Top 10 Street Fighter Characters

Street Fighter is my favorite fighting game; a shocker, right? Throughout these games there have been tons of interesting characters that I have used and I wanted to make a Top 10 list of my favorite ones. Now, this list is based mainly on my favorites to play in the certain games that they are in. I'm not too into their stories(I mean, it's a fighting game, story is automatically throw away) so I'm not going to break down their character design or background. It's all about their gameplay. I also want to point out that this is not a Tier list, just my favorite characters. And, I'm not a pro guys. I play this game a lot and I do not consider my self a professional; I just really love this game. Street Fighter has been around for 25 years, lets see which characters have stuck with me.

Yes, Hugo is in Street Fighter III, but I never really played him in that game. With that said, I have not played much of Street Fighter x Tekken either. I wasn't really hyped for SF x Tek until I saw the Hugo gameplay footage. A HUGE character that can reach across the screen. The breakdown vids for this guy just sucked me in to wanting the game. For the little I have played the game, I always practiced or used Hugo. His combos are really fun to pull off. Crouching strong > Lariat > Crouching Jab > Light Palm Breaker > Backbreaker. I can do that shit all day. My fav combo in the game. Plus, you can edit Hugo's colors in the game and give him the glowing green skin to make him look like the Hulk; awesomeness to the extreme. I think he's a really fun character in the game to play as and his BnB is really easy to learn. A very enjoyable character to play as.

Rose is my favorite chick in the SF games. It wasn't until Street Fighter IV that I started to use her, even though she was in the Alpha series. It was a player on my friend's list, Lemon Cutter, that really started getting me into using her. At first, it was simple stuff, like learning her anti-air is the crouching fierce or doing her little slide(diagonal forward + MK) into a quick throw. Then, my good friend Scorpius Jones, taught me about her frametraps; Standing MK(while next to the opponent) then option to either throw or Crouching Strong > Soul Spiral. She's also my fav SF character to draw(check out my DeviantArt). I think when you play a game with lots of characters, you have to have a fav of the opposite sex. Now, I'm not a good Rose player at all, but it is fun when get someone on the run with her, considering that her Ultras are not that great, she has the worst focus attack; but owning some fool playing Ryu while you're a chick wearing a pink or purple dress is satisfying. Yes, I said it.

Out of all the Street Fighter games, the Aplha series is the one I played the least. But whenever I did play, I defaulted to Charlie. Yes, it is because he is pretty much a Guile clone, but I really like his pokes in the games. Plus, he has a dash. But his pokes are really good. I was never able to do anything super fancy, but the Charlie in the Alpha series was like a way better Guile from the original Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo game. His recovery is fast on his crouching MK, so if you are poking your opponent and they attempt to jump, you have enough time to hit them with a light Flash Kick, and I love that(like Guile in the SF2 games). I'm not saying that it is his master strategy, but it helped me get comfortable when first playing the Alpha games. He's really the only character I feel at least average with in the games and at least because of this character, it helped me enjoy the Alpha series(even though I didn't play it too much). So, if you are used to Guile, you will fit right in with Charlie.

Though he is not even considered Mid Tier in the Street Fighter IV games, Vega is awesome. I never really played him in the other games until IV. He's really fun to play as if you get on a roll. I remember my first scrub strategy when playing this game was getting a knockdown on the opponent, walking back in forth during their wake up, and either hitting them with a throw or a sweep. It's was very trollish and it is really aggravating when it is done to you. Then I advanced and learned the Crouching Strong > EX Flying Barcelona > Izuna Drop. I don't know if he got nerfs or buffs in Super and AE, but I can still go back to him and get a few W's and I always valued my Vega play when SF4 first came out. Oh, and the stuff he says is just awesome. Whether it be the “Yo-da-lay-hee-hoo!” victory pose at the end of a round or, my personal fav, “What an ugly rose.” when he hits his Ultra 2, you will find yourself repeating it through your entire game session. I really think his version in the SF4 games is the best and I love watching really awesome Vega players on stream or on vids, destroying other players. Low Tier for the win.

