CanisMax

Nearly everyone who's ever played a Capcom fighting game will tell you that it's a blast. But what makes them so great? Welcome to Anatomy of a Game, my first blog feature. In it, I'm going to try to disect games so that I can see what makes them tick. Anyway, back on topic. Little bit of backstory. Capcom basically pioneered the fighting game genre. They did not however, create it. There were multiple, much more primitive fighting games released before it. Few, however have created such a big splash as Street Fighter II. A sequel to the much less popular Street Fighter, Street Fighter II has become an incredibly popular game, to the point where some would say that it is the greatest fighting game of all time. But what makes it so great? First, it has the universal appeal feature. This can basically be summed up as 'anyone can play, few can master', and it applies to nearly every game in the series, and almost every Capcom fighter. Anyone can drop a quarter into the machine and button mash their equally untrained friend into oblivion. But try doing that against somebody who actually knows what they're doing. It's a whole new story. It's fun to pound on buttons, to get to see the tar beaten out of the other character, but the game reaches a new level when you practice at it and develop a strategy. On a side note, no amount of strategy will ever help you if you're still a crappy player. That's what practice is for. Second, the controls are brilliantly thought out. Capcom devised an excellent six button control system that is very easy to adapt to. You have light punch, medium punch, strong punch, light kick, medium kick, and strong kick, and that's it. Anyone can pick it up and play it. It took me very little time to adapt when I first started playing because it was so straightforward. But that's where the 'few can master' comes in again. When I first started, I had to re-read the instructions a few times to remind myself that the hadouken is down, down forward, forward, punch. But as time progressed, it became second nature. Street Fighter adicts can quote the attack combinations like Castlevania fans can quote the Konami code. Short and simple, combos take a little memorization, but the damage they do is more than worth it. There's also a great community factor. So many people love these games and so many people know how to play them. This is kind of a sappy story but it makes for a good example. Up here, we have the anual Michigan Pinball Expo. It's pretty simple: a bunch of people who own pinball machines bring them to this thing and everyone comes and plays as much as they want for free (excluding admition price). Anyway, they frequently have some arcade machines set up in the back that play classic arcade games (I'm fairly certain they're all emulators, but I digress). I was standing at one machine that had some four hundred-odd games on it (I think it was around 435), most of which were fighters or beat-em-ups. I was hooked into Street Fighter Alpha 3, when some guy whom I'd never met before comes up behind me and asks, "Care to be challenged?" "Yeah, sure." I reply, "It won't be much of a challenge though, I suck at this." He didn't seem to care as he pressed the button to give him a credit. The next twenty, or so minutes were nothing but me and him duking it out. I lost nearly every time, but still had a great time. Long story short, a grand old time was had by all. The point is that these games, as ridiculous and violent as they are, bring people together. I don't know that guy's name. I don't know how old he was. I don't know a single thing about him, and he doesn't know a single thing about me. The only thing we have in common was that game. I could go on, but I'm saving that for a different post. Finally, there's the enduring factor. These games have iconic characters whom everyone recognizes. I could mention Ryu, and chances are you'd know I meant the SF character, not Ryu Hayabusa. Even people who've never played the games them. I knew the entire premises behind games like Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom before I ever played them. They have such lasting ability, and I think that if video games are ever considered an art, some Capcom fighting games will be the equivelent of Van Gogh. Throwing my two cents in. Canis out. \n/:angry:\n/

Hi, guys. Some of you may have noticed that I haven't been around on the site for a while. Most of you probably didn't give it a second thought. I just wanted to say that, yes, I am still alive and intend to begin contributing to Electric Ferret once again (time permitting). I suppose I'll explain my absence, just in case somebody was actually wondering where I was. Primarily, my school's baseball season began. I enjoy playing baseball, and have been spending hours at practices/games. This has prevented me from doing much of anything, as I usually get home around 8:30 and by that time, am completely worn out. The second thing that has kept me from the site, thank goodness for the anonimity of the Internet, is being diagnosed with clinical depression. I don't know how much anyone has heard about the condition other than what they see on TV commercials for medication and I don't intend to bore anyone with the details. Long story short, don't ever develop it; it sucks. I'm not asking for pity, or anything else for thatt matter, but I'm trying to say that I've spent a lot of time dealing with it and that has prevented my being on here. Anyway, everything is starting to slow down again. My school year is ending, so I'll have a great deal more time to spend on this site during the summer. Good to be back, guys.

