About Me
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0
Ha, the one day I can't be glued to the laptop during a stream... I'm quite late to the party, but here goes.
Having reviewed the footage many times (and yet again as I write this), I am mostly satisfied. I feel the essence of Sonya was marvelously represented in one variation, while the others fall progressively short of that triumph.
Common Specials:
I'm glad the Dive Kick is back, now called Air Drop? It's her best addition in MK9 after Military Stance. The range this time is monstrous compared to MK9, I'm pleasantly taken aback by that. It's like Kung Lao's, except you can combo into it.
Arc Kick seems largely unchanged, save for multi-kick on Enhanced, which is visually better and more satisfying than MK9's.
Not much to say about the Energy Rings, they're pretty straightforward; not a fan of the pose, though (particularly the lean-back). Looked a little odd in the screenshot and unfortunately motion didn't ameliorate this. I liked how in MK9 she seemed to swing it onward; there was more of an oomph.
I love that the Leg Grab turns into a forward flip when it misses!! I think that's gonna severely diminish the punish window, and it'll be a hell of a lot safer to throw around this time! Depending on how it hits on block, it might be a solid replacement for the Kartwheel in terms of keeping pressure and rushing. I miss the days when you could more or less throw the Leg Grab around willy-nilly and not get combo'ed into high heaven 75% of the time; seems we're finally getting that back. I am, however, at a loss as to why Enhancing it doesn't up the damage. Is this gonna get fixed? Haha Otherwise there's no real reason to waste meter on it. You don't necessarily gain much from Armoring it.
This is fucking awesome:
Looks like it's started by a regular kick. Potentially an awesome combo-ender. If it's an overhead, I'll definitely be using it a lot!
Now, getting into the juicy stuff...
Covert Ops:
There is no doubt that this will be my main variation. Here is where they most quintessentially gave MK9 Sonya the MKX treatment. It's a thing of beauty.
I've been wishing for Counters for Sonya for a good while now. I was giddy when it was shown off in her reveal trailer, and it's happened all over again in this demo. The Garrote Counters have a degree of cool that's bordering on erotic, I am ecstatic with this addition to her arsenal. I wasn't expecting it to be a choose-your-own-adventure type of thing, so that was a great surprise! More ways to manipulate the opponent.
And the animations are priceless! Really highlighting her nimbleness and agility. And that shower of blood when the wire is at their throat is beautiful.
I wish I could have listened more closely to the sound effects. That reeling/cutting sound from the wire really stands out, it will make it that much more satisfying to land a counter.
Speaking of sounds, did anyone at all get what she said at 7:40 after landing the counter? Is it "I get mad, baby!" Can't make out the last word. I'm also really curious about what Johnny says almost right after at 7:57. It must be even funnier than the simple fact that he's saying something about getting hit Hahaha
The EX Garrote Counters take it to a whole 'nother level of cool. That pop-up one deserves a couple replays.
Air Grab makes a return! Not sure if it's a normal special; it seems implied to be a Variation specific move. Hopefully you can still execute it following a drop kick! I will miss her going "YES!!" over and over when I spammed drop-kick-into-air-grab haha. Good times.
I was a little miffed over the lack of Kartwheel---and still somewhat am---but it is largely forgiven given that you can connect Military Stance attacks to combos without a reset. I've seen a couple people bemoan that they will no longer be able to turn the tables on opponents with EX Kartwheels; I counter that by drawing attention to her counters.
What's happening here is that Sonya is being presented as a Technical character in conjunction with the Rush-Down aspects most have come to expect from her. What this is doing is making her more complex to use; and she's not losing abilities in this process, more so gaining responses to multiple scenarios that require Technicality, and not just Rush-Down characteristics. You can't turn the tables on the opponent with an easy-as-pie EX Kartwheel, but you can time a Garrote Counter to not only turn the tables, but put them in various favorable positions for follow-up offense. Then, Rush them Down as much as you want with her Military Stance mix-ups and her other arsenals, many of which will lie in her strings, which we didn't get to see.