Ah, Dictator. Bipson, son, Bipson(no, not a typo, I mean Bipson). A really easy player to use with godlike normals in the SF4 series. Don't know how to play Bison? A good start is standing Roundhouse. A great anti-air and it is a really quick move. Just spam the shit out of it. An old joke used to be “You don't know how to play Bison if you are not hitting Roundhouse at least 50 times a round.” And in reality, he's a pretty simple character to play as. His combos are fun to pull off as well, and his frametraps are satisfying. Crouching Short > Standing Jab(close to opponent) > WAIT > Crouching MK > Light Scissors Kick. Get da counta hitz! Fun as fuck. Plus, his throw game is bad ass. Once again, you can be super troll like by just walking up to the opponent: Crouching Short into throw, repeat. You would be amazed how often that works. Good quotable sayings like “This place shall become your grave!” with Ultra 1. And he always has that fucking troll smile on his face(“Pretty Bison”). A simple but really fun character. Again, the SF4 versions of this character are the best, in my opinion.

Adon is my crazy character. I like to play him and just go ballistic and Adon is a great character to do that with. Fast crossovers and, in my opinion, the best throw game. His throw is so fast, that some opponents aren't quick enough to tech them. He can FADC into his Ultra two, which is help full, and his Standing Roundhouse is awesome. It has pretty ok distance and it is two hits so it breaks Focus. Adon has an off the wall playstyle that can really fuck with opponents. I first got into Adon after watching Gamerbee play a couple of years ago. I watched the way he mastered the Jaguar Kick and I was hooked. Adon is just my pure rush down character and you would be shocked at how many people don't really know how to play against him. One sad thing though is that my game with him is not what it used to be. I got to take him back in the training room and online and get back in the swing of things. It's just so epic when you take Adon online and just connect and counter hit everybody. He is definitely one of those characters that own the opposition when you get the momentum. Fun as hell to play and just a crazy fucker.

When playing online with my friends, we have this saying: “Honda always wins.” Seriously, through random sets, whoever got Honda, won. He does massive damage and as soon as your get all the combos down for the Hands, you get addicted. I was never into play Honda until I starting get down the Hands combos. After that, he's hard to put down. I would a specific finger exercise when I wasn't playing: Index finger down(for jab), ring finger down(for fierce), middle finger down(for strong), then index again, and closing with ring again. Get this down and do it as fast as possible after landing a jab or strong, boom, you got hands, son! I used to practice this exercise at work over and over again on a keyboard, trying to build the speed. That's how awesome this character is. And don't forget the butt splashes. In my early Honda experiences, it was really fun to do a light butt splash, land in front of the opponent, then immediately do a fierce or EX butt splash. Got a lot of people TOO MANY TIMES with that. Honda is just a tank, especially in the SF4 series. I give mad props to Mike Ross for maining him for so many years. Honda needs more respect!

Give Boxer your god damn, mother fucking, fight money. Rog is a beast; pure and simple. I played with him most in 4 but have you seen the vids of him in SSF2 Turbo? Crazy as rush down. Practically locks your ass down. Balrog was the first character I chose in SF4 to be a serious main. I did a lot practice and matches with him. He's so weird. Rog seems so basic but fools can get blown up by him so easily. He is very deceptive. Like, deceptively godlike. He has a good strat in the throw game because his jabs are just lightning fast. Jab > Throw. He has a good BnB too: Crouching Jab x2 > Crouching Short > Headbutt/Dash Punches. His turnaround punch is awesome too; goes around projectiles and breaks focus. I chose him as my first serious main in SF4 because he was a charge character, so it helped me on defense since I had to hold back, that and I like beating Ryus with Rog. Shit feels great. Rog has to do so much work against the fucking Capcom posterboy, so when you beat him, it is gratifying. Balrog is just really good all around, I think, and I am surprised that the only Pro player that can get to Top 8 of EVO with him is PR Balrog. We need more Rog players in the FGC. Buffalo power, son.

