Two will enter, one will leave: The Thunderdome Thunderdome

[Torzelbaum]

JoJo on JoJo action:
Hamon/Ripple is most effective against undead which isn't the case against Diamond Josuke. As main protagonists both fighters can endure a lot of punishment. Either way I think the fight will play out just like JoJohnny said it would. But in the end I think Josuke's rage fueled assault will force Joseph to use the Joestar Secret Technique and while doing so he will run out of bounds and be disqualified. Josuke will be declared the winner but I'm not sure how the dome runners will get him to Stand down and stop attacking.

Battle of guys with er in their names:
While Kramer is quite fit (note: maybe isn't safe for work) and Bernard isn't - Kramer isn't really the kind of guy to get physical. Kramer can be a bit of a coward sometimes and is easily intimidated even by someone smaller but more determined. I don't know a lot about BB but it does sound like he can act like that but usually has to work up to it. Kramer also seems to have both incredibly good luck and incredibly bad luck at the same time. Usually based on whatever is funnier in the moment.

I think the match will play out like others have said it would but I am imagining Kramer building a large, complicated Rube Goldberg-esque contraption as part of his scheme and Bernard doing some adventure game stuff to the contraption to cause it to backfire in a spectacular and hilarious fashion. I can also see the backfire resulting in some spectators being bothered in some way and then turning their ire upon Kramer. The no-longer spectators start chasing after Kramer who quickly runs away and as the remaining contestant in this match Bernard is the winner by default. I imagine him being dumbfounded and looking around sheepishly for a little bit before he shrugs and awkwardly leaves the arena. However I could just as easily see that contraption backfire taking out both Kramer and Bernard.

SNK fighters:
He is my pick but I still feel like everyone is giving Galford the short shrift. Based on his SamSho 2 version he can dash, backdash, wall jump and do a short hop / duck. He has faced characters (usually end bosses) with magic or supernatural powers and beat them. He does more damage as he takes damage and his POW meter fills up. He can do the ninja log swap trick then teleport above his opponent and drop down on them with his sword. He can log swap when hit or as needed. Poppy can also do a similar move on command. Galford can split into 2 illusions and teleport to where one of them is. Galford also has an SPD-like move, Strike Headz, which is easier to do, has less range but he can use it while dashing or after the illusion move. So he can attack in surprising ways that I don't think Leona can beat with just raw power. The fight still won't be easy - I can see it going 3 (or 4 rounds), both fighters being low on life even when they do win a round but ultimately Galford and Poppy can pull out the win.

(Here's a video showcasing Galford's special moves.)

 

[Olli]

Ooof, these are all tough calls, but for different reasons.

Jonathan and Josuke are similar types for reasons others have already outlined. I kind of have a feeling that the JoJo leads are all increasingly powerful (whenever an older JoJo appears in a story, they're in trouble and need the next generation's help), so I'll give the edge to Josuke.

BB is a smart guy and eventually figures out how to deal with almost any kind of problem, but he's not known for the type of quick thinking that's needed in a fight. Kramer has occasionally been in actual fistfights, too.

I have no familiarity with either Leona or Galford, but I'll give my vote for Galford and Poppy because dogs rule.

 

[Daikaiju]

Gonna defer to JBear's takes, but I will add one item regarding Leona and Galford & Poppy. The law of Drama says the poser may come out swinging but ultimately loses. American Ninja? Oof.
Leona all the way.

 

[WildcatJF]

Leona is tied for my favorite SNK character with Iori Yagami, and is such a cool character. Definitely prefer her original outfit to the sports bra+pants combo she's had since XII. I think her background, moveset, and animations really sell her as a badass. Sorry Galford.

I don't really have an opinion on the other two.

 

[Mogri]

Leona is tied for my favorite SNK character with Iori Yagami, and is such a cool character. Definitely prefer her original outfit to the sports bra+pants combo she's had since XII. I think her background, moveset, and animations really sell her as a badass. Sorry Galford.

I don't really have an opinion on the other two.

As our resident Leona promoter, care to weigh in on how she defeats a man with a sword (and his dog) unarmed?

 

[WildcatJF]

If I get the time to elaborate before this rolls over, sure. Pretty busy at the moment.