Now to some sadness; I will really, really miss the Stun Kiss. But to be honest, given how they implemented it in MK9, she's fine without it. It was very slow in MK9, and really (other than making for some devastating corner combos) it only worked when you knew you were going to be attacked from mid or long range, or jumped on. You had to foresee that shit like a fucking seer, and they'd essentially run into or jump into your dust. Not very useful. I'll miss it, though, it always looked cool and was an instant classic from the moment of its MKDA introduction.
Speaking of which, I'm happy with the X-Ray. It's cool that we get a close-up of that mad-as-hell face, and that it's not focused solely on the victim. Where the hell did that knee from her reveal trailer go, though? Haha The one she got Quan Chi with (and that, as JAX007 noticed, seems to reveal a Camo outfit)? Odd. Great X-Ray, however; I approve. And into a Brutality? Haha thumbs up!
Not a fan of the visual cue of Covert Ops; I would've just added the Garrote Wire somewhere on her belt rather than paint her face! Come on, man. Lemme see that pretty-ass face as you choke motherfuckers. Not cool.
I'll be quicker with my thoughts on the other variations, as I didn't swoon as much over them as I did over Covert Ops.
Demolition:
Not as flashy and in-your-face as I like to be, but it's not supposed to be so. I appreciate what they did with this Variation, it really does allow you to play her in a completely different way.
Mix-Up opportunities here are ridiculous in scope. I used to envy skilled Reptile and Cyrax players (and they often were the bane of my Sonya's existence) because of their crazy mix-up and guessing games with the bombs and the Forceball. It's a beautiful way to kill resets and confuse opponents, by forcing them to look both at you and over their own shoulder as they're getting rushed. I foresee a lot of Demolition players setting traps with the grenades, and pushing blocking opponents into them. If the grenade hits, great; if it doesn't, Throw! Or Overhead into Combo!
It's gonna take some skill and some practice, but players of this variation are gonna be a serious threat once they get a game plan down with these babies. And again, way to mix things up! If you're a good Covert Ops and Demolition player, you can throw your opponent for a loop with your play style fight after fight, lessening their chances of adapting to you.
The Grenade Wake-up is nice, will definitely be useful in stopping rush-downs. Wish you could EX that. The Grenade String will be a cool-looking combo-ender. Decent damage there, too.
The big question here for me is, can you combo into an explosion? In other words, can I punch, punch, Stun Grenade, combo string? That would certainly be a nice replacement for the Stun Kiss! You could never dream about combo'ing into a Kiss in MK9 unless you had them in the corner. I really wish they'd shown whether or not this is possible. I salivate at the possibilities.
I'm gonna stay optimistic and, for the moment, conclude that you CAN combo into a Frag or a Stun based on being able to combo into Military Stance moves.
(Just saw that Dropkick here again, gahDAMN, the range on that is crazy!)
Special Forces:
(Why's Liu Kang being a bitch to Sonya? Dafuq she ever did? Kung Lao got killed, too, but look how nice he's being to his friends! Punk-ass bitch, I'll have you!)
Not many people are excited about this one. Personally, I, too, would have devoted a variation to Tech-based attacks from her gauntlet, but I wouldn't have gone with a drone assist. It really doesn't suit her, and like some people have said, would have been more appropriate for a cyborg character. I can buy Sonya using Sci-Fi-ish grenades, but having a drone follow her around is underwhelming when you take into account one's plausible expectations for what she might be able to do with all her technology.
I expected this variation to build on the Energy of the Rings; perhaps enveloping her body for reduced damage intake, allowing for localized explosions to cut pressure, giving her Rings various trajectories and powers. I think that would have been cooler, and would have looked cooler. Moreover, it would allow us to play Sonya as a zoner; something we haven't been able to do. And while, yes, this, too, can be played for zoning, it feels limited in comparison to what could have easily been.
If anything, this drone should have been incorporated into Demolition; let IT drop the grenades on top of having these laser beams.
Pretty underwhelmed with this one. Feels tacked on.
