Unpopular Gaming Opinions

@otbr87 never heard of Shaolin vs Wutang until now but it Looks interesting. Thanks for the recommendation. I really could like it. Thanks for the recommendation. As far as I know Die by the blade was delayed recently and I do not think that there is a new release date out there yet.

And sure thing Sony is not better than MS. I am just more on the side of Team Sony because I have always been happy with the Sony consoles and Sony is still more a classic gaming Company that supports tradtional gaming than MS. MS openly admits what they want and were their Vision of gaming is going.

Sony on the other hand is not sure yet which path to go. They support the old way but are also aiming for the MS way.

I am not a fool the MS way is going to be the future. The Internet is going to take over everything sooner or later. My resistance is futile but I am still going to support companies like Sony as long as they maintain the old ways.
 
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To start, I have fixed the broken link from my last post, and I have sent you a private message in regards to the Ayame figure. I hope that it went through, also, I apologize I am very guarded on the internet as I have been a victim of identity fraud in the past.

Anyway, as someone who has read the I-Ching, Tao De Ching, Book of the Five Rings, The Art of War, Siddhartha, etc, I will look into this kintsukuroi philosophy thank you for recommending it to me. In either case, I am a firm believer that when you succeed in one area of life, other areas have yet to be explored. I think most people settle on a particular plateau and never progress forward. While I'll still don't feel worthy of your praise, I very much appreciate it so thank you very much.

I am honestly envious of you as I have horrid luck in trying to get either a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series S. However, I can be patient as it's not like my Playstation 4 is going to become obsolete anytime soon. That will also give these two consoles time to fix whatever issues they may have. And finally, I have never really bought a new console on launch day anyway, so I can wait a couple more years.

I primarily bought the Nintendo Switch because of the exclusives and upcoming exclusives. Another unpopular opinion of mine is that I am not a fan of the Persona series, but I am a fan of Shin Megami Tensei and the fifth title is exclusive to the Switch. I am also looking to Project Arceus and Metroid Prime 4. And hopefully, Nintendo will release a port of my favorite Legend of Zelda title Twilight Princess HD. While I enjoy Breath of the Wild, the dark nature of Twilight Princess just captures me more.

While we have evolved as a species to prefer certain types of qualities, that doesn't we are limited by them. Men can be just as loving, sensitive, and compassionate as women can be bold, inquisitive, and strong when the situation calls for it. Evolution may provide a template in which we normally behave, but there is plenty of room to move within that template. All one needs to do is look at our contemporary social infrastructure as evidence.

As for female characters behaving like men, I will provide a duality of sorts from various types of media. In Star Wars, I love characters like Leia Organa, Mara Jade, Ashoka Tano, and Asajj Ventress. I loathe characters like Rey Palpatine, Rose Tico, Vice Admiral Holdo, and Captain Phasma.

In other movies, I enjoyed James Cameron's Alita from Alita Battle Angel and Black Widow from the Marvel Universe. However, I loathe Captain Marvel, Terminator Dark Fate, Ghostbusters 2016, and the 2016 reboot of Charlie's Angels. When it came to the small screen, I enjoyed Cara Dune from The Mandalorian and disliked Batwoman and Starfire in the Teen Titans live-action show. Finally, I like Wonder Woman in the Justice League Animated Direct to Video series, but hate the female chauvinism in the 2009 Wonder Woman film. This should provide enough ample examples of female characters who take on male-centric personalities.

Another reason I don't like Mortal Kombat XI (though they have backpedaled a little bit) is going the exact extreme opposite end in regards to the female characters in comparison to Mortal Kombat 9. Part of the allure of the female is her sensuality and it's not something to be ashamed of. It's hypocritical to declare that you are trying to be more realistic when you have the men half-naked. It doesn't break any laws of the set universe since the female characters have been able to keep up with the male characters with more revealing clothing since Mortal Kombat 3.

Mortal Kombat X in my opinion, balanced out the sensuality of the female characters while remaining practical. In XI, they became way too puritanical to appeal to progressives. For which, I will never understand.

While it's true that the Virtua Fighter characters were better adapted for Dead or Alive, they still had to be altered to fit within their universe. I want it to be the exact opposite where characters from Tekken and Dead or Alive are brought more in line with the Virtua Fighter universe due to how deep and balanced the mechanics of Virtua Fighter are.

My favorite characters from Mortal Kombat would be Kenshi, Scorpion, Triborg, Fujin, Onaga, and Noob Saibot. I like Kenshi because he's the closest thing to a samurai in Mortal Kombat embodying both a Jedi Knight and the Zatoichi. Scorpion because of his tragic backstory, and how he has been on both sides of the heel-face divide along with being a cool shinobi. Triborg merely for the fact that he combines mecha with shinobi. Fujin was a late one but I enjoyed his portrayal in XI. Noob Saibot is just such a merciless killer. And finally, Onaga the Dragon King because when even a powerful warlord like Shao Kahn is afraid of you, that's a testament to how powerful you are.

Kung Lao used to be a favorite of mine, as I enjoyed his quiet, stoic, heroic neutral nature till they changed his character in Xiaolin Monks. He became insecure, immature, and arrogant. I like The Deadly Alliance due to not only how Machiavellian they are, and I love dark sorcerers. However, I am not a fan of Shang Tsung's sexual fixation with Sonya, and Quan Chi comes off as a bit generic same could be said of Ermac.

I like Shinnok for his Lucifer backstory, but to see him usurped by Kronika was disappointing. I like Kano for how ruthless he is, but dislike him for being too crude. Finally, I like Erron Black due to his loner personality but dislike his cowboy motif.

Kasumi, Momiji, Ryu Hayabusa, Kokoro, Hayate, and Raidou would be my favorite Dead or Alive characters. Kasumi I like because she was the first Yamamoto Nadeshiko of the series. Someone gentle and kind but deadly when provoked; Kokoro, and Momiji would also fit into that mold. On a side note, I would love to see that Akira Yuki was Kokoro's bajiquan instructor.

The male characters as you can see are all stoic and strong shinobi (shocker I know). Raidou I like just because of how ruthless he is and think he should be the primary antagonist of the series rather than an endless amount of Kasumi clones. He seems to have a pivotal connection to the main characters.

I have already stated in a previous post my favorite Virtua Fighter characters so I won't retread that ground. When it comes to Tekken, I am a fan of the Mishima family. Primarily, I am a fan of Heihachi, Jin, and (correct me if I am wrong), Lars. Outside the Mishima's I am a fan of the shinobi Raven.

I have only played the first Splinter Cell so far and I honestly really enjoy it. The story is deep and the strong emphasis on stealth gameplay is fantastic. I definitely will be playing more of these titles in the future. It's ironic because I have never been a big fan of Thomas Clancy's works at all.

Originally I was not a fan of the Ryu Ga Gotoku franchise due to how crude the localization of the first game was. The series only grew on me after the third game on the PlayStation 3. I appreciate that you are civil in your disagreement with the franchise. And like I said before, these series are as different as night and day. Then again, if you are looking for nuance on the Internet I am afraid that's a rare commodity.

Red Ninja's failure makes sense since the end of a console's lifecycle tends to be at its best. In the end, you have Publishers and Developers who are now very intimate with the platform. It happens with every platform and will doubt happen again when the next generation of gaming comes along.

P.S., ironically, you are asking me about Bushido Blade since I was the one who recommended it to you a while back.
-No worries about being guarded, everyone has to do what they're comfortable with :) I did receive your message and will be responding after this.

-The Tao Te Ching is probably the best philosophy on life I've read and studied yet, and I read a lot. Those are some great books and studies you mentioned. You're welcome on the compliment. I give it because you're easy to talk with and can disagree civilly all the while bringing depth to the conversation and new ways for me to look at or consider things. The Shenmue forums seem to have a lot of that, but other places on the internet not so much, so I always appreciate it when I encounter it.

-The way I ended up with the current gen consoles back in February(or it may have been January) was total happenstance on the PlayStation's and luck on the Xbox. I normally don't buy consoles for a loooong time(didn't even own a PS3, PS4 or Xbox One that I could play until 2019, didn't have a TV between 2007 and 2019 either). I did buy the Wii on launch day 2006, which I resold about a month later since there wasn't any good launch titles outside of bowling and tennis. What happened a few months back was I intuitively felt I should go to Best Buy .com and check on the Xbox Series X/S inventory as I was considering buying an X and then decided on the S and it was about 3AM when I checked and they said that the local Best Buy about 30 miles from my house was taking orders but I couldn't have it shipped to my mailbox, I had to pick up in store. So, a few weeks later I go to pick it up in store and as I'm at the customer service/geek squad counter there were 2 PS5's(1 digital, 1 disc) on the shelf behind the clerk next to some Nintendo Switchs(which were also in massive shortage at that time). As I was paying the for Series S I cracked a joke with the clerk for whatever unknown reason and said laughing while looking at the 2 PS5's behind him "I'd ask if you have any PS5 in stock, but I know better that those are online orders for pick up" he looked at me and said "Well, they are but they're both cancellations so they're both available for sale" and I was like "you're kidding right?" well, he wasn't lol. So, as a business who deals with electronics I decided they would both be good for resale, and I purchased both with the intention to resell. At that same time I had recently taken a PS4 Pro in on trade that I was waiting on selling because rumor was that Kena was coming out the first week of March, when that didn't happen I sold off the PS4 Pro instantly and then starting thinking "I REALLY want to experience Kena on a PS5 and not PS4, if I sell both PS5's I don't know if I'll come across one again this year", so I decided to keep the digital and sell the disc version. I actually loved playing Ghost of Tsushima and Shenmue 3 on PS5 it was far superior to all 3 PS4 models I had played them on in the past. Normally, I don't keep any consoles as they're a constant revolving door for sale(except my Xbox One, which has now been replaced by my Xbox Series S), and even if I do I don't sit on a console for 5 months just to play a game, but Kena looks SOOO damn good I don't want to miss it in all it's glory. Plus, the more I looked into it I saw a few other PS5 exclusives like Ghostwire Tokyo that came into the picture so I'm not thinking I'll be selling this PS5 digital, or my Series S anytime in the foreseeable future. Just sold another Wii today, so all the older stuff is always coming in and out, but I'm getting burned out dealing with this general business and will be heading back towards my original life''s purpose path slowly, it's just been a brutal year with COVID so I'm doing what needs to be done for now.

-I decided I will be picking up a Switch again(first time for personal reasons rather than business)to experience Pokemon Snap next week. Since Arceus isn't coming out anytime soon, I'll most likely sell the Switch after experiencing Snap and then come back around to another one in the future. I have also considered giving Breath of the Wild a closer look, never played on Switch but sampled it on Wii U a while back. I like the open world elements, just can't get into the Zelda lore too much.

-I love your commentary on the men in society thing, because it's quite ridiculous that it's even a topic of discussion in society anymore. Obviously, people like us understand what it's like to already know this to be true, but we live in such a shallow world where nobody goes deeper than what the TV tells them so to speak(and literally). I appreciate your statement very much and do not have anything much to add to it.

-A question of clarification on the male centric female characters, and characters in general. When you say you like or loathe, are you saying what your personal attraction level is to a character in general or are you saying that those characters you loathe are so poorly written you don't even want them in the franchise? For example, in my case: Lan Di from Shenmue is a detestable character that is easy to loathe. I do not care what his childhood was or why he has turned the way he has, I don't have empathy or remorse for him(at least not yet, it depends on what Yu does with the character going forward post-Shenmue 3), but with that said I love Lan Di as a character, he's absolutely menacing and exact in his movement and ploy. He's a loveable character that I love to hate. The opposite example would be a character like Ferra/Torr from Mortal Kombat X. Hands down the worst abomination of a character the MK series has produced along with Kai, Jarek, Drahmin, Meat and a few other mid-2000s MK characters. These are characters that don't need to exist at all and offer nothing to the lore. I'm curious as to how you measure your commentary on the original question. For me, I don't find male centric women to be attractive(personally, intellectually, sexually or in any capacity) in real life or as characters in a story, but I don't have an issue with *certain* characters in a story who fit the description IF they serve the overall direction, message and arc of the story. I typically won't feel warmth towards them but I'll at least understand their purpose, and if they're a villain thats usually all the better as they're easy to detest.

