PS2

Pugilism Screed Two

  • Reading time:2 mins read

So I’ve here my copy of Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution. As has been established, I obviously have no PS2. So, in attempt to get some value for my purchase, I’ve been flipping through the elaborate-if-monochrome manual.

Something I notice is that we’ve got (similarly!) elaborate profiles for all of the returning (pre-VF4) characters — and yet for all of the new characters (from both versions of VF4), many of the personal details are unknown. No age is listed for any character who’s debuted since VF3.

Curious.

I didn’t realize that Virtua Fighter had a plot. Or that Kagemaru was the “hero”, rather than Akira. I really don’t know what the hell is going on. I suppose it doesn’t much matter. This isn’t SNK.

Actually, now that it hits me: I did know this. In theory. Virtua Fighter has an incredibly complex plot. I just don’t know any of it. It’s never been illustrated in any of the actual games, to my knowledge. Not even a shred of it.

Again: curious.

Brandon wants me to do the HTML for this megarticle thing we’ve got pending. For those of you who aren’t sure to what I refer — well, be patient. It’ll be… big, if nothing else.

A partial cast list:

Ahem.

Please anticipate it!

It occurs to me that it’s been around a year since I’ve really drawn much of anything worth mentioning. I’ve got all of these keen supplies sitting here. Maybe I would do well to break this trend. Who knows what will happen!

It seems the only way I improve artistically is by not-practicing for extended periods. Expect a rebirth of Leonardo (non-turtle), any time now.

Backal notes

  • Reading time:1 mins read

So. Games of the show? In no order, I proclaim thusly:

For those of you out there with copies of Aria of Sorrow (I’m talking to Doug and maybe Justin Freeman here), have you looked at the instruction booklet? It’s prettier than it needs to be! I count that as an extra-duper plus!

But then, I guess any halfway decent instruction booklet is bound to impress me, coming (as I am) off of a nigh-lifelong string of Sega systems…

So Sega’s about to kill off at least five of their ten dev teams. Care to take bets on who? Hint: It’s not gonna’ be AM2 or Sonicteam.

Hitmaker‘s president is going to become the next president of Sega, so they’re still in. Amusement Vision is responsible for all of Sega’s hardware, and is Sega’s primary link to Nintando. Plus, the AV head is in charge of all consumer development at Sega, last I heard. Overworks has Sakura Taisen, so there’s no getting rid of them.

That leaves Wow, Sega Rosso, Smilebit, UGA, and Wavemaster.

We can get rid of Sega Rosso and lose… nothing. Wow is amusing to have around just on account of how charmingly awful they can be. I do wonder about Wavemaster, as they’re responsible for nearly all of the sound and music in nearly everything that Sega does.

What really bums me is the Smilebit and UGA probability. These are probably my two favourite Sega teams — and yet they’re also probably amongst the least profitable, on account of how artsy they are. Most of Smilebit’s stuff has flubbed over the last couple of years, in some cases more inexplicably than in others. UGA’s stuff is just plain anticommercial.

Still, these guys embody — at least for me — the heart of what Sega is.

One of the reasons I was so concerned about the Sammy merger is that Sammy intended to mess around with Sega’s dev teams. Looks like it’s gonna’ happen anyway, though.

I’ve a feeling this mandate came from CRI.

Grr. Fie and demons.

Still resting. Will write up the rest of the E3 stuff for IC later tonight.

Note: Bethesda wants to send me games!

Another note: Dammit, I guess I need to buy a PS2. Given the SNK support, the 3D-AGES stuff, Lament of Innocence, and a swath of other junk I can’t remember offhand, it doesn’t seem like I can avoid it any longer.