April 21st, 2010 by The Grey Ghost
If you haven’t seen the above teaser trailer for Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, press that Play button.
In the year and a half since I last spoke about MvsC3, my position remains adamant. I won’t lie; this announcement excites me as much as Street Fighter IV, though I’ve yet to possess any console these titles call home. Where I cringe and suppress violent impulse is in the challenge of congregating with fellow fighting game fans to engage them in mature discussion.
It is said that those who cannot, teach. And that those who cannot teach, critique. The rest dispense their parochial attempts at creativity in message boards or their nerd herd’s local watering hole. These are the dorks that have both annoyed and shamed me for over a decade–their imaginations unable to discern quality over quantity (More characters! Bigger air combos!). Nor do they embrace innovation over simply bloating out a familiar formula (Bigger character teams! More Supers!).
The worst sin of all: They don’t appreciate what they already have. The top argument from fans to produce MvsC3 is that they love MvsC2 and it’s their favorite game ever. My counterpoint has been, “Why don’t you just keep playing MvsC2? If you love it so much, why so eager to retire it?” I wouldn’t protest buying consecutive ports of MvsC2 for each generation of home console. In fact, I openly supported last year’s DLC version with hopes that the rest of the Marvel and Versus series may one day resurface.
Back to MvsC3 specifically, this recent announcement has fanned the fanboy flames of hype, speculation, and demands. Luckily, as more concrete facts are released, the asinine chorus of nerd talk will inevitably dissolve. (Though most likely transition into bitter backlash up to and just beyond the game’s street date.)
I do admit, I’m curious to see how many of my own predictions fare. Let’s break down a few:
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March 27th, 2010 by The Grey Ghost
Zalora as Cammy (Delta Red)
Zalora has a modest, but impressive gallery of costumes… The one that catches my eye the most (obviously) is her Delta Red Cammy from Street Fighter. What impresses me the most is that she’s one of the rare few that managed to get Cammy’s wild bang cowlick to look right!
She’s got the face, she’s got the physique, and best of all, she has the costuming talent to bring Cammy to life. Kudos, Zalora!
Group/Ass Shot
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January 30th, 2010 by The Grey Ghost
??? as Elena from Street Fighter III
I’m ashamed to say that I struggle to find the identities of the cosplay models that I showcase in the column. Among I feel shame more especially, is this lady costumed as Elena from Street Fighter III. If anyone can supply a name, that would be awesome sauce.
I appreciate this case because it is a steep challenge for an Asian person to pull off a convincing portrayal of an African person who practices Capoeira. The high heels are a bit curious, but then she may have feet too tender to risk harm against sharp river stones.
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December 10th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
Just a couple weeks ago, Capcom confirmed the addition of new characters to its upcoming Super Street Fighter IV. Included in the mix are Final Fight heroes Cody and Guy. It’s a shame that Mike Haggar couldn’t complete the Final Fight reunion, but I suppose we’ll have to make do with Zangief’s alternate costume.
What’s somewhat curious is the Capcom’s decision to continue using Cody’s “Alpha” costume, which portrays him as an escapee from a 1920s chain gang. Unless Cody’s just a huge fan of O’ Brother, Where Art Thou?, I can only assume that the current installment of the Street Fighter games is just as much about time travel as it is about punching with fire. This may also explain why Sakura hasn’t aged a day in the ten years that take place between Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Street Fighter IV.
Fortunately, the developers of Super Street Fighter IV have saved me a call to Doc Brown, giving explanation for their design choices in a recent interview. Mad props to SRK member Azrael for the translation, BTW.
The short answer for Cody’s prison garb in SSF4 is basically this: Kids today are probably too young to remember what arcades are, let alone the original Final Fight. The most recent version of Cody that gamers might be familiar with is the design used in Street Fighter Alpha 3, just a decade ago. You kids… You just don’t know the guilty pleasure of a good arcade beat-em-up.
The inclusion of Cody also meant revisiting one of the features that made his character unique in Alpha 3: The knife. Despite it being a painful hurdle for the games programmers, the dev’s believe that Cody’s ability to pick up and throw a casually discarded knife adds an additional layer to the gameplay. More than just chipping away at each other’s lifebar, his opponents can now take part in a “keep away” meta game, with the knife as a MacGuffin.
