiot would just tell you, "That's the first thing you see because that's what's POPULAR, just DEAL WITH IT duuude~" But in truth, they wouldn't BE popular if the creators didn't put them in the games. So the *real* answer is... for character designers to stop being sexist. I'm doing my bit. =]

This thread inspired me to go play DoA again, and I realised just how little effort went into the male characters.... while the females are little more than a collection of common ethnic stereotypes of Babes. With the same body type. Seriously, why are a wrestler and a ninja physically indistinguishable? Blehhh. The costumes are really half-assed, too. Panty shot panty shot blaaaaaa

[BWprowl]

I'm sad that DoA is only known for TnA these days, when it's got a really terrific fighting system backing it up. The free-roaming 'explore these huge levels while you beat the tar out of each other with environmental damage' thing is just great, but sometimes I feel like I'm the only one looking at the levels. I play Leon, for whatever that's worth.

How the hell was Bloody Roar 2 so solid, while everything after it has been crap? I'll tell you why: they took a nice simple gimmick, and made it *too gimmicky* with the addition of stuff like Iron Mole, Dante the Unborn, and a penguin that turns into a Phoenix. That said, if they were willing to change the format, Bloody Roar in its current form would make an awesome beat-'em-up. Hey Gomess, when you say Marvel, do you mean Shina? Was there a name-change between translations or something?

And as long as we're listing top fighting game ladies...

Karin from Street Fighter: Love her ground-to-air combos, and counters, and just rock-solid playstyle. She doesn't do a lot of jumping or budging, which suits her personality. And I really like that personality Capcom went with for her, rather than a standard spoiled rich girl persona. Which the Udon comics promptly gave her argh argh argh. Wears what has been revealed as a 'custom' version of the Tamagawa Minami high school uniform, with what my friends and I have described as Jazzercise tights underneath.

Hinata from Rival Schools: I don't have a school uniform fetish, I swear! Hinata just kicks ass, playing like a more agile version of Sakura. Her sweep combos into EVERYTHING, primarily her totally-not-a-Tatsumaki, which I like to exploit and drive my friends crazy with. Wears her Taiyo high uniform, but has two alternate costumes. The infamous bloomers in Rival Schools Evolution, and a cool casual outfit in Project Justice. It took me forever to figure out what part of it made her look so different, until I realized that she was missing her headband.

Blue Mary from King of Fighters: I only recently started playing Mary, but I love her slide-to-throw moves, and she has some awesome supers. And her Engrish is as entertaining as ever. Wears a tight red top that lets her join Mai in the bounce club, though not as much, and she's got baggy pants on, so no panty shots there, anyway.

Makoto from Street Fighter III Third Strike: Makoto is awesome and anyone who says otherwise is a lying whore. She's got a kick-ass karate based playstyle with lots of sweet close range attacks and a dashing punch that brings her into close range. And this insane super punch that vacuums you into the rest of the hits when it connects. And you sweep with her Heavy PUNCH, what the hell?! She wears a gi like Ryu's, except with the sleeves still on so she shows even less skin. She's also got that stupid scarf she wears into battle that I just KNOW is going to lead to her getting choked by her opponent one of these days. Quit tempting fate, Makoto!

Hotaru from Garou: Mark of the Wolves: Because I can rape with her. Like, literally rape, as her full-level super involves her tackling her opponent to the ground, straddling them, and what can only be described as orgasming into them while lasers shoot out. So much for a lack of casual chauvinism on my list, eh? But her diving kick is really good, and I dig her stance changes! And she wears a pretty conservative outfit, so.

Satsuki from Melty Blood: There's that schoolgirl thing again, though at least Satsuki wears a pretty modern uniform. Plus her story's fun, in that she becomes a vampire, pretty much fails at it, and everyone just kinda forgets about her. Isn't it sad? I mainly play her to use the EX Anti-Air Sacchin Arm loop, which is this DEVASTATING, guaranteed-off-a-sweep combo that I can loop four or five times, depending on how much meter I have.

Millia Rage from Guilty Gear: for pretty much the same reasons Gomess described. I do find it amusing that some of her pallets have leg covering, while some don't.

May from Guilty Gear: Because if I'm going to have an obligatory loli on my list, it might as well be the awesome pirate girl who fights with a giant anchor and summonable dolphins. She *is* adorable too.

Taokaka from BlazBlue: For being the only remotely original/interesting character in that game. Yeah she needs some pants but I don't care, she's ridiculous and awesome and BlazBlue could use a hundred more characters like her instead of that stupid StoicSuitHat guy they added for Continuum Shift.