Anyone who watches anime regularly can tell you that most of the shows are pretty good. But the fact of the matter is that it's just a form of TV show. There's crummy anime and more importantly, there's weird anime. Here are my top ten picks for the weirdest anime ever. Please keep in mind that this list is purely subjective, so if one or more of your picks didn't make it, feel free to make a friendly comment, but try to avoid ranting. Without further ado... 10. Chrono Crusade Kicking off the list is ‘Chrono Crusade’, an anime I discovered only recently thanks to the SciFy channel’s anime featuring. In short, it’s a show about a group of nuns who fight off demonic threats to the earth. Is it weird? You bet, but it’s pulled off nicely, which puts it at number 10 on this list. While it’s a strange concept, that’s about where the weirdness ends. Aside from the fact that, apparently, nuns are a deadly supernatural fighting force, the anime is a fairly normal “future-apocalypse†type anime show. It’s not particularly one of my favorites, but it merits mentioning if for no other reason than it’s difficult to describe. 9. School Rumble High school drama anime are a dime a dozen. There’s a million variations on the theme and every one of them is different. What sets ‘School Rumble’ apart is the sheer absurdity of it. First off, from the outside it looks like your average shoujo (girls’ anime). But upon further inspection, I’ve decided that it could go either way. There are elements of shoujo, to be certain, but for the most part, these only come out to play when the plot’s focus is on the female protagonist, Tenma. When the story focuses on the male protagonist, Harima, the style shifts to a much more shonen (boys’ anime) style. This provides for a strange, albeit entertaining, viewing experience. All in all, ‘School Rumble’ is a fun little anime. There are times when it gets pretty mushy, but for all intents and purposes, it’s entertaining. 8. Inuyasha One of the most recognizable anime on this list, some may be asking, “and what, exactly, is it about ‘Inuyasha’ that merits its place on this list?†Well, let’s think about this for a moment. It’s a show about a teenage girl who falls down a well and is transported back in time to feudal Japan where she meets a half-demon with dog-ears. They go on many adventures with their various friends and meet many strange and insidious creatures. Obviously there’s more to it than that, but by the (I think) fifth episode, they fight a girl who uses her hair as a weapon. Now admittedly, Japanese myths, fables, and folklore are going to be a bit hard for American audiences to follow. ‘Inuyasha’ pulls the transition off pretty well, but from where I’m standing, it’s still weird. On a side note, my mom watches this show. Seriously. She’s a bigger fan of it than I am, but that’s not to say I don’t enjoy it. Albeit, I’m still dealing with the fact that my mother watches anime. 7. Nyan Koi! As a sufferer of severe allergies to dogs, I can tell you that they’re (I can’t believe I’m actually going to say this) nothing to sneeze at. But in all seriousness, I can relate to the main character Junpei’s troubles. Allergies suck. So when the plot of ‘Nyan Koi!’ develops and reveals that he becomes cursed to not only have the ability to talk to cats, the very thing which he is allergic to, but to have to help them with whatever problems they might have, well, I felt for the guy. ‘Nyan Koi!’ is strange, but it’s interesting because the story is frequently seen from the cats’ point of view. ‘Nyan Koi’ is pretty funny. The story can get pretty strange, but hey, it’s a show about a guy who talks to cats. 6. Samurai Pizza Cats The world of ‘Samurai Pizza Cats’ is inhabited entirely by talking animals which also happen to be cyborgs. Seriously. The main story takes place in a city called Little Tokyo. Little Tokyo is constantly threatened by the villainous Big Cheese (a rat), his partner-in-crime Geri Atrick (a crow), and their army of evil birds. The only defense against these guys are the Samurai Pizza Cats: Speedy, Guido, and Polly. That pretty much sums up the entire show. Every episode has the Big Cheese attacking and the Pizza Cats fighting back… and it’s awesome. ‘Samurai Pizza Cats’ is one of the stupidest anime ever created, and I’ve loved every second that I’ve seen. Weird? You bet. Silly? Absolutely. Fun? No question. But if you want the full experience, go eat a pizza pie. 5. Yu-Gi-Oh Without a doubt, this is the single most recognizable anime on this list. Even people, who barely know what anime is, know what ‘Yu-Gi-Oh’ is. Some people have accused it of being a Pokemon rip-off. It’s hard to say, since they were released at about the same time. Let’s cut to the chase. Admit it, ‘Yu-Gi-Oh’ is weird. Almost everyone plays the card game, it claims that the Egyptian gods were real, and some of the characters are supposed to be reincarnated. Interesting concept, I suppose. Nevertheless, ‘Yu-Gi-Oh’ can’t seem to shake its own strangeness. It tries to be serious, but usually ends up just looking even sillier. Admittedly, I don’t much care for this show, but LittleKuriboh’s “Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Seriesâ€, which pretty much started the abridging anime craze is worth checking out. 4. Ranma 1/2 & Kampfer Before you say anything: it’s my list and I can put two different shows at one position if I want to. What do these shows have in common? They both involve the main protagonist randomly changing from a male to a female. ‘Ranma ½’ is a fairly popular anime, but I’ll explain anyway. It’s about a martial artist named Ranma Saotome who falls into a magic pond and is cursed to change into a girl whenever he comes into contact with cold water. He changes back when exposed to hot water. There are a few other characters who have suffered similar fates, most relevantly his dad, who changes into a panda (oddly enough, he spends most of the show in this form) and Ranma’s rival, Ryoga who changes into a pig. ‘Kampher’ centers around a guy who acquires a bracelet which causes him to become a ‘kampher’, a female warrior fated to do battle with other kamphers. Most of the other kamphers are girls naturally, so he’s pretty much the only one who changes gender, though most of the others go through physical and/or mental changes. Another thing these anime have in common is that they present some interesting romantic storylines. Ranma has several girls who want to marry his male self and at least one male who wants to marry his female self. ‘Kampher’s’ main protagonist, Natsuru, is in love with a girl who is interested in his female self. Both are complicated shows and both are pretty fun anime. 3. Hell Girl This one is really a piece of work. ‘Hell Girl’ is about a group of supernatural beings who run a service that allows humans to send other humans straight to Hell, in exchange for their souls, or something to that extent. The thing that confuses me the most about ‘Hell Girl’ is the imagery. I imagine that most of it is symbolic or something, but it’s very hard to follow. The first time I watched it, I went away feeling emotionally drained, but I’m not sure why. In all honesty, I’m not entirely certain how this anime is supposed to make you feel. It is one seriously messed up show. I wish I could say more, but thinking about this show makes me want to go sit in dark room and mumble to myself. 2. Rave Master On a lighter note, we’re nearing the end of the list with ‘Rave Master’. This is another one that’s hard to follow, but it’s about a trio of heroes who try to destroy some sort of evil stones. Honestly, I think if you spent an hour playing the last five or six ‘Final Fantasy’ games while on an acid trip, it would look pretty similar to ‘Rave Master’. The show is wacky on purpose, but while it’s usually fairly tame, there are times when you have to sit back and say, “OK… what just happened?†It’s that weird. Admittedly, most of the time it’s a fairly normal ‘swords-and-sorcery’ anime in the vein of ‘Slayers’ and ‘Full Metal Alchemist’. What pushes it over the edge is the indescribable weirdness that permeates the series. Don’t take my word for it. Go check it out. You’ll never think the same way again. 1. Requiem from the Darkness What happens when you take a series of Japanese horror novels and turn them into an anime series? You get ‘Requiem from the Darkness’, and in my opinion, a lot of confusion. The show is apparently about an author who wants to write a book of 100 ghost stories, so he travels from town to town looking for ideas. Well, as it turns out most of the stories he hears are more than stories. Now, the concept is sane enough, there have been weirder ideas presented. But the actual product is just… “Beyond description†is the term I’m looking for. The same thing that caused ‘Hell Girl’s’ weirdness causes its weirdness: the imagery. Interestingly enough, ‘Requiem’ never had a manga as a base. The entire thing is an original anime. It’s dark, gritty, and all-out strange. The visuals look like some sort of modern art at times. ‘Requiem from the Darkness’ is hard to follow, but I’d recommend checking it out. It’s fun to watch in a weird sort of way.

