Barely Legal

Don't fear the rip-off.

Once Capcom sued another company that made a fighting game. The game, they claimed, followed  the archetypes of Street Fighter characters a little too closely and attempted to infringe on Capcom's intellectual property. In the end, the ruling was made that basically Capcom doesn't own concepts like "karate man", or "Russian strongman", and that anyone could make fighting games with those archetypes as long as those can't be confused with Street Fighter's characters.

So, how close is too close? See, during the early days of Fighting Female February I showed this pic of Seifuku Desetsu Pretty Fighter's schoolgirl having defeated someone at her stage, a beach.

The Suuuuuuuuuun goes doooooooooown...

And I made a joke, and we all laughed. Maybe. Then I went ahead and reviewed Super Strip Fighter 4: Hymen Fighting, I mean, the Whore Warriors, I mean no subtitle, and showed you this similar screen.

Okay, the skirt is short enough, but where is the long jacket?

And I had some more laughs at the expense of a Sailor Moon fighting game that's actually pretty solid. After all, it was pretty amusing that 2 fighting games had a schoolgirl whose stage was the a rocky shore and whose  winpose was similar.

I didn't think much of it. After all,  Japan IS an island, and I've heard girls in sailor outfits are a thing over there.  But then someone in Youtube said that Mari from Strip Fighter was similar to a fighter from  Pretty Fighter. Called Marin.

I couldn't read the kanji Pretty Fighter threw at me, but  further investigation shed light that Marin was, in fact the schoolgirl of that series. This was no coincidence. Amazed, I rushed to my, er...Super Famicon, and put on my, uh...import cartridge, to give  Marin a spin. 

Marin has a spin attack, a projectile called a "Blue Sailor Punch" and an uppercut. Basically she's the Shoto  of the series and an obvious sendoff to Sailor Senshi AKA Sailor Moon(the series, not the titular character.)



  
 Meanwhile, Mari, has those exact 3 things.

  

Of course,  it's easy to see where most new SSFIV(. x .) characters come from. Ran is basically Mai Shiranui from the  chest up, and Rana is Hakan as a girl. Ai and Bell are apparently Abel concept art.
 

Are they sued yet?

But that's kind of what you do in fighting games. You pick and choose characters from other, more known fighting games and give them a twist. Meanwhile, the difference in design is so non-existent between this two girls, that it could pass for a redesign.

StudioS doesn't have the hardest to google publisher name for nothing.

And then there's Mari's B Strip Hyper. Called F.I.S.T. Like the terrible 3D sequel to Seifuku D.  Where this happens:
 
Good one, Strip Fighter. That'll show that dead series from more than 10 years ago who's boss...

So  here's two characters who are similarly called, have the same attack moves, and  have  slight strips of clothing to claim as difference, and with not-so-thinly-veiled-references to the other work. It's obvious. Super Strip Fighter IV ripped off Seifuku Desetsu Pretty Fighter, the obscure girls only fighting game that no one likes for it's own sequel to an obscure fighting game no one liked. 

I mean, I get why one would rip off Street Fighter. People like that game. and buy it and know it. They've made movies about it. However, ripping off Hakufu Indecentsu Puta Fighter  I mean Seifuku Desentsu Pretty Fighter can only be for one of several weird reasons. Which include actually liking that piece of shit.

You are a weird, weird game, Super Strip Fighter IV. Lucky for you...I happen to like weird.

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Thanks Yahoo!

 Because you don't get enough of this in your Facebook.

We REALLY needed this in the front page.

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M.O.D.O.K confirmed in MVC3!

I mean, I joked about it earlier, but damn!

Here's the evidence

Chris Sims is gonna have  a field day with this.

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The 10 Marvel vs Capcom 3 characters that would shock.

Folks, the rumor mill is a-churning again with  scuttlebutt a 5th iteration of the Tag team Superheroes vs  Karatemen wonderseries Marvel vs Capcom is coming. Now, I'm a big fan of this franchise, and as such, I would  like to go on and on forever about who I want, or not in it. In fact, I already did something such.

But one thing Capcom's Marvel games have done  well, is manage to add characters that are just off the grid enough that they are surprising. Sure, Wolverine, Spider-Man,  and Hulk are obvious guys to add to such a series, but is there anyone out there who sat in front of his garish 90's comic wondering why Marrow hadn't been in a fighting game yet? Did anyone request Capcom that Shuma Gorath(a Dr Strange villain) be in a game? And why add Spiral, when series mainstay Jean Gray/Phoenix stays offscreen?

So, assuming MVC3 is really underway, there's certain characters you are sure are going to be in on it. Like I said, Wolverine. There's other characters who are likely to be, if only because they've gained popularity, such as Deadpool. But if I know my Capcom Crossover series correctly, there's gonna be at least one or two characters who will be odd choices. Here's my list for the Marvel ones.

Claws enought...

10) Lady Deathstrike

 A demented old flame of Wolverine's from his Japan days, Lady Deathstrike wants to kill Wolverine (yeah, that's a good way to spend your time...), so she had her body turned into cybernetics, including huge ass talons coming out her fingers.  In fact she was already in a fighting game, but that one sucked.

Deathstrike's combination of reach and speed would make her a formidable opponent, and hey, she's Japanese, which I'm sure is the only reason Silver Samurai was in Children of the Atom. Then again, if you already have Wolverine, maybe you don't need more clawed guys.

 No way he can have legs that muscular without using them! Steroids!

09)M.O.D.O.K.

Now, come on. Don't tell me you can't visualize this guy pelting the opponent with his energy rays and punching with his little arms.

 Maybe it's Maybelin!

08)The Black Cat

The Black Cat is a Spider-Man supporting character.  While obviously lampooning on Catwoman, Black Cat at least gained a bare minimum of powers.

And hey, Black Cat/John Talbain team up would rock ass.

 Speech Bubbles-narrating obvious scene!

07)Ironfist

 A Kung Fu Superhero, Iron Fist could mistically harden his fists. I though martial arts focused on the speed in which you hit, and not how hard your mitts are, but whatev. Ironfist, much like Psylocke from years ago, is a shoe in for a spot.

This is what Dragons who get high see.

06)Fing Fang Foom

Allright, Fing Fang Foom is a giant alien dragon. So maybe he'd work better as a boss than as a playable character.  Hey, at this point, the series has already used Apocalypse, and Thanos. Unless you think Galactus is a better choice.

 D,DF, F+ 3P for Heavy Handed Allegory.

05) Iron Patriot

From a fairly recent storyline, Norman Osborn, A.K.A. the Green Goblin substitutes Tony Stark as the Head of  being an evil asshole to heroes(B.e.a.t.h.) initiative. So he puts on this Ironman-ish armor.

Look, if the Green Goblin was in MVC3 I'd be like "cool". But If Iron Patriot was in there, I'd be like "Dude, too much backstory. I just want to punch Roll."

 Toyota's cars have trouble braking when Rhino Punches the hell out of them.

04)Rhino

Oh, Rhino.  Why can't you get any respect? You have been there since the old days. yet it's always "Goblin this" or "Venom that". Sure, your story and powers are a bit bland, but when it comes to the physical arena fighting, Rhino could be a faster, rushier Juggernaut.

 Marylin Manson has officially run out of ways to pretend he's a Satanist.

03)Daredevil

Now, Daredevil is a fairly well known character. I know. But as far as what would probably be a projectile and hyper combo fest, maybe Daredevil would be an odd choice. As far as gameplay, I see him being a Vega type of character, having all sorts of confusing aerial attacks.

She got HER Black Friday shopping done.

02)Red She Hulk

 See for some people it's news there's a girl Hulk. Evil-girl Hulk would probably be too much.

Uatu's singing  would amaze you, but he's not allowed to do that, either.

01)Uatu the Watcher

Now, this would be pretty crazy. Uatu is an intergalactic being tasked with watching reality and...doing nothing about it. Really! He's not supposed to do anything  that affects our reality, which begs the question: Why bother?

Still, Marvel vs Capcom 3 could benefit from having Uatu in there, headbutting the hell out of Wolverine. And ending every fight mourning that he shouldn't have interveined.

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Top 5 weirdest fighting game characters!

In honor of the return of the King of all Fighters(not to be confused) Marvel vs Capcom 2, I decided to take a bunch of older related posts from my personal Blog and put a filter over them, making them look newer!
The fighting game genre is a strange place indeed, where Spaniard Ninjas want to kill you by following the organized rules of a tournament and all of a sudden five to seven guys show up in the same clothes, only in different colors. It's like you're prom . But what are some of the stranger characters in there? Let's take a look.




5)Kumachan- Fighter's Megamix
Well, Tekken has a Bear. What's so weird about This?
...Oh... I See. An unanimated Bear that fights like a hand is holding him. Belong in a list like this...

Kumachan's foreign policy

Was it a joke? Where the animators lazy? What is up witht he inanimate bear pretend swinging at you?
4)Hornet-Fighters Megamix)
The only other example of a fighting game having a car didn't actually let the car win! How odd is that? Fighters Megamix had an eclectic mix of Virtua Fighters, Fighting Vipers'and FREEKING Bean The Duck. But This is the weirdest...or as weird as the teddy bear

It goes from zero to ass kicking in 6.3 seconds!

It's a car. That fights. I assume by it's(he's?) own will. Maybe to avenge his brethren's mistreatment in other games...
3)Ushi the Cow-Fighters Destiny
No, Ushi is NOT a Sonic Character. It's a Cow that is a bitch to beat. Ushi eats baby souls for breakfast. In a notoriously hard and crappy game, Ushi still manages to be the worst. Jesus has all videos and pics of Ushi under control in a secret base in Nevada, to avoid mass panic, and the true nature of fighting cows must be kept secret.

You saw nothing!

The rest of the characters are forgetable. You just fought a cow and lost, who cares about the Joker?

Shame has an aura...

2)Shaquille O'Neal-Shaq Fu
Shaquille O'Neil has done many things. Act badly, try to rap, play Basketball. It is at the last thing that he excelled. He wasn't the best, but he was often the tallest and roughest. But was he man enought to step up to a mummy, a cat girl, and some other crap? Apparently so. In the Docu-game "Shaq Fu" Shaquille fought the forces of evil after being lost in a spacewarp in Chinatown(no doubt looking for a Mowaii...) The game is living molasses. I only played it because my only friend at the time had it. But friends don't let friends play Shaq Fu.
And they took a 7 foot tall black guy and made him the wussiest fighter. After this, even Aaron Carter claimed to have pawned Shaq. You don't see any masters of the art of Shaq Fu, do you?

1)Sumo Santa-ClayFighter 63 1/3)

Not pictured: the Chrismas spirit.

Santa Claus is a very recognizable character, known for delivering joy to children all over the world. OR is he? Sumo Santa is, as his name implies, a Sumo rendition of Saint Nick. And instead of being a Jolly Old fellow, he spews phrases like "jingle THIS all the way". Only if they had had the balls to ad Hobocop would this list be different. Till then, Sumo Santa remains the damn weirdest Fighting game characters. Plus, he had the most disgusting Fatality ever...
Bonus points go to Rakuga Kids! Because my scribbles can beat your scribbles!

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