That being said, it has its strengths, and isn't entirely dismissible. Basically, what I'm taking from this variation is that you can play mix-up and guessing games from a distance, and build off of creating breaches in which to rush. This will work well against Erron Blacks, for example; countering their zoning with your own (Droid + Rings), until one of the projectiles take him down and give you a chance to run in and do what Sonya does best.
Conclusion/TL;DR:
The way I see it, these variations cover the distance spectrum for Sonya. You got one that's totally in-your-face, chock-full of various moves for pressure and aggression..... The other toes the line between pressure and zoning, favoring midrange...... And finally, the last strengthens her most when she's far away, even if the variation itself is a little underwhelming.
I think they succeeded in giving her 3 variations with distinct benefits, allowing her distinct play styles. They look cool (although Covert Ops topples the rest in terms of flash, by far), and tell a strong enough tale of what kind of character Sonya is.
I'm satisfied with all 3 variations, extremely happy about Covert Ops, and I can't wait to whore the shit out of all her intros. I think we got the bottom of the barrel here, I bet you there are some much better Johnny/Kano exchanges!
A huge thanks to NRS for a job well done with my girl!! I'm beyond pumped to master her.
April 14th can't get here soon enough.
Having reviewed the footage many times (and yet again as I write this), I am mostly satisfied. I feel the essence of Sonya was marvelously represented in one variation, while the others fall progressively short of that triumph.
Common Specials:
I'm glad the Dive Kick is back, now called Air Drop? It's her best addition in MK9 after Military Stance. The range this time is monstrous compared to MK9, I'm pleasantly taken aback by that. It's like Kung Lao's, except you can combo into it.
Arc Kick seems largely unchanged, save for multi-kick on Enhanced, which is visually better and more satisfying than MK9's.
Not much to say about the Energy Rings, they're pretty straightforward; not a fan of the pose, though (particularly the lean-back). Looked a little odd in the screenshot and unfortunately motion didn't ameliorate this. I liked how in MK9 she seemed to swing it onward; there was more of an oomph.
I love that the Leg Grab turns into a forward flip when it misses!! I think that's gonna severely diminish the punish window, and it'll be a hell of a lot safer to throw around this time! Depending on how it hits on block, it might be a solid replacement for the Kartwheel in terms of keeping pressure and rushing. I miss the days when you could more or less throw the Leg Grab around willy-nilly and not get combo'ed into high heaven 75% of the time; seems we're finally getting that back. I am, however, at a loss as to why Enhancing it doesn't up the damage. Is this gonna get fixed? Haha Otherwise there's no real reason to waste meter on it. You don't necessarily gain much from Armoring it.
Looks like it's started by a regular kick. Potentially an awesome combo-ender. If it's an overhead, I'll definitely be using it a lot!
Now, getting into the juicy stuff...
Covert Ops:
There is no doubt that this will be my main variation. Here is where they most quintessentially gave MK9 Sonya the MKX treatment. It's a thing of beauty.
I've been wishing for Counters for Sonya for a good while now. I was giddy when it was shown off in her reveal trailer, and it's happened all over again in this demo. The Garrote Counters have a degree of cool that's bordering on erotic, I am ecstatic with this addition to her arsenal. I wasn't expecting it to be a choose-your-own-adventure type of thing, so that was a great surprise! More ways to manipulate the opponent.
And the animations are priceless! Really highlighting her nimbleness and agility. And that shower of blood when the wire is at their throat is beautiful.
I wish I could have listened more closely to the sound effects. That reeling/cutting sound from the wire really stands out, it will make it that much more satisfying to land a counter.
Speaking of sounds, did anyone at all get what she said at 7:40 after landing the counter? Is it "I get mad, baby!" Can't make out the last word. I'm also really curious about what Johnny says almost right after at 7:57. It must be even funnier than the simple fact that he's saying something about getting hit Hahaha
The EX Garrote Counters take it to a whole 'nother level of cool. That pop-up one deserves a couple replays.