In a Cody mirror match, only one knife will be available. If both Cody’s reach for the knife at the same time, only one will receive it. The other better start making some distance. More than just a knife will be available… Other Final Fight melee classics will appear, such as pipes and wrenches. No word yet on finding meat in oil drums.
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December 3rd, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
This is a cool sketch comedy recreation of Street Fighter Alpha 2. Whomever directed it must have been a genuine Street Fighter fan, given the level of detail applied. There’s no way that any TV show in America would clear the sweet use of pyrotechnics, especially the ones used in the Chun Li Vs. Bison fight. Also notice Sodom’s Engrish intro.
My personal favorite special effect was Sakura throwing a pie in the face of the superimposed fanboy. The effect of Sakura’s fireball can easily be done using a fog machine, an Airzooka, and a stage light.
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September 30th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
Ever since the announcement of Super Street Fighter IV, I’ve been surprised to hear the Street Fighter community rife with complaint. The bulk of them by jaded gamers aggravated by the idea that Capcom has found a way to dupe us into paying full price a second time for little more than an expansion on a game they already own.
Destructoid published an article very close to my own response.
Here’s the facts on Super Street Fighter IV: The game will be released to disc with a price tag leaning toward $35. In addition to new characters on the roster, there was enough changes to the game’s mechanics and new bonus features that Capcom felt a separate release was in order, rather than a downloadable add-on.
Initially, it’s understandable that loyal fans and early adopters might feel swindled. However, newcomers that may not have bought the original release of Street Fighter IV will be able to take advantage of a sweet deal; a $25 drop in shelf price on a superior product. This will continue to draw in new blood to the fighting game community, which has dwindled to near-extinction prior to Street Fighter IV‘s introduction.
Those who bought the first release are perfectly able to sell or trade in their original game to pick up “Super” for next to nothing (and should consider the past year of fun, challenging play experience a bonus). Capcom also took into consideration their loyal fanbase and plans to show gratitude for that support. According to a GameSpot interview with Yoshinori Ono, the developers have added content in Super SF4 that will interact with the original release, making it worth keeping SF4 disc.
You know who should be pissed? Competitive players who won’t see an arcade release of Super SF4. This makes it more difficult to meet new players outside of the tournament scene.
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September 12th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
Moya Dawson IS Cammy
Long-time Cammy fan that I am, I first learned about Moya through her old site, CammySite.com, before it expired. She’s quite the Australian cutie with strong passions for anime, comic books, and video games. Moya continues to work on her fantastic costumes as well as write comic book reviews for PaperbackReader.com.
I tried to interview her for Alpha Counter, a video game podcast I did a few years back. She replied to my request, but well… Let’s just say it would have been impossible for a radio interview. Maybe if I’m lucky, she’ll agree to one for either here or a future installment of Robot Punch!
As awesome as her Delta Red Cammy costume is, I’ve always been more partial toward Cammy’s Shadaloo uniform. Moya has said that a Shadaloo costume from her is well under way!
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August 8th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
Phoenix Kasai as Crimson Viper
It’s not so easy to find cosplay of Street Fighter IV‘s new hotness, Crimson Viper. This is strange, since C. Viper’s costume design just about begs the attention of the cosplay community! The best that I’ve found is the creation of a girl known only online as Phoenix Kasai.
Not only does Phoenix Kasai fit the mold, but she also answers one of my biggest questions: How the hell do you get your hair to look like that??
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July 17th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
Filed under “Well THAT didn’t take long,” there is already a mod to make Cammy nude, just days after Street Fighter IV‘s release on PC.
I do appreciate that it was Cammy that was chosen for this mod, being a Cammy fan myself. Though there isn’t much to brag about, since Cammy’s costume is a form-fitting leotard. This mod just replaces the leotard texture with skin tones, nipples, and pubes. Alas, her breasts still look compressed against her torso, rather than swaying freely in liberation.
Had they stripped C. Viper down to her birthday suit, I might be more impressed. Though I suppose I should thank my lucky stars that it wasn’t Sakura. Instead, Sakura was given an ape face with Zangief’s moves.
Observe nekkid Cammy in battle below:
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June 15th, 2009 by The Grey Ghost
A couple months ago, I picked up the C. Viper action figure (pictured above), made by Neco. I have so many figures of Cammy, I felt it time to begin building a collection of the new hotness. While there are plenty of nit-picks to be made for Neco’s Street Fighter IV figure line, I’d say it’s not a bad first rendering of her.
Though I do have one complaint…
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