Guile has always been my rock. Through out all Street Fighter games, I can count on Guile to be a character I feel I can compete with. I tend to play somewhat defensively because I'm so amateur at the games. Plus, I like taking the guy with THE LEAST SPECIAL MOVES EVER and winning with him. I have recently dubbed him my main for life. Am I the best Guile player, fuck no. But I feel I perform the best with him. During all my growing pains with SF4(learning the game and trying different characters) I felt I could always fall back on him to get a W. I especially like him in the SF2 series. Sonic Booms and Flash Kicks everywhere. My favorite combo of his is Jumping Fierce/Roundhouse > Crouching Short > Crouching Jab > Light Flash Kick. I will try and do this every time you fight me. His normals are arguable the best in the game. In SSF4, Guile was the new Ryu online. Everyone played him. Fuck that. I played him since SF2. I even like playing with him Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. Not the best character in game by far, but once again, my rock. Hell, even the few times I played Capcom Vs. SNK, I used Guile, who is awesome in that game. I think his best version is in the SF2 series. He's pretty tough to fight, I think. Mad hype for Guile, people. I'll beat you with only TWO SPECIAL MOVES.

Let me clarify. Ken from Street Fighter II. Not Ken from SF3 or 4, SF2. Ken was the first character in Street Fighter I ever played as when I was a kid. I thought he was way cooler than Ryu. In childhood, I played The World Warrior, Championship Edition and SF2 Turbo with my brother. He was older, so he always was Player One. And, of course, he played as Ryu. I, the younger brother, had to counter pick and compete at Ryu's own game with Ken. So many debates about who is better; Ryu or Ken. I will always back Ken. I don't care if he has a flow chart, Ken will always be my favorite SF character. If SF2, I thought his moves, though the same as Ryu's, were better. I always preferred the multiple hits off the Tatsus and Dragon Punches over Ryu's knockdowns. And then when the added the fire to his Fierce Shoryuken, fucking epic, bro. Ken is part of my childhood and a big part of my young SF memories. I think this is a main reason why people like Ken so much; because he's not Ryu. Just remembering playing The World Warrior at home using that SNES controller kicks my ass into the realm of Nostalgia. SF's face will always be Ken Masters in my eyes.

Top 5 Comic Book Movies

There have been a lot of comic book movies made. A lot of crappy ones and some good ones. I felt like sharing my personal Top 5 because I am a lover of comics and some of their movie adaptations need some love or a continued praise. Now, my list does not compose of any from the distant past or some cheap made version that I might have some unknown love for. Except for maybe the first Superman movie(which is a stretch because I like the movie but I hate Superman), I don't really like any of the comic book movies from the past. With that said, lets take a look at the ones I really like.

Ok, you might raise an eyebrow at this one. Not a lot of people really like this one. I do, but it is mainly for selfish reasons. A: I really like the Hulk comics. B: I am an Edward Norton and Tim Roth fanboy. So, to put them both in the same movie pretty much makes me not hate it. I admit, it's a stupid reason but you all can hold that. As for the movie, I didn't like how the Banner became the Hulk, but I'm one of those people that understand that a character's origin when translating a comic book to movie needs to be tweeked and maybe made more modern to grasp a wider audience. It's the way it is and you best just make your peace with it now. I enjoyed the plots of Banner being on the run from the military, I personally thought that Edward Norton did a fine job as Bruce Banner. He portrayed a man attempting to keep his emotions and anger in check very well. And Tim Roth as the villain, I c'mon, it's hard to get better than that. Now, with exceptions to Liv Tyler's performance(which was mediocre at best) and Tim Roth turning into the evil monster, I really enjoyed this movie. Some found it dull, I found it interesting and Norton was awesome. I really wish Norton could have been in The Avengers movie. Not trying to take anything away from Mark Ruffalo who was not bad in the film, but maybe it would have made me like it if Edward Norton was in it.

