Jab's Builds!

[Blitz]

I personally like broadswords, backswords, sabres, and cutlasses better than any other weapon I've handled. They "feel" right in my hand, the techniques "feel" right when I perform them, their styles match my personality, my body shape, and my level of athleticism. I find the katana awkward to hold and to fight with, I feel the same about the rapier and the gladius. That doesn't make them bad weapons, that makes them bad weapons for me.

(It's the same reasoning behind why I like Colts and Walthers, but not Glocks or Berrettas.)

You're more experienced than me. Due to a lack of serious, dedicated training options, I'm a bit of a serial dabbler. But since I am accustomed to getting used to different weapons in a hurry, the "feel" of a weapon is an issue I deal with a lot. In my opinion, it's mostly about expectation.

The reason that the katana, for instance, feels weird to an experienced HEMA enthusiast is that it's an extremely light and relatively short weapon for its balance point. Makes it less-than-ideal for handling like most light blades or long blades. If you can get used to it, it makes for a very agile slicing weapon, but it's extremely specialized, and the feel of it definitely throws you off if you're more accustomed to something else.

That said, if I had a choice between several swords to use in a battle, the katana would be one of the first eliminated. It's just too specialized. A fine weapon for its time and its role, but the circumstances that allowed it to thrive were rather odd, and if they were available, I can't believe that European designs wouldn't do as well in the same situations, but have more versatility.

[Jabroniville]

THE ADVENTURES OF BAYOU BILLY:
Game Type: Side-Scrolling Beat 'Em Up/Run & Run/Driving
Release Date: 1988
Developer: Konami

-Bayou Billy brought us yet another one of the most infamously-hard NES games of all time. Based off of the Famicom game Mad City, this one takes a lot off of Crocodile Dundee, which was a huge hit around this time. On that note, I feel like we haven't made another culture a "craze" in a long time? Has modern-day xenophobia ruined stuff like that for us? I guess the "British Aristocracy" Craze following Downton Abbey might also count, but that's way more low-grade. There was only a couple of movies (and a veritable horde of "Nerdy Indian Buddy" characters) to come from the "Indian Craze" of Bend It Like Beckham.

-The hero of this game, humorously named Billy West, rips off ol' Dundee in every way... except of course he's from New Orleans and has more in common with 'gators & gumbo than kangaroos & boomerangs. Naturally, Billy's girlfriend has been kidnapped by a crime-boss.

-There are a few types of action mixed in here- it's sort of like Ninja Gaiden except there's a two Driving levels and two "Rail Shooter" levels. There are three pick-up weapons you can find (Knife, Club & Whip), which, in the true fashion of early NES games, COMPLETELY unbalance the entire game because they are so much better to have. Also you can shoot people. The challenge is considered absolutely obscene, to the point where even Captain N called this the only game Kevin Keen couldn't finish (Mother Brain teleported the gang to that world, imagining that Kevin's "Gaming Experience" super-power would be useless there).

BAYOU BILLY (Billy West)
Role: The Hero, Crocodile Dundee In Louisiana
PL 8 (117)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 8 (+11)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Survival) 10 (+13)
Expertise (Soldier) 6 (+8)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 2 (+5)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 5 (+8)
Stealth 1 (+6)
Vehicles 6 (+11)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Diehard, Equipment 3 (Jeep, Knife, Club, Gun, Whip), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Whip), Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Jack-Of-All-Trades, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 4, Tracking

Equipment:
"Knife" Strength-Damage +1 (1)
"Club" Strength-Damage +2 (2)
"Whip" Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Reach 2) (5)
"Gun" Blast 4 (8)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Knife +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Club +10 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Whip +10 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Gun +9 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +7

Complications:
Enemy (Godfather Gordon)
Relationship (Annabelle)

Total: Abilities: 66 / Skills: 46--23 / Advantages: 16 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 12 (117)

-Billy is more like an '80s Hollywood Action Hero than a Video Game Hero- he's good in a scrap, a survivalist, and ex-military. ALL of the '80s Action Heroes seemed to be ex-military. It was a very "Gung-Ho" decade, with Vietnam being a slightly more distant memory... Billy actually kind of sucks until you pick up a weapon, though- he's PL 6.5 unarmed, PL 7 with a knife, and needs the whip to hit full PL 8 status.

[Jabroniville]

BRAVOMAN:
Game Type: Side-Scrolling Run & Gun
Release Date: 1988
Developer: Now Production

-Never heard of this one- it's a Japanese side-scroller from the '80s, featuring a "Salaryman" who becomes a superhero and blasts away while extending his limbs. A web-cartoon popped up in recent years, using some actual A-List Voice Acting talent (Rob Paulsen & Jennifer Hale). So he's got a bit of modern popularity for something I've never heard of- perhaps it's because his design is so RELENTLESSLY Japanese, complete with a red scarf and a rounded helmet. Why that's an iconic Japanese look for a superhero is beyond me, but then it's probably no weirder to us than our obsession with tights and capes is to others.