-MK 11/MK 9 womens appearance: I actually prefer the womens looks(and men for that matter too) in MK 11 overall to any of the other games. I don't find oversexualized sex appeal like in MK9 to be synonymous with Mortal Kombat, although many of it's fans have said that it's about "blood, guts, gore and sex" and while I can agree with much of the first 3 words, I can't see the sex appeal as its anchor, nor really do I see it JUST being about the brutalities. Perhaps in the 90s when the games weren't very good overall due to technical limitations, but the current trilogy and even the Deadly Alliance, Deception, Armageddon era didn't seem to make sex appeal its main focus, although it was obviously there. All of the women in MK 11 are sexualized or attractive in the way they look in general, along with many of the costumes like the MK2 and MK3 Kitana, Jade, Mileena, Skarlet costumes and all of Sindels human costumes along with Skarlets KP2 costume and Sonya in her short shorts. Most of the costumes overall are not as revealing as the MK9 costumes which were basically lingerie looking, but I far prefer MK 11 costumes to MK9, and MKX over MK9 costumes as well, even though the general graphic style design and gameplay of X I find to be the weakest out of the current trilogy. As for the sex appeal itself in MK11, I personally find the outfits to be more attractive than MK9 in general, meaning that for me none of these women are real or are someone I am dating or sharing a personal sexual experience with, so I don't tend to find it as attractive that they're running around their world dressed in what I would associate with bedroom attire. Now, I don't have any moral issue with this or some BS religious reason as I find that stuff to be poisonous to peoples freedom of choice to present themselves the way they want to, and the fact that it's natural in our very human nature since we came out of the wilderness that we wear less clothes in certain climates and more clothes in others. It's just my personal taste, I find the mystery more intriguing and in the case of MK games I see less reason for them to be moving about with the lingerie outfits. MK2/MK3 Kitana, Jade, Mileena, Skarlet costumes are a nice blend of the modern MKX/MK11 styles that are somewhat toned down and the revealing MK9 costumes. But for a franchise that mainly never did a DOA style lingerie costumes on their female characters, its funny how many of the angry anti-MK11 guys were like "MK was always sexualized!" and I'm thinking...outside of MK9, when was it ever really noticeable or a big deal? I do agree with you on some of what was originally said from some higher ups on MK11 about "the times were living in" bullshit to satiate the easily offended by whats natural 'tolerant' liberal crowd. I did lose a little respect for them due to that, but overall I enjoy MK11's presentation. And unless MK 12 has women who intetionally look like Abby from The Last of Us 2, or every girl is flat chested like a grade school boy or Kitana becomes a transgender woman with a beard I'm open and excited to see what they will do, including and not limited to them bringing back the revealing clothing from MK9, though if they don't that is fine and preferred for me. I think MK11 Mileena is a great example of balance and what I like about it's visual direction. She has sex appeal in the majority of her costumes, yet has the hideous teeth(which was the right decision over MKX's Mileena who had women's lips). The MKX Mileena with the lips sort've felt like pandering to a demographic that wanted her to be sexier in the face, but the teeth from MK9 got in the way. Its interesting because no matter which direction they would go, someone would be disappointed and/or offended.

MK Characters: I like Kenshi a lot too, for the same reasons. I suppose I should have shared why I like the characters I mentioned as well. First of all, why I like them has more to do with how I can relate to their personalities or journey more so than if they visually look great and are well written. There are characters, like Shao Kahn who are very well written and visually look good but I despise everything about his personality, agenda and what he stands for. He's a character I love to hate, just like Kronika, Cetrion, Quan Chi or Shang Tsung. All great characters, but none of which I can relate with at all, or very much. My nutshell reasons for liking: Kitana's journey of deception I find to be the most relatable, as I have literally gone through it throughout my life, and outside of childhood, more so in the last 10 months than ever. I like her ambition and ability to rise to the occasion when needed. Visually, I always liked her but I love that they made her Asian aesthetically, it adds more appeal to her Edenian-ness. Jade is one that I always liked as a loyal friend, she's a strong 'right hand woman' type and her sass is direct and with purpose. Mileena I can relate to her inner strife about being an outcast just because of what/who she is and something that she had no choice over. Skarlet I like for many of the same reasons, I can again relate entirely to her childhood and she's a good lesson/example of what happens when we don't take control of our dark side and we let our pain dominate and take control of our mind and soul. I have empathy for her origin story that I can unfortunately relate to much myself, but she's also a reminder of something I never want to become due to hardship. I loved Sindel when she was the benevolent loving mother figure, and even though they did a good job with her retconning her to "I've always been evil" I wish they wouldn't have done it, but at least they did it correctly. As for the dudes, Hanzo Hasashi was my original favorite when I was growing up with MK1, then alongside Kitana in MK2 and ever since then. His story of loss, betrayal and his inner battles with his demons and just like you said his having walked the path and lived life on both sides of light and dark is relatable on a personal level and lovable as a character. Liu Kang because he's clearly 'The Chosen One'. I like that he is humble, yet full of fire and confident in his abilities while becoming comfortable over time with his place in the universe he exists in. Nightwolf for many of the same reasons, I've been just as attracted to Native American culture as I am to dynasty era/wuxia era Asian culture for many of the same spiritual reasons. I currently live on literal Native American land(obviously it's all their land before the Europeans stole it, but I'm talking about by current terminology), I have performed work with their medicine wheels, spent time working with them and it's the same reason I hate Erron Black and cowboys, I also live around that culture too sadly as many of John Waynes films were filmed right in this town. Erron Black is a solid example of a character I think is well written, but I can't stomach because he's a cowboy. If he were more of a Mad Max type drifter, I'd probably like him on a personal level quite a bit. Kung Lao was another one of my favorites in MK2, and while I do like that they have taken him in the direction of an insecure arrogant wingman to Liu Kang, I also appreciate what he once was, which is one of the only things I liked about the MK2021 movie, they made Kung Lao more MK2-ish.

DOA Characters: I'm not nearly as big of a fan of this franchise, so personally you could give me Kasumi and I will leave the rest behind. I like Ayane to some degree as well, but more so that's just from a moveset standpoint than anything else. I don't dislike any of the other DOA characters per se, but Kasumi is the only one I feel grounded to in some way or other. I also understand in saying this that DOA is no where near the character development or story depth of MK, or even Tekken for that matter but none the less Kasumi is the right choice to be the face of the DOA franchise.

VF Characters: I don't know much about the characters as I've mentioned before I feel they're a bit underdeveloped but I do enjoy Pai's moves, visual and general energy of her presentation most of all. Sarah Bryant has some cool moves, but I wish I knew more about the character. I think Akira has the most personality(along with Pai)and is a good face of the franchise, but I don't enjoy playing with him as much, when I do play VF.

Tekken Characters: I can see why you like the family members involved in the Tekken Corporation and the Mishimas/Kazamas because they're perfect for the conflict within the story to revolve around them. On a personal level Jun Kazama is the only member of that family I like a lot both in her moveset and in her personality. Jin I don't enjoy playing as but I enjoy his personality and moral challenges with his internal conflict due to his origin. Heihachi is badass in his presentation as the ultimate villain of the franchise. Kazuya is cool as a 'secondary' boss, kind've like a Shinnok/Quan Chi dynamic with Heihachi/Kazuya, though in the case of MK I prefer Quan Chi far more to Shinnok. Jinpachi I have no real use for, but he isn't horrible either. As for the characters I mentioned I like Julia and Michelle Chang due to their Native American and Asian roots, their move sets and their story. When Michelle was removed from Tekken 3 I was disappointed but Julia was very easy to pick up and ended up becoming my preference over Michelle between the two. I like the parent/child dynamics of their relationship. Jun Kazama I like because she's the only truly pure one in the Mishima family. She obviously has conflict as well with what becomes of Jin, but her purity is real, and doesn't feel phony like in a religious sense, shes more spiritually pure. Kunimitsu has great moves, especially in Tekken 7 and Tag 2. I'm surprised you didn't mention Kunimitsu with your interest in Asian lore and her being a kunoichi. If you're not aware already, they added a new Kunimitsu to Tekken 7 in late 2020, it's the daughter of Tekken 2's Kunimitsu and her moveset is improved, with some of her mothers better moves mixed in.

-Oh man, if you've only played Splinter Cell 1 so far you're in for a treat. The next 4 titles are even better, with the 2nd and 3rd ones being the best(Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory). I won't give away any depth to what happens in the plot, but just when you finish the 3rd one Chaos Theory and feel that maybe 3 games of the same old same old has been enough, the 4th one Double Agent will throw an entirely different set of paint on the premise of the first 3 games. Then, after that the 5th one Conviction which is the most unique will change the entire gameplay mechanics to where you are no longer the hunter, but now the hunted...a little example is stealth tactics during daylight rather than being in the shadows all the time. The 6th one Blacklist is ok, but like I mentioned before it felt too much like a return to form from what was already done with the original 3, and when they changed the voice actor for Sam Fisher is ruined it for me. I'd say if you play the first 5 and love the gameplay mechanics more than the story/main character himself, especially if you love the first 3 you may want to give the 6th one a try, but if you care about story and Sam more so, the 6th one may disappoint a bit. I do not like anything American military usually, or any of Tom Clancys games either, but back when Splinter Cell 1 and Pandora Tomorrow came out I picked them up cheap at GameStop based on all the talk of how great they were, and I was pleasantly surprised.

-Yakuza: I don't mind being civil with my feelings on the franchise, I just find that people often feel attacked or like they need to attack me if I voice that I don't like the games, why I don't like them or if I share my frustration with them being compared to Shenmue. On one hand, I get it..where I may find Shenmue to be a pure and honest game that I love so when someone compares it to a game and the guy who created it that I detest, it feels insulting, but of course I can let that go as it's just my opinion and ego that's being offended in those moments, and obviously other people may hold Yakuza to high regard equally to Shenmue, or in some cases people like Yakuza more, that's all good, were all free to feel how we naturally do. Where I really get frustrated is when Yakuza fans(some who like Shenmue too, some who don't)start trying to pass off that "it's a fact" that the Yakuza games are all good(subject to personal taste), or that Shenmue and Yakuza are the same, which they clearly are not the same at all. When talking with you about Yakuza, I am enjoying hearing your reasons for why you enjoy it, as it helps me stretch my mind and see if maybe I overlooked something about the franchise. In my case, your opinions on Yakuza haven't shifted me towards wanting to revisit it(at least not at this point), but it did help me see some value in knowing that you know exactly what you're playing and getting with Yakuza, and that there's nothing wrong with liking it. I also like how you and I keep referring to this franchise differently, you by its Japanese name and me by it's American one. Samething I noticed with Pokemon/Pocket Monsters.

-I must apologize about not remembering you mentioning Bushido Blade, I read many things online and cannot retain them all but it's more likely in this case because I grew up with Bushido Blade in the 90s before the second one ever came out. It's like Splinter Cell, I'm sure if you'd already played it in 2002 you may not remember if I suggested it here in the current era. Please pardon my not remembering. I do however clearly remember that I had never heard of Shinobido until you told me about it, which I must thank you again for as I cannot get enough Tenchu-like games :)
 
@otbr87 never heard of Shaolin vs Wutang until now but it Looks interesting. Thanks for the recommendation. I really could like it. Thanks for the recommendation. As far as I know Die by the blade was delayed recently and I do not think that there is a new release date out there yet.

And sure thing Sony is not better than MS. I am just more on the side of Team Sony because I have always been happy with the Sony consoles and Sony is still more a classic gaming Company that supports tradtional gaming than MS. MS openly admits what they want and were their Vision of gaming is going.

Sony on the other hand is not sure yet which path to go. They support the old way but are also aiming for the MS way.

I am not fool the MS way is going to be the future. The Internet is going to take over everything sooner or later. My resistance is futile but I am still going to support companies like Sony as long as they maintain the old ways.
You're Welcome. I've only played the original Shaolin Vs Wutang on Xbox, but apparently there's a sequel on Steam as well, and if you click on the developers store page he's made like 2 other games that are similar, they're all fairly cheap too.

I will be checking out Die By The Blade when it comes out. Any idea on what the cost will be?

I'm the same way with Xbox that you are with Sony. It's not a brand loyalty thing for me either, which is why I can also appreciate certain aspects of Sony, and why I own their console as well. If Apple makes a video game console with their lack of business ethics and quality issues, that would be an entirely different story.
 
-No worries about being guarded, everyone has to do what they're comfortable with :) I did receive your message and will be responding after this.

-The Tao Te Ching is probably the best philosophy on life I've read and studied yet, and I read a lot. Those are some great books and studies you mentioned. You're welcome on the compliment. I give it because you're easy to talk with and can disagree civilly all the while bringing depth to the conversation and new ways for me to look at or consider things. The Shenmue forums seem to have a lot of that, but other places on the internet not so much, so I always appreciate it when I encounter it.

-The way I ended up with the current-gen consoles back in February(or it may have been January) was total happenstance on the PlayStation's and luck on the Xbox. I normally don't buy consoles for a long time(didn't even own a PS3, PS4, or Xbox One that I could play until 2019, didn't have a TV between 2007 and 2019 either). I did buy the Wii on launch day 2006, which I resold about a month later since there weren't any good launch titles outside of bowling and tennis. What happened a few months back was I intuitively felt I should go to Best Buy .com and check on the Xbox Series X/S inventory as I was considering buying an X and then decided on the S and it was about 3 AM when I checked and they said that the local Best Buy about 30 miles from my house was taking orders but I couldn't have it shipped to my mailbox, I had to pick up in-store. So, a few weeks later I go to pick it up in-store and as I'm at the customer service/geek squad counter there were 2 PS5's(1 digital, 1 disc) on the shelf behind the clerk next to some Nintendo Switch(which were also in massive shortage at that time). As I was paying them for Series S I cracked a joke with the clerk for whatever unknown reason and said laughing while looking at the 2 PS5's behind him "I'd ask if you have any PS5 in stock, but I know better than those are online orders for pick up" he looked at me and said "Well, they are but they're both cancellations so they're both available for sale" and I was like "you're kidding right?" well, he wasn't lol. So, as a business that deals with electronics, I decided they would both be good for resale, and I purchased both intending to resell. At that same time I had recently taken a PS4 Pro in on trade that I was waiting on selling because the rumor was that Kena was coming out the first week of March, when that didn't happen I sold off the PS4 Pro instantly and then starting thinking "I want to experience Kena on a PS5 and not PS4 if I sell both PS5's I don't know if I'll come across one again this year", so I decided to keep the digital and sell the disc version. I loved playing Ghost of Tsushima and Shenmue 3 on PS5 it was far superior to all 3 PS4 models I had played them on in the past. Normally, I don't keep any consoles as they're a constant revolving door for sale(except my Xbox One, which has now been replaced by my Xbox Series S), and even if I do I don't sit on a console for 5 months just to play a game, but Kena looks SOOO damn good I don't want to miss it in all its glory. Plus, the more I looked into it I saw a few other PS5 exclusives like Ghostwire Tokyo that came into the picture so I'm not thinking I'll be selling this PS5 digital, or my Series S anytime in the foreseeable future. Just sold another Wii today, so all the older stuff is always coming in and out, but I'm getting burned out dealing with this general business and will be heading back towards my original life's purpose path slowly, it's just been a brutal year with COVID so I'm doing what needs to be done for now.