Air Grab makes a return! Not sure if it's a normal special; it seems implied to be a Variation specific move. Hopefully you can still execute it following a drop kick! I will miss her going "YES!!" over and over when I spammed drop-kick-into-air-grab haha. Good times.
I was a little miffed over the lack of Kartwheel---and still somewhat am---but it is largely forgiven given that you can connect Military Stance attacks to combos without a reset. I've seen a couple people bemoan that they will no longer be able to turn the tables on opponents with EX Kartwheels; I counter that by drawing attention to her counters.
What's happening here is that Sonya is being presented as a Technical character in conjunction with the Rush-Down aspects most have come to expect from her. What this is doing is making her more complex to use; and she's not losing abilities in this process, more so gaining responses to multiple scenarios that require Technicality, and not just Rush-Down characteristics. You can't turn the tables on the opponent with an easy-as-pie EX Kartwheel, but you can time a Garrote Counter to not only turn the tables, but put them in various favorable positions for follow-up offense. Then, Rush them Down as much as you want with her Military Stance mix-ups and her other arsenals, many of which will lie in her strings, which we didn't get to see.
Now to some sadness; I will really, really miss the Stun Kiss. But to be honest, given how they implemented it in MK9, she's fine without it. It was very slow in MK9, and really (other than making for some devastating corner combos) it only worked when you knew you were going to be attacked from mid or long range, or jumped on. You had to foresee that shit like a fucking seer, and they'd essentially run into or jump into your dust. Not very useful. I'll miss it, though, it always looked cool and was an instant classic from the moment of its MKDA introduction.
Speaking of which, I'm happy with the X-Ray. It's cool that we get a close-up of that mad-as-hell face, and that it's not focused solely on the victim. Where the hell did that knee from her reveal trailer go, though? Haha The one she got Quan Chi with (and that, as JAX007 noticed, seems to reveal a Camo outfit)? Odd. Great X-Ray, however; I approve. And into a Brutality? Haha thumbs up!
Not a fan of the visual cue of Covert Ops; I would've just added the Garrote Wire somewhere on her belt rather than paint her face! Come on, man. Lemme see that pretty-ass face as you choke motherfuckers. Not cool.
I'll be quicker with my thoughts on the other variations, as I didn't swoon as much over them as I did over Covert Ops.
Demolition:
Not as flashy and in-your-face as I like to be, but it's not supposed to be so. I appreciate what they did with this Variation, it really does allow you to play her in a completely different way.
Mix-Up opportunities here are ridiculous in scope. I used to envy skilled Reptile and Cyrax players (and they often were the bane of my Sonya's existence) because of their crazy mix-up and guessing games with the bombs and the Forceball. It's a beautiful way to kill resets and confuse opponents, by forcing them to look both at you and over their own shoulder as they're getting rushed. I foresee a lot of Demolition players setting traps with the grenades, and pushing blocking opponents into them. If the grenade hits, great; if it doesn't, Throw! Or Overhead into Combo!
It's gonna take some skill and some practice, but players of this variation are gonna be a serious threat once they get a game plan down with these babies. And again, way to mix things up! If you're a good Covert Ops and Demolition player, you can throw your opponent for a loop with your play style fight after fight, lessening their chances of adapting to you.
The Grenade Wake-up is nice, will definitely be useful in stopping rush-downs. Wish you could EX that. The Grenade String will be a cool-looking combo-ender. Decent damage there, too.
The big question here for me is, can you combo into an explosion? In other words, can I punch, punch, Stun Grenade, combo string? That would certainly be a nice replacement for the Stun Kiss! You could never dream about combo'ing into a Kiss in MK9 unless you had them in the corner. I really wish they'd shown whether or not this is possible. I salivate at the possibilities.
I'm gonna stay optimistic and, for the moment, conclude that you CAN combo into a Frag or a Stun based on being able to combo into Military Stance moves.
(Just saw that Dropkick here again, gahDAMN, the range on that is crazy!)