BRAVOMAN (Hitoshi Nakamura)
Role: The Hero, Family Man
PL 7 (102)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 7 (+10)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Salaryman) 6 (+7)
Perception 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Improved Critical (Blast), Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Telescopic Limbs & Neck" Elongation 1 [1]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
Movement 1 (Slow Fall) [2]

"Aquatic Fish-Form"
Movement 1 (Environmental Adaptation- Aquatic) [2]
Swimming 2 [2]
Immunity 2 (Drowning, Pressure) [2]
Blast 6 (Flaws: Limited to While Underwater) [6]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Blasts +8 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Relationship (Wife & Family)

Total: Abilities: 58 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: / Powers: 16 / Defenses: 14 (102)

-Bravoman is your everyday PL 7 fighter, helped greatly by the reach of his attacks.

[Jabroniville]

Just saw Kubo: The Legend of the Two Strings, and holy CRAP that was awesome. Stop-Motion is such a rare art in the era of CGI, and I recommend everyone go see it. I found the last act to be the weakest one, but the animation style and the great effects are amazing. Charlize Theron really stood out as great in it, though Matthew Maconaghey's in that "Brad Pitt/George Clooney" class of "Half-Ass Voice Acting Because It's Not Real Work" category as Beetle. And CRIPES are the Aunts an intimidating pair of villains.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx9eimpTUOk

[Jabroniville]

WONDER MOMO:
Game Type: Side-Scrolling Run & Gun
Release Date: 1987
Developer: Namco

-Another very, VERY Japanese title is Wonder Momo, a panty-shot-showing production from Namco back in 1987. A parody of Ultraman-style shows, it featured a female protagonist (REALLY rare at that time) fighting a bunch of bad guys. The conceit is that you're watching a theatrical production (photographers in the audience try to get shots of her panties, and this can hamper your progress through the game). As you might imagine, this game did not show up outside of Japan. Like Bravoman, she showed up in a series of web-cartoons.

WONDER MOMO (Momoko)
Role: The Hero, Miss Fanservice
PL 7 (104)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Athletics 7 (+10)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Salaryman) 6 (+7)
Perception 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Improved Critical (Kicks), Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
"Wonder Kick" Strength-Damage +1 [1]
"Mini-Blasts" Blast 5 (Feats: Accurate) (Extras: Multiattack) (16) -- [17]

• AE: "Wonder Hoop" Blast 7 (Feats: Homing) (15)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Wonder Kick +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Mini-Blasts +9 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Wonder Hoop +7 (+7 Ranged Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Vulnerable (Paparazzi)- Having her panties photographed causes Momo to become Distracted.

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 18 / Defenses: 13 (104)

-As Momo, the main character can only use kicks, but as Wonder Momo (a form she attains by touching a certain icon, or building up her "Wonder" meter), she can use the Wonder Hoop (which can't attack again until it returns to her), or small Energy Blasts.

[Jabroniville]

It's a testament to the game's design that this nuclear bomb of Jump Scares actually comes off as minor out of context like this

RESIDENT EVIL:
Game Type: "Survival Horror"/Third-Person Shooter/Adventure Game
Release Date: 1996
Developer: Capcom

-And now we come to one of the biggest hits of the "Next Generation" era, and a huge game-changer for the industry. And WHAT A GAME- it combines Horror Movie-quality acting, cliches, weird puzzles and freaky-ass scary moments to put you into the game like few others had done beforehand. Almost everything about this game was well-done. With pre-rendered backgrounds that looked downright photorealistic (at the time- nowadays it looks way worse), and the perfect level of ambient noise, you were IN this setting! Half the time there was no music, leaving everything hauntingly quiet; it also leaves the points where there IS music as stand-outs. Hell, you even make different sounds when you run across the wooden floor and the carpet! In 1996, that was crazy attention to detail.

-Of course, everyone remembers the famous "Jump Scare" moment- walking down a narrow hallway, having the music suddenly crank up... and a f*cking ZOMBIE DOG bursts in through the outside window! This has scared the living shit out of just about everybody I know, and they all have stories of what happened when they played it (usually with a group of friends, as was common for big new games like this). Me, I was watching my friend Jordan play, along with his brother and a bunch of his friends- we absolutely LOST IT when that dog came out, freaking out and screaming. Up to that point, you'd only heard the HINTS of one in the game's opening sequence! Another friend tells the story of playing it with a group of people, getting to the dog, and the entire room jumped up and ran to the other side, throwing the controller down- by some miracle, the throw had hit the "Pause" button, and they managed not to die! And that one scare set the tone for the rest of the game- being terrified to go around any corner.