This is a hard one for me have to write about. I am not a Captain America fan. But the more I read certain comics or see a movie like this, the more I build respect for him. I mean, he's a character that is hard to hate when you think about it. This was very well done. I enjoyed how it focused a lot on his origin instead of speeding over it(like in Thor). They took their time with this one and it paid off. It's greatly paced, and Chris Evans has totally redeemed himself for his role as the Human Torch. Evans was my biggest doubt before I saw this movie and he was my favorite part coming out of it. He did a real good job. I liked the inclusion of the Howling Commandos, though, only Dum Dum Dugan was really mentioned. Hugo Weaving played a great Red Skull and Hydra was displayed almost exactly like in the comic. I particularly enjoyed Tommy Lee Jones in this movie. His cast credits should show as Tommy Lees Jones playing as Tommy Lee Jones. He was funny and on the spot; definitely a military figure I would not fuck with. The action was well played out, very exciting stuff. Also, adding Howard Stark in the movie was awesome as well. A great pack of actors were chosen and this film was really good. No question, a fan favorite among and comic fan.

Three words for ya: Robert Downey Junior. You know it, I know it, the ONLY person that could pull off Tony Stark is Downey Jr. His acting and portrayal as Stark just seals the deal for this movie. I don't think I met a single person that didn't at least enjoy this film. A good origins story, great action, awesome CG on the Iron Man suit(I mean a really good job); it is hard to find epic downfalls in this movie unless you are purposely trying to be picky. It's a great, fun movie. I personally loved Jeff Bridges as the bad guy. I never knew he could play a power hungry prick so well. I was surprised that Jon Favreau could do such an amazing job. It's as if he knew what he wanted to do with Iron Man from the get go and it was almost perfect. The humor is sarcastic and dry, which I love, and the plot is greatly paced with good twists and classic betrayal. But back to Downey Jr. Personally, my favorite performance of his. I think he left everything in this film and it showed. Some could argue that the Iron Man movie might be the best comic book movie so far. Which is an understandable argument. On a final note, I liked Terrence Howard as Rhodey much more than Don Cheadle in Iron Man 2(which was a pretty good film as well). A good cast, a great atmosphere; Iron Man is a hard one to beat.

Now, I don't want to lose anyone here, but I really liked this movie. A good revenge tale, which is a big part of The Punisher. Punisher is one of my favorite Marvel characters, and I think this movie does him justice. Some people are pretty harsh on this film. I mean, there are some cheesy parts like when he sets all the explosives and they form the Punisher skull at the end; yeah, not really something I enjoyed. But the mood of this movie fits the character the peril. It's starts with a mysterious tone, then you feel the happiness and relief he has with his family, and then you feel the mood sink into the black hole where they are murdered, and it just continues to seep down with the more vengeance Castle takes. I applaud Thomas Jane for his role as Frank Castle. I thought he pulled it of very well. I enjoyed his experiences in the film with trying to get back in the real world by hanging out with the three in his apartment building(on that note, Ben Foster was great in this movie as Dave). I really like revenge flicks and this is one of my favorites. Now, I didn't like Travolta as the bad guy, and I wish Harry Heck had more to do in this movie(that song he sings playing the acoustic guitar is EPIC). Either than that, it was my favorite comic book movie for a long time(until my number one). By the way, have you watched #DirtyLaundry yet? Check this shit out; Thomas Jane and Ron Perlman taking The Punisher to, perhaps, his purest level:

Was there really any doubt? Batman is my favorite comic book character of all time. I didn't like any of the Tim Burton Batmans(look, spoiler here: I do not like Tim Burton. And his portrayal of Batman was not very well done. I mean, in Batman Returns, Batman kills people; that violates Batman's number one rule, for fuck's sake!) So why The Dark Knight as my favorite comic book movie? Not because Heath Ledger played a good Joker, not because it is Batman, not even because the movie had Two Face in it(my fav Batman villain). It's because out of any superhero or comic book movie I have seen, The Dark Knight seems the closest to actually being an accurate portrayal of what a superhero could be like in real life. Now, it is still farfetched of me to say that; I'm not saying that it could happen, but it is the closest thing. That's why I really liked this movie. It took a form of it's own while staying pretty true to the Batman characters. I don't think I have seen a comic book movie do it as well as The Dark Knight. You can tell that these are Christopher Nolan's take on the characters and not his attempt to try and simulate them perfectly. It's something that all writers should do. The only thing I dislike about this movie was Maggie Gyllenhaal. Never been a fan or hers and I didn't even find her acting to be good at all and she's isn't really that attractive to have Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent compete for her. That's just the stone cold truth. I mean, I would rather have Katie Holmes(but of course, Joey has to be fucking indecisive or whatever the fuck made her not be in this movie...did I just make a fucking Dawson's Creek reference.....? Hmm, I guess there is a first time for everything...never let your girlfriend have Netflix, lol). The movie was very well made, well written, and I liked most the cast. Hands down, best Batman movie of all time and the best comic book movie made so far. This one will be a tough one to beat in the future.

There you have it, my favorite comic book movies. I just noticed that three of them were released in 2008. A damn good year; definitely better than the movies in 2012(at least, so far).

5 Reasons 2 Hate: The Dark Knight Rises

This has been a terrible Summer for movies, at least for me any way. Everything I went and saw was just terrible and disappointing. The Avengers, Prometheus and now The Dark Knight Rises. Hopefully the Fall/Winter selection will prove to be better. But I want to tear into this film deep so lets go.

WARNING: SPOILERS!!!

1. Christopher Nolan BETRAYS character origins.

In Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Nolan had a great way of portraying his version of characters without completely altering or changing a character's original origin story. Take Ra's al Ghul for instance. Of course, he did not have the story of being an immortal and using the Lazarus Pit, but the basic premise of his character is still in tact being the leader of the League of Shadows. You have the understanding that certain things to be changed in a comics transition into film to accommodate the movie series and to branch out to a wider audience aside from just comic book fans. Even so, THIS IS NOT THE FUCKING CASE IN THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. The two villains in the movie are TORN APART AND CHANGED. During the movie, there are several scenes trying to find out who the child was that escaped the pit. We are to assume that this is Bane. But NO. It's Talia al Ghul. NOT BANE. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, NOLAN?! The entire movie was building for the discovery of Bane's origin and secrets so you STEAL his story and just FUCKING GIVE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE?! This is the most FUCKING IDIOTIC, STUPID, RIDICULOUS, HALF ASSED, BULL FUCK SHIT I HAVE HAD TO EXPERIENCE SINCE THE LOKI CAR CHASE SCENE IN THE AVENGERS! IN FACT, THIS MAKES THAT LOOK LIKE GOLD IN COMPARISON! Were the people in on this just that fucking lazy?! Did Heath Ledger's death really put you guys in a hole that you felt THIS was the best you can come up with?! You are STRIPPING a character of everything we were built up for and just passing it along to someone else. DO YOU THINK THE AUDIENCE ARE A BUNCH OR RETARDS?! DID YOU THINK WE WOULD JUST ACCEPT THAT AS SOME FUCKED UP TWIST?! NO, YOU BASTARDS! NO!! The entire origin of Bane and Talia in this movie is Jackalope shit and just completely FUCKING LAZY and is POOR WRITING. AND MIRANDA TATE REVEALING HERSELF AS TALIA ONLY LASTS LIKE 10 GOD DAMN MINUTES BECAUSE THEN SHE FUCKING DIES! RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! 

FUCK YOU MOVIE! FUCK, YOOOOOOOOOOOOU!! I never thought I would feel this betrayed and backstabbed from a Christopher Nolan Batman movie.