Special Forces:
(Why's Liu Kang being a bitch to Sonya? Dafuq she ever did? Kung Lao got killed, too, but look how nice he's being to his friends! Punk-ass bitch, I'll have you!)
Not many people are excited about this one. Personally, I, too, would have devoted a variation to Tech-based attacks from her gauntlet, but I wouldn't have gone with a drone assist. It really doesn't suit her, and like some people have said, would have been more appropriate for a cyborg character. I can buy Sonya using Sci-Fi-ish grenades, but having a drone follow her around is underwhelming when you take into account one's plausible expectations for what she might be able to do with all her technology.
I expected this variation to build on the Energy of the Rings; perhaps enveloping her body for reduced damage intake, allowing for localized explosions to cut pressure, giving her Rings various trajectories and powers. I think that would have been cooler, and would have looked cooler. Moreover, it would allow us to play Sonya as a zoner; something we haven't been able to do. And while, yes, this, too, can be played for zoning, it feels limited in comparison to what could have easily been.
If anything, this drone should have been incorporated into Demolition; let IT drop the grenades on top of having these laser beams.
Pretty underwhelmed with this one. Feels tacked on.
That being said, it has its strengths, and isn't entirely dismissible. Basically, what I'm taking from this variation is that you can play mix-up and guessing games from a distance, and build off of creating breaches in which to rush. This will work well against Erron Blacks, for example; countering their zoning with your own (Droid + Rings), until one of the projectiles take him down and give you a chance to run in and do what Sonya does best.
Conclusion/TL;DR:
The way I see it, these variations cover the distance spectrum for Sonya. You got one that's totally in-your-face, chock-full of various moves for pressure and aggression..... The other toes the line between pressure and zoning, favoring midrange...... And finally, the last strengthens her most when she's far away, even if the variation itself is a little underwhelming.
I think they succeeded in giving her 3 variations with distinct benefits, allowing her distinct play styles. They look cool (although Covert Ops topples the rest in terms of flash, by far), and tell a strong enough tale of what kind of character Sonya is.
I'm satisfied with all 3 variations, extremely happy about Covert Ops, and I can't wait to whore the shit out of all her intros. I think we got the bottom of the barrel here, I bet you there are some much better Johnny/Kano exchanges!
A huge thanks to NRS for a job well done with my girl!! I'm beyond pumped to master her.
April 14th can't get here soon enough.
About Me
0
LeoBrZ81 Wrote:
Ha, the one day I can't be glued to the laptop during a stream... I'm quite late to the party, but here goes.
Having reviewed the footage many times (and yet again as I write this), I am mostly satisfied. I feel the essence of Sonya was marvelously represented in one variation, while the others fall progressively short of that triumph.
Common Specials:
I'm glad the Dive Kick is back, now called Air Drop? It's her best addition in MK9 after Military Stance. The range this time is monstrous compared to MK9, I'm pleasantly taken aback by that. It's like Kung Lao's, except you can combo into it.
Arc Kick seems largely unchanged, save for multi-kick on Enhanced, which is visually better and more satisfying than MK9's.
Not much to say about the Energy Rings, they're pretty straightforward; not a fan of the pose, though (particularly the lean-back). Looked a little odd in the screenshot and unfortunately motion didn't ameliorate this. I liked how in MK9 she seemed to swing it onward; there was more of an oomph.
I love that the Leg Grab turns into a forward flip when it misses!! I think that's gonna severely diminish the punish window, and it'll be a hell of a lot safer to throw around this time! Depending on how it hits on block, it might be a solid replacement for the Kartwheel in terms of keeping pressure and rushing. I miss the days when you could more or less throw the Leg Grab around willy-nilly and not get combo'ed into high heaven 75% of the time; seems we're finally getting that back. I am, however, at a loss as to why Enhancing it doesn't up the damage. Is this gonna get fixed? Haha Otherwise there's no real reason to waste meter on it. You don't necessarily gain much from Armoring it.
This is fucking awesome:
Looks like it's started by a regular kick. Potentially an awesome combo-ender. If it's an overhead, I'll definitely be using it a lot!