-There's so much creepiness, though... the first time you see a zombie, it's gruesomely eating the flesh off of a corpse, slowly stands up... then looks at you with a cold, dead eye (rumored to be a real cadaver's eye that's been filmed) then slowly moves towards you, moaning incoherently. An entire alcove filled with crows, all of whom will attack you (my group was so terrified of this that one player refused to go in- "You have THIS MUCH marbles!" another guy taunted, making a "tiny balls" sign with his hand).

-There was silliness abound, too- The opening sequence is pretty badly acted, to say nothing of the dialogue. Bad, random cadence like "Stop! Don't OPEN-that-door!", or Barry's infamously-stilted "You- the MASTER of unlocking- can do _____". But this was PERFECT for the game, as bad acting was and is a major factor in horror movies. One building is flooded, and there's a SHARK inside- do something at the right time, and the building drains and you can just stab the helpless shark to death while it flops about on the floor! There's a giant Snake, silly puzzles (often taking a ludicrous amount of time to open a simple wooden door... even when one of your weapons is a GRENADE LAUNCHER!).

-And it's TOUGH, too- the puzzles are arcane and take forever, your ammunition is famously-limited (you can't even fire your GUN indiscriminantly, much less your big weapons!), and even saving your game has been made excruciating, as you have a limited number of "ribbons" with which to record your progress. And good luck lining up a decent shot- the game's multiple camera angles (static because of the pre-rendered backgrounds) mean that aiming is a complete nuisance, especially from long range- you often have to line up a shot in three dimensions, while only having a 2-D viewpoint from the side. And you have to hit the right BODY PART, too! In fact, the game is so heavily tilted against your favor that you can't even call it an "Action" game, despite the numerous killings you can accomplish. Later games actually reversed this entirely, giving you far more options and ability in combat, and removing the "Fake Difficulty" of what are often DELIBERATELY-bad camera angles.

-In the game itself, you can either play Chris or Jill, each of whom get their own story (but some of the same challenges to overcome)- each also has certain allies: Chris finds the teenage Rebecca; Jill gets the bad-ass Barry as an ally- his iconic Magnum blows the freaking HEAD off of the first Zombie you meet! Your arsenals are highly limited, despite both of you being government agents on a special team- mostly you get stuck with a knife, desperately fighting against zombies that can do a surprising amount of damage. The pistol can kill them too, but multiple headshots are needed. The high-powered weaponry is hard to come by. Your other enemies include Crows, the GODDAMN DOGS, a shark, a giant spider (cuz why not just add that Nightmare Fuel in?), a giant SNAKE, and finally ending in Tyrant, a monstrous Super-Zombie. The game is hard enough that I've never actually seen it finished- I had a friend get all the way to Tyrant and then get stuck because his remaining weapons were crap, though.

-The series has been wildly successful, with sequels popping up all over the place. Jill Valentine even got into the Marvel (vs) Capcom series, and there is a film series. Yeah, not one craptastic bomb of a film... a SERIES of films! Hell, they're basically the only things Milla Jovovich (one of those "It Girls" who was probably supposed to be huge, but just never was) is still in. I've never seen them, but I've heard their garbage... but SOMEBODY obviously likes them, because they made five or six.

[hs5ias]

The early Resident Evils are some of my favorite games from the Playstation. I played them to absolute death, eventually getting quite good at them. They're not that hard really once you get a feel for the puzzles and controls. In the first Resident Evil the key to the game is mastering the shotgun. If you fire it at point blank range into the torso of a zombie just before it lunges into your neck one shot will destroy it, making the head pop off in a shower of gore. The same one-shot-kill tactic works on the bandersnatches, the clawed fiend green lizard things. This allows you to conserve enough ammo that the final battles are easy. If you ever did get infinite ammo on these RE games through cheats or bonuses though the game becomes a breeze, such that no save, no damage run throughs are entirely possible.

The games definitely had a much more cinematic feel to them than other video games of the time. You were watching an adventure story as much as playing a game. I think this is because your character moved around a more naturalistic environment, and also you could also actually see your characters face and front. Even with Tomb Raider it was clearly a video game as the camera followed her jogging butt around.

[Jabroniville]

Someone's on the WWE Diet now, aren't they, Chris?

