The Top 50 Fighting Game Characters - The Newest Exhibit at the Valdez Museum of Video Game Box Art

[WildcatJF]

Oh hi Talking Time. Welcome to our new exhibit. This time, Soya has brought Takara, Jenna and Marie to the museum. If you're new to all this, please refer to Dad's art blog dedicated to So...this webcomic. And maybe refer to the prior forum contests in particular. The Enemy Contest is here, and the Box Art one is on the archived 2.0 section (search "Welcome one, welcome all to" under Meatspace and you'll find it).

WEZ GOTZ TEH LORE

A quick reminder of some rules Dad wrote in the nomination post:
1) This is a very spur of the moment popularity contest. What happens within could influence the direction the story goes! I encourage memories of each combatant we display in the museum! What does seeing the fighter here make you feel as they come up? GIMME THOSE REACTIONS! There's likely going to be all kinds of iconic and obscure choices gathered here from many different games, and I'm super excited to draw them all and see where they take the thread! You get to be a part of that organic process! These threads are my favorite moments on TT EVER, and I want to maintain that improvisation here.

2) Posts will occur when I have the energy to devote to this...which is why it is not an "official" popularity contest. I don't want to force anyone wanting to run theirs to wait, nor do I want to be the only game in town in this subforum. I want to do this when I'm engaged and not feel like it's a chore. So the other contests will roll along at their leisure and I'll be running mine, and it'll all be fantastic.

3) Please please please DON'T BUST IN HERE AND BE AN ASSHOLE. Seriously. Don't shit on a choice, don't shit on people who picked it, don't shit on how I choose to run the contest, don't shit on me for taking too long to post something. I am super excited to be doing this again and will not be in the mood to have someone try to be a jerk. I see someone try to shit in here, I report to a mod. Let's just have fun!

We have some more setup to this contest's tail to estafish, but before getting any further, let's introduce our generous patrons who provided us with their nominations! It's always a big ask to pull together a list for these, and we want to enshrine their dedication here:

PURPLE, WILDCATJF, TORZELBAUM, JOHNNY UNUSUAL, KISHI, KIRIN, BETA METROID, PEKLO, RASCALLY BADGER, spines, OCTOPUS PRIME, ISSUN, HAZEL THE WOLF
​

Thank you so much for your time and interest! We'll be back in a few days with more of the introduction!

 

[Daikaiju]

I like fighting games, but unless it's Gem/Pocket Fighter, I am butt at them. Button mashers 4EVER
Looking forward to how this plays out.

 

[Mogri]

Looking forward to reading a list of the top 50 Smash Bros characters.

 

[Kirin]

Looking forward to reading a list of the top 50 Smash Bros characters.

Considering we were encouraged to vote for characters who are first-and-foremost fighting game characters, I’m expecting very little Smash, though there’s a few who could squeak in.

 

[Issun]

Putting my list together made me realize that, with a couple of exceptions, I love fighting games more in theory than in practice. I was still glad to contribute, and am looking forward to this Top 50.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

I like fighting games a lot but I tend to play games with end games or party games. When I was living in Korea, though, I went to the arcade almost every night to sharpen my Tekken Tag 2 skills. Usually I like to pick a variety of characters but with this game I had one tag duo, who are at or near the top of my list.

 

[Torzelbaum]

Putting my list together made me realize that, with a couple of exceptions, I love fighting games more in theory than in practice. I was still glad to contribute, and am looking forward to this Top 50.

I liked playing them more when I was younger but I think the genre has left me behind. I do enjoy watching videos of other people playing them. In fact two of my picks are from a game series that I have never even played.

 

[WildcatJF]

IZ ALLZ ABOOT TEH FEELZ TEH FIGHTRZ RING. GETZ IN DEH RING

 

[WildcatJF]

Oooooooo my gills are the chills!

 

[WildcatJF]

Still pulling the art together to wrap up the intro, so in the meantime check out the nomination thread for my fellow anthropomorphic fins, the top 50 TMNT characters and things!

 

[WildcatJF]

#50 starts on Monday!!!

 

[WildcatJF]

This battle is about to explosher! LET'S GO!