2. Bane is STILL just a henchman and was never portrayed the way HE SHOULD BE.

This is really fucking annoying. First off, Bane is NOT Bane in this movie. Yes, yes, he is not just the bumbling moron in Batman & Robin, but he is still not Bane. Throughout the movie, certain plans are forced in motion, the planting of the cement explosives, the set up in the sewers, Bane calls Batman out as Bruce Wayne, etc. Bane is a highly intelligent person. At first, you figure that he worked this stuff out and discovered all the secrets like he did in the comic. NOPE. We find out in this shit flick that Miranda Tate is Talia al Ghul and Bane gained all his knowledge from her and that all the scheming and plotting was thanks to her. So, the great villain Bane is once again just another henchman in a Batman movie. I agree he is devious in this movie, but he STILL doesn't not compare the Bane in the comic. Since the whole plan was Talia's idea, it erases any idea that Bane was the cunning and intelligent villain that only comic fans would know about. He is made to be another link in the chain and since HIS origin was given to Talia, he doesn't really have any personality of his own and FAILS, FUCKING FAILS, as an individual in this movie. Why Bane was even chosen as a villain is beyond me.

3. Catwoman is non-essential.

Let me say this first; I don't think Anne Hathaway was bad in this film. Her portrayal as Catwoman was ok. Not really the way I would have seen it, but it wasn't terrible. My issue is was Catwoman even a necessary addition to this film? Seriously, what does she do? She gets Bruce Wayne's finger prints, helps Batman find Bane, and then help clear a path at the end of the movie. You could have had anyone play this role. ANYONE. Nothing that was done was special in regards to Catwoman. There was nothing unique. Nothing memorable. Nothing that says “only Catwoman could do this.” Was she just added due to fan demands? I don't get it. And then the love connection between her and Bruce Wayne is not developed AT ALL in this movie and is just left for assumption that “oh, it's Catwoman so she just gets with Batman.” Like it's something that everyone should know. Once again, another lazy character thrown into a jumbled piece of fuck movie.

4. The Dark Knight is pretty much ignored.

The second movie in the Nolan Batman trilogy is cast asunder. The only major connection is the death of Harvey Dent. That's it. And I'm not saying the Joker had to be mentioned. Check this out: In the second movie, there is the scene where the people are on one ferry and the convicts are on the other. Both decide not to blow the other up and Batman gives Joker the speech about how Gotham will never bow down to likes of chaos the Joker brings and will always stand up to tyranny. Yeah, throw that shit out the window. Bane comes in and takes over, does the city stand up to him, nope. They're just like, “Whatever, do what you want. We will just have anarchy.” What the hell is was Nolan thinking? You take a great moral that the second movie taught and then chucked it? Seriously, what the fuck? I mean, there was even a GREAT moment where the moral could have been cemented. Near the end of the film, all the Police officers march toward Bane and his army. This would have been the best part to have the citizens of Gotham join with them in their march. Once again, proving, that Gotham will never bow down to evil. But no. I don't even think anyone thought of this. The Dark Knight Rises, with the exception of Harvey Dent mentions and the pictures of Rachel, is more like a sequel to Batman Begins. You know, because it's a great idea to totally snub the BEST MOVIE IN THE SERIES.

5. Alfred is disgraced and thrown away in this film.

I don't know if this bothered anyone else as much as it did me. Alfred is one of my favorite characters in Batman and he is ESSENTIAL, especially in this trilogy. But in this movie, Michael Cane's Alfred is only shown for like 15 minutes total. -sigh- What a huge let down. The first two movies proved that Alfred was cemented as the most important supporting character and he is just tossed out of this movie. In fact, a lot was tossed out, but this one stings the most. Limiting Alfred in a Batman movie or story, is like if Empire Strikes Back had Han Solo only in the first few scenes of Hoth and then putting him in carbonite. That's ridiculous and makes NO SENSE! Alfred is not a character that can be brushed aside, especially in the Nolan series. Yes, I know, Batman and him have a falling out, but it wasn't necessary. In the Nolan Batman movies, Alfred is his rock, his port in the storm. This has to be done in these movies because he doesn't not have Robin like he does in the comic. Alfred needs more respect in the Batman community. If he already has a lot, THEN HE NEEDS MORE.

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