CHRIS REDFIELD
Role: Male Hero
PL 7 (71)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+5)
Expertise (Special Agent) 6 (+6)
Insight 2 (+2)
Intimidation 3 (+4)
Investigation 3 (+3)
Perception 5 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Equipment 4 (Arsenal), Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Guns), Ranged Attack 3

Equipment:
"Knife" Strength-Damage +1 (1)
"Pistol" Blast 4 (8)
"Automatic Shotgun" Blast 6 (12)
"Grenade Launcher" Blast 6 (Extras: Area- 15ft. Burst +1/2) (15)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Knife +5 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Pistol +8 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Shotgun +8 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team)
Power Loss (Ammo)- This is one of the few games where ammo is of paramount importance- waste Shotgun bullets on zombies and dogs, and you will regret it.

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 9 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 10 (71)

-Chris is an elite agent and gunfighter, but lacks Jill's intelligence. The Knife is crap-worthless in this game (I imagine the characters to be terrible fighters- even a single zombie is dangerous in melee), the Pistol a bit better, and the Shotgun your best bet. At the very end of the game, you get a +8 Rocket Launcher- best use it against the final boss (Tyrant). Later games turn him into a more generic Video Game Action Hero, leading to a strength increase, and "FPS Guy"-level skills with the gun.




Lady Cop = Instant Win

JILL VALENTINE
Role: Female Hero, The Master of Unlocking
PL 7 (82)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+5)
Expertise (Special Agent) 3 (+6)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+7)
Expertise (Music) 2 (+5)
Investigation 3 (+7)
Perception 4 (+8)
Sleight of Hand 4 (+9)
Stealth 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Equipment 4 (Arsenal), Ranged Attack 3, Skill Mastery (Unlocking), Ultimate Unlocking

Equipment:
"Knife" Strength-Damage +1 (1)
"Pistol" Blast 4 (8)
"Automatic Shotgun" Blast 6 (12)
"Grenade Launcher" Blast 6 (Extras: Area- 15ft. Burst +1/2) (15)
"Lockpick"

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Knife +5 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Pistol +8 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Shotgun +8 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +3, Fortitude +4, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team)
Power Loss (Ammo)- This is one of the few games where ammo is of paramount importance- waste Shotgun bullets on zombies and dogs, and you will regret it.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 9 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 6 (82)

-Jill is worse physically than Chris, but is smarter and more skilled, thus becoming better off overall. There's no real difference in their shooting, game-wise, but she is much quicker to get the best weapons, and has more inventory slots (which is a huge, huge deal in this game- Chris has to make a LOT of trips to an Inventory Treasure Chest to pick up more things).

[Jabroniville]

ZOMBIE
Role: Mooks
PL 4 (19)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA -- AGILITY -2
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -- AWARENESS -1 PRESENCE --

Skills:
Perception 2 (+1)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed)

Powers:
"Undead Monster" Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 3 [3]

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative -1

Defenses:
Dodge +3 (DC 13), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness +3, Fortitude --, Will --

Complications:
Disabled (Slow)- Zombies cannot run.

Total: Abilities: -22 / Skills: 2--1 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 5 (19)

-Zombies are generally slow and can easily be avoided... so long as you're not in a narrow hallway. Oh, and there are narrow hallways in this game. They're not terribly difficult to hit, at least, but watch their grapples- they do more damage in melee than the heroes can, and only need a few bites to kill.



ZOMBIE DOG
Role: AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
PL 5 (40)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA -- AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -- AWARENESS -1 PRESENCE --

Skills:
Perception 6 (+5)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Trip

Powers:
"Undead Monster" Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 4 [4]
"Animal Senses" Senses 5 (Acute & Extended Scent, Low-Light Vision, Ultra & Extended Hearing) [5]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +4, Fortitude --, Will --

Complications:
None

Total: Abilities: -8 / Skills: 6--3 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 39 / Defenses: 3 (40)

-Zombie Dogs are responsible for the most infamous Jump Scare in video game history, but are really just upgraded Zombies- faster and much scarier, but ultimate not that difficult to dust off with some good weaponry.



TYRANT
Role: Final Boss
PL 8 (56)
STRENGTH 6 STAMINA -- AGILITY -1
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -- AWARENESS -1 PRESENCE --

Skills:
Close Combat (Claw) 2 (+8)
Perception 4 (+2)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Giant Claw) 2, Improved Hold

Powers:
"Undead Monster" Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 7 (Extras: Impervious)*[14]
"Giant Claw" Strength-Damage +2 [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Giant Claw +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative -1

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +7, Fortitude --, Will --

Complications:
None

Total: Abilities: -10 / Skills: 6--3 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 46 / Defenses: 13 (56)

-Tyrant is awoken by a traitor in your midst in the final bit of the game- he's tough as hell, so better hope you saved your ammo (never mind that he can deflect your Rocket Launcher if he's not distrated). Do NOT engage him in melee- he will kill you.

[greycrusader]

Just never got into first-person shooters. Of course, my buddies who were hunters excelled at them.