Now, getting into the juicy stuff...
Covert Ops:
There is no doubt that this will be my main variation. Here is where they most quintessentially gave MK9 Sonya the MKX treatment. It's a thing of beauty.
I've been wishing for Counters for Sonya for a good while now. I was giddy when it was shown off in her reveal trailer, and it's happened all over again in this demo. The Garrote Counters have a degree of cool that's bordering on erotic, I am ecstatic with this addition to her arsenal. I wasn't expecting it to be a choose-your-own-adventure type of thing, so that was a great surprise! More ways to manipulate the opponent.
And the animations are priceless! Really highlighting her nimbleness and agility. And that shower of blood when the wire is at their throat is beautiful.
I wish I could have listened more closely to the sound effects. That reeling/cutting sound from the wire really stands out, it will make it that much more satisfying to land a counter.
Speaking of sounds, did anyone at all get what she said at 7:40 after landing the counter? Is it "I get mad, baby!" Can't make out the last word. I'm also really curious about what Johnny says almost right after at 7:57. It must be even funnier than the simple fact that he's saying something about getting hit Hahaha
The EX Garrote Counters take it to a whole 'nother level of cool. That pop-up one deserves a couple replays.
Air Grab makes a return! Not sure if it's a normal special; it seems implied to be a Variation specific move. Hopefully you can still execute it following a drop kick! I will miss her going "YES!!" over and over when I spammed drop-kick-into-air-grab haha. Good times.
I was a little miffed over the lack of Kartwheel---and still somewhat am---but it is largely forgiven given that you can connect Military Stance attacks to combos without a reset. I've seen a couple people bemoan that they will no longer be able to turn the tables on opponents with EX Kartwheels; I counter that by drawing attention to her counters.
What's happening here is that Sonya is being presented as a Technical character in conjunction with the Rush-Down aspects most have come to expect from her. What this is doing is making her more complex to use; and she's not losing abilities in this process, more so gaining responses to multiple scenarios that require Technicality, and not just Rush-Down characteristics. You can't turn the tables on the opponent with an easy-as-pie EX Kartwheel, but you can time a Garrote Counter to not only turn the tables, but put them in various favorable positions for follow-up offense. Then, Rush them Down as much as you want with her Military Stance mix-ups and her other arsenals, many of which will lie in her strings, which we didn't get to see.
Now to some sadness; I will really, really miss the Stun Kiss. But to be honest, given how they implemented it in MK9, she's fine without it. It was very slow in MK9, and really (other than making for some devastating corner combos) it only worked when you knew you were going to be attacked from mid or long range, or jumped on. You had to foresee that shit like a fucking seer, and they'd essentially run into or jump into your dust. Not very useful. I'll miss it, though, it always looked cool and was an instant classic from the moment of its MKDA introduction.
Speaking of which, I'm happy with the X-Ray. It's cool that we get a close-up of that mad-as-hell face, and that it's not focused solely on the victim. Where the hell did that knee from her reveal trailer go, though? Haha The one she got Quan Chi with (and that, as JAX007 noticed, seems to reveal a Camo outfit)? Odd. Great X-Ray, however; I approve. And into a Brutality? Haha thumbs up!
Not a fan of the visual cue of Covert Ops; I would've just added the Garrote Wire somewhere on her belt rather than paint her face! Come on, man. Lemme see that pretty-ass face as you choke motherfuckers. Not cool.
I'll be quicker with my thoughts on the other variations, as I didn't swoon as much over them as I did over Covert Ops.
Demolition:
Not as flashy and in-your-face as I like to be, but it's not supposed to be so. I appreciate what they did with this Variation, it really does allow you to play her in a completely different way.
Mix-Up opportunities here are ridiculous in scope. I used to envy skilled Reptile and Cyrax players (and they often were the bane of my Sonya's existence) because of their crazy mix-up and guessing games with the bombs and the Forceball. It's a beautiful way to kill resets and confuse opponents, by forcing them to look both at you and over their own shoulder as they're getting rushed. I foresee a lot of Demolition players setting traps with the grenades, and pushing blocking opponents into them. If the grenade hits, great; if it doesn't, Throw! Or Overhead into Combo!