-I decided I will be picking up a Switch again(first time for personal reasons rather than business)to experience Pokemon Snap next week. Since Arceus isn't coming out anytime soon, I'll most likely sell the Switch after experiencing Snap and then come back around to another one in the future. I have also considered giving Breath of the Wild a closer look, never played on Switch but sampled it on Wii U a while back. I like the open-world elements, just can't get into the Zelda lore too much.

-I love your commentary on the men in society thing because it's quite ridiculous that it's even a topic of discussion in society anymore. People like us understand what it's like to already know this to be true, but we live in such a shallow world where nobody goes deeper than what the TV tells them so to speak(and literally). I appreciate your statement very much and do not have anything much to add to it.

-A question of clarification on the male-centric female characters, and characters in general. When you say you like or loathe, are you saying what your attraction level is to a character in general or are you saying that those characters you loathe are so poorly written you don't even want them in the franchise? For example, in my case: Lan Di from Shenmue is a detestable character that is easy to loathe. I do not care what his childhood was or why he has turned the way he has, I don't have empathy or remorse for him(at least not yet, it depends on what Yu does with the character going forward post-Shenmue 3), but with that said I love Lan Di as a character, he's menacing and exact in his movement and ploy. He's a loveable character that I love to hate. The opposite example would be a character like Ferra/Torr from Mortal Kombat X. Hands down the worst abomination of a character the MK series has produced along with Kai, Jarek, Drahmin, Meat, and a few other mid-2000s MK characters. These are characters that don't need to exist at all and offer nothing to the lore. I'm curious as to how you measure your commentary on the original question. For me, I don't find male-centric women to be attractive(personally, intellectually, sexually, or in any capacity) in real life or as characters in a story, but I don't have an issue with *certain* characters in a story who fit the description IF they serve the overall direction, message and arc of the story. I typically won't feel warmth towards them but I'll at least understand their purpose, and if they're a villain that's usually all the better as they're easy to detest.

-MK 11/MK 9 women's appearance: I prefer the women's looks(and men for that matter too) in MK 11 overall to any of the other games. I don't find oversexualized sex appeal like in MK9 to be synonymous with Mortal Kombat, although many of its fans have said that it's about "blood, guts, gore, and sex" and while I can agree with much of the first 3 words, I can't see the sex appeal as its anchor, nor do I see it JUST being about the brutalities. Perhaps in the 90s when the games weren't very good overall due to technical limitations, but the current trilogy and even the Deadly Alliance, Deception, Armageddon era didn't seem to make sex appeal its main focus, although it was there. All of the women in MK 11 are sexualized or attractive in the way they look in general, along with many of the costumes like the MK2 and MK3 Kitana, Jade, Mileena, Skarlet costumes, and all of Sindel's human costumes along with Scarlets KP2 costume and Sonya in her short shorts. Most of the costumes overall are not as revealing as the MK9 costumes which were basically lingerie looking, but I far prefer MK 11 costumes to MK9, and MKX over MK9 costumes as well, even though the general graphic style design and gameplay of X I find to be the weakest out of the current trilogy. As for the sex appeal itself in MK11, I find the outfits to be more attractive than MK9 in general, meaning that for me none of these women are real or is someone I am dating or sharing a personal sexual experience with, so I don't tend to find it as attractive that they're running around their world dressed in what I would associate with bedroom attire. Now, I don't have any moral issue with this or some BS religious reason as I find that stuff to be poisonous to peoples freedom of choice to present themselves the way they want to, and the fact that it's natural in our very human nature since we came out of the wilderness that we wear fewer clothes in certain climates and more clothes in others. It's just my taste, I find the mystery more intriguing and in the case of MK games, I see less reason for them to be moving about with the lingerie outfits. MK2/MK3 Kitana, Jade, Mileena, Skarlet costumes are a nice blend of the modern MKX/MK11 styles that are somewhat toned down and the revealing MK9 costumes. But for a franchise that mainly never did a DOA style lingerie costumes on their female characters, it's funny how many of the angry anti-MK11 guys were like "MK was always sexualized!" and I'm thinking...outside of MK9, when was it ever really noticeable or a big deal? I do agree with you on some of what was originally said from some higher-ups on MK11 about "the times we're living in" bullshit to satiate the easily offended by what's natural 'tolerant' liberal crowd. I did lose a little respect for them due to that, but overall I enjoy MK11's presentation. And unless MK 12 has women who intentionally look like Abby from The Last of Us 2, or every girl is flat-chested like a grade school boy or Kitana becomes a transgender woman with a beard I'm open and excited to see what they will do, including and not limited to them bringing back the revealing clothing from MK9, though if they don't that is fine and preferred for me. I think MK11 Mileena is a great example of balance and what I like about its visual direction. She has sex appeal in the majority of her costumes, yet has hideous teeth(which was the right decision over MKX's Mileena who had women's lips). The MKX Mileena with the lips sort've felt like pandering to a demographic that wanted her to be sexier in the face, but the teeth from MK9 got in the way. It's interesting because no matter which direction they would go, someone would be disappointed and/or offended.

MK Characters: I like Kenshi a lot too, for the same reasons. I suppose I should have shared why I like the characters I mentioned as well. First of all, why I like them has more to do with how I can relate to their personalities or journey more so than if they visually look great and are well written. There are characters, like Shao Kahn who are very well written and visually look good but I despise everything about his personality, agenda, and what he stands for. He's a character I love to hate, just like Kronika, Cetrion, Quan Chi, or Shang Tsung. All great characters, but none of which I can relate with at all, or very much. My nutshell reasons for liking: Kitana's journey of deception I find to be the most relatable, as I have gone through it throughout my life, and outside of childhood, more so in the last 10 months than ever. I like her ambition and ability to rise to the occasion when needed. Visually, I always liked her but I love that they made her Asian aesthetically, it adds more appeal to her Edenian-ness. Jade is one that I always liked as a loyal friend, she's a strong 'right-hand woman' type and her sass is direct and with purpose. Mileena I can relate to her inner strife about being an outcast just because of what/who she is and something that she had no choice over. Skarlet I like for many of the same reasons, I can again relate entirely to her childhood and she's a good lesson/example of what happens when we don't take control of our dark side and we let our pain dominate and take control of our mind and soul. I have empathy for her origin story that I can, unfortunately, relate to much myself, but she's also a reminder of something I never want to become due to hardship. I loved Sindel when she was the benevolent loving mother figure, and even though they did a good job with her retconning her to "I've always been evil" I wish they wouldn't have done it, but at least they did it correctly. As for the dudes, Hanzo Hasashi was my original favorite when I was growing up with MK1, then alongside Kitana in MK2, and ever since then. His story of loss, betrayal, and his inner battles with his demons, and just like you said his having walked the path and lived life on both sides of light and dark is relatable on a personal level and lovable as a character. Liu Kang because he's clearly 'The Chosen One'. I like that he is humble, yet full of fire and confident in his abilities while becoming comfortable over time with his place in the universe he exists in. Nightwolf for many of the same reasons, I've been just as attracted to Native American culture as I am to dynasty era/wuxia era Asian culture for many of the same spiritual reasons. I currently live on literal Native American land(obviously it's all their land before the Europeans stole it, but I'm talking about my current terminology), I have performed work with their medicine wheels, spent time working with them and it's the same reason I hate Erron Black and cowboys, I also live around that culture too sadly as many of John Waynes films were filmed right in this town. Erron Black is a solid example of a character I think is well written, but I can't stomach it because he's a cowboy. If he were more of a Mad Max type drifter, I'd probably like him on a personal level quite a bit. Kung Lao was another one of my favorites in MK2, and while I do like that they have taken him in the direction of an insecure arrogant wingman to Liu Kang, I also appreciate what he once was, which is one of the only things I liked about the MK2021 movie, they made Kung Lao more MK2-ish.

DOA Characters: I'm not nearly as big of a fan of this franchise, so you could give me Kasumi and I will leave the rest behind. I like Ayane to some degree as well, but more so that's just from a moveset standpoint than anything else. I don't dislike any of the other DOA characters per se, but Kasumi is the only one I feel grounded to in some way or other. I also understand in saying this that DOA is nowhere near the character development or story depth of MK, or even Tekken for that matter but none the less Kasumi is the right choice to be the face of the DOA franchise.

VF Characters: I don't know much about the characters as I've mentioned before I feel they're a bit underdeveloped but I do enjoy Pai's moves, visual and general energy of her presentation most of all. Sarah Bryant has some cool moves, but I wish I knew more about the character. I think Akira has the most personality(along with Pai)and is a good face of the franchise, but I don't enjoy playing with him as much when I do play VF.

Tekken Characters: I can see why you like the family members involved in the Tekken Corporation and the Mishima's/Kazamas because they're perfect for the conflict within the story to revolve around them. On a personal level, Jun Kazama is the only member of that family I like a lot both in her moveset and in her personality. Jin I don't enjoy playing as but I enjoy his personality and moral challenges with his internal conflict due to his origin. Heihachi is badass in his presentation as the ultimate villain of the franchise. Kazuya is cool as a 'secondary' boss, kind've like a Shinnok/Quan Chi dynamic with Heihachi/Kazuya, though in the case of MK I prefer Quan Chi far more to Shinnok. Jinpachi I have no real use for, but he isn't horrible either. As for the characters I mentioned I like Julia and Michelle Chang due to their Native American and Asian roots, their move sets, and their story. When Michelle was removed from Tekken 3 I was disappointed but Julia was very easy to pick up and ended up becoming my preference over Michelle between the two. I like the parent/child dynamics of their relationship. Jun Kazama I like because she's the only truly pure one in the Mishima family. She has conflict as well with what becomes of Jin, but her purity is real and doesn't feel phony like, in a religious sense, she's more spiritually pure. Kunimitsu has great moves, especially in Tekken 7 and Tag 2. I'm surprised you didn't mention Kunimitsu with your interest in Asian lore and her being a kunoichi. If you're not aware already, they added a new Kunimitsu to Tekken 7 in late 2020, it's the daughter of Tekken 2's Kunimitsu, and her moveset is improved, with some of her mothers better moves mixed in.

-Oh man, if you've only played Splinter Cell 1 so far you're in for a treat. The next 4 titles are even better, with the 2nd and 3rd ones being the best(Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory). I won't give away any depth to what happens in the plot, but just when you finish the 3rd one Chaos Theory, and feel that maybe 3 games of the same old same old has been enough, the 4th one Double Agent will throw an entirely different set of paint on the premise of the first 3 games. Then, after that, the 5th one Conviction which is the most unique will change the entire gameplay mechanics to where you are no longer the hunter, but now the hunted...a little example is stealth tactics during daylight rather than being in the shadows all the time. The 6th one Blacklist is ok, but like I mentioned before it felt too much like a return to form from what was already done with the original 3, and when they changed the voice actor for Sam Fisher is ruined it for me. I'd say if you play the first 5 and love the gameplay mechanics more than the story/main character himself, especially if you love the first 3 you may want to give the 6th one a try, but if you care about the story and Sam more so, the 6th one may disappoint a bit. I do not like anything American military usually, or any of Tom Clancys games either, but back when Splinter Cell 1 and Pandora Tomorrow came out I picked them up cheap at GameStop based on all the talk of how great they were, and I was pleasantly surprised.

-Yakuza: I don't mind being civil with my feelings on the franchise, I just find that people often feel attacked or like they need to attack me if I voice that I don't like the games, why I don't like them or if I share my frustration with them being compared to Shenmue. On one hand, I get it..where I may find Shenmue to be a pure and honest game that I love so when someone compares it to a game and the guy who created it that I detest, it feels insulting, but of course, I can let that go as it's just my opinion and ego that's being offended in those moments, and other people may hold Yakuza to high regard equally to Shenmue, or in some cases people like Yakuza more, that's all good, we're all free to feel how we naturally do. Where I get frustrated is when Yakuza fans(some who like Shenmue too, some who don't)start trying to pass off that "it's a fact" that the Yakuza games are all good(subject to personal taste), or that Shenmue and Yakuza are the same, which they are not the same at all. When talking with you about Yakuza, I am enjoying hearing your reasons for why you enjoy it, as it helps me stretch my mind and see if maybe I overlooked something about the franchise. In my case, your opinions on Yakuza haven't shifted me towards wanting to revisit it(at least not at this point), but it did help me see some value in knowing that you know exactly what you're playing and getting with Yakuza and that there's nothing wrong with liking it. I also like how you and I keep referring to this franchise differently, you by its Japanese name and me by its American one. It's the same thing I noticed with Pokemon/Pocket Monsters.

-I must apologize for not remembering you mentioning Bushido Blade, I read many things online and cannot retain them all but it's more likely in this case because I grew up with Bushido Blade in the 90s before the second one ever came out. It's like Splinter Cell, I'm sure if you'd already played it in 2002 you may not remember if I suggested it here in the current era. Please pardon my not remembering. I do however clearly remember that I had never heard of Shinobido until you told me about it, which I must thank you again for as I cannot get enough Tenchu-like games :)
I apologize for not responding earlier as I get mentally exhausted quite easily and need time to recharge after a long and thorough discussion. I tend to do my best to analyze what people say before responding. This is somewhat easier on the internet where I can edit my thoughts more clearly. That being said, it's still exhausting and I need time to rest.

First off, thank you for reminding me of Ghostwire Tokyo as it's another exclusive title that has shifted my interest towards the PlayStation 5. I have never been a big fan of Shinji Mikami's works, but this caught my eye. This is not to say that I dislike the games he's worked on, they just were never brought to my attention.

I think why there is such civility here at the dojo is due to the wonderful moderators and the fact that most people here tend to be in their thirties and forties. In other words, we have all had our trials by fire and have matured because of said trials. And anyone who comes in here trying to sow discord is immediately kicked out the door while making sure that nobody's right to free speech is impeded upon.

I am not a fan of mainstream media as it is not objective and is incredibly shallow. For example, when it comes to news, I try to read non-partisan sites as most media is biased in both directions. Worst of all, I believe media (now more than ever thanks to the internet) has done nothing but polarize people. Not everyone on the left is a Communist and not everyone on the right is a white supremacist. People tend to have different views depending on the subject at hand.

However, people love ideas that confirm their own biases. I am just as guilty of this as anyone else. It is far easier to think in black and white than to get a broader more in-depth understanding of people. The reason the Internet exacerbates this problem is that it's given more power to the individual to filter out ideas they dislike.

I remember back in the '80s and 90s, that people either didn't discuss polarizing issues, or they acted like rational adults and discussed through their disagreements. I wish things were still like this as it promotes intellectual growth and understanding. Lamentably though, we are now in a world of intellectual immaturity, stunted growth, and riped to be manipulated by corporations and politicians.

I don't like talking about politics because of how divisive they are, but to clarify my position on male-centric female characters I have no choice. Characters like Longsun Zhao are supposed to be characters you dislike. However, he fits into the context of Shenmue's narrative and there is not some outside agenda dictating his actions. Characters like Rey, Captain Marvel, etc were written that way.

I do not condone threats, doxing, harassment, or trolling anyone. I think it is puerile and shows how weak you are. However, I did not like how Sony, for example, addressed the backlash against Ghostbusters by labeling people as misogynists or basement-dwelling losers. I did not like being told that because I don't like Rey from Star Wars that I hate women and finally I did not like when Brie Larson said she did not care about "forty-year-old white dudes" think of her movie. This is not how you treat those who will determine whether your product or service will be profitable. Finally, I have made my point as to what type of female characters I enjoy so I won't tread on that ground again.

I honestly appreciate and understand why the Mortal Kombat, Tekken, and Dead or Alive characters you chose to appeal to you. You can empathize with their struggles and resolve to overcome the difficulties in your own life. In a way, I can relate as I stated about self-improvement with characters like Ryu and Akira. However, your relationship is far deeper than mine and you have my respect for that. I know Ed Boon, Itagaki, and Harada would be happy to hear that as this is a goal I think most artists aspire to.

We will just have to disagree about the clothing choices for the female characters in Mortal Kombat. I am simply looking at it from an in-universe perspective, but for you, it goes much deeper than that. I still believe that Mortal Kombat X had the best balance between the two extremes. Also, I enjoy Mortal Kombat X for deepening its combat system with a "Groove System" similar to Capcom vs SNK 2. So basically, it boils down to mechanics similar to Virtua Fighter.

I think that's very fascinating that you have been involved with the shamanic Native American people. I like Nightwolf's portrayal in Mortal Kombat XI due to how respectful they portray him. He's everything I wish Kung Lao would have been. On a side note, I wish that both the colonial settlers and the natively-born could have co-existed peacefully with one another, but hindsight is twenty-twenty.

I am not a big fan of Tekken so I am not familiar with all the characters. The Mishima's are just infamously known that even an idiot like me is aware of them. The same goes for Raven as I have honestly not kept up with Tekken since 3. Finally, when it comes to Splinter Cell, I am excited to see where the next part of the story will go and what advancements are made in stealth mechanics.

I am honored that you consider my Ryu Ga Gotoku opinion worthy of investigation. As I said, I am not here to change anyone's mind, I merely want to promote understanding and possibly self-growth, and if I can do that in some small way, then I am content. Also, as I have posted in the past, Shenmue and Ryu Ga Gotoku were on opposite sides twenty years ago. It's just unfortunate luck that Shenmue had to go dormant while Ryu Ga Gotoku rose in popularity. As I have said before nuance is a rare commodity on the internet.

I use the Japanese names of titles to pay respect to the original artist's intent. This is why when I watch most anime, I watch it subbed because Japanese voices were what the original artist intended. The subtitles are simply there so I can understand the story and it helps me to understand the dialogue better. Now when the work is intended to be in English, then I consume it in English. In other words, I form a more intimate connection to the media I consume by trying to connect with the artist's intent.

Finally, I am glad I was able to expand your horizons a bit with Shinobido. You have broadened my horizons with Red Ninja and Splinter Cell. So, you have my gratitude. Last but not least, I want to thank the moderators for not shutting this thread down. I apologize for this topic diverging as I was not expecting it to be this way or all that popular. So thank you very much.
 
I apologize for not responding earlier as I get mentally exhausted quite easily and need time to recharge after a long and thorough discussion. I tend to do my best to analyze what people say before responding. This is somewhat easier on the internet where I can edit my thoughts more clearly. That being said, it's still exhausting and I need time to rest.

First off, thank you for reminding me of Ghostwire Tokyo as it's another exclusive title that has shifted my interest towards the PlayStation 5. I have never been a big fan of Shinji Mikami's works, but this caught my eye. This is not to say that I dislike the games he's worked on, they just were never brought to my attention.

I think why there is such civility here at the dojo is due to the wonderful moderators and the fact that most people here tend to be in their thirties and forties. In other words, we have all had our trials by fire and have matured because of said trials. And anyone who comes in here trying to sow discord is immediately kicked out the door while making sure that nobody's right to free speech is impeded upon.

I am not a fan of mainstream media as it is not objective and is incredibly shallow. For example, when it comes to news, I try to read non-partisan sites as most media is biased in both directions. Worst of all, I believe media (now more than ever thanks to the internet) has done nothing but polarize people. Not everyone on the left is a Communist and not everyone on the right is a white supremacist. People tend to have different views depending on the subject at hand.

However, people love ideas that confirm their own biases. I am just as guilty of this as anyone else. It is far easier to think in black and white than to get a broader more in-depth understanding of people. The reason the Internet exacerbates this problem is that it's given more power to the individual to filter out ideas they dislike.

I remember back in the '80s and 90s, that people either didn't discuss polarizing issues, or they acted like rational adults and discussed through their disagreements. I wish things were still like this as it promotes intellectual growth and understanding. Lamentably though, we are now in a world of intellectual immaturity, stunted growth, and riped to be manipulated by corporations and politicians.

I don't like talking about politics because of how divisive they are, but to clarify my position on male-centric female characters I have no choice. Characters like Longsun Zhao are supposed to be characters you dislike. However, he fits into the context of Shenmue's narrative and there is not some outside agenda dictating his actions. Characters like Rey, Captain Marvel, etc were written that way.

I do not condone threats, doxing, harassment, or trolling anyone. I think it is puerile and shows how weak you are. However, I did not like how Sony, for example, addressed the backlash against Ghostbusters by labeling people as misogynists or basement-dwelling losers. I did not like being told that because I don't like Rey from Star Wars that I hate women and finally I did not like when Brie Larson said she did not care about "forty-year-old white dudes" think of her movie. This is not how you treat those who will determine whether your product or service will be profitable. Finally, I have made my point as to what type of female characters I enjoy so I won't tread on that ground again.

I honestly appreciate and understand why the Mortal Kombat, Tekken, and Dead or Alive characters you chose to appeal to you. You can empathize with their struggles and resolve to overcome the difficulties in your own life. In a way, I can relate as I stated about self-improvement with characters like Ryu and Akira. However, your relationship is far deeper than mine and you have my respect for that. I know Ed Boon, Itagaki, and Harada would be happy to hear that as this is a goal I think most artists aspire to.

We will just have to disagree about the clothing choices for the female characters in Mortal Kombat. I am simply looking at it from an in-universe perspective, but for you, it goes much deeper than that. I still believe that Mortal Kombat X had the best balance between the two extremes. Also, I enjoy Mortal Kombat X for deepening its combat system with a "Groove System" similar to Capcom vs SNK 2. So basically, it boils down to mechanics similar to Virtua Fighter.

I think that's very fascinating that you have been involved with the shamanic Native American people. I like Nightwolf's portrayal in Mortal Kombat XI due to how respectful they portray him. He's everything I wish Kung Lao would have been. On a side note, I wish that both the colonial settlers and the natively-born could have co-existed peacefully with one another, but hindsight is twenty-twenty.

I am not a big fan of Tekken so I am not familiar with all the characters. The Mishima's are just infamously known that even an idiot like me is aware of them. The same goes for Raven as I have honestly not kept up with Tekken since 3. Finally, when it comes to Splinter Cell, I am excited to see where the next part of the story will go and what advancements are made in stealth mechanics.

I am honored that you consider my Ryu Ga Gotoku opinion worthy of investigation. As I said, I am not here to change anyone's mind, I merely want to promote understanding and possibly self-growth, and if I can do that in some small way, then I am content. Also, as I have posted in the past, Shenmue and Ryu Ga Gotoku were on opposite sides twenty years ago. It's just unfortunate luck that Shenmue had to go dormant while Ryu Ga Gotoku rose in popularity. As I have said before nuance is a rare commodity on the internet.

I use the Japanese names of titles to pay respect to the original artist's intent. This is why when I watch most anime, I watch it subbed because Japanese voices were what the original artist intended. The subtitles are simply there so I can understand the story and it helps me to understand the dialogue better. Now when the work is intended to be in English, then I consume it in English. In other words, I form a more intimate connection to the media I consume by trying to connect with the artist's intent.

Finally, I am glad I was able to expand your horizons a bit with Shinobido. You have broadened my horizons with Red Ninja and Splinter Cell. So, you have my gratitude. Last but not least, I want to thank the moderators for not shutting this thread down. I apologize for this topic diverging as I was not expecting it to be this way or all that popular. So thank you very much.
-No worries. There's no obligation to reply in a quick fashion, or even to reply at all. I respect and understand what you're saying, I've had a long day too myself(and a long 7 years really). I appreciate that you take your time responding and take things in before jumping to reply quickly. I do the same when reading your posts and absorb as much as I can before giving a response. Usually, it's a bit overwhelming(in a good way)and I can get easily lost in what I'm replying to at times as so many aspects of different thoughts run through my head.

-Don't forget about Stray or better yet Life is Strange: True Colors(it actually looks quite good, surprisingly).

-As for people on the forum, there are a very few that cannot be reasoned with, the thought/word/expression police type which I have chosen to ignore interacting with, but overall this is a great community and I do find a lot of it does have to do with it being an older crowd, also the type of person that a game like Shenmue will attract, on any level from the simplest to the deepest Shenmue doesn't have anything shallow about it so it tends to weed out a lot of that type of folk.

-As for the Corporate Government of the world, media, religion, corporations, politics, etc I don't get lost in any of that tom foolery. I've been very much wide awake to that stuff intuitively since I was a kid and intellectually as well since early teenage years. Many of the issues I have when discussing these topics in general with people(not you at all in this case)they tend to be committed to labels and misunderstanding. For example, some of my replies to our threads here could be suggestive that by American standards I may be a conservative or republican because I made some comments about 'tolerant' liberals being catered to in regards to MK and The Last of Us 2, but the fact is I've always been a free thinker and I feel things and go with my intuition over everything. Right around the next corner I will make an equally repulsed statement about conservatives in the same vain as what I said about liberals. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who doesn't think for themselves or has to align with one side or the other on the different arms of the Corporate Government of the world I don't engage with on those topics, because there's nothing to be accomplished as you'll either be praised for the comments you say that go in line with their fickle beliefs, or you'll be demonized for holding the opposing view, and if you do what I do and just be yourself and say things that don't fall into either sides box, their brains tend to melt and get overloaded by the simplest of statements. I'm all about live and live let, do what you want to do as long as it doesn't enslave, encroach or intentionally wound another person of any age. Don't fuck with children. Come from a place of light in your heart, mind and soul but accept that darkness is a part of life and that there is nothing to be ashamed of when embracing both sides of it, just don't sell out to the dark. These are the ideals I strive for every day, and since I'm human I falter at times and have deep daily struggles with things from my past, but I am unshaken in my heart and knowing where my soul lies. As for those who like to debate and argue about the Corporate Governments divide and conquer topics of politics, corporate business, religion and other fiction that has become manifest destiny on a large scale, I don't step into those discussions, except occasionally with others who don't fall for it. Even then, I typically only discuss it in contrast to what my values are, rather than get weighted down by it all the time. I went through a phase 2010-2011ish where I let it consume me, I was 23/24 at that time. It was a necessary growth patch, but to revisit getting stuck in all the evil and agendas out there? Never again. I keep aware, keep my eyes open, follow my inner compass and tune that shit out except for in extreme cases where it needs to be dealt with, or if its something thats in my individual power to change.

-Masculine female topic: I don't follow Star Wars closely, or any comic book movies for that matter but I do know of the newer female Captain Marvel and I see what you're referring to. Yes, the agendas that exist in so much of the entertainment media ruins it. Personally, the reason I don't like any of those type of movies(70s Star Wars were ok for their time, even somewhat the early 00s, just not my thing personally)and especially The Avengers and what not is I feel that those movies are soulless. It feels so corny watching that kind of stuff and that's what the Mortal Kombat 2021 movie felt like, was the Avengers, yuck. I look at an actress like Scarlett Johansson who I've seen play amazing roles in many other films, along with some other actors I like in the Avengers movie and I feel like its a major step down for them. Avengers feels like something they may have done reluctantly early on in their career to get noticed, or perhaps just for the money. The masculine female roles in many of these films and video games tend to exist in some of the soulless stories. For example, I did enjoy The Last of Us 1, was it great? No. It was a solid 7/10, something I'd never need to play again but the relationship between Joel and Ellie was tangible and fresh and the zombie type approach was something new after so many years and evolutions of Resident Evil, I welcomed TLOU, flaws and all. But the sequel? That was hard to stomach. Waaaaaay too much agenda from the creator who was influenced by Anita Sarkeesian, also an absolute detestable new main character that I cannot empathize with or feel a moment of levity with after what happens with Joel. I just couldn't get into it. The graphics are really nice, the gameplay itself is more of the 1st game, which isn't terrible but isn't great but the story may be one of the worst follow ups that was highly anticipated by the gaming world in gaming history. I know this is a little off topic, but it goes in line with the agenda of the original topic.

-Trolling/bullying: Last year when I joined the Tomb Raider forum I went there with some general questions regarding the mid-2000s era because I hadn't played them yet at that time and wanted to know if they were more in line with the 90s classic era I don't like or the last decade reboot era I love. I was met with all kinds of toxic bullying and dripping hate because I expressed that I don't like the originals and love the reboot, which apparently on that forum most of the people are fans of the originals. A few people were helpful in telling me that I probably wouldn't like the mid-2000s era reboot, and they were right, but at least they were helpful. Majority wanted to argue and accused me of being a troll, which I found laughable but as a result I never returned to the forum. I'm so grateful that's not an issue here at the Dojo.

-I appreciate your comments and observations of my explaining my love of certain fighting game characters. I see your appreciation for Virtua Fighter(as well as the other franchises, they'll all solid we seem to agree on that)and that you take the time to look at the martial ART of the game, the literal art of the moves and that means something. In fact, I haven't played a VF game in years(had it on disc back in 2019 most recently), but was considering buying the digital XB360 VF 5 Final Showdown on my Series S and giving it another go to look closer at the moves. I do enjoy some of the characters, I love that it's one of Yu Suzuki's babies that paved the way for Ryo Hazuki and Shenmue and I have a feeling it may impact me differently. Truth is, in the 90s, other than MK which has always been my gold standard for fighting games, I loved VF before Tekken, and then Tekken felt more developed with the roster but I was a VF fan through that decade. Much like SoulCalibur I lost interest with the 4th game, though they're still both solid franchises. I just wish VF 5 wasn't so old, or that they release this new VF6/esports whatever it is that's rumored to come in 2021/2022. Another thing that may surprise you(or maybe not) is that I didn't like Dead or Alive at all in the 90s. I mean, the fighting mechanics were ok but I felt is was oversexualized cheese. It wasn't really until DOA 4 that I even bothered to take notice, and then DOA 5 was really good with the tag mode and VF characters I like being added that it grew on me. DOA 6 is decent but not as good as 5 overall. When it comes to fighting games Mortal Kombat(and mainly because of the 9, X and 11 trilogy)is a spiritual experience for me. The 90s games were great for their time, but a bit thin due to technology, the mid 00's trilogy was better and more developed but they didn't do as much with some of the new characters that have a lot of potential. But 9, X and 11 feels like a home run to me, and I truly love the lore and overall package. Tekken would be my #2 for fighting games but its a distant second, like the distance between Earth and Mars. If I never played Tekken, DOA, VF or SoulCalibur again I wouldn't really care... I like them, but I can do without. MK has grown on me to a point that I would miss it. By the way, what are your feelings towards SoulCalibur as a franchise? I enjoyed 1 and 2 mainly back in the day, but I'm not a big fan of being forced to use weapons at all times during a fight. But I think if I were to play any fighting game that has weapons at all times, SC is the one.

-I appreciate that you value the technique of VF, Guilty Gear and Capcom SNK. As much as I seem to be focused on lore, character personality and aesthetics it's nice to see someone who see's moves from more a martial artists perspective. Don't get me wrong, I love moves, especially those found in MK(Scorpions chain, Kitanas fans and the way they use them, etc)but I don't look at the technique the way you are with VF, which is another reason I am heavily considering repurchasing VF 5 xbox 360 to give a closer fair look at it again because it's something that had slipped by me and I never really considered it.

-Didn't you learn in school, the Europeans and Native Americans got along great! Right after Christopher Columbus discovered America 😂 I don't ever find the massacre of the tribal people to be funny, nor do I in this case, but I thought you may appreciate some of the sarcasm that at times in life can help lift some deep resentments and hot angers towards injustices that never were made right. I too share your sympathies and past tense wishes that things could have been different. I find that deep connection with Ghost of Tsushima much for the same reason that I feel for the Native Americans in real life. A brief story on the topic based on modern day legal US Gov terminology: I went to Lake Powell again a few years back to Antelope Canyon on the border of Arizona/Utah on Navajo/Apache tribal land to get a tour from the Navajo Nation into the canyon. So at the end of the tour I'm asking my Native guide about another site in town and I wanted to know if it was a Navajo Nation Tribal National Park or part of the United States governments national park system, because the costs are VERY different (like $5 for a tribal tour and $100+ for federal gov land tour by white people who work for US gov). So I asked the tribal guide off the cuff without thinking about how it may come across (I meant no disrespect, just needed simple facts, no matter how disheartening they may be) "So, does the other tour take place on Native land or on US government land??" He looked me in the eye and said "It's all Native land brother, from sea to shining sea" I couldn't help but find myself feeling like a grade school child being leveled with that powerful response, one that I have believed in my heart since the day I was born, but I couldn't help but blush, grin, laugh, put my fist out for a fist bump and replied with my best Denzel Washington impression "My man!" lol, I was cheesy as fuck but none the less, a moment I'll never forget.

-The Splinter Cell stealth mechanics and controls and abilities/features do improve over the next few titles starting with Pandora Tomorrow. The graphics, in their time on the OG Xbox were amazing compared to the first one, the lighting throughout Pandora and Chaos were like the graphical pinnacle of the OG Xbox, and to some extent the PS2 with respect to it's own limitations versus Xbox at the time. I do believe if you deeply enjoyed SC1 that you'll like each one more than the last, and just when it feels like more of the same, then 4 and 5 will feel completely different from 1,2,3 in direction, but the same with Sam and the stealth aspects. The franchise doesn't lose it's roots, but evolves enough to keep it from getting stale, even the 6th one is a welcomed entry, just not at it's best. To be fair, what can you do by the time you hit #6 in a franchise like this?

-Your views on Yakuza encouraged me to rethink my feelings towards it to some extent, and while I don't see any change on the horizon with Yakuza, I do feel very much more open to revisiting VF5(and I'm thinking VF2 as well, since it was my favorite back in the 90s). I suppose the difference is I love Yu Suzuki and I always liked VF to one degree or another, so it'll be easier to transition but not so much for Yakuza, but you make a compelling argument which is why this thread is so inspiring throughout. I know I've mentioned Sleeping Dogs a few times in some very loose comparison to Yakuza. I'd like to know, have you played Sleeping Dogs?? If so, what were your thoughts on it. If not, I highly recommend it, and it's often on sale for $3-$5 digitally on Steam, PS4, XB1 for the Definitive Edition. I feel like we may have discussed SD a long time back on another thread, but I can't recall.

-I appreciate the way you consume movie/game art too. Taking the time to connect in that way. You are far more committed to that than I am, and I praise you for it. For me, I play Shenmue and Ghost of Tsushima in English. I've tried them in Japanese/Chinese and while I do like them, I tend to gravitate towards these 2 franchises in English. I think Shenmue is simply because I was 11 or 12 when it came out and it was in English, I didn't even know about anything to do with changing the language. As for Ghost, I heard Daisuke Tsuji and whoever played Jin's uncle speak in English in the opening scene and I just liked what I heard and went with it. As for wuxia, martial arts and other movies like that I always watch them in Chinese/Japanese/Korean, always. I have no interest in hearing cheesy dubbing, and even if the Asian actors did their own English subtitles, I don't watch it that way. Now if it's an American films with an Asian actor like Jet Li's Romeo Must Die, then of course I consume it in English because it's an American story with an Asian guy in it, but if it's feudal era Japan or Dynasty era China I want to experience it as if I'm in Asia, so movies like Hero, Curse of the Golden Flower and House of Flying Daggers I watch with English subtitles and native tongue. Movies like 2009's gritty, dark and realistic Mulan: Rise of a Warrior with Zhao Wei I watch subtitled, while 2020's live action Mulan from Disney I am ok with it being in English, as I know it's watered down but I love the character and the message behind it. Same goes for Memoirs of a Geisha, its an incredible film and while if it were written in Japanese I would have preferred that, but since a European wrote the script and it was mostly Chinese actors playing Japanese, I was ok to consume it in English. Regardless of the language or loyalty to authenticity, all of these movies have depth and don't feel hollow like 2021 Mortal Kombat did. If I wanted to watch some corn syrup action flick that has no logic, no direction, no heart, no spine, deeply flawed and nothing to offer but special effects and a cheesy good time I can put on any one of the 8 Fast and Furious films, but deep art with a message or journey should be respected and kept as pure as possible.
 
If you think about it, with all the technology we now have and all the creative avenues we can explore, why most games cave to violence?
So many cool and transcendent experiences could be achieved in the gaming industry and devs keep makeing the same shit over and over and over again, but with a different skin.
I guess that they do what "works" . (what sells).
So maybe humanity in general are to blame.
 
If you think about it, with all the technology we now have and all the creative avenues we can explore, why most games cave to violence?
So many cool and transcendent experiences could be achieved in the gaming industry and devs keep makeing the same shit over and over and over again, but with a different skin.
I guess that they do what "works" . (what sells).
So maybe humanity in general are to blame.
This right here!! I wholeheartedly agree. My thoughts in response to your opinion is with the technology now, the majority of games can be deep spiritual or soulful intellectual experiences, and there's still room for the more shallow stuff to exist as well. I feel that games now are both worse and better than ever. What I mean by that is games before the 2013 era consoles were mostly trash on a super deep level because they were unable to push the hardware to its limits in making the characters feel real and relatable in many cases. Think about games from the 90s that may have a great message, morale or depth of story but they cant have cutscenes, no voice acting, etc. On the other hand I feel that most games before the Xbox 360 era(and some from it)were fairly solid. Remember when Call of Duty 1 came out? It was cool because it was the ONLY Call of Duty game out, it didn't start to really suck until a few games in, same with Medal of Honor from PS1. I feel that most games were generally good, but not great in the sense of depth back then. But with the exception to Shenmue 1 and 2, I can't think of one truly spiritual, psychological or intellectual work of art in gaming before the 2013 console era. While 2013 era and current gen most games do completely suck and don't offer much innovation, when there's an amazing title, its far superior than anything pre-2013, with exception to Shenmue, of course. I guess the main point I'm attempting to emote is that games were an entertainment during the pre-2013 era that had no other choice because as you implied, all of the tech was not able to make gems of depth, even if games had a lot of heart in attempting to do so. Now, there's literally no excuse to keep putting out trash like CoD, CyberPunk, Assassins Creed and other over-hyped undelivered directionless titles because playing games now is capable of being like a movie/real life experience in some sort of way.
 
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This right here!! I wholeheartedly agree. My thoughts in response to your opinion is with the technology now, the majority of games can be deep spiritual or soulful intellectual experiences, and there's still room for the more shallow stuff to exist as well. I feel that games now are both worse and better than ever. What I mean by that is games before the 2013 era consoles were mostly trash on a super deep level because they were unable to push the hardware to its limits in making the characters feel real and relatable in many cases. Think about games from the 90s that may have a great message, morale or depth of story but they cant have cutscenes, no voice acting, etc. On the other hand I feel that most games before the Xbox 360 era(and some from it)were fairly solid. Remember when Call of Duty 1 came out? It was cool because it was the ONLY Call of Duty game out, it didn't start to really suck until a few games in, same with Medal of Honor from PS1. I feel that most games were generally good, but not great in the sense of depth back then. But with the exception to Shenmue 1 and 2, I can't think of one truly spiritual, psychological or intellectual work of art in gaming before the 2013 console era. While 2013 era and current gen most games do completely suck and don't offer much innovation, when there's an amazing title, its far superior than anything pre-2013, with exception to Shenmue, of course. I guess the main point I'm attempting to emote is that games were an entertainment during the pre-2013 era that had no other choice because as you implied, all of the tech was not able to make gems of depth, even if games had a lot of heart in attempting to do so. Now, there's literally no excuse to keep putting out trash like CoD, CyberPunk, Assassins Creed and other over-hyped undelivered directionless titles because playing games now is capable of being like a movie/real life experience in some sort of way.
agree with everything you said.
even tho i liked cyberpunk a lot. cause the story was actually inspiring and interesting in some ways.
there are actually fatastic games ofc, zelda is fantastic as well as mario game etc.
some games are just out there to be fun, and thats great.
Still , generally speaking, the gaming industry is saturated with fps, horror bullshit.
nothing agains those particular genres but the market is oversaturated with that
 
agree with everything you said.
even tho i liked cyberpunk a lot. cause the story was actually inspiring and interesting in some ways.
there are actually fatastic games ofc, zelda is fantastic as well as mario game etc.
some games are just out there to be fun, and thats great.
Still , generally speaking, the gaming industry is saturated with fps, horror bullshit.
nothing agains those particular genres but the market is oversaturated with that
I agree with you on this too. When Doom, Quake and Half Life were the only big name FPS 20+ years ago, FPS were great. When Resident Evil was the only real horror franchise early on, they were really good for their time. Now though, there's nothing new to offer. Take a look in the Xbox and PlayStation digital stores under the free section, all kinds of free garbage like Fortnite. It's unbelievable how much is out there that just isn't any good at all. I'm not a big fan of Zelda or Mario personally, but yeah they are entertainment and they do have enough depth to them that I wouldn't call them filler either, they're one of a kind for sure. CyberPunk is one of the most overhyped and worst games I've played in a long time(and that's glitches aside), but the one thing I can respect about CyberPunks atmosphere is that at least it attempted to make a world that stood out, I just don't feel it really accomplished that. But yeah, it doesn't look like the next Call of Duty or Battlefield game, and that is a positive. My main issue is with the whole "its cool to be anti hero, dark, edgy and shallow". It's a form of mind programming that people go along with willingly. I have no problem with violence in games, but it needs to tell a story at least, or in the case of games that aren't super deep, but blazed a trail in their time(like Doom for example) at least they/Doom aren't clones and had some creativity put into them.
 
-No worries. There's no obligation to reply quickly, or even to reply at all. I respect and understand what you're saying, I've had a long day too myself(and a long 7 years really). I appreciate that you take your time responding and take things in before jumping to reply quickly. I do the same when reading your posts and absorb as much as I can before giving a response. Usually, it's a bit overwhelming(in a good way)and I can get easily lost in what I'm replying to at times as so many aspects of different thoughts run through my head.

-Don't forget about Stray or better yet Life is Strange: True Colors(it looks quite good, surprisingly).

-As for people on the forum, there are a very few that cannot be reasoned with, the thought/word/expression police-type which I have chosen to ignore interacting with, but overall this is a great community and I do find a lot of it does have to do with it being an older crowd, also the type of person that a game like Shenmue will attract, on any level from the simplest to the deepest Shenmue doesn't have anything shallow about it so it tends to weed out a lot of that type of folk.

-As for the Corporate Government of the world, media, religion, corporations, politics, etc I don't get lost in any of that tomfoolery. I've been very much wide awake to that stuff intuitively since I was a kid and intellectually as well since my early teenage years. Many of the issues I have when discussing these topics in general with people(not you at all in this case) tend to be committed to labels and misunderstanding. For example, some of my replies to our threads here could be suggestive that by American standards I may be a conservative or republican because I made some comments about 'tolerant' liberals being catered to in regards to MK and The Last of Us 2, but the fact is I've always been a free thinker and I feel things and go with my intuition over everything. Right around the next corner, I will make an equally repulsed statement about conservatives in the same vein as what I said about liberals. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who doesn't think for themselves or has to align with one side or the other on the different arms of the Corporate Government of the world I don't engage with on those topics, because there's nothing to be accomplished as you'll either be praised for the comments you say that goes in line with their fickle beliefs, or you'll be demonized for holding the opposing view and if you do what I do and just be yourself and say things that don't fall into either sides box, their brains tend to melt and get overloaded by the simplest of statements. I'm all about life and life let, do what you want to do as long as it doesn't enslave, encroach, or intentionally wound another person of any age. Don't fuck with children. Come from a place of light in your heart, mind, and soul but accept that darkness is a part of life and that there is nothing to be ashamed of when embracing both sides of it, just don't sell out to the dark. These are the ideals I strive for every day, and since I'm human I falter at times and have deep daily struggles with things from my past, but I am unshaken in my heart and knowing where my soul lies. As for those who like to debate and argue about the Corporate Governments divide and conquer topics of politics, corporate business, religion, and other fiction that has become manifest destiny on a large scale, I don't step into those discussions, except occasionally with others who don't fall for it. Even then, I typically only discuss it in contrast to what my values are, rather than get weighed down by it all the time. I went through a phase 2010-2011ish where I let it consume me, I was 23/24 at that time. It was a necessary growth patch, but to revisit getting stuck in all the evil and agendas out there? Never again. I keep aware, keep my eyes open, follow my inner compass and tune that shit out except for in extreme cases where it needs to be dealt with, or if it's something that's in my power to change.

-Masculine female topic: I don't follow Star Wars closely, or any comic book movies for that matter but I do know of the newer female Captain Marvel and I see what you're referring to. Yes, the agendas that exist in so much of the entertainment media ruins it. Personally, the reason I don't like any of those types of movies(70s Star Wars were ok for their time, even somewhat the early 00s, just not my thing personally)and especially The Avengers and what not is I feel that those movies are soulless. It feels so corny watching that kind of stuff and that's what the Mortal Kombat 2021 movie felt like, was the Avengers, yuck. I look at an actress like Scarlett Johansson who I've seen play amazing roles in many other films, along with some other actors I like in the Avengers movie and I feel like it's a major step down for them. Avengers feels like something they may have done reluctantly early on in their career to get noticed, or perhaps just for the money. The masculine female roles in many of these films and video games tend to exist in some of the soulless stories. For example, I did enjoy The Last of Us 1, was it great? No. It was a solid 7/10, something I'd never need to play again but the relationship between Joel and Ellie was tangible and fresh and the zombie-type approach was something new after so many years and evolutions of Resident Evil, I welcomed TLOU, flaws, and all. But the sequel? That was hard to stomach. Waaaaaay too much agenda from the creator who was influenced by Anita Sarkeesian, also an absolute detestable new main character that I cannot empathize with or feel a moment of levity with after what happens with Joel. I just couldn't get into it. The graphics are nice, the gameplay itself is more of the 1st game, which isn't terrible but isn't great but the story may be one of the worst follow-ups that were highly anticipated by the gaming world in gaming history. I know this is a little off-topic, but it goes in line with the agenda of the original topic.

-Trolling/bullying: Last year when I joined the Tomb Raider forum I went there with some general questions regarding the mid-2000s era because I hadn't played them yet at that time and wanted to know if they were more in line with the 90s classic era I don't like or the last decade reboot era I love. I was met with all kinds of toxic bullying and dripping hate because I expressed that I don't like the originals and love the reboot, which appears on that forum most of the people are fans of the originals. A few people helped tell me that I probably wouldn't like the mid-2000s era reboot, and they were right, but at least they were helpful. The majority wanted to argue and accused me of being a troll, which I found laughable but as a result, I never returned to the forum. I'm so grateful that's not an issue here at the Dojo.

-I appreciate your comments and observations of my explaining my love of certain fighting game characters. I see your appreciation for Virtua Fighter(as well as the other franchises, they'll all solid we seem to agree on that)and that you take the time to look at the martial ART of the game, the literal art of the moves and that means something. I haven't played a VF game in years(had it on disc back in 2019 most recently), but was considering buying the digital XB360 VF 5 Final Showdown on my Series S and giving it another go to look closer at the moves. I do enjoy some of the characters, I love that it's one of Yu Suzuki's babies that paved the way for Ryo Hazuki and Shenmue and I have a feeling it may impact me differently. Truth is, in the 90s, other than MK which has always been my gold standard for fighting games, I loved VF before Tekken, and then Tekken felt more developed with the roster but I was a VF fan through that decade. Much like SoulCalibur, I lost interest with the 4th game, though they're still both solid franchises. I just wish VF 5 wasn't so old, or that they release this new VF6/esports whatever it is that's rumored to come in 2021/2022. Another thing that may surprise you(or maybe not) is that I didn't like Dead or Alive at all in the 90s. I mean, the fighting mechanics were ok but I felt it was oversexualized cheese. It wasn't really until DOA 4 that I even bothered to take notice, and then DOA 5 was good with the tag mode and VF characters I like being added that it grew on me. DOA 6 is decent but not as good as 5 overall. When it comes to fighting games Mortal Kombat(and mainly because of the 9, X, and 11 trilogy)is a spiritual experience for me. The 90s games were great for their time, but a bit thin due to technology, the mid 00's trilogy was better and more developed but they didn't do as much with some of the new characters that have a lot of potentials. But 9, X, and 11 feel like a home run to me, and I truly love the lore and overall package. Tekken would be my #2 for fighting games but it's a distant second, as the distance between Earth and Mars. If I never played Tekken, DOA, VF, or SoulCalibur again I wouldn't care... I like them, but I can do without them. MK has grown on me to a point that I would miss it. By the way, what are your feelings towards SoulCalibur as a franchise? I enjoyed 1 and 2 mainly back in the day, but I'm not a big fan of being forced to use weapons at all times during a fight. But I think if I were to play any fighting game that has weapons at all times, SC is the one.

-I appreciate that you value the technique of VF, Guilty Gear, and Capcom SNK. As much as I seem to be focused on lore, character personality, and aesthetics it's nice to see someone who sees's moves from more of a martial artist's perspective. Don't get me wrong, I love moves, especially those found in MK(Scorpions chain, Kitana's fans and the way they use them, etc)but I don't look at the technique the way you are with VF, which is another reason I am heavily considering repurchasing VF 5 Xbox 360 to give a closer fair look at it again because it's something that had slipped by me and I never really considered it.

-Didn't you learn in school, the Europeans and Native Americans got along great! Right after Christopher Columbus discovered America 😂 I don't ever find the massacre of the tribal people to be funny, nor do I in this case, but I thought you may appreciate some of the sarcasm that at times in life can help lift some deep resentments and hot anger towards injustices that never were made right. I too share your sympathies and past tense wishes that things could have been different. I find that deep connection with Ghost of Tsushima much for the same reason that I feel for the Native Americans in real life. A brief story on the topic based on modern-day legal US Gov terminology: I went to Lake Powell again a few years back to Antelope Canyon on the border of Arizona/Utah on Navajo/Apache tribal land to get a tour from the Navajo Nation into the canyon. So at the end of the tour, I'm asking my Native guide about another site in town and I wanted to know if it was a Navajo Nation Tribal National Park or part of the United States governments national park system, because the costs are VERY different (like $5 for a tribal tour and $100+ for federal gov land tour by white people who work for US gov). So I asked the tribal guide off the cuff without thinking about how it may come across (I meant no disrespect, just needed simple facts, no matter how disheartening they may be) "So, does the other tour take place on Native land or US government land??" He looked me in the eye and said "It's all Native land brother, from sea to shining sea" I couldn't help but find myself feeling like a grade school child being leveled with that powerful response, one that I have believed in my heart since the day I was born, but I couldn't help but blush, grin, laugh, put my fist out for a fist bump and replied with my best Denzel Washington impression "My man!" lol, I was cheesy as fuck but none the less, a moment I'll never forget.

-The Splinter Cell stealth mechanics and controls and abilities/features do improve over the next few titles starting with Pandora Tomorrow. The graphics, in their time on the OG Xbox were amazing compared to the first one, the lighting throughout Pandora and Chaos were like the graphical pinnacle of the OG Xbox, and to some extent the PS2 concerning its limitations versus Xbox at the time. I do believe if you deeply enjoyed SC1 that you'll like each one more than the last, and just when it feels like more of the same, then 4 and 5 will feel completely different from 1,2,3 in direction, but the same with Sam and the stealth aspects. The franchise doesn't lose its roots but evolves enough to keep it from getting stale, even the 6th one is a welcoming entry, just not at its best. To be fair, what can you do by the time you hit #6 in a franchise like this?

-Your views on Yakuza encouraged me to rethink my feelings towards it to some extent, and while I don't see any change on the horizon with Yakuza, I do feel very much more open to revisiting VF5(and I'm thinking VF2 as well since it was my favorite back in the 90s). I suppose the difference is I love Yu Suzuki and I always liked VF to one degree or another, so it'll be easier to transition but not so much for Yakuza, but you make a compelling argument which is why this thread is so inspiring throughout. I know I've mentioned Sleeping Dogs a few times in some very loose comparison to Yakuza. I'd like to know, have you played Sleeping Dogs?? If so, what were your thoughts on it? If not, I highly recommend it, and it's often on sale for $3-$5 digitally on Steam, PS4, XB1 for the Definitive Edition. I feel like we may have discussed SD a long time back on another thread, but I can't recall.

-I appreciate the way you consume movie/game art too. Taking the time to connect in that way. You are far more committed to that than I am, and I praise you for it. For me, I play Shenmue and Ghost of Tsushima in English. I've tried them in Japanese/Chinese and while I do like them, I tend to gravitate towards these 2 franchises in English. I think Shenmue is simply because I was 11 or 12 when it came out and it was in English, I didn't even know about anything to do with changing the language. As for Ghost, I heard Daisuke Tsuji and whoever played Jin's uncle speak in English in the opening scene and I just liked what I heard and went with it. As for wuxia, martial arts, and other movies like that I always watch them in Chinese/Japanese/Korean, always. I have no interest in hearing cheesy dubbing, and even if the Asian actors did their English subtitles, I don't watch it that way. Now if it's an American film with an Asian actor like Jet Li's Romeo Must Die, then, of course, I consume it in English because it's an American story with an Asian guy in it, but if it's feudal era Japan or Dynasty-era China I want to experience it as if I'm in Asia, so movies like Hero, Curse of the Golden Flower and House of Flying Daggers I watch with English subtitles and native tongue. Movies like 2009's gritty, dark and realistic Mulan: Rise of a Warrior with Zhao Wei I watch subtitled, while 2020's live-action Mulan from Disney I am ok with it being in English, as I know it's watered down but I love the character and the message behind it. The same goes for Memoirs of a Geisha, it an incredible film and while if it were written in Japanese I would have preferred that, but since a European wrote the script and it was mostly Chinese actors playing Japanese, I was ok to consume it in English. Regardless of the language or loyalty to authenticity, all of these movies have depth and don't feel hollow like 2021 Mortal Kombat did. If I wanted to watch some corn syrup action flick that has no logic, no direction, no heart, no spine, deeply flawed, and nothing to offer but special effects and a cheesy good time I can put on any one of the 8 Fast and Furious films, but deep art with a message or journey should be respected and kept as pure as possible.
To be honest, it's quite overwhelming most of the time given that American culture values extraversion more than introversion. If I am put in a highly social situation it can be mentally overwhelming. It's one of the downsides to being an introvert. If you are trying to process things people are saying to you, that takes time. If I am rushed, I falter and make mistakes. Therefore, I need time to recharge my mental batteries so to speak. This is why I prefer social media as it's easier to curate my thoughts more clearly.

I am right there with you on the whole corporate and government sentiments. It's something I stay out of due to how toxic it is. Like you, I simply try to live the best life I can knowing that I only have control over my actions. Seeing how everything is a victim of memento mori, I find the things that people fight over to be pedantic. Carl Sagan put it best in his Pale Blue Dot speech.


While I won't divulge my political beliefs here, as even in the dojo I have seen polarization when political topics are brought up, I have criticized both sides of the aisle. Like I posted previously, it depends on the topic where my position lies. I think it's great to have a diversity of nuanced ideas. On top of that, I think we need both people who are open to new ideas as this is how we progress as a species, and cautious people so we don't end up flying too close to the sun.

As someone who practiced Xiaolin kung-fu, I appreciate the sincerity that both Shenmue and Virtua Fighter have towards martial arts. I love these franchises in the same way you love Mortal Kombat. They are both spiritual experiences for me that inspire me to learn more about Asian culture beyond just entertainment media.

It forms a wonderful symbiotic circle in a way. The more I learn about Asian culture, the more I am entranced by sincere titles like Shenmue and Virtua Fighter. Then these titles enhance my appreciation for Asian culture. For the coup de grace, not only do these games feature martial arts that you can do in real life, but I adore the amount of complexity contained within the gameplay while still being very entertaining.


As for Sleeping Dogs, while I appreciate the suggestion, it was not for me. This holds doubly true now that Sifu is in development which tends to align more with my tastes. As for Soul Calibur, I never really got into the franchise. I played the fourth game because I relate to Amy, enjoy Mitsurugi, and I love Talim's character. Not saying it's a bad franchise, but it's one I can live without. I am not a big fan of Dead or Alive either as I am not a fan of Koei Tecmo's exploitation of male sexuality for profit.

I don't have much real interest in the Marvel Universe since I was always a DC fan and even then, I am only a fan of Batman, Lady Shiva, Cassandra Cain, Death Stroke, and the League of Assassins. I don't think I need to elaborate why as I have elucidated in previous posts. I am also a fan of Spawn due to him just being so cool.

I enjoy Star Wars for several reasons, the mystical nature of the Force, the vast bounty of technology, bounty hunting, and finally politics/war. I'll start with the Force, as I find its mysteries to be utterly fascinating as its spiritual energy permeates throughout the universe much like qi. The duality of this mystical energy field is even more fascinating as there are the Living Force and the Cosmic Force that form a symbiotic relationship with all life in the universe.

The Living Force is the energy that all life is made up of and what allows the Jedi and Sith to perform their incredible feats. The Cosmic Force is the background energy of the universe that supplies the Living Force and in return is replenished by the Living Force when an individual dies. This symbiotic loop is what retains the harmony in the Star Wars universe.

What makes this even more fascinating is the different philosophies of how to approach the Force. The Jedi for example, believe in serving its will and maintaining the balance. This way of life requires a tremendous amount of self-discipline and is a very difficult (albeit rewarding) way to live. However, those who abandon all sense of self, are rewarded with the ability to retain their conscience after death.

The Sith, on the other hand, believes The Force is a tool to be manipulated. They go against the will of The Force and achieve their desires much faster than the Jedi. However, their way is flawed as well. These individuals live in a perpetual state of fear being the cause of their self-destruction.

So one has to ask, which philosophy of life should one live since both paths are difficult, or should they be followed at all? The final part of this point I want to bring up is the fact that I love the Jedi as they are the closest thing to samurai as Star Wars gets. The word Jedi comes from George Lucas adapting the Japanese word Jidaigeki. Also, I appreciate the stoic philosophy the Jedi have towards life. It inspires me even further to be more self-disciplined, humble, and selfless.

Next, I love all the futuristic technology such as lasers, battleships, highly advanced droids, etc. There is such a treasure trove of technology that I can not get enough of. Somehow, Star Wars manages to blend fantasy with science fiction and make it work. There is an endless amount of things to learn and explore.

Since my favorite comic/manga is Kozure Okami or Lone Wolf and Cub, I enjoy the bounty hunter aspects as well. It was the primary reason I enjoyed The Mandalorian so much as it reminded me of Itto and Daigoro. Making your way through the universe discovering new worlds as a semi-loner is just so cool to me due to the self-confidence one has to have to take on missions that border on life and death.

I will never understand why politics are hated in the Star Wars universe. For it explains how dictators in real life like Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini rose to power. It explains how democracies turn into dictatorships and finally it explains why there is war. If anything, this is what made the prequels engaging in my opinion, as it makes perfect sense and is perfectly relatable.

Thank you for the levity and your personal experience with the Navajo. While there is nothing we can do to change the past, we could focus on making a peaceful future. I believe there is much we can learn from each other and let go of our division. Though I certainly don't blame those who are embittered by what the settlers did. All I can say is that I will do my best to treat the natives with respect. Because I also enjoy the spiritual aspects of their culture.

As for Splinter Cell, I'll be getting back into it after I solidify my PlayStation 3 library. Thank you once again for recommending this series to me. It's right up there with the Metal Gear Solid series for me and yet has a great and grounded story and gameplay.

Finally, I am humbled that you consider my opinion on the Ryu Ga Gotoku and Virtua Fighter series worthy of merit. I don't intend to change anyone's mind, but it makes me happy that I can promote understanding instead of polarization. This discussion I've had with you is the reason why I created this thread. I am probably not going to respond further as I am starting to become redundant, but thank you very much for your nuanced views. I hope this thread will continue to grow.

As an addendum, thank you very much, @James Brown, @spud1897, @Sonoshee, @Peter, and @Jibby for not shutting down this thread. Especially knowing that it has gone off-topic. You guys are incredible.
 
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To be honest, it's quite overwhelming most of the time given that American culture values extraversion more than introversion. If I am put in a highly social situation it can be mentally overwhelming. It's one of the downsides to being an introvert. If you are trying to process things people are saying to you, that takes time. If I am rushed, I falter and make mistakes. Therefore, I need time to recharge my mental batteries so to speak. This is why I prefer social media as it's easier to curate my thoughts more clearly.

I am right there with you on the whole corporate and government sentiments. It's something I stay out of due to how toxic it is. Like you, I simply try to live the best life I can knowing that I only have control over my actions. Seeing how everything is a victim of memento mori, I find the things that people fight over to be pedantic. Carl Sagan put it best in his Pale Blue Dot speech.


While I won't divulge my political beliefs here, as even in the dojo I have seen polarization when political topics are brought up, I have criticized both sides of the aisle. Like I posted previously, it depends on the topic where my position lies. I think it's great to have a diversity of nuanced ideas. On top of that, I think we need both people who are open to new ideas as this is how we progress as a species, and cautious people so we don't end up flying too close to the sun.

As someone who practiced Xiaolin kung-fu, I appreciate the sincerity that both Shenmue and Virtua Fighter have towards martial arts. I love these franchises in the same way you love Mortal Kombat. They are both spiritual experiences for me that inspire me to learn more about Asian culture beyond just entertainment media.

It forms a wonderful symbiotic circle in a way. The more I learn about Asian culture, the more I am entranced by sincere titles like Shenmue and Virtua Fighter. Then these titles enhance my appreciation for Asian culture. For the coup de grace, not only do these games feature martial arts that you can do in real life, but I adore the amount of complexity contained within the gameplay while still being very entertaining.


As for Sleeping Dogs, while I appreciate the suggestion, it was not for me. This holds doubly true now that Sifu is in development which tends to align more with my tastes. As for Soul Calibur, I never really got into the franchise. I played the fourth game because I relate to Amy, enjoy Mitsurugi, and I love Talim's character. Not saying it's a bad franchise, but it's one I can live without. I am not a big fan of Dead or Alive either as I am not a fan of Koei Tecmo's exploitation of male sexuality for profit.

I don't have much real interest in the Marvel Universe since I was always a DC fan and even then, I am only a fan of Batman, Lady Shiva, Cassandra Cain, Death Stroke, and the League of Assassins. I don't think I need to elaborate why as I have elucidated in previous posts. I am also a fan of Spawn due to him just being so cool.

I enjoy Star Wars for several reasons, the mystical nature of the Force, the vast bounty of technology, bounty hunting, and finally politics/war. I'll start with the Force, as I find its mysteries to be utterly fascinating as its spiritual energy permeates throughout the universe much like qi. The duality of this mystical energy field is even more fascinating as there are the Living Force and the Cosmic Force that form a symbiotic relationship with all life in the universe.

The Living Force is the energy that all life is made up of and what allows the Jedi and Sith to perform their incredible feats. The Cosmic Force is the background energy of the universe that supplies the Living Force and in return is replenished by the Living Force when an individual dies. This symbiotic loop is what retains the harmony in the Star Wars universe.

What makes this even more fascinating is the different philosophies of how to approach the Force. The Jedi for example, believe in serving its will and maintaining the balance. This way of life requires a tremendous amount of self-discipline and is a very difficult (albeit rewarding) way to live. However, those who abandon all sense of self, are rewarded with the ability to retain their conscience after death.

The Sith, on the other hand, believes The Force is a tool to be manipulated. They go against the will of The Force and achieve their desires much faster than the Jedi. However, their way is flawed as well. These individuals live in a perpetual state of fear being the cause of their self-destruction.

So one has to ask, which philosophy of life should one live since both paths are difficult, or should they be followed at all? The final part of this point I want to bring up is the fact that I love the Jedi as they are the closest thing to samurai as Star Wars gets. The word Jedi comes from George Lucas adapting the Japanese word Jidaigeki. Also, I appreciate the stoic philosophy the Jedi have towards life. It inspires me even further to be more self-disciplined, humble, and selfless.

Next, I love all the futuristic technology such as lasers, battleships, highly advanced droids, etc. There is such a treasure trove of technology that I can not get enough of. Somehow, Star Wars manages to blend fantasy with science fiction and make it work. There is an endless amount of things to learn and explore.

Since my favorite comic/manga is Kozure Okami or Lone Wolf and Cub, I enjoy the bounty hunter aspects as well. It was the primary reason I enjoyed The Mandalorian so much as it reminded me of Itto and Daigoro. Making your way through the universe discovering new worlds as a semi-loner is just so cool to me due to the self-confidence one has to have to take on missions that border on life and death.

I will never understand why politics are hated in the Star Wars universe. For it explains how dictators in real life like Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini rose to power. It explains how democracies turn into dictatorships and finally it explains why there is war. If anything, this is what made the prequels engaging in my opinion, as it makes perfect sense and is perfectly relatable.

Thank you for the levity and your personal experience with the Navajo. While there is nothing we can do to change the past, we could focus on making a peaceful future. I believe there is much we can learn from each other and let go of our division. Though I certainly don't blame those who are embittered by what the settlers did. All I can say is that I will do my best to treat the natives with respect. Because I also enjoy the spiritual aspects of their culture.

As for Splinter Cell, I'll be getting back into it after I solidify my PlayStation 3 library. Thank you once again for recommending this series to me. It's right up there with the Metal Gear Solid series for me and yet has a great and grounded story and gameplay.

