Yay, 400th message. Sorry for the double post

Most of the entrants in this tournament are much younger than you and me and they have different sensibilities. If you want us to build our works into something greater, it helps to be constructive. Receiving public critique is already hard enough without the additional blow of being personally insulted, and once emotions heat up the prefrontal cortex shuts down and people are less apt to really listen to your points. Remember, when Prometheus brought fire to man he taught them how to use it for their benefit -- he didn't rain down fiery destruction, even though he had the power.

In any case you seem to be a sharp-eyed critic, so I'd appreciate it if you took the time to review Eastwind and maybe show me some things I missed.



Challenge accepted. I hereby declare a Full-Kontact Character Beatdown!


LUREN AND URESULA

Name: These names are very MK. "Luren" sounds masculine and exotic, and has a hint of Arthurian legend in its construction. "Uresula" is slightly confusing in text because it's hard to tell the proper pronunciation: is it simply the name "Ursula" with a spelling twist, or is it more like Yu-re-su-la? The latter would be more exotic and graceful sounding -- which would help to counterbalance the fact that "Ursula" comes from the Latin for bear, and its phonetics lightly suggest something harsh or antagonistic. Either way it would sound right coming from the announcer, as would Luren.

Appearance: If art quality were the deciding factor in the contest, then these characters would easily make the top four entries in a bloodstained paintbrush brawl to the finish. But fortunately for those with lesser or no pictures in their entries, art (hopefully) isn't the reason why we vote for a fighter. Hence, this review will focus on character.

The pair wears very elaborate costumes reminiscent of a masquerade ball or a dark Victorian circus. While the depth of detail and somewhat Gothic theme is well suited to MK, unfortunately these two come across much more like traveling performers than warriors. Now this isn't to say that these unique and innovative styles could not work for MK. But they would work much better on characters who are not supposed to be hunters, who must rely on stealth and camouflage to be any good at killing animals. A real-life hunter would probably shoot them first after mistaking them for wildfoul, or for scaring off the animals with all their glamour, fine clothing, and "much socializing."

One might argue that sure, these costumes don't make believable hunters -- but MK ninjas wouldn't be effective, stealthy ninjas either. But remember that most characters often referred to as "ninjas" are actually not ninjas in the canon. They are assassins, royalty, and soul warriors, and even Reptile can be invisible when he wants to. Scorpion was a ninja, but is now an infernal warrior. Point is, each character is costumed according to his/her background even if the costume is impractical for fighting. These hunters lack this solid theme.

Story: The Realm of the Hunt is an interesting idea, where people can Nightwolf-bond with vanquished animal spirits; we almost wonder now if this is Nightwolf's true lineage. The story of their strikingly Shujinko-like quest under the guidance of a mysterious spirit is also deliciously intriguing, even though the same kind of scenario was already played out in MKD. However, we run into some problems with both the MK canon and the story's own continuity.

First, Shao Kahn is not and presumably has never been a benevolent host to strangers. When he wants your servitude he doesn't offer food and shelter, a warm bath and a full dental plan -- he catches you in an eternally binding soul contract and beats you with a hammer until you submit to his commands. Secondly, why does Shao Kahn offer them the same kind of wrinkled scroll that the fox woman does later? Either this is a plot hole the size of the meteor crater that wiped out the dinosaurs, or a suspicious creature gave Kahn a set of instructions and said, "Here, pass this on to the next set of strangers who cross into your realm," and the mighty Emperor complied without question. Even though he would have already known the Earthrealm warriors anyway, and made his own hit list for his own trusted, indentured assassins to carry out. Is the dark lord really that susceptible to suggestion, when even a blast of divine lightning from the Elder Gods doesn't even scald his nipples? Shao Kahn can be deceived, but this level of getting totally dominated while he still breathes goes against his entire brand identity. Even in MKDA, the sorcerers only killed a body double.

Hey wait a minute... speaking of clones, maybe the so-called "Shao Kahn" who greeted the hunters is later revealed to be the Golden Fox the whole time, and the Emperor was never involved in the slightest! That would fix all those problems at once -- but it would also send a thousand palms crashing into faces, causing an epidemic of brain trauma like the world has never seen.