It's gonna take some skill and some practice, but players of this variation are gonna be a serious threat once they get a game plan down with these babies. And again, way to mix things up! If you're a good Covert Ops and Demolition player, you can throw your opponent for a loop with your play style fight after fight, lessening their chances of adapting to you.
The Grenade Wake-up is nice, will definitely be useful in stopping rush-downs. Wish you could EX that. The Grenade String will be a cool-looking combo-ender. Decent damage there, too.
The big question here for me is, can you combo into an explosion? In other words, can I punch, punch, Stun Grenade, combo string? That would certainly be a nice replacement for the Stun Kiss! You could never dream about combo'ing into a Kiss in MK9 unless you had them in the corner. I really wish they'd shown whether or not this is possible. I salivate at the possibilities.
I'm gonna stay optimistic and, for the moment, conclude that you CAN combo into a Frag or a Stun based on being able to combo into Military Stance moves.
(Just saw that Dropkick here again, gahDAMN, the range on that is crazy!)
Special Forces:
(Why's Liu Kang being a bitch to Sonya? Dafuq she ever did? Kung Lao got killed, too, but look how nice he's being to his friends! Punk-ass bitch, I'll have you!)
Not many people are excited about this one. Personally, I, too, would have devoted a variation to Tech-based attacks from her gauntlet, but I wouldn't have gone with a drone assist. It really doesn't suit her, and like some people have said, would have been more appropriate for a cyborg character. I can buy Sonya using Sci-Fi-ish grenades, but having a drone follow her around is underwhelming when you take into account one's plausible expectations for what she might be able to do with all her technology.
I expected this variation to build on the Energy of the Rings; perhaps enveloping her body for reduced damage intake, allowing for localized explosions to cut pressure, giving her Rings various trajectories and powers. I think that would have been cooler, and would have looked cooler. Moreover, it would allow us to play Sonya as a zoner; something we haven't been able to do. And while, yes, this, too, can be played for zoning, it feels limited in comparison to what could have easily been.
If anything, this drone should have been incorporated into Demolition; let IT drop the grenades on top of having these laser beams.
Pretty underwhelmed with this one. Feels tacked on.
That being said, it has its strengths, and isn't entirely dismissible. Basically, what I'm taking from this variation is that you can play mix-up and guessing games from a distance, and build off of creating breaches in which to rush. This will work well against Erron Blacks, for example; countering their zoning with your own (Droid + Rings), until one of the projectiles take him down and give you a chance to run in and do what Sonya does best.
Conclusion/TL;DR:
The way I see it, these variations cover the distance spectrum for Sonya. You got one that's totally in-your-face, chock-full of various moves for pressure and aggression..... The other toes the line between pressure and zoning, favoring midrange...... And finally, the last strengthens her most when she's far away, even if the variation itself is a little underwhelming.
I think they succeeded in giving her 3 variations with distinct benefits, allowing her distinct play styles. They look cool (although Covert Ops topples the rest in terms of flash, by far), and tell a strong enough tale of what kind of character Sonya is.
I'm satisfied with all 3 variations, extremely happy about Covert Ops, and I can't wait to whore the shit out of all her intros. I think we got the bottom of the barrel here, I bet you there are some much better Johnny/Kano exchanges!
A huge thanks to NRS for a job well done with my girl!! I'm beyond pumped to master her.
April 14th can't get here soon enough.
Ha, the one day I can't be glued to the laptop during a stream... I'm quite late to the party, but here goes.
Having reviewed the footage many times (and yet again as I write this), I am mostly satisfied. I feel the essence of Sonya was marvelously represented in one variation, while the others fall progressively short of that triumph.
Common Specials:
I'm glad the Dive Kick is back, now called Air Drop? It's her best addition in MK9 after Military Stance. The range this time is monstrous compared to MK9, I'm pleasantly taken aback by that. It's like Kung Lao's, except you can combo into it.