Finally, I am humbled that you consider my opinion on the Ryu Ga Gotoku and Virtua Fighter series worthy of merit. I don't intend to change anyone's mind, but it makes me happy that I can promote understanding instead of polarization. This discussion I've had with you is the reason why I created this thread. I am probably not going to respond further as I am starting to become redundant, but thank you very much for your nuanced views. I hope this thread will continue to grow.

As an addendum, thank you very much, @James Brown, @spud1897, @Sonoshee, @Peter, and @Jibby for not shutting down this thread. Especially knowing that it has gone off-topic. You guys are incredible.
-You sound like you may be empathic, and/or energy sensitive. I have been my whole life, I also get overwhelmed easily in crowded areas. I used to do tours where I live and teach about the local area and they were always heavily grounded in science, physics, psychology and spirituality and blending the facts with the philosophies and theories to bridge the gap between the two worlds. On these tours I would be very extroverted and comfortable because anywhere from 1 to 20 other people(typically about 3 or 4 on most tours)were grounded into learning more(and also teaching me in many ways)about science and spirituality. But on the other hand, put me in a line at Walmart and watch the energy drain from me as I cannot wait to get the hell out of that space and away from all the unconscious consumers. So, I totally get where you're coming from on that.

-Carl Sagan is one of many teachers whose teachings, lectures and quotes I would use during my Medicine Wheel and Spiritual Science tour days. I am pleased to know that you are familiar with him. He was way ahead of his time, and with the simplest factual concepts that could open our minds to further depth. The speech about us being made of 'star stuff' is so simplistic and yet so deep at the same time it should be taught in schools, yet that doesn't serve the agenda of those behind the public school system, which is a different convo for a different thread.

-I can both see and *feel* your connection to Virtua Fighter and Shenmue, as with the way you present yourself in our discussions I feel that passion. I am going to be giving Virtua Fighter 5 another play, inspired by our discussions because I feel I may have discarded it too easily. As I mentioned previously, I do enjoy VF, but it didn't click after the 2nd one with me too much going forward, but the more I think about it the last few days, and now watching this video I do remember what I preferred about VF over DOA and even over Tekken. While personally I enjoyed Tekkens animated roster a bit more, I like that Virtua Fighter *feels* clean. As in the energy behind it(which would be Yu Suzuki) feels very clean, perhaps thats why I lost interest about the 90s games. It looks true to form and doesn't seem to be preoccupied with being edgy(Tekken) or borderline trashy(DOA). The only question I have now is whether I wait to buy the new VF5 remake on XB or if I just say screw it and buy the 360 one. I suppose it depends on how impatient I get. Any word on when VF remake is coming out? I originally heard 2021. As for Shenmue, I want to clarify in case I haven't yet that the Shenmue franchise is by faaaar my favorite video games of all time. Mortal Kombat, Ghost of Tsushima and Tomb Raider reboot don't even come close, as much as I love those as well Shenmue is in the league of its own, even on its own planet for me. I literally said in 2007 when I stopped playing video games and went out on the road that I would buy a TV and ANY console that I could if Shenmue 3 were to ever see the light of day. It's literally the only game franchise I would've done that for. So, in 2019 I took my first PS4 in on trade in to resell about a week before Shenmue 3 released, so I decided to keep it. It was amazing how the Universe lined that up for me. Please keep in mind that I didn't reconnect with games at all from about summer of 2007 until March 2019(admittedly Wii Sports Bowling is what pulled me back in, and very much unexpectedly at that). Pre-2019 I didn't even know Tomb Raider had a reboot, Ghost of Tsushima wasn't in existence yet and I hadn't played any Mortal Kombats since 2006s Armageddon. While I liked all the previous MK games, I never LOVED them so it wasn't until 2019 when I played 2011's MK9 that it hooked me, then X and then 11. Either way, Shenmue stands alone for me.

-I forgot about Sifu, that game looks good too! That's for the reminder. Sifu reminds me of the Donnie Yen Ip Man films, which if you haven't seen them already, I highly recommend them. As for Soul Calibur, I am with you on that. I can do without it just as much as Tekken or DOA, but I did enjoy it a bit back in its earlier years. In regards to your DOA comments are you referring to the DOA games like the volleyball and the other one on PS4 where you can play with the girls at some hotel resort?? If so, I'm not a fan of those either. I never was really a DOA fan because I didn't like the oversexualization. I mean, the feature in the Settings that allows you to customize the boob bouncing is a bit on the shallow side. If you want a characters boobs to move in a way that defies physics, just go for it but to give the option seems a bit unfocused on substance. I mainly enjoyed the fighting mechanics in DOA 5 and admittedly the addition of my VF characters like Pai. In DOA I only play Kasumi and Ayane, though I've tried some other characters none of them really stick out. So, having DOA's Kasumi and Ayane in a tag team based game with VF's Pai and Sarah was appealing to me.

-Star Wars: I knew the franchise had some depth on 'The Force' being a spiritual terminology but I never really gave it a deeper look, but with your detailed explanation I'm feeling like this is something I may need to be open to again as well. I haven't seen the 70s movies since the 90s and the early 00s ones when they came out. I also heard Donnie Yen was included in some of the newer ones, which catches my attention. I must say, I do appreciate your breakdown on your feelings of the different aspects of Star Wars lore and philosophy, it's inspiring to give it another look and it sounds a lot deeper than I gave it credit for based on not having seen one all the way through paying attention to it since I was about 14.

-I must thank you again for Virtua Fighter because I'm actually excited to play VF 5 again with a different approach and set of eyes. When it comes to whether or not to respond any further on this thread: I don't find your replies to be redundant whatsoever, I have enjoyed each of them, but please don't feel obligated to continue further if you do not need and/or want to as I have no expectations or conditions on our discussion. I have thoroughly enjoyed it and Thank You for starting this thread!

-I am not really familiar with who the admins are on the forums here, at least not until now but I would like to thank the admins as well for allowing this fruitful discussion to take place. Thanks!
 
-You sound like you may be empathic, and/or energy sensitive. I have been my whole life, I also get overwhelmed easily in crowded areas. I used to do tours where I live and teach about the local area and they were always heavily grounded in science, physics, psychology, and spirituality and blending the facts with the philosophies and theories to bridge the gap between the two worlds. On these tours, I would be very extroverted and comfortable because anywhere from 1 to 20 other people(typically about 3 or 4 on most tours)were grounded into learning more(and also teaching me in many ways)about science and spirituality. But on the other hand, put me in a line at Walmart and watch the energy drain from me as I cannot wait to get the hell out of that space and away from all the unconscious consumers. So, I get where you're coming from on that.

-Carl Sagan is one of many teachers whose teachings, lectures, and quotes I would use during my Medicine Wheel and Spiritual Science tour days. I am pleased to know that you are familiar with him. He was way ahead of his time, and with the simplest factual concepts that could open our minds to further depth. The speech about us being made of 'star stuff' is so simplistic and yet so deep at the same time it should be taught in schools, yet that doesn't serve the agenda of those behind the public school system, which is a different convo for a different thread.

-I can both see and *feel* your connection to Virtua Fighter and Shenmue, as with the way you present yourself in our discussions I feel that passion. I am going to be giving Virtua Fighter 5 another play, inspired by our discussions because I feel I may have discarded it too easily. As I mentioned previously, I do enjoy VF, but it didn't click after the 2nd one with me too much going forward, but the more I think about it the last few days, and now watching this video I do remember what I preferred about VF over DOA and even over Tekken. While I enjoyed Tekken's animated roster a bit more, I like that Virtua Fighter *feels* clean. As in the energy behind it(which would be Yu Suzuki) feels very clean, perhaps that's why I lost interest in the 90s games. It looks true to form and doesn't seem to be preoccupied with being edgy(Tekken) or borderline trashy(DOA). The only question I have now is whether I wait to buy the new VF5 remake on XB or if I just say screw it and buy the 360 one. I suppose it depends on how impatient I get. Any word on when the VF remake is coming out? I originally heard 2021. As for Shenmue, I want to clarify in case I haven't yet that the Shenmue franchise is by far my favorite video game of all time. Mortal Kombat, Ghost of Tsushima, and Tomb Raider reboot don't even come close, as much as I love those as well Shenmue is in the league of its own, even on its planet for me. I said in 2007 when I stopped playing video games and went out on the road that I would buy a TV and ANY console that I could if Shenmue 3 were to ever see the light of day. It's the only game franchise I would've done that for. So, in 2019 I took my first PS4 in on trade in to resell about a week before Shenmue 3 released, so I decided to keep it. It was amazing how the Universe lined that up for me. Please keep in mind that I didn't reconnect with games at all from about the summer of 2007 until March 2019(admittedly Wii Sports Bowling is what pulled me back in, and very much unexpectedly at that). Pre-2019 I didn't even know Tomb Raider had a reboot, Ghost of Tsushima wasn't in existence yet and I hadn't played any Mortal Kombats since 2006s Armageddon. While I liked all the previous MK games, I never LOVED them so it wasn't until 2019 when I played 2011's MK9 that it hooked me, then X, and then 11. Either way, Shenmue stands alone for me.

-I forgot about Sifu, that game looks good too! That's for the reminder. Sifu reminds me of the Donnie Yen Ip Man films, which if you haven't seen them already, I highly recommend them. As for Soul Calibur, I am with you on that. I can do without it just as much as Tekken or DOA, but I did enjoy it a bit back in its earlier years. In regards to your DOA comments are you referring to the DOA games like the volleyball and the other one on PS4 where you can play with the girls at some hotel resort?? If so, I'm not a fan of those either. I never was a DOA fan because I didn't like the over-sexualization. I mean, the feature in the Settings that allows you to customize the boob bouncing is a bit on the shallow side. If you want a character's boobs to move in a way that defies physics, just go for it but to give the option seems a bit unfocused on substance. I mainly enjoyed the fighting mechanics in DOA 5 and admittedly the addition of my VF characters like Pai. In DOA I only play Kasumi and Ayane, though I've tried some other characters none of them stick out. So, having DOA's Kasumi and Ayane in a tag team-based game with VF's Pai and Sarah was appealing to me.

-Star Wars: I knew the franchise had some depth on 'The Force' as a spiritual terminology but I never really gave it a deeper look, but with your detailed explanation I'm feeling like this is something I may need to be open to again as well. I haven't seen the 70s movies since the 90s and the early 00s ones when they came out. I also heard Donnie Yen was included in some of the newer ones, which catches my attention. I must say, I do appreciate your breakdown on your feelings of the different aspects of Star Wars lore and philosophy, it's inspiring to give it another look and it sounds a lot deeper than I gave it credit for based on not having seen one through paying attention to it since I was about 14.

-I must thank you again for Virtua Fighter because I'm excited to play VF 5 again with a different approach and set of eyes. When it comes to whether or not to respond any further on this thread: I don't find your replies to be redundant whatsoever, I have enjoyed each of them, but please don't feel obligated to continue further if you do not need and/or want to as I have no expectations or conditions on our discussion. I have thoroughly enjoyed it and Thank You for starting this thread!

-I am not familiar with who the admins are on the forums here, at least not until now but I would like to thank the admins as well for allowing this fruitful discussion to take place. Thanks!
Very well could be as I prefer quiet places and can go days without uttering a single word. I find more pleasure in reading than I do going out. While I am not a big believer in Personality Tests, I have always gotten the INTJ or the INFP results so take that as you will.

I am a fan of Carl Sagan and his work as I plan to watch his Cosmos series eventually. I am also a fan of Richard Dawkins, Charles Darwin, and Christopher Hitchens. Then again, I am a fan of science in general, for the amazing contributions it has bestowed on mankind.

On the other hand, as a fan of philosophy, I am also a fan of Lao Tzu, Miyamoto Musashi, and Siddhartha. When it comes to music, I am a fan of Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Wagner, among others. There is something just so esoteric yet, rejuvenating about classical music, ambient noise, Trance, Enka, and traditional Asian music in general.

I am honored that my opinion on Virtua Fighter is worthy of your consideration. I have enjoyed the franchise ever since I played the first game when I was thirteen back in 1993. I am still not very good at the games, as I can't get Akira's infamous one-frame knee technique down for the life of me, but yes, I adore the franchise. I could watch high-level tournament play for hours. While on the surface the animation may appear clunky, but at high-level play, it is absolutely beautiful. Especially considering that any player can play a character differently. The only thing I dislike about Virtua Fighter is the anime as it took my favorite character Akira and turned him from a stoic, yet passionate fighter to a stock shounen idiot.


When it comes to Star Wars, I recommend you check out the Clone Wars Animated Series. While not every episode is gold (and the animation could use some work), it features some of the best writing in the entire franchise. This is where such memorable scenes like this come from.


You are quite welcome! I am glad you've enjoyed our conversation. Your posts tend to have such merit that I can not resist replying in kind. I have learned much from you and you have my gratitude. I promise this will be my last post for a while lol.
 
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If you think about it, with all the technology we now have and all the creative avenues we can explore, why most games cave to violence?
So many cool and transcendent experiences could be achieved in the gaming industry and devs keep making the same shit over and over and over again, but with a different skin.
I guess that they do what "works". (what sells).
So maybe humanity, in general, are to blame.
 
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Twin Snakes was a good game and a good remake. Two main complaints I've seen are rubbish:

If you want a challenge, don't use the new retrofitted features to "cheat"

If you don't want Kitamura's direction, play the original--preferably on bleemcast or PS3.

Simple, really... easy to hate on low hanging fruit though; much like Shenmue
 
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