I'm gonna have to go with Ali on this one. I could be wrong but whatever. To me, Ali and Rocky have pretty similar styles. Rocky beat Drago, I see Ali beating him too. The setup gets an 'OK' from me. Sorry, but I felt that it was a little short.

I did a match that pitted the Weeping Angels against the Xenomorphs a while back. I thought it was okay; seemed to get a pretty good reaction from the readers.

Well, I've officially added Enerjak from the Archie 'Sonic the Hedgehog' comic book. Unfortunately, I forgot what I was going to use him for. Now I feel bad.

I would make an electromagnet so large and powerful that it would capture and incapacitate every single member of Marv's robot army simultaneously.

Well, I actually do have a thing for red-headed nerdy chicks. I had to go with Quinne.

Ooooooohhh, fourth-wall breaking. Naughty naughty, Deo. Very nice, as always, dude.

I think after 20 nominations, Randy Newman's second Oscar was long overdo. Good for him, though.

Sorry 'bout your muse, dude. Very nice, though. Short, albeit, but very nice.

NOT IF YOU HAVE BEEN, dare I say it, TOOTHBRUSHED TO DEATH!!! [Demanding public: *gasp* can this be a sign of things to come?!? Me: Nope.]

You and you're chicken bucket... WHAT SHALL YOU DO WHEN THE CHICKENS RISE UP TO RE-TAKE THE EARTH?

Now, see, an Infinium series would be freaking awesome. Seriously, if this thing pans out, we totally should cash in on it. Speaking of which I finally finished my character.

Seven words, people. A Toothbrush That Cleans Bathrooms: The Movie In all seriousness, I'd like to make big-budget remakes of crappy sci-fi movies like the kind they showed on Mystery Science Theater 3000, only they'd be watchable.