Arc Kick seems largely unchanged, save for multi-kick on Enhanced, which is visually better and more satisfying than MK9's.
Not much to say about the Energy Rings, they're pretty straightforward; not a fan of the pose, though (particularly the lean-back). Looked a little odd in the screenshot and unfortunately motion didn't ameliorate this. I liked how in MK9 she seemed to swing it onward; there was more of an oomph.
I love that the Leg Grab turns into a forward flip when it misses!! I think that's gonna severely diminish the punish window, and it'll be a hell of a lot safer to throw around this time! Depending on how it hits on block, it might be a solid replacement for the Kartwheel in terms of keeping pressure and rushing. I miss the days when you could more or less throw the Leg Grab around willy-nilly and not get combo'ed into high heaven 75% of the time; seems we're finally getting that back. I am, however, at a loss as to why Enhancing it doesn't up the damage. Is this gonna get fixed? Haha Otherwise there's no real reason to waste meter on it. You don't necessarily gain much from Armoring it.
Looks like it's started by a regular kick. Potentially an awesome combo-ender. If it's an overhead, I'll definitely be using it a lot!
Now, getting into the juicy stuff...
Covert Ops:
There is no doubt that this will be my main variation. Here is where they most quintessentially gave MK9 Sonya the MKX treatment. It's a thing of beauty.
I've been wishing for Counters for Sonya for a good while now. I was giddy when it was shown off in her reveal trailer, and it's happened all over again in this demo. The Garrote Counters have a degree of cool that's bordering on erotic, I am ecstatic with this addition to her arsenal. I wasn't expecting it to be a choose-your-own-adventure type of thing, so that was a great surprise! More ways to manipulate the opponent.
And the animations are priceless! Really highlighting her nimbleness and agility. And that shower of blood when the wire is at their throat is beautiful.
I wish I could have listened more closely to the sound effects. That reeling/cutting sound from the wire really stands out, it will make it that much more satisfying to land a counter.
Speaking of sounds, did anyone at all get what she said at 7:40 after landing the counter? Is it "I get mad, baby!" Can't make out the last word. I'm also really curious about what Johnny says almost right after at 7:57. It must be even funnier than the simple fact that he's saying something about getting hit Hahaha
The EX Garrote Counters take it to a whole 'nother level of cool. That pop-up one deserves a couple replays.
Air Grab makes a return! Not sure if it's a normal special; it seems implied to be a Variation specific move. Hopefully you can still execute it following a drop kick! I will miss her going "YES!!" over and over when I spammed drop-kick-into-air-grab haha. Good times.
I was a little miffed over the lack of Kartwheel---and still somewhat am---but it is largely forgiven given that you can connect Military Stance attacks to combos without a reset. I've seen a couple people bemoan that they will no longer be able to turn the tables on opponents with EX Kartwheels; I counter that by drawing attention to her counters.
What's happening here is that Sonya is being presented as a Technical character in conjunction with the Rush-Down aspects most have come to expect from her. What this is doing is making her more complex to use; and she's not losing abilities in this process, more so gaining responses to multiple scenarios that require Technicality, and not just Rush-Down characteristics. You can't turn the tables on the opponent with an easy-as-pie EX Kartwheel, but you can time a Garrote Counter to not only turn the tables, but put them in various favorable positions for follow-up offense. Then, Rush them Down as much as you want with her Military Stance mix-ups and her other arsenals, many of which will lie in her strings, which we didn't get to see.
Now to some sadness; I will really, really miss the Stun Kiss. But to be honest, given how they implemented it in MK9, she's fine without it. It was very slow in MK9, and really (other than making for some devastating corner combos) it only worked when you knew you were going to be attacked from mid or long range, or jumped on. You had to foresee that shit like a fucking seer, and they'd essentially run into or jump into your dust. Not very useful. I'll miss it, though, it always looked cool and was an instant classic from the moment of its MKDA introduction.
Speaking of which, