Capcom's Street Fighter V Lies

Yep, I’m talking about this.

In order to take you on the intended journey, I have to cover this from the top, and that means addressing content in Street Fighter V that a vocal minority have made some noise about and give some context as to why this happened. 

In the process of setting a larger stage, I hope to help further illustrate the real reason Capcom’s desire to have its cake and eat it besides is deceptive, anti-consumer and harmful to the legacy of this great series.

So, back in December, there was this whole kerfuffle about a few of the animations discovered while players were putting the Street Fighter V beta through its paces.  It turns out that gamers were witnessing Japanese puroresu sensation Rainbow Mika, or R. Mika for short, slapping her ass as the opening visual for her ‘Critical Art’, which is nomenclature for Street Fighter V’s ‘super move’.  

For reasons that anyone familiar with social media in this hypersensitive age well knows, some took offense to the animation, feeling that it was yet another example of the sexual objectification of women in video games. 

Capcom, like so many other companies in the past year or two, caved to the pressure and decided to alter the camera angle during R. Mika’s Critical Art animation so that the butt slap isn’t visible.  She still performs the motion, but at its ‘mysoginistic’ peak the view shifts up so you hear, but do not see, hand smacking rump. 

Out of sight, out of mind?  Congratulations?  A winner is you?  Pics or it didn’t happen?  Whatever colloquialism you wish to use for turning a blind eye , go right ahead.  

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Episode 2: Attack of the Jabrones

We present for your consideration, Gaming AM Episode 2. Yes, it seems this is going to be a regular thing despite your belief that we were one-off rage-quitters. We're back again, this one is titled "Attack of the Jabrones", because it's Episode 2, and it sort of rhymes with Attack of the Clones. Why would we want to rhyme with arguably the worst Star Wars movie, which could be further argued that it's the worst "movie" period? Because f*** you that's why. Good news, it's another two-hour event just like our first episode! Wait, is that good news?

In all seriousness we hope you enjoy this one, despite the fact that we never actually made it to the intended source material. This week was to be all about Street Fighter. But then it wasn't. The format of our podcast is to chat up current events briefly, then move on to the subject at hand. Unfortunately Tom and I both suffer from a serious affliction called "Diarrhea Mouth". Whenever we talk about stuff we like, we don't stop, and it makes our podcasts long. Like it or lump it, we're here to stay. We did actually record the Street Fighter material, but rather than subject you to a Peter Jackson-esque four hour podcast, we snipped off the core material and left you with the current events portion which we believe is still a great listen for those of you into the same kind of weirdness we are.

Next podcast, Street Fighter. This week, us talking about stuff. Enjoy! (...and if this isn't enough, be on the lookout for something else we're going to post tomorrow. It's epic.) UPDATE: it's here!

Guile-Best Character in Street Fighter II

Of all the characters that have appeared in the Street Fighter series of fighting games, none of them capture my imagination and continues to hold it as strongly as the air force pilot with the flag tattoo named Guile.  Even today, 25 years later, I always get a little excited to find out that this grim avenger is making an appearance in a video game-any video game. 

But why Guile?  The cast is so rich and varied, each with their own particular strengths. From ‘the strongest woman in the world’ Chun Li to the psychotic sadist Vega/M. Bison/Dictator to the sumo strongman E. Honda to the green dynamo Blanka, there is no shortage of inventive character designs in this series.  And if you add in the fairly recent inclusion of characters from Final Fight such as the ninja warrior of justice Guy, the mad mercenary Rolento and the enormous, Andre The Giant inspired Hugo, the cast has only gotten bigger and more varied.  There is something for everyone here.

So why is Guile the coolest to me?  What separates him from the pack?  What I want to do with this look at the character is go back to the beginning, and his first appearance in the original Street Fighter II: The World Warrior.  This examination of Guile and my love for the character stems from those early days, and it has nothing to do with the technical aspects of the gameplay itself (although Guile is very effective) so I am not going to talk about footsies, cancelling, poking, priority, invincibility frames, hit boxes, handcuffs, throwing combs or 100% combos.

Why It Still Matters

I’ve been a nerd for nearly 40 years.

Well, actually, probably longer than that if you count a four year old kid loving Spider-Man and Batman as being a nerd.  I wouldn't, but that's a reflection for another day.

It might have gone different for me, had a couple of things happened (or not).  I could have outgrown it like so many othes, gotten more into sports (although I am a sports fan-love my Chicago teams and follow them regularly), dirt bikes, cars, partying, getting drunk/high, high school athletics…the whole deal. To speak plainly, these are socially accepted norms in America, probably a lot of the rest of the world too.  The kinds of things I enjoy, like comic books, video games and so forth, are considered hobbies one ‘matures out of’ as they get older, seek gainful employment, establish careers, start families and settle down.

The well worn path of Joe Average was never for me.  That is not meant to disparage the millions of people that have done this very thing over the years.  They are happy, successful and can provide for their loved ones.  Good on them.  It’s just not my path. 

And I think I have Star Wars to thank/blame for that.

Episode 1: Where It All Began

After two years of talking about it, we finally did it. It's a Podcast! Gaming AM is here!

Here is Episode 1, entitled "Where It All Began", and it's a special two hour premiere event! If you make it to the end, then you are truly ready for what lies ahead in the coming weeks and months...

In the first hour we discuss who we are, how we got here, and why were doing this. The second hour we get into our actual topic, which this week is (appropriately) game music. We hope you are entertained, informed, and that you laugh a lot. Thanks for giving us a listen!