Appearances: Skullgirls, Skullgirls 2nd Encore / Votes: 44 (Highest: Octopus Prime #6)
Peacock, the alias of Patricia Watson, is an Anti-Skullgirl weapon utilizing the cartoonish exaggerations of the 50s animation era to serve as her primary means of attack. After a horrific assault as a child, she was rescued by Dr. Avian and her body was reconstructed with a state-of-the-art reality-defying arsenal of cartoonish gags such as Avery, Andy Anvil, George Bomb, and Tommy Ten-Tons. She was tasked to defeat the Skullgirl at any cost necessary, but realizes too late that the Skullgirl was her best friend Marie. Vowing revenge, Peacock is now a rogue agent seeking out the Medici family. Also, her eyes are on her arms.

Moveset Highlights: George's Day Out, The Hole Idea, BANG! BANG! BANG!, Goodfellas

This is So Random! #50 - "People who donated $50 to the Skullgirls Evo 2013 Breast Cancer Donation Drive could request a personalized voice mail message from one of the game's voice actors. Peacock's voice actress was requested to sing "Yakko's World" from the cartoon show Animaniacs and two versions of this cover exist, the original with the voice unmodified and the Lab Zero edit which has the voice modified to match the filter Peacock's voice has in-game." Thanks Skullgirls Wikia!

END QUOTE:

Tuna in next time for #50! Again!​

 

[Kishi]

Peacock is a great character who didn't make my list. ❤ The animators worked so many subtle jokes and allusions into her moves that she's fun just to watch.

 

[Purple]

It says a lot about the strength of Peacock's design that I keep thinking of Skullgirls as "that fighting game where all the characters are these rubbery dot-eyed big-gloved Fleischer cartoon homages." Then someone has to remind me that no, no, it's just this one character's gimmick.

 

[Kirin]

Welp, Skullgirls sure was a thing I totally forgot about. If I hadn’t I probably would’ve voted for at least a couple, perhaps including Peacock. Those animations are pretty fantastic.

 

[Torzelbaum]

Also, her eyes are on her arms.

"Hey, my eyes are over here! And over there."

I love this but I also wonder how far does it go down?

 

[WildcatJF]

Ain't there someling who can stop this fighting machine?

Appearances: King of Fighters XIV, SNK Heroines, King of Fighters XV / Votes: 44 (Highest: Purple #12)
Luong is a mysterious secret agent who is attempting to take down Geese Howard's criminal empire. She coordinates with Geese's butler Hein, who is infuriating Howard's organization in disguise. She is also in a relationship with Gang-il, Kim's teacher. She is more than willing to deceive her teammates to fulfill her objectives, and has the skills to achieve her mission. Her acrobatic Tae Kwon Do utilizes lightning quick strikes that stretch her limbs to extend their range and power. She is also alluring in battle, "playing" with opponents to lower their guard for her devastating moves.

Moveset Highlights: Geki, Rin, Tei, Ben

This is So Random! #50b - "In battle, Luong seems to always walk on the balls of her feet." Thanks SNK Wiki!

END QUOTE:

Things are heating up! Who's next?​

 

[Purple]

Kinda surprised to see Luong make the list... HEY WHO WANTS A RIDICULOUS TRANS HEADCANON THEORY?

So for a bit there was a tall long-haired 30-something character, Jhun Hoon, who was tied in with Kim, walked around all tip-toe style, officially practiced tae kwan do but in practice had a style of "weird stretchy-leg kicks at people's shoulders." Then all of the sudden we get Luong here where all of that still applies, biography stuff is cagey on where she came from, there's incidental dialog about her being a lot older than she looks, and her default costume/personal nightmare in her Heroines ending is weird gender role anxiety stuff.

Also it's nice that Shermie has someone to hang out with that isn't just a work friend.

 

[Issun]

KoF is one of those series I'll dip into for a little bit every few years, have some fun, and then peace back out. They're great games, but they've gotten a little overwhelming for the casual enthusiast. I had one character from the series on my list that may or may not show up.

 

[spines]

the only one of the kof14 newcomers i never played much, lol...her team's ending is pretty funny in 15 though

 

[Daikaiju]

KoF always felt more technical than SF, so I tend to bounce off it.

 

[WildcatJF]

Hello there. It's been a little while since we've shown up in the narrative. We're here to provide an important update.

WUSHER BROOKINZ

Well, that's of less consequence to the readers of the forum than to us. Anyway. Dad has been preoccupied with acquiring a new washing machine this week, which tragically arrived defective. There will be a little hold on updates until next week. Thank you for understanding.

 

[WildcatJF]

Heaven or hailbut, let's rock!

Appearances: King of Fighters 2003, King of Fighters XI, KOF: Maximum Impact Regulation "A", King of Fighters XII, King of Fighters XIII, King of Fighters XV / Votes: 45 (Highest: Hazel the Wolf #11)
Ash Crimson was the main "hero" of the "Tales of Ash" saga of KOF, beginning with 2003 and concluding in XIII. As the quotes might imply, he was more of an antihero, and was seeking power from his ancestor Saiki to prematurely end their bloodline. Ash utilized his unique capacity to steal the abilities of others – namely Chizuru and Iori – to almost pull off the heist of Saiki's soul. However, he ended up overwhelmed and consumed by Saiki's malice, but once beaten by the winning KOF team, he chose to remain in this time, erasing both him and Saiki from history. Until, that is, the events of XIV with the defeat of Verse that reset the balance of the world and dead warriors walked among the living once more, including Ash. Ash fights alongside his old friend Elisabeth and the twisted Kukri in XV, and finds peace in this newfound freedom from his past and his lineage.

Moveset Highlights: Ventose, Nivose, Genie, Pluviose

This is So Random! #48 - "In KOF 2003, Ash quotes Robert Browning's poem "The Years at the Spring". The same poem appears again in KOF XIII during the Story Mode." Thanks SNK Wiki!

END QUOTE:

Spoiler: HEY

.........uh, hell-o?!? BACK AWAY FROM THE ME THAT'S NOT ACTUALLY ME! *this on?* RE-FREAKIN-TREAT! FUCK, of all the times for the text to get spoiled!

 

[Peklo]

Ash was a vote. His existence within series history and the context of how he was received is such a potent slice of 2000s-era queerphobic ridicule that he was subjected to from the beginning and in rejection of his leading role, until the storyline that essentially retconned him out of said history altogether (from my perspective, to placate the longstanding contingent who hated the character)... until this recent reintroduction, anyway.

Green flames are the best flames, for the record.

 

[Kishi]

Ash. 💚

(by Eisuke Ogura)

(by Kyōtarō Azuma)

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1100658123151470594

 

[Purple]

Don't forget the rarely seen dragon hoodie!

 

[WildcatJF]

Spoiler: MUSIC

Spoiler: MUSIC

Spoiler: MUSIC

Spoiler: MUSIC

YT is an ass so please click through if you want the song

Spoiler: MUSIC

YT is an ass so please click through if you want the song

Spoiler: MUSIC

......I've lost sight of our guests?!? And Finn??? CHECK-FIN, NOW!

Present. We need to unplug those arcade cabinets now!

BURN..........

Um...is that Kinuyo...and more importantly, is she on fire?

She's running right towards the exhibit! Prep the sprinklers! Pixelated or not, she's a liability!

Hang on...ugh, my eyes. Going near the cabinets set off a super bright light...and now she's gone too! What the carp did Shi do with those machines?!?

I don't know for sure, but we need to find out, and soon. For our patron's sake...and I believed this might go "normally" for once. Let's shut down all power to the museum before we go near those cabinets...it's like there's a chaos dimension that's been opened up...

*gulps* Pearlie...

 

[Issun]

Nice Lain reference

 

[Torzelbaum]

It's times like this which make me morbidly curious about what the insurance premiums are like for the Valdez Museum of Video Game Box Art.

 

[WildcatJF]

Spoiler: MUSIC

Spoiler: MUSIC

Spoiler: MUSIC

These last few weeks have been rough and disruptive to my drawing schedule, so thank you for your patience. The list will pick up proper next time.