Street Fighter | Anti-Heroes: the blog…

May 07 2008

Half-Nelson

By JC | Capcom, Fan Art, muscles, Street Fighter, video games | 4 Comments

More Street Fighter Fan-Art! Here, I’m trying to indicate that Sean held his own for a little while– hence his acquisition of the mask and his breaking of the claw. But ultimately, he’s left to Vega‘s mercy. Also, here, I’m using what I do at work: the overwhelmingly exciting art of florals! Vega’s symbol is the rose, right?

Apr 04 2008

Truce

By JC | Capcom, Fan Art, muscles, Street Fighter, video games | 5 Comments

Street Fighter fan art! I figure Bison isn’t depicted without his hat often enough. I find him super hot without the hat. Gill, on the other hand, was always a little on the weird side to me. What are those… panties he fights in? Weirdo. But I think he and Bison are a cute match-up. Comments welcome!

Mar 03 2008

As the Tears Flow

By JC | Capcom, King of Fighters, rant, SNK, Street Fighter, video games, videos | 5 Comments

A trailer for King of Fighters 12 has been released and it looks so fucking beautiful, it makes me want to sob.

For those that don’t know, The King of Fighters is a long-running fighting game series produced by SNK/Playmore. But what makes KOF12 so hot is that they’ve set out to make the MOTHER of all 2D fighters, redrawing EVERY sprite in HD and upping the animation frame-rate more than double what it was! What I’m tryna say is that the animation is so good, it frikkin’ looks like you’re playing a Disney movie!

This must come as such bad news for Capcom and the Street Fighter 4 camp, who (controversially) decided to abandon 2D for their popular franchise. They thought 2D was dead. Oh, ye of little faith. Part of me feels bad for Capcom because by making the game 3D, they’re competing with the likes of Soul Calibur and Tekken, a battle they’re destined to lose.

SNK/Playmore is basically “running unopposed!” So, kudos to the folks over at SNK/Playmore for believing in 2D and thusly believing in the fans that made their franchise so popular. And Capcom? Well, sorry ‘cuz Street fighter 4’s gonna look like a hot mess when compared to ANY of the other fighters coming out.

Dec 29 2007

End of the Year Musings

By JC | Capcom, figure drawing, hairy, muscles, Original Art, rant, Street Fighter, video games, videos, wet, xxx | 11 Comments

So just a few things to announce / rant about for the end of the year. Firstly, I’ve got some new figure drawing up for youze guys!

Here’s Gonzalo, a real he-man with amazingly bulgy muscular meaty thighs and thick luscious sable locks.

The following week was Brandon who was… very very fuzzy. I had some difficulty with this model’s face which is why you’ll notice I didn’t often draw his head. He had very big features and although he was pretty cute, I had trouble rendering a realistic likeness. So, I just made him a cartoon. In truth, I think it suits him better than any attempt at a realistic likeness.

I’m finding more and more by watching some of the other artists in the group that I have a unique way of blending stylization with realism. Most of the other artists there either work completey realistic or totally stylized. Anyhoo, let me know what yalls think. Tons more are up on my site here.

The next thing I want to mention is that my previous excitement over the graphics for Street Fighter 4 is now gone. 1up.com has footage of some in-game play and I have to say… it just looks very very polygonal to me. I mean… it kinda doesn’t look any more advanced than say Rival Schools or Street Fighter EX.

Call me a purist but think I’ve rejoined the “Street Fighter works best in 2D” camp. I mean… imagine a high-res, super-high frame rate Street Fighter with traditionally hand-drawn animation in the quality of something like Samurai Champloo. Now THAT would be groundbreaking. But when asked in the latest issue of EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly) why didn’t Capcom just make SF4 entirely 2D, Yoshinori Ono, the game’s lead producer said they’ve “done all they can with 2D” and that they “wouldn’t learn anything new.” Pssh, yeah, way to dodge that question, buddy.

Finally, I’d like to babble on about one more thing. My BIRTHDAY is very close to New Years and all my life, it’s been overshadowed by New Years and to some extent, even Christmas. However, I’m excited about THIS new year because it’s 2008 and 8‘s are my lucky numbers. I was born on 01-08-80 and this year, my 28th BIRTHDAY falls on 01-08-08! So my BIRTHDAY is kindof an anagram of my birthdate! Heh heh!

Oh, and by the way… fan-art makes a great BIRTHDAY present…. ahem… (cough cough!)

Dec 07 2007

The Buzz Begins

By JC | Capcom, rant, Street Fighter, video games, videos | 4 Comments

So– about a month ago, Capcom released this promo vid for Street Fighter 4.

It looked really cool, but we had to keep in mind that it WASN’T any indication of in-game play. This week, however, they’ve released a screenshot and MAAAN, it’s startin’ to look good! And I’m not just talkin’ bout Ryu’s bulge either (haha!) Apparently, gameplay will remain 2D based while the sprites and backgrounds will be polygonal.

Usually, I don’t like 3D characters but given the amazingly stylized treatment of this image, I’m going to have to make an exception. It looks as though they’re going for a real painterly look here. That’s something that I always really loved about the series– the art. It was always beautifully stylized, cutting-edge stuff. So let’s hope that Capcom can pull this off. Because if they can, I for one will be overjoyed at the revival of my favorite game series.

Sep 12 2007

My Top 10 Games

By JC | Capcom, Marvel, rant, Street Fighter, Top 10, video games, X-Men | 12 Comments

I am working on some art stuff but none of it is really ready to post. So here’s something to tide you guys over. I like video games– that much is obvious. But what do I like the most about them and which ones are my favorites? Here’s the list!

10) X-Men
Developer: Konami, 1992
Genre: Side-Scrolling Beat-Em-Up
System: Arcade

If you’re a regular here on this blog, then you know I’m a big fan of the side-scrolling beat-em-up what with my posts about Streets of Rage and Final Fight. But, the game that really kicked that genre up a notch for me was Konami‘s gem featuring my favorite superheroes, the X-Men. This particular game is based on a pilot for a cartoon series that never got picked up. However, it holds a special place in the hearts of many arcade-goers. It was the only beat-em-up that featured a whopping 6 different playable characters, two of them being female, something that really broke a barrier at the time. It had huge, colorful sprites that could only be contained on 2 screens, mind-blowing animation, and awesome sound (how could anyone forget, “I am Magneto, master of magnet!?” haha.) And hey, its still the only game in history where you can play as Dazzler, everyone’s favorite mutant disco queen!

9) Mega Man 3
Developer: Capcom, 1990
Genre: Side-Scrolling Platformer
System: NES

There were quite a few side-scrolling platformers that could have easily filled this spot for me. Among them, any of the early Marios or Sonics. What makes a side-scroller for me are the power-ups and no one has more power-ups than that little blue bomber, Mega Man. He could do ANYTHING! Also, the graphics were just so cute! I remember thinking that this was as close to actual TV animation as you could get! LOL! Mega Man 3 is the best in the series because that’s when the story first began to thicken with the introduction of the mysterious ProtoMan. Also, this game had frikkin’ SCHWEET music!

8) Tiny Toon Adventures: Acme All-Stars
Developer: Konami, 1994
Genre: Sports
System: Genesis

Other than kinda liking the Knicks in the 90’s, I’m not a huge sports fan. So naturally, I’ve never really liked sports games. Tiny Toon Adventures: Acme All-Stars is the one exception. I was a huge Tiny Toons fan and had all the Tiny Toons games even though they were all pretty horrible. This one broke the mold with its awesome multiplayer function (up to 6, relatively unheard of at the time,) and playable character roster of 12 different toons. In basketball, Montana Max‘s method of stealing the ball was to walk up to you and just punch. You have not seen comedy until you’ve seen the Montana Max sprite walk up to Elmyra and punch her in the face.

7) MarioKart DS
Developer: Nintendo, 2005
Genre: Racing
System: DS

Nintendo has recently really upped the ante when it comes to innovation in console design. Yeah, I have the Wii, but I think their real marvel is the DS. It is by far the best handheld system EVER– and it’s best and most popular title? MarioKart, of course. It’s pretty much a given that MarioKart games are fun on ANY system. The DS version shines because of its ease of multiplayer: up to 8 players, totally wireless, ANYWHERE you want! It’s really caught on here in NYC, as I’ve had insane 8 player matches with complete strangers on more than one occasion. I do take it very personally, however, when some asshole picks Toad. Don’t people realize he is MINE?!

6) Columns III
Developer: Sega, 1994
Genre: Puzzle
System: Genesis

I know what you’re thinking. “You’ve seen one puzzle game, you’ve seen them all.” I wholeheartedly agree with that statement, but what set Columns III apart from all the rest for me was its 2-player head-to-head play. Talk about COMPETITIVE! Some of the things you could do to your opponent were downright EVIL! How ’bout turning your opponent’s side to GRAYSCALE for a while? Or see how they’ll do when you turn their side UPSIDE-DOWN! Man, me and my mom had some intense marathon Columns tournaments that would often last into the wee hours of the morning. “C’mon, JC, one more game and I’ll let you stay home from school tomorrow,” she’d say.

5) X-Men Legends
Developer: Raven Software / Activision, 2004
Genre: Action RPG
System: PS2, Xbox, GameCube

No one hates RPGs as vehemently as me. To quote Beavis and Butt-Head, “If I wanted to read, I’d go to school.” HAHA. I’m sorry, but I grew up with the notion that video games were supposed to action-packed and fast-paced… not PAGES and PAGES of heavy reading! Now, I know nowadays, RPG’s have much more hands-on action, with a lot more realtime gameplay. But my overall disdain for the genre almost made me not try X-Men Legends. In truth, the game is more of a hybrid adventure platformer with beat-em-up and RPG elements. Like most RPGs, the story is very “epic.” Unlike most RPGs, the story managed to hold my attention (again, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t care less about the triumphs and struggles of some whiney queer-ass little elves.) Any X-Men fan should own this title simply because of the huge playable character roster (15) and familiar story elements (which are pretty close to the comics.) Of course, there are areas where it could improve (sadly, issues that aren’t addressed in its sequels) but overall it’s a solid title and a must for any X-Fan.

4) Ms. Pac-Man
Developer: Midway /Namco, 1981
Genre: Puzzle / Maze
System: Arcade (and a lot of others)

This is an example of a game that is absolutely timeless. Whether you play it in the arcade (my preference) or on any of the consoles its been released on (pretty much all of them,) you can’t deny the overall replayability of Ms. Pac-Man. Infinitely superior to its predecessor AND its sequels, its simple yet subtly deep gameplay mechanics make it one of those few games that appeals to everyone– old, young, male, female. Its also the one arcade cabinet that I cannot resist no matter where it is… a bar, laundromat, gas station… I have to play it when I see it! Its probably the one arcade cabinet I would actually buy… if I had a house.

3) Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers
Developer: Capcom, 1990
Genre: Side-Scrolling Platformer
System: NES

Frequently, in the realm of classic video gaming, titles based on other media (cartoons, film) usually had little or nothing to do with the source material. Chip ‘n Dale is no exception. I mean, it’s a valiant effort, but none of the main gameplay elements are ever featured in the cartoon. However, that’s not to say these gameplay elements are bad– quite the contrary actually! Chip and Dale hurl tiny wooden boxes at foes and stack metal ones to get to otherwise unreachable areas. It might sound lame– but don’t knock it till you’ve played it! The biggest plus this game has going for it is its 2-player SIMULTANEOUS action! Do you know how RARE that is in a cutesy platformer? Think of how ridiculously fun any of the early Marios, Sonics, or MegaMans would be if they were 2-player simultaneous! Hopefully, the gaming companies will realize that multiplayer games are still viable and stop catering to the socially-awkward loser who sits at home playing video games by himself all day. (God, I’m a mean bastard, aren’t I? haha.)

2) Street Fighter 2
Developer: Capcom, 1991
Genre: Fighting
System: Um… all of them?

Yea, big surprise here, right? Haha. But I have to give credit where it’s due. Being the VERY FIRST real fighting game, Street Fighter 2 pretty much REVOLUTIONIZED the gaming industry. The huge sprites, the fluid animation, the fast-paced yet intricate gameplay, were all mind-blowing at the time. Who would have thought that such a simple idea (2 guys fighting each other) would evolve into such a deep, limitless genre?

1) X-Men vs. Street Fighter
Developer: Capcom, 1996
Genre: Fighting
System: Arcade, Saturn

I am pretty savvy when it comes to games. So when X-Men vs. Street Fighter came out without me knowing anything about it, I was literally floored. (Literally– I think I fainted in the arcade.) Please understand that X-Men and Street Fighter were my two great loves so finding out about a game like this was like… having a hard cock in your mouth and your ass at the same time! Truth be told, I was already pretty used to the mechanics of the game, having played Capcom‘s other fighting titles. Nothing was really new about the gameplay accept for the ability to switch between multiple characters mid-match. For me, what was so crazy about the game was the sheer… absurdity of it! No one expected the crossover. Now, its totally commonplace for fictional universes to crossover in games– but back then… UNPRECEDENTED!

So how do you guys like my list? Any games you love that you’d like to mention? Tell me! If they’re from the 90’s, I most likely know them and probably like them because that was before 3D and 1st Person Shooters which have ruined the industry as far as I’m concerned. haha.

Jun 16 2007

AH-OOH-ROWR!

By JC | Capcom, Fan Art, hairy, muscles, Street Fighter, video games, xxx | 12 Comments

Fan-Art! Fan-Art!