I dunno, so far I'm liking Lucifer in Ougon Musou Kyoku: Even if her lower body covering is just terrible, she's got some great air-to-ground moves (which I'm fond of) and a cool lockdown playstyle. Plus I just find a living spear who likes to ricochet around for fun to be amusing.

EDIT: How the heck did I forget BB Hood/Bulleta from Darkstalkers/Vampire Savior? Another obligatory loli, though she's nothing like May. I just love her concept- the only full human on the roster, and she's more evil, psychotic, and violent than most of the monsters. She has some great facial expressions. Dresses like Little Red Riding Hood, so pretty much no fanservice.

Gomess, I'ma have to check out all those games you mentioned, since I WILL NOT STAND for there being fighting games out there that I have not heard of. This is what compelled me to check out Advanced Variable Geo. Man, you want a chauvinistic fighter? That is IT! It basically just plays like a watered-down Street Fighter Alpha with waitress outfits. At least Arcana Heart had an interesting fighting system and remotely interesting characters, even if they all smacked of design-by-committee moe.

I generally hate it when people lambaste SoulCalibur for it's treatment of the ladies, when it exploits the guys just as much, if not more. Come to think of it, Guilty Gear does kinda the same thing, but it doesn't get nearly the press about it.

[138 Scourge]

EDIT: How the heck did I forget BB Hood/Bulleta from Darkstalkers/Vampire Savior? Another obligatory loli, though she's nothing like May. I just love her concept- the only full human on the roster, and she's more evil, psychotic, and violent than most of the monsters. She has some great facial expressions. Dresses like Little Red Riding Hood, so pretty much no fanservice.

That's one of my faves, as well. She's surrounded by all these monsters, and just looks like Little Red Riding Hood, but then her basket's full of machine guns and the like. That should seem like some kind of retarded "Adult Fairy Tale" stereotype, but with her, it works.

But she's not my favorite of the fighting-game ladies, though she shares a game with her. That would be Queen Bee. That "girl" is awesome. Between her kickass attacks where she's just throwing bees at you, and the whole thing about her true nature. It took me awhile to realize that those weren't goggles or sunglasses pushed up on her head, and then the reason she adopted such odd poses during the fights made complete sense. I totally fell for her camouflage, and that makes just think she's, pardon the horrible pun, the bee's knee's. Good god, I gotta find a Darkstalkers game for Playstation one of these days.

As for others...hell's bells, I dunno. I thought I knew me some fighting games, but I'm clearly out of my depth here. I'd have to go, like, Chun-Li and Mileena from Mortal Kombat, and expose myself for the total fraud on this topic that i am.

Then again, how 'bout Sheeva from Mortal Kombat? That is one pretty rad female, right there. She does go around in a bathing suit, basically, but she's also a four-armed 'roid raged Grace Jones, so it's hardly a cheesecakey costume on her.

[Gomess]

I play Leon, for whatever that's worth.

Eh. Me too. And hey, I enjoyed DoA's system too, but character is sooo important to me, and these guys... have none. It's one of those situations where the comic relief guy ends up being practically charismatic. Yes, I think Zack has more personality than Kasumi or Ein or Jann Lee. 'COS HE DOES D=

Dante the Unborn

lawl dante (I actually liked the *concept* of the Unborn, but they really went too far with the monsters, and Xion's design is soooo cliche)

Hey Gomess, when you say Marvel, do you mean Shina? Was there a name-change between translations or something?

Indeed there was! My favourite Super Saiyan Leopard Leona is actually called Marvel, and had her name changed for no reason whatsoever. There's a hilarious bit in her BR2 story mode where they didn't alter the rest of the dialogue to accommodate it, so you get the gem: "Jeanne performed such marvellous feats of daring on the battlefield that the men came to call her Shina." Um. Kay. Same for the younger Bakuryu, whose real name is Kakeru, not Kenji. They also ignored the fact that Chronos' move names are supposed to be in Hindi, and just translated them into gibberish. The More You Know!

Makoto from Street Fighter III Third Strike: Makoto is awesome and anyone who says otherwise is a lying whore.

She's one character in that game I really enjoy fighting against, *even when played by the CPU*. =o

Gomess, I'ma have to check out all those games you mentioned, since I WILL NOT STAND for there being fighting games out there that I have not heard of.

At your own risk! The Hokuto no Ken and Saint Seiya games are naturally more enjoyable if you like their respective anime (rather than manga), but the latter was just Dimps' prototype for their later DBZ fighters.

As for Bugi (which I think was renamed Kensei in the US), well... it has some interesting fighting styles and a love-it-or-hate-it defensive system (I think it's fantastic, and makes it just as enjoyable to watch), but not much beyond that. There's a drunken boxer girl (nice to see), Steven Seagal (all his moves have "Sexy" or "Beautiful" in for some reason), cage fighter L from Death Note, two guys in business suits and bird masks called Billy and Jelly (Jerry) who roar at you, the aforementioned scary tramp Kornelia... and the final boss is a chubby little businessman voiced by Daisuke Gori who just trips you up and stamps on you, laughing all the while.

Toshinden Subaru is VERY content-heavy and especially satisfying if you've played through the old Toshindens. The final boss is the original game's protagonist, and I love stuff like that. I also like 3D fighters with super moves (they're kinda rare, and partly why I'm one of the few people who enjoys KoF Maximum Impact), and boy does Subaru have 'em! Of course, it also has a guy who uses guns in a game where everyone else is stuck with swords and spears, but hey. And he's voiced by Leozak (as is GG's Axl)!

At least Arcana Heart had an interesting fighting system and remotely interesting characters, even if they all smacked of design-by-committee moe.

Man, if they'd just had some slightly more bearable designs... If they remade Fighter's History with that system I'd buy it in a snap. =p

I generally hate it when people lambaste SoulCalibur for it's treatment of the ladies, when it exploits the guys just as much, if not more.

Thing about that is, aaaawful as it might sound to our modern Seth MacFarlane sensibilities, sexually exploiting women IS worse. It's the same as why racism is more offensive to non-whites than whites. As long as men remain the more influential gender in media, there's a double standard which means they basically have no right to be offended by misrepresentation. They're in charge. And Soulcalibur won't be as fetishising of men as at is of women until at least five more male characters have giant swinging cocks in skintight-material-that-didn't-exist-in-the-16th-century, or intro poses that linger on their asses.

how 'bout Sheeva from Mortal Kombat? That is one pretty rad female, right there. She does go around in a bathing suit, basically, but she's also a four-armed 'roid raged Grace Jones, so it's hardly a cheesecakey costume on her.

She was probably the most daring design MK ever did. So naturally they only brought her back for the big crossover game that brought *everyone* back, and otherwise hid her under the table. I'm interested in the new MK, because it looks like Ed Boon might have finally played other fighting games and realised that his are a decade behind.

...If anyone can recommend a fighting game with *no* cheesecake, I'd love to see it. If only for the novelty. I think Bugi and that Saint Seiya game are the only ones I can think of that I own. Even Hokuto no Ken has a special finisher that leaves the one woman totally nekkid, and Bloody Roar has a bunnygirl who fights in a nurse's outfit, and Street Fighter's been all about the panty shots since Day 2. Maybe Star Gladiator? Meh. It's too tempting and easy for the 99% male design teams to put something in there they find sexy. Dorks.

[Gomess]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YF1tNfQVN8w/S ... header.jpg
HOW THE F*** DOES SHE DRAW A BOW T____T

Contrast with Fighting Layer's Luan Yinghua, who has the coolest hair ever:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v407/ ... inghua.jpg

[Mako Crab]

As for others...hell's bells, I dunno. I thought I knew me some fighting games, but I'm clearly out of my depth here. I'd have to go, like, Chun-Li and Mileena from Mortal Kombat, and expose myself for the total fraud on this topic that i am.

Then again, how 'bout Sheeva from Mortal Kombat? That is one pretty rad female, right there. She does go around in a bathing suit, basically, but she's also a four-armed 'roid raged Grace Jones, so it's hardly a cheesecakey costume on her.

No worries. I'm out of the loop when it comes to most fighting games too. I didn't even know Samurai Showdown made it past part 4. And nothing wrong with Chun Li or Mileena. I like them both too. Speaking of slutty costumes, OMG, Mileena. I actually like her default costume in MK Deception. It has sort of an arabian feel to it. Her alt costume, though, looks more like a challenge the MK Team handed down to their designers to see who could give Mileena the skimpiest costume while still covering her naughty bits. Barely. Like, her breasts are entirely exposed, but as long as her nipples are covered, it's all good.

Gotta' disagree on Sheeva's costume though. When I was 14, I can tell you I wasn't checking out her extra set of arms. And omg, I can't even look up pics of Mina or Iroha without feeling like a perv. I feel like I have to clear out my history and cookies now.