I'm pretty sure that the McKenzie brothers win this fight by some means.

They don't make 'em like they used to, eh?

OK, to make things perfectly clear, I doubted any of those methods would be feasible. I'm in favor of the car all the way. This was just because I know basically nothing about cars beyond that they drive around real fast nor swords beyond that they're long and pointy.

Ah, yes "RuneScape"... when I was in fifth grade, nearly every male person in my class played it, excluding myself. And because of that I was a social outcast who always got picked on and beat up... yes, good times indeed.

I love the Salvation Army. They sell a bunch of trash that I don't need but will buy anyway for reasonable prices. As a matter of fact, the last time I was there, they were selling VHS tapes for 10 cents a piece. Now, I know what you're thinking. "VHS?!? Why would you want any VHS tapes?!?", maybe if some of the teenyboppers happen to be here they might not even know what a VHS tape is. Ah, VHS, I remember you from my youth. The constant rewinding, the leaving them out on the floor where they would get stepped on and ruined, the tape malfuntions... Anyways, I happened to pick up two tapes of what I'm assuming are OAV (that's Original Anime Video for those of you who are clueless). One was called "MD Geist" which I've done no research on and haven't watched yet. The other was "Gunsmith Cats". This is an anime about two girls who, for whatever reason, own a gun shop called (appropriately enough) Gunsmith Cats. The main protagonists are Rally Vincent, the gun expert and Minnie May Hopkins, the bomb expert. Eye: A lot of time was spent searching for locations for GSC and it shows. It's visually very well done. The animation is fluid, though typical of 90's anime. Now, I don't favor Japanese animation to American animation or vice versa. But I've got to say that the Japanese seem to put more effort into making their cartoons look good. There are exceptions, but that's the case for the most part. Overall, GSC looks good. Eye score: 9/10 Ear: I love the theme song. It's a very upbeat jazzy tune which captures the essence of the show rather nicely. Most of the soundtrack is done in either jazz or soft rock. The thing about GSC, though, is that there's a lot of gunshots and explosions. A LOT. Like, in every other scene. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but there was just something weird about the way they sounded. It was probably just my imagination or perhaps my particular copy, but nonetheless. GSC's sound is about average. The theme song is above average. Ear score: 8/10 Head: Oh, boy... my brain was having a field day with this thing. Why do these girls even own a gun shop? Why the heck does Minnie May have so many bombs? What the heck is the Russian chick's coat made of that makes it bulletproof? And so on, and so forth. Dissecting GSC to its very roots would completely ruin it. It's a blatant action film so I'll let it slide, though. One thing I did notice was that a few times the laws of physics seemed to have been bent ever so slightly to allow for (dare I say it?) fanservice. Head score: 7/10 Heart: From an intelligent standpoint, GSC makes no sense. But the fact of the matter is, when dealing with a movie, a book, a tv show, or anything other form of storytelling, the heart wins over the head. I don't care that half this stuff would never play out the way it does in reality; it's fun! And sure there's a lot of fanservice going on; so what? Gunsmith Cats is just fun to watch. It's a cartoon for crying out loud, why does it have to make sense? That having been said, despite all my over-exaggeration that GSC makes no sense, it really isn't so bad. The plot is fairly easy to follow, and for the most part it's only tiny elements that confuse me. Heart score: 9/10 Overall, Gunsmith Cats is a fun little OAV. It's about an hour and a half in running time so I managed to kill an afternoon watching it. If you can hunt down a copy for a reasonable price, I'd recommend it. Overall score: 8/10

Meh, well, I'm willing to give you props for poking fun at yourself, but several of these could easily have been solved by choosing to write matches solely with characters whom you know how to write for.

The other day my friend and I were having a pleasant conversation, which quickly erupted into a strenuous argument over which of us would win in a fight if he was armed with a sword and I, a car. Now, upon further reflection, I see his point, in that, you may be able to do some substantial damage to the car. I'm still convinced that the sword has little to no chance, but nonetheless, I put it here for you to argue. Discussion Points 1. Would it be feasible for the swordsman to attack the tires of the car, even if it's moving at a substantial speed? 2. Would it be feasible for the swordsman to break the windshield of the car? 3. Would ramming the sword into the car's grill present any threat whatsoever? 4. Would attempting to lay down and attack the car from underneath be a plausible attack method? 5. Which parts of the car would it be possible for the swordsman to pierce through? 6. Would it be possible for the swordsman to avoid attacking the car itself and direct his attention toward the driver?

Well, mostly because I like un-drunkenness and talking dinos... Dang it, Treach is on to me.

Ladies and gentlemen, Blue Beetle, AKA Captain Killjoy.

DO THE RIGHT THING: BE SOBER