To be fair, MadCatz (and most other reputable joystick manufacturers) used the same high-quality Sanwa parts that have been used in arcade machines for decades, while Hori has recently broken away from that in lieu of their own proprietary Hayabusa/Kuro parts that (as far as I know) have strictly been console-only. I…

Personally, I’d be terrified of getting partial parries in his circumstance. Imagine having to restart everything due to being a few frames off and taking just a scratch.

That’s kind of what I figured you meant, but I’m thinking more of a gameplay distinction based on what Samurai and Ninja are classically known for: direct combat vs stealth and deception. Nioh lets you play like a Ninja Gaiden-style ninja which, honestly, isn’t very ninja-like. I mean, you get to toss around Shuriken…

Yoko Taro’s writing style seems to be “I’m gonna make you hate me till you love me.”

Salt and Sanctuary is what I had in mind.

If you conflate ninjas with samurais, then, well, that’s your problem, really.

I’m thinking Salt and Sanctuary.

Which sounds awesome. We’ve got Samurai Souls, Mechsuit Souls, Metroidvania Souls, and so on. I think the world is due for some legit Ninja Souls.

Ironically, due to the massive bonuses you get from beating the Five Stars (and my addiction to the mini game), I made most of my money with the hostess bar and had to siphon the excess to Kiryu and get him started. Real Estate might have more potential, but the money flowed much faster with Majima early on, at least…

Agreed, but only in comparison. The real estate stuff was fun in its own way, but the energy and character of the hostess bar was straight addictive. Then again, I felt that way about Kiryu vs. Majima throughout throughout 0; everything Majima went through felt more interesting.

I think the general idea for their relationship was that their potential romance was sweetly hinted but tragically unfulfilled. After all, it’s more fun to imagine the possibilities (and more sad to see said possibilities lost forever) when everything is hinted but nothing is set in stone.

Although CoJ’s business politics might have played some role in Capcom’s recent fighten’ game gaffes, the actual development of Capcom’s latest fighters have had more American influence than ever before. Combofiend, despite being a Community Manager, has apparently been a major influence in the design of SFV, and now…

Ugh... this again. Look, SFV is TERRIBLE at being SF4, okay? That’s the real problem. People are still looking at SFV through the lens of SF4, and by that comparison the game is pretty awful. But SFV is its own game with its own, distinct merits, and if it ain’t your cup of tea, that’s fine. But to say that players…

There has to be something said about how this was the only time Punk has ever gone straight to Grand Finals without taking a trip to losers first. In all of his major tournament wins this year, he was the one who had to fight his way back from losers, get the reset in Grand Finals, and steamroll his final opponent for…

That was an epic “NOOOO!”

My only gripe is that I don’t think I heard any classic Castlevania melodies anywhere. Here’s to hoping they somehow squeeze a few into season two (and subtly, as the rest of these little Easter eggs have been).

Obligatory.

It’s kinda scary that you use Bronson Tran as a broad generalization for “these competitors”, because he’s literally the opposite of the average eSports competitor. Bronson doesn’t care for eSports or sponsors and plays simply to troll pro players. He can also be kind of a dick, and gets away with it because he…

As someone already mentioned, Kenny beat Xavier at CEO 2016 in SFV, so you might want to fix that, because Xavier got bodied pretty hard. The kayfabe made it look competitive, but the reality is that it was a pretty bad mismatch in skill.

Yeah, Xavier Woods plays a lot of games relatively proficiently, but Kenny Omega specializes in Street Fighter, and he beat Woods pretty soundly at CEO 2016 (and clearly threw a few rounds to make it look competitive). That said, Omega is terrible at Tekken 7 (if his Cross Counter promotional vid is any indication),…