 

[YangusKhan]

Josuke probably has the slight edge in this matchup. It's kind of surprising how evenly matched they are though, but one of the reasons I nominated Josuke specifically was because his Stand is way less offense-oriented than most other characters and I thought that would lead to more interesting matchups (Jotaro for example would beat a whole heck of a lot other people no question).

Leona wins because she's just cooler than Galford. If she's allowed to access her Orochi powers then it's even more in her favor. Otherwise I think it's safe to assume that Galford's weapons are comparable to any special moves from King of Fighters; and really, her fighting style is a kind of technique where her arms and hands act as blades so she's just as deadly as Galford could be. His dog is also kind of a non-factor because it only attacks when he commands it.

Kramer wins I guess. I don't know anything about the other guy but Kramer at least has been in fights.

 

[Mogri]

This bracket ends today!

 

[Purple]

Kramer wins I guess. I don't know anything about the other guy but Kramer at least has been in fights.

I'd try to fix that if you ever have the time. Day of the Tentacle is such a classic of a game, it's like the template for every adventure game that isn't going for Sierra's style. And there's a reasonably recent uprezzed remake even.

 

[Issun]

I'd try to fix that if you ever have the time. Day of the Tentacle is such a classic of a game, it's like the template for every adventure game that isn't going for Sierra's style. And there's a reasonably recent uprezzed remake even.

I know this might be heresy, but I enjoyed it even more than Grim Fandango.

I've been wanting to vote in this thread, but I haven't really gotten around to doing the analysis for each match. I am enjoying reading other peoples' though.

 

[RT-55J]

jojo? i dunno

same with the snk fighters

pitting kramer against bernard would be like throwing bernard into a sierra game. sure, he might be able to find a solution in theory, but he'd be very much out of his element. kramer would easily beat that nerd up.

 

[Mogri]

Despite claims that it was a close match, Josuke takes a perfect win over his dad.

Leona doesn't have as clean a win, but she still defeats Galford and dog.

Meanwhile, Bernard ekes out a win by the thinnest of margins.

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Julius Belmont (Castlevania)

Julius defeated Dracula in 1999 at the tender age of 19. At the time of Aria of Sorrow, he's 55, but he's no worse for wear aside from a case of amnesia that he quickly shakes off (despite carrying it for 36 years somehow -- look, don't think too hard about it). According to Aria of Sorrow, Julius is the most powerful vampire hunter, but then again, Symphony claims Richter is the strongest vampire hunter. The Fandom wiki tries to square this circle by saying, yes, Richter has more muscles, but Julius has more powers. The easier interpretation is that, according to [strike]Alucard[/strike] Arikado, the Belmonts grow stronger with each generation. I dunno, you decide.


Kirby

That's "decide," not "deicide"! Of course, when Kirby isn't slaying eldritch gods, he meets his match in the form of some of the cutest little foes in the multiverse. If Kirby's soul ever becomes corrupted by darkness, Julius promises to slay him, but that seems unlikely, so this match could go either way.

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Count Dracula

He's just lucky he didn't get paired with Julius. I have no idea which version of the character this is meant to represent. Typically, Dracula is far stronger than a mortal, able to hypnotize with his glare, and capable of transforming into mist or a bat. On the high end, Dracula is attributed any number of ridiculous, magical powers, like transforming into a bunch of heads that barf blood or quoting The Gospel According to St. Matthew.


Mega Man (Mega Man 2)

Holy cow he's got Metal Blade. Also Quick Boomerang and Bubble Lead and Item-1 and so on. What he doesn't have is blood, but he's also missing Dracula's standard weaknesses.

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Y'shtola Rhul (Final Fantasy XIV)

The mascot for Final Fantasy XIV. Originally a Conjurer and later a Sorceress (kurse all SeeD?). She gets stronger as you progress through the story; by the end, she has a bunch of high-level spells and Triplecast to keep 'em coming. (Despite the name, it doesn't let you cast three spells at once; it just eliminates the casting time.)


Great Gray Wolf Sif (Dark Souls)

Big dog; bigger sword. Sif protects the grave of his deceased master, Knight Artorias the Abysswalker, as well as the Covenant of Artorias, a ring that allows the chosen undead to survive the Abyss. As such, killing Sif is mandatory to beat Dark Souls. You monster.

Sif is surprisingly nimble and is difficult fight at the time the fight becomes available. Because Sif blocks only the Abyss, you can save the fight until basically the end of the game, at which point Sif is much less threatening. But this is Dark Souls; Sif still probably kills you in four hits even then.


Votes due by end of day Tuesday, September 19.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

A lot of people I'm not familiar with this time. I've only played six Castlevanias and they were all the ones before they got Metroided. I'm going to assume that the little hoover gets the win here. Both are 2D platform heroes and while Julius is the more actiony one, I feel like Kirby will eat up projectiles before they get to his hit box.

The second match feels like a mismatch. Not because one is much more powerful but neither can get a strong advantage; Dracula in many media is strong but I don't think the classic one is a "crushes metal with his bare hands" type. Meanwhile, if we are only going with the weapons of Megaman 2, Mega doesn't have something that can keep Dracula down for the Count, as Drac can turn to mist and such after being injured. Worst, both probably don't run out of stamina very quickly, as one is a corpse and one is a robot. So I'm going to say if it's who is KO, inconclusive... but if we are calling retreats losses (and I think that depends on the character. I haven't read much Terry Pratchet but I'm given to understand Rincewind calls them wins), then Dracula is on a schedule and will have to escape before sunrise. Which he should be able to do handily in mist form. I actually think things fair worse for Dracula if the fight is in, say, his castle. With all those weapons, I'm sure one can breach castle walls and let the sunlight in. So Megaman.

The last one, I have no idea. I assume Rhul has an advantage of range but at the same time, there's a limit most RPG characters can use magic before running out and having to dip into their stash of items. So I think it depends on how darn durable that wolf is.

 

[Regulus]

It is worth noting that Kirby is only 8 inches tall.

Now... I'm not sure this actually stops him from pulling a win here. I just think it's something to think about.

 

[Purple]

OK there aren't a hell of a lot of characters from anything I could see taking a fight against Kirby, but this is the Belmont who had to deal with an incarnation of Dracula that ||was not only a high school twink, but also like not even evil||, and he still wasn't really up to that task. Easy win for Kirby.

Normally I'd say Mega Man could handle Dracula no problem. I mean, he took down Shade Man, that's basically the same thing. But we're specifically going with Mega Man from MM2? Sorry, none of those weapons are gonna do the job. The Pharaoh Shot could do it. You could maybe argue the Needle Cannon as firing little stakes. But no, this is one of those situations where the Metal Blade doesn't cut it. And for that matter can Mega Man even fight anyone who isn't a robot? Doesn't he have some kind of 3 laws thing going? Dracula by default.

Meanwhile Y'shtola DOES have the incredible power of being a woman in a Final Fantasy game who's clearly over 30. But mostly that's just good for making weirdos on the internet horny and immasculating a chump. In combat situations she mainly relies on the admittedly effective strategy of just pointing the player's character at the problem and hanging back, which I don't think is a legal tactic in this sort of tournament. Anyway I never played Dark Souls so all I really have to go on there is hey, a very large dog. But all else being equal, dog beats cat. That's just how it is.

 

[Torzelbaum]

What level is Y'shtola Rhul? What spells and abilities does she have? What equipment is she using/wearing?

And for that matter can Mega Man even fight anyone who isn't a robot?

Smash, Versus and X fighting games show that Mega Man can fight humans even if he isn't allowed to kill them.

Anyway I never played Dark Souls so all I really have to go on there is hey, a very large dog.

A very large dog with a very large sword.

 

[RT-55J]

No opinions yet, but something tells me that Bubble Lead would be effective at trapping Dracula if he turned into mist.

 

[Mogri]

What level is Y'shtola Rhul? What spells and abilities does she have? What equipment is she using/wearing?

I have not played FF14. I can't adequately answer this.

 

[Torzelbaum]

Guy Who Fights A Type of Creature That Sucks (Blood) vs. A Type of Creature That Sucks (Up Anything and Everything):
Julius has fought creatures that are about the supposed size of Kirby like Fleamen. But Kirby is nowhere near as crazy fast and annoying as they are. He has decent movement / platforming ability but tends to be somewhat methodical in his moves. Julius has the Belmont hobble but does have better movement options including some that are also attacks - slide kick, dive kick, high jump (with optional uppercut) and Omnia Vanitas / All is Vanity.

Kirby and Simon have a neutral matchup in Smash Ultimate which is the closest analogue I could find. Per SU Kirby can suck up Julius' projectiles but I think he can only do that with Holy Water before it breaks and spreads. I think Julius has longer range with the Vampire Killer compared to Kirby's default air bullet but the properties of that seem to vary wildly from game to game.

I don't think Kirby is agile enough to kite Julius enough to avoid Julius' attacks and counter-attack. Even in the best case scenario I think they only tie in default attack range. If Kirby sucked up Julius all he would get is the Axe projectile which I don't think will help much. I think the only way Kirby could win is if he was able to suck up something that gave him a fast longer ranged attack that didn't leave him vulnerable to jump-ins or counter-attacks. Julius also has the Holy Cross item crash as an ace in the hole if the fight does go against him. So I think Julius is winning this fight.

 

[Olli]

Julius Belmont has a long-distance melee attack, which is bad news for the Kirbster. Julius

Mega Man is a robot, and thus impervious to a lot of Drac's tricks, including Death. He's highly skilled in finding attack patterns, too, which id bad news for Dracula. Mega Man

I have no opinions on the third matchup, but I'll vote for the wolf

 

[Torzelbaum]

Guest Character from a fantasy video game vs. Boss Monster from a fantasy video game:
Rhul is a magic-user whose spells can be interrupted by attacks. As far as I can tell she doesn't have any way to block or evade attacks. Giant gray wolf with giant sword has powerful attacks which cover a huge area of the battlefield. Rhul can heal but that can be interrupted. Rhul doesn't have anyone tanking or drawing aggro for her and doesn't have anyone who can heal her. So I think this comes down to who can do more damage more quickly. Sif can interrupt Rhul's attacks but I don't think she can do the same to him. In a war of attrition a squishy unprotected mage that can't get her spells out is going to lose - Great Gray Wolf Sif is the victor.

 

[Torzelbaum]

Battle of characters who have four letter names and have appeared in multiple video games and other media:
Dio threw away his humanity and vampires are a threat to humans so I don't think The 3 Laws will give Dracula an easy win here. Rock doesn't have blood for the vampire to drain and I don't think he can be hypnotized either.

Dracula does have a lot more mobility but Rock is used to fights like that. I think no matter what Dracula does Mega Man has a copied weapon that can deal with it. If Dracula turns into mist then he can be blown away by Air Shooter. Metal Blade can hit Dracula if he decides to climb the walls or ceiling. If he turns into a swarm of bats those can be roasted with Atomic Fire. Quick Boomerang can attack rapidly and do a lot of damage that could slow down Dracula for a bit. If Dracula turned into a swarm of rats or a wolf then Mega can use Bubble Plumbum to get in some hits. Leaf Shield could stop Dracula from getting close. Time Stopper can allow Mega to reset the fight once if he happens to get in a bad spot. Landing a Crash Bomb on Dracula could be difficult but that is the perfect weapon for blowing a hole in the walls of Drac's castle and letting in some sunlight.

Vampires are vulnerable to decapitation which I think Metal Blade could easily do. Mega has a lot of answers for what Dracula can do. I don't think Dracula has much of an answer other than dodging. So I think Dracula will get Rocked in this fight. Mega Man wins and can continue fighting for everlasting peace.

 

[Daikaiju]

All Belmonts have trouble with small enemies that flit about erratically. Plus Kirby's demeanor will have Julius disdain him as an Actual Threat. One good vaccuum and it's Whip Kirby!

Most of Drac's kit revolves around attacking the biology of his targets or intimidating them. So that's a double loss there. Plus, once Rock equips Solar Blaze, the bat is toast, literally. MegaMan FTW.

Yes, Sif is a tough boss, and Y'shtola can be a bit squishy.
However.
Sif is bound to their location and Y'shotla will have planned accordingly. She can summon familiars to distract the wolf while she harries it from afar. She may even retreat out of range. A triple cast of Meteor and Ms. Rhul has has a nice new ring.

 

[YangusKhan]

Kirby seems like he would just neutralize a lot of possible threats that Julius can dish out, which puts him at a clear advantage. Plus like Daikaiju says, Belmonts have never been known to fight well against aerial and highly mobile enemies.

Mega Man beats Dracula even if he doesn't have a specific "sun power" in his MM2 incarnation. Dracula just can't do much against a robot. Plus I think any of Dracula's final boss transformations are really not much different for Mega Man to deal with compared to Wily machines.

I don't know how to vote for this last one... my first intuition is that each character would win if the fight took place in their respective game worlds; Y'shtola could beat Sif in FFXIV because Sif's attacks would be more telegraphed and she wouldn't be as aggressive, etc. But Sif would beat Y'shtola in Dark Souls because of how fast she is and the fact that Y'shtola doesn't have any experience dodging action game bosses. I think I will remain undecided for now and think on it some more.

 

[Kirin]

Coming in to this one a little late so I'm gonna write up my impressions first, then read the other post and if necessary make some edits...

First match: Look, I could get into the weeds on this but the inevitable outcome is

(Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Julius is good at fighting end-of-the-world-calibur monsters and Kirby would take some hits, but eventually, like anything remotely swallow-able, he's getting swallowed. Plus the Belmont's heart wouldn't be in it as Kirby is so very not evil.)


Second match: This won't be over quickly since Rock doesn't have anything close enough to a wooden stake or garlic or crosses to hit Dracula with super weakness damage (I don't think leaf shield is close enough to cut it). And just about any (game-y) iteration of Drac is gonna be putting out a lot of hurt and pulling out weird tricks; Megs is *definitely* gonna be taking some damage. But in the end, Dracula is a big boss, and Mega Man is good at figuring those out - as long as he has at least an E-Tank or two in reserve, he'll eventually learn the patterns and get in enough chip damage with his arsenal of weapons to take the prince of darkness down.


Third match: I don't know nearly as much about these contestants as the others, so I might have to edit after reading up, but here again I'm thinking Sif is a challenging boss, and Y'shtola surely has a lot of experience fighting those even when they're really powerful. Since she's got tons of magic, it's mainly just down to how well she can dodge, and/or go intangible or something or even just stay out of range - maybe she has magic that can help with that too?

 

[Mogri]

Last day!

 

[RT-55J]

Kirbo vs Julius is just a matter of whether or not Kirby can bring an ability into the match. Assuming that he can't, the Julius can just keep his distance and zone him to death since I'm pretty sure he's more maneuverable than the pink guy (jump height notwithstanding). Gotta give this one to Julius.

Mega Man can decapitate Dracula with the metal blade. Whether or not this counts as "killing" Drac is a matter of theological debate, but in practical terms I think that would render Dracula immobile long enough for megs to win by default.

As for the remaing match, I'm voting for Sif on account of Torzelbaum's impeccable reasoning.

 

[Mogri]

Kirby takes the win over Julius.
Mega Man soundly trounces Dracula.
Sif takes a bite out of Y'shtola (who I was sure would win).

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Max Rockatansky (Mad Max)

Postapocalyptic road warrior. I've seen none of the movies, but my understanding is that Max has no superpowers beyond being an action move star and all that entails. Max was probably nominated because the Thunderdome originates from Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Max survived the original Thunderdome; how will he fare here?


Caesar (Wargroove)

A Great Pyrenees who is also commander of an army. Not, like, an anthropomorphic dog; just an actual dog. His majestic presence inspires his army to work twice as hard as usual. In Wargroove, commanders are the most powerful unit type, so Max may still have his work cut out for him.

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Miles O'Brien (Star Trek: TNG/DS9)

Transporter chief aboard the Enterprise-D; later, Chief of Operations aboard Deep Space 9. O'Brien is an engineer first and foremost. Does he carry a phaser? Well, he's fired one on occasion, and his action figure has a phaser, but I honestly can't remember whether he carries one on the regular. The best photos I can find don't show his uniform with a holster; let's go with no.


Rincewind (Discworld)

Rincewind is a wizard, but he's about as bad a wizard as possible; in fact, it has been suggested that Rincewind's death would improve the average magical ability of mankind. He has a reputation for being able to solve minor problems by turning them into major disasters, and he's excellent at running away from assailants.

He is often accompanied by the Luggage, seen in the corner of the image above, but as we know, the Luggage is off fighting other battles right now.

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Shaquille O'Neal (Shaq Fu)

Age: 22
Height: 7'1
Weight: 301 lbs
Origin: USA

There's not much more information on the Internet for anyone who doesn't want to watch a video. Shaq Fu turned Shaq into a fighting game character, and presumably he has some special moves, but they aren't very well-documented.


Darkwing Duck

By day, he is Drake Mallard, but secretly, he is the terror that flaps in the night. Darkwing Duck has martial arts training and a variety of gadgets, most prominently including his gas gun (which doubles as a grappling hook) and his vehicle, the Ratcatcher. He also possesses a grab-bag of oddball skills learned in his globetrotting days, such as breath control learned in Micronesia and escape artist tricks learned in Constantinople.


Votes due by end of day Friday, September 22.

 

[Purple]

Mad Max's actual track record of personally deposing rulers of any sort is actually pretty bad now that I think about it, especially when it comes to people who are just kinda doing their best. Presumably he'd kill a whole lot of other people but upon actually coming face to face with Caesar just kinda... slink off unnoticed.

I've still never read one single Discworld book, but O'Brien exists only to suffer, and even when under no external threat whatsoever tends to end up seriously hurt. Usually his shoulder... actually wait, is he even really getting hurt all the time or is it all a big ruse to hang out with his boyfriend more? Anyway, I don't see an actual fight happening here. Maybe just like, a nice little chat over a beer, but still, O'Brien has to go see a doctor afterwards so I think that counts as a Rincewind victory?

Darkwing Duck is a pompous self-obsessed jerk, but despite that he still manages to essentially be Batman. I know there's a storied tradition of only allowing basketball players to interact with cartoon characters in weirdo ego-stroking situations though so... I dunno, I guess they meet under some basketball related circumstances then Shaq gets mind controlled and has to be defeated in a way probably involving a grappling hook and then the two have to team up to win a different basketball game, but the one part of that that's a fight is the bit in the middle where Darkwing Duck wins.

 

[Torzelbaum]

Mad Guy vs Non-Mad Dog Good Boy:

A magnificent and majestic canine, Caesar leads armies with wordless dignity. His mere presence is enough to inspire and guide troops through battle.

Max has lead small bands and won fights and battles but not wars. He has done well with leading ragtag groups against larger forces but that was in a post apocalyptic world. In this case I think Caesar has the advantage and the good boy will once again lead his troops to victory.

Battle between guys who are so over all of the ridiculous shit they've been through and will probably continue to go through:

I don't see an actual fight happening here. Maybe just like, a nice little chat over a beer, but still

Same but I am thinking there will be multiple beers involved. And I then picture Rincewind and Miles deciding to settle things with a friendly game of darts. Rincewind tries to throw the match while making things close but through some bizarre and inexplicable sequence of events a magical portal or spatial / temporal anomaly appears and sucks up O'Brien as he unleashes a litany of curses. Rincewind is sad that his drinking buddy is gone but even sadder that he is stuck with his half of the bar tab. Rincewind is technically the winner and is none too happy about it for a variety of reasons.

Match between two individuals that have part of their names that are 4 letters long and end with a hard c sound / guys in stuff from the 90s that have reboots or were supposed to have them in the 20teens :
Shaq has the range advantage in hand to hand combat but he has janky hitboxes and weird damage scaling. Darkwing is Batman but he's a Batman who often gets waylaid by unforced comedic pratfalls. This is a tough match to call. Darkwing has fought and beaten big tough opponents. Darkwing has not only been Batman but he's also been Mega Man in his NES game. Review scores (and watching the gameplay) indicate to me that Darkwing has the better video game which is why I'll say that he wins this match.