Gameplay: Luren and Uresula work as a Noob-Smoke-esque tag team. But with Noob-Smoke tag team play built right into the game, this is not only unnecessary but also insanely complicated in a tag match. Even in a standard match, it forces the player to use the Stance Change button in a way that is never done elsewhere in the game: as if these characters are so special that they get a whole controller button to themselves. Luren's ability to fly around in the air launching attacks while also firing a projectile from a completely different angle makes him almost unstoppable on his own -- if it's even possible to actually do it. When you're pressing buttons on an actual controller, how do you control the complex Acrobatics commands and the special move inputs at the same time? (This also applies to Uresula's Evasion.) Also, the jump kick is a fundamental tactic just like the uppercut, jump-in punch and standing jump punch; it's a standard toolset for all characters designed for specific purposes. Luren and Uresula utterly break the jump kick and crouch mechanics, thus making them highly unintuitive compared to the rest of the roster.

Despite the gameplay flaws, the overall theme of the specials is fantastic. The flopping fish in the X-ray is a delightful comic relief -- especially if the camera zooms into it like a real X-ray hit. Hilarious, yet not too much of a joke. The "Live Bait" Fatality is unique, gory, and makes good use of the underutilized intestines; "Human Harpoon" is satisfyingly simple and brutal, much like Sonya's scissor rip. The only issue is that once again, these two seem a lot more like high-flying animal-taming circus performers than hunters. There is only one simple weapon, a harpoon, shared between the two giving them no diversity in their hunting styles, and we never see them doing any hunter things.

Personality: Surprisingly, as attention-grabbing as the designs and story and moves have been, personality is where the characters kind of fall flat. From all the information given, we know very little about these characters as people. They like to hunt... but not as much as they love costume parties and acrobatics. If you ask nicely, they'll murder some people for you. They may or may not be lovers. That's about all.

Conclusion: Given the level of detail in these characters' background and culture, it's a fair guess that they were created for their own novel, roleplay, comic, or other creative outlet than MK. Their epic quest to unravel the mystery of the Golden Fox and stop the war that threatens their home would make an excellent read on its own. But for the purposes of creating characters and plotlines to become a permanent addition to the MK universe, it's not a comfortable fit. Even though a lot of effort was put into it, the Kombat connections feel very stapled on. Other than that, these characters are fantastic and you are encouraged to continue on with them.

Fuck it, I'm in the mood for another review.

umbrascitor, if you could please, do your worst for my Persephone.

I still owe one to GoobieDoob, then you're up. Might be a while, because I'm trying to keep just one of these per page. I don't want to single-handedly clog up a page with text walls.

Sorry, Riyakou. I can't wait for you to totally beat me down! YEAH !

hey guy's/girls just thought i'd post my 5 fav character in the tournament.

1. Blight
2. Dead Soul
3. The Simberleen
4. Ekimaru
5. Rik 'Ki

thought this would give us some more things to chat about during the tounament. feel free to say who are some of your fav in the tounament.

Let's do it!

Other than my Persephone, of course (in no particular order):

1. Eastwind
2. Xorah
3. Mitzrah
4. Luren-Uresula
5. Alloy

I really can't help but reply to this and address some of the concerns, because most of them do have a clear answer. I realize you probably don't care, but I literally cannot help myself. It is compulsive. I just keep talking until someone stabs me in the face.

-Uresula is indeed pronounced as if it starts with a 'y', and is a four syllable name. 'Twas intended to seem like a combination of Isabella and Ursula. Ursula was chosen because of its bear association, which is not Uresula's animal, but there are no good 'fish' names, heh. Isabella because it reminds me of water, rivers, oceans, etc... so my personal meaning of Uresula is something along the lines of "river bear", which fits Uresula because her preferred form of 'hunting' is fishing, as written in her appearance description. I had an image of her like a bear swatting at fish during the salmon run.

-On the subject of their attire being appropriate for hunting or not, you can't look at 'hunting" in The Realm of the Hunt the same way you look at it on Earth. They don't think the way we do. Their culture views hunting as a hobby, a social activity, not necessarily a serious matter (save for the concept of masks, which they take quite seriously). They go on the hunt in the same way a snobbish rich lady aboard the Titanic would have put on her finest clothes just to have tea... Because she must impress the other rich people, heh. It is not a stretch to assume that to the people of that realm, the Hunt is no different from a night at the theatre. In fact, it is much the same. You also can't make the comparison to a real life hunter, because it should be clear that the Realm of the Hunt is not nearly as technologically advanced as Earth. There are no guns, and they would never face another person on the hunt. Only woodland animals, heh... This also ties in to their fighting style, as they don't come equipped to fight humans well, instead relying on their animals spirits and evasive maneuvers for protection while they find an opening.... I would like to point out, however, that Luren's primary costume consists of black and earth tones with brown feathers. He would have little problem camouflaging, while Uresula's secondary costume is designed specifically for fishing, which again, is her hobby of choice (where she would use what resembles a harpoon from Earth, but would likely have a different name if I fleshed out a language for her realm). Luren's secondary costume are his casual clothes, assuming there was a chance he may have to battle when not fully prepared. To me, their theme is quite solid and evident, though perhaps too broad a theme for MK's narrow design aesthetic.

-Now, hehe, I didn't say he offered them food and shelter "benevolently", heh... But these are details that do not need to be in the bio. You must infer from what you know of Shao Kahn, that if he has given them food and shelter, it is a stone room and scraps to do his bidding or he kills them... But that is not part of Luren and Uresula's character, that is Shao Kahn, so it is not necessary. It is also not implausible for Shao Kahn to enlist them as a minor back up plan, two more assassins among many, but these two happen to be from a realm literally named after hunting and are not inherently evil, thus twice as deadly by virtue of their mystique. Whether their hunting skills measure up in Mortal Kombat ultimately doesn't matter, because Shao Kahn does not know the full extent of their abilities, only that they must be excellent at hunting. They play no major role in his plans, only a small back up.

-The scroll, a tiny but significant detail in their story, is intended to make you feel exactly the way you do about it. I answered the question of how the scroll made its way to Shao Kahn and why, but then I erased it and decided to let people formulate its purpose and origin on their own. Leave it up to the imagination, you know? Illusions and mystery are a big part of these characters. It shouldn't be hard to believe that Shao Kahn could be an unwitting pawn in something, he's not the most powerful being in existence. The true identity of the Golden Fox is hidden, thus there is no way of knowing how powerful it really is, as it is clearly not a fox at all, but a master of illusions and deceit. Perhaps the Golden Fox whispered to Shao Kahn too, promised a fool-proof plan, an absolute victory brought to him by Luren and Uresula. Perhaps it led him to believe they were beings of fantastic power... Or perhaps it didn't. That's the point. Kahn was not totally dominated, though, just misled, guided along a certain path subtly. That is the Fox's power, and Shao Kahn is not immune to it. The goal was setting up a potential secondary villain in a potential sequel, since Shao Kahn will be out of the picture anyway. The original scroll DID come fromm the Fox though, I'd like to make that clear. They aren't just two coincidental scrolls from two different people. It just so happened that Kahn and the Fox's goals were the same for a time, which may very well be the reason Kahn accepted the scroll from the Fox in the first place. It would be more logical of Kahn to have this secret back up plan than to just rely on his own assassins. It's also reasonable to assume that maybe the Fox can't take on a physically powerful form to challenge Kahn on its own, which is why all of these shenanigans occurred in the first place... Again, all of this is maybes, I don't want a definitive answer for anyone's motives in their story.

-Gameplay: I mentioned previously that Luren/Uresula have their own command for switching, they do not change like a tag team would, instead they occupy the same space (lore reasons would just make this post longer, heh.... But you can find them in an earlier post of mine) This gives them complicated button inputs in combos, that is the point. It is also absolutely certain that the inputs during evasion/acrobatics would be complicated, but it really isn't that much. Evasion/acrobatics are directional inputs only. You hit the direction, then you do the special move quickly while they move. Not too complicated. They do not break the mechanics of anything, however. The only difference of Luren's jump kick is that he does it from a higher altitude, the only difference in Uresula's ducking is that she does it lower, and upon button inputs can move around while doing so (which makes it a special move, not an ordinary duck). The execution of special moves during the jumping/ducking is probably what makes them seem game-breaking, but in my mind they are not as powerful as they sound. The special move's location is static, always coming from the same place, meaning you ALWAYS know how to defend against them. What Acrobatics/Evasion accomplish is allowing Luren/Uresula freedom of movement. They can't really hurt you during those moves, instead, their player can feel safe knowing you have to defend against their special moves while they escape or adjust their location. That's it. Perhaps it isn't as intuitive as the other characters, but they are 100% intended to be a technical character with a steep learning curve.

-You're probably right about their personalities, they do come across a little flat... But I did try to inject as much I could in as little space as possible. A lot of it is left to what you can infer from the entry. Uresula comes from royalty, but finds their traditions tedious. She also takes on a commoner as a lover in an alley and repeatedly refers to how even in death her opponent will not know rest or liberation... From that, I could sum her up as this: Bored noblewoman turned escapist fantasizer with a sadistic streak. Luren is much more vague, but you see that he takes hunting more seriously, is of the common people, loves the feel of the earth beneath his feet, apparently hangs out in taverns, and is spiritually bonded to a fox and an owl, two heavily symbolic animals. A little inferring will yield: Free spirited naturalist with a serious disposition, a fox's cunning, and a worldly wisdom. I can't stress enough how much I relied on reader's intuition and inferences when writing the entry. So many people complained about length of entries last time (mine being one of the longest....) that I thought minimalism was best.

*shrug*, I don't know, I thought it would be more interesting to introduce new elements to the series, since it is a reboot and we're heading for a sequel that will hopefully tell a whole new story.... Oh, and the end goal of their story is SOOOO not the same as Shujinko's, haha.... But that... "Is a tale for another time". Heh, felt like having myself a nerdy quote....

Thank you very much for the review. I feel like I have to apologize to everyone for talking so much, but it's like the keyboard is holding a gun to my head.... Also, I did work rather hard on the art, so thank you for the compliment on that, heh.

The MKOmmunity
Group A: Rik'Ki: 10 | Eastwind: 10
Group B: Sogratse: 5 | Alloy: 15
Group C: The Simberleen: 19 | Saphira: 0
Group D: Persephone: 19 | Gus: 1

The Judges
Group A: Rik'Ki: 1 | Eastwind: 3
Group B: Sogratse: 2 | Alloy: 2
Group C: The Simberleen: 2 | Saphira: 2
Group D: Persephone: 3 | Gus: 1

Final Day 4 Result:
Group A: Rik'Ki: 0 | Eastwind: 2
Group B: Sogratse: 1 | Alloy: 2
Group C: The Simberleen: 2 | Saphira: 1
Group D: Persephone: 3 | Gus: 0

For updated information visit the Kreate-a-Kharacter VII hub.
For an extra perspective, check out the KAKVII Roleplaying thread.

DAY 5:

Group A: Sphere versus Glacier
Group B: Luren-Uresula versus Alloy
Group C: Saphira versus Ekimaru
Group D: Maia versus Gragtek

FIGHT!

here are my votes.

A. Sphere
B. Luren/Uresula
C. Ekimaru
D. Gragtek

Glacier
Luren-Uresula
Ekimaru
Gragtek

I chose Glacier because he doesn't wear a school girl outfit, show his tits, flip people off, and lick his phallic symbol, heh... That aside, I think Sphere will win the round anyway, so I don't feel bad voting on the basis of respectable tits, hehehe..... She's a bit like Mileena in that if you can get passed all the fan service, she ain't bad. Ekimaru because I seem to remember his story being very different last time and his story was the thing I did not like about him... So he is better now, I think.

A. Sphere
B. Luren/Uresula
C. Ekimaru
D. Gragtek

Group A: Sphere
Group B: Luren-Uresula
Group C: Ekimaru
Group D: Gragtek

Ekimaru has a lot of potential to be a badass mother fucker, but his position as a god hunter reminds me of Noob Saibot in Mythologies. Still, the whole "sun mage" thing is pretty sweet. I'd love to play with him.

Gragtek is quite interesting, but he is a difficult character to grasp. I think I might have read his entry again.

A. Sphere
B. Luren/Uresula
C. Ekimaru
D. Gragtek

Some of these were hard choices, others not so hard.

Group A: Sphere versus Glacier: Vote = Glacier
I want to vote for both. Sphere because she sounds like Sakura and Poison from SF and Glacier sounds like Sub-Zero. Too many characters related somehow to Sub-Zero, but a school girl doesn't really belong in Mortal Kombat, even though once I had that idea, but beating up a 15-17 year old girl in a teen fighting game doesn't sound right to me, so my vote goes to Glacier.
- - - -
Group B: Luren-Uresula versus Alloy: Vote = Alloy
I have always liked Alloy, but always liked Luren-Uresula. Alloy has a nice name that flows with Mortal Kombat, and so does Luren-Uresula in my opinion. Although I agree with some other people that Luren and Uresula don't fit quite right into MK, but I think they fit more into SF or Tekken. Although, I absolutely love their costumes, but Alloy gets my vote.
- - - -
Group C: Saphira versus Ekimaru: Vote = Ekimaru
When I first came across Saphira, it made me interested to make other characters such as Esmeralda and Rubia. Overall, Saphira looks WAAAY too much like Jade/Khameleon. It is pretty obvious that her costumes are possibly sketches of Jade with slightly different colours. Nice overall though, but too many ninjas that are "most trusted to Shao Kahn" and shit. Ekimaru on the other hand looks a little like Scorpion, but I read through it and he seems like probably the best character. Ekimaru gets my vote hands down.
- - - -
Group D: Maia versus Gragtek: Vote = Maia
Hey! Maia hows it goin'? Haven't seen you since the first round! I don't think Mortal Kombat needs another fucking ninja, though, I'm lookin' at you Gragtek. Beside that, his name doesn't even sound like something in Mortal Kombat. Although Maia looks alot like a Li Mei character, but in a good way. Congrats Maia, even though no one else is gonna vote for ya.
- - - -
Wow, my words are harsh. On to my top 5 characters in this beside my characters:

5) Persephone
4) Rik'Ki
3) Maia
2) Ameerah
1) Ekimaru

Nice to see some of the weirder ones in my top 5. Sorry to my other favourites, The Simberleen/Phantom/Xorah.

Group 1: Sphere
Group 2: Alloy
Group 3: Ekimaru
Group 4: Gragtek

I wonder when, if ever, these decisions will get easier.

@Harle: I don't mind your rebuttal a bit. Your reply does put a lot of things in perspective, yet there are still a few things that stand out to me. Like you I tend to get long-winded when I'm typing, but I'll try to be as brief and objective here as I can:



Cultural differences aside, wild animals like to be alive, and they tend to retreat from obvious attempts to kill them; the basic patterns of animal behavior would presumably still apply unless there's an exception in Hunterrealm that should really be mentioned. And if their hunts are really more like a sporting fox hunt with everyone being loud and jovial and not particularly caring about the result, surely the Emperor would know this reputation and take the hunters a little less seriously.



MK does have a rather narrow aesthetic. That's what makes it a distinctive brand. The better a character and plot line fits the brand, the stronger its appeal for that brand. Innovation is welcome and necessary, and Midway/NRS was never shy about expanding the MK scope, but from my personal point of view given the materials at hand, these guys are a bit of a stretch for MK. Not for any one big reason, but a lot of little ones. I think they belong in a different brand, perhaps SoulCalibur where people wear these kinds of costumes and the fancy regal hunter archetype makes a lot more sense.



It is necessary, because the wording of the bio makes him sound like a gracious host when he is not. A simple "he forced their service" would fix this, rather than him offering food and shelter, and the word count would be about the same. If you leave him sounding benevolent, we wonder why he's suddenly doing so.



In fast-paced tournament play, or even skilled casual play, there is a lot of quick-tapping of directions. This would lead to many crippling accidents with Luren and Uresula suddenly being in the wrong position at the worst time. Also, the game already has characters with higher learning curves than others, but the difference here is astronomical. For anyone who has not touched these characters it's like playing an entirely different game, which would only be a good thing if these guys were the very special stars of the game. If that's the case, then they don't feel at home with the rest of the roster. Even Noob-Smoke fit in with MKD better than this, because all they did was change what the Style Branch combos looked like without introducing fundamentally new mechanics for just one character.

Finally, I want to be clear that I have absolutely no complaints about the mystery elements in the entry. I like the mysteries. Keep in mind though that this is for a kind of game where too much mystery is too mysterious. Would we know from the in-game materials all the subtle character and story elements you described? My guess, based on the way MK and these games in general tell stories, is no. Is it bad that this is the case with games? Maybe, but the medium has limits that text does not. I understand and appreciate what you did with them, but in the end I have to ask myself how well this would fit in the game, and how well could I expect myself and a general audience to enjoy it. I'd play these guys for the same reason I'd play Test Your Luck: as an extra-challenging diversion from the main game. And I would dread the moment they came up on the arcade ladder.

Of course, I could be completely misguided in all of this. I'm just one guy with an opinion. But if multiple people deliver that opinion, it is worth taking a second look to see if they maybe have a point.

Next review later, after I take care of some stuff and have time to read things.

I can't wait for two things:

1) A Beatdown
2) A Matchup

@ umbrascitor:

Oh yes, I've come to terms with the "maybe they don't fit in so well" criticism that almost every single person that doesn't vote for them cites as the reason, heh... I just felt it best to elaborate on why I feel that they do, but I expected them to get the 'does not fit' comment from the beginning. It can't be helped. I'm not content to bend my creativity completely to someone else's limits, so really they're the best I can offer without compromising my vision too much, heh. Though, I stand firmly in defense of Uresula's hair, 'cause Sindel's hair is bigger, heh.

I'll stop here so I don't clog up the thread, but I will say that their unique fighting style is not nearly as complex as your thinking it is. It is the bare minimum of what is possible with those specific moves, not an elaborate maze of inputs with Uresula constantly on the ground knocking people back and forth with her swan and Luren constantly in the air, these are one shot special moves, just like the rest, not something they can continuously do without interruption. Her evasion allows her to move along the ground once every time she ducks, not constantly be in motion on the ground. I hope that clears it up a little, but I really don't see it as being overwhelmingly difficult or far-fetched.

I'm curious as to what people think of my character.

1.Glacier
2.Luren-Uresula
3.Ekimaru
4.Gragtek

@ Harle: At this point, my biggest argument against the fighting style is this: When the heat is on and I happen to hit Down twice in quick succession to evade something, I don't want to find myself suddenly dropping on the ground with a different position and moveset. I just want to duck, like every other character would. That's why every special move except the Kano ball and Down-Up teleports requires an attack button: so that you only do something special when you want to. If everything I do on the ground or in the air could have an unintended, potentially disastrous consequence, and I'm cussing at the screen and hating these characters because moving is getting me killed... well, there you go.

All this being said, I really do like the characters and I admire your skills. And it was very, very, excrutiatingly hard not to vote for them in your first match. Dai Kahn had less solid presentation but was more game-appropriate in a lot of ways, and I had a terrible time figuring out where I wanted to put my priorities. You did a good job, and every vote you get is a heart and mind you won, so try not to worry too much about naysayers like me. Good luck to you!

Thanks, heh. That is a valid point, haha, we most certainly wouldn't want to be killed by moving... But perhaps that is the cost of having a tool as useful as it is. Or perhaps I'm a rambling lunatic. Perhaps I am nothing. Perhaps the very nature of the move helps to prevent such accidents? Perhaps it worsens them.... *vanishes in a cloud of smoke* I'm thinking ducking twice as low when you need to duck to avoid something doesn't hurt. You're not required to move or attack when you do it, you're free to simply stand back up as if it were normal duck. She only moves upon a third directional input, which hopefully the player won't accidentally mash down twice and a whole different direction in an effort to duck. I seem to be terrible at vanishing. Anyway, on to the next!



Which one is yours? I talk a lot, might as well, heh.

Group 1 - Sphere; Honestly I don't really care for either character, but Glacier doesn't seem to bring much new to the table Cryomancer wise. I don't like the Gods "hiring" Sphere though, but other than that its ok.

Group 2 - Alloy; I actually like Luren-Uresula a lot, they really don't feel like MK characters. They feel more like Soul Caliber characters. And of course, I gotta support my creation ;D

Group 3 - Ekimaru; Love another mortal God character, and he looks badass, if not a little too reminiscent of Akuma

Group 4 - Gragtek; Poor writing but decent character. Like the Chaotic hunter feel.

Blight is my character.