I drew this on a train, coming home from a short vacation. Originally it was going to be all elaborate with Blanka swinging through the trees complete with this insane detailed background. Then I was like, screw that– it’s fan-art. I’m not putting any more than the bare minimum of work into this.

In coloring the drawing with that same attitude, I tried a bit of a sketchy style. I was very free with the brushes, not caring too much about boundaries. It ended up developing into a pretty cool, very painterly coloring stlye. And although it didn’t take me any less time to finish, I think this coloring stlye fits the subject matter– wild, free, beastly! haha.

Blanka is a character from Street Fighter and although he isn’t my favorite Street Fighter, he is the one character I can consistently win with. Whenever I’m in the arcades and some punk keeps beating my Chun-Li or Rose, I pick up Blanka and KICK THEIR ASS!

Feb 22 2007

OK, I Know I’m a Freak

By JC | Capcom, rant, Street Fighter, toys, video games | 10 Comments

But I couldn’t resist! Birdie, Ibuki, and Akuma came in the mail today and I just had to spazz out for a second. Now my collection is complete! Kinda. Don’t have Sodom or Remy– but I didn’t want them anyway.

Isn’t the bucket full of extra heads and fists creepy?
Next post, we’ll get you guys some porn– promise!

Feb 02 2007

Eff Capcom

By JC | Capcom, rant, Street Fighter, video games | 3 Comments

Warning: Nerdy Rant Below

Yesterday, I caught the review X-Play did on Street Fighter Alpha Anthology. I was really excited to see what they had to say about it because I like X-Play’s in-depth, hard-hitting, no-nonsense game reviews. However, I was dissappointed to see that they gave SFA Anthology the most glossed-over, sugar-coated review ever. All they said was, “We like Street Fighter,” over and over and reminisced about the old games included in SFA Anthology.

Anyone who really likes Street Fighter will not like SFA Anthology because, duh, they already own all the games. I’m sick to death of all these candy-ass reviews heralding SFA Anthology as the best thing since sliced bread. You already own these games! Why go out and buy them again?

Yes, I want a new Street Fighter but I’ll take what I can get, like most Street Fighter fans out there. Give us just a tidbit of new content, and we’ll eat it up– even if 98% of the rest of the game is recycled (cough cough Capcom Fighting Evolution cough).

The supposed new content on this Anthology is apparently the new ISMs. But get this, the new ISMs are only available to certain characters. I was so excited at the possibility of playing with a Marvel-ized version of Blanka or Sagat. But no, we get Ryu. If I wanted to play with the Marvel-ized version of Ryu, I’d pop in X-Men vs. Street Fighter.

Or Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter.

Or Marvel vs. Capcom.

Or Marvel vs. Capcom 2!

See my point? We’ve seen it over and over again and if we’re real fans, we OWN the games already!

In addition to that little slap in the face, they also didn’t decide to include the PSP or GBA versions of Alpha 3 which feature new characters and are essentially upgrades to Alpha 3. In truth, Street Fighter Alpha Anthology isn’t really an anthology because these games aren’t included.

I urge anyone who is thinking about buying this game to simply pull out whatever version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 they own and just play that. I mean, it just makes me mad because I want to buy it just to show the world that there are still people who like and want 2D fighters. But I should want to buy it to PLAY it, not to make a statement. And nothing about this game makes me want to play it.

That is all.

Nov 30 2006

Paper Dolls

By JC | Capcom, cutesy, Fan Art, muscles, old works, Street Fighter, video games | 8 Comments

I have a few younger siblings and growing up, we were all into toys. But the problem was, they never made toys of the things we liked. So for as long as I can remember, I’ve made paper dolls for myself and my sibs.

I remember some of the really early ones I did were freaky. Like for instance, when I was like 8, I made my own Masters of the Universe paper dolls. I don’t have them anymore but I remember they had really short legs and big loin cloths. I also made some of the KoopaKids and made up a mom for them who was basically Jessica Rabbit with a turtle head. My parents saw that and were grossed out.

In my teen years, I got really into it and started laminating them so when we played with them they wouldn’t tear. I came across them recently while going through my old stuff. These are of Mega Man and Street Fighter characters. I took liberties on some of the characters and in a lot of cases, drew them how I wished they looked.

The link to all these guys is here:
www.anti-heroes.net/paperdolls.html

Geez, don’t you hate it when you go to a porn blog and get all excited to see that there’s a new post only to get let down when it’s some crap that’s not porn? HAW HAW. I’ll post somethin’ sexy next time– promise.

Category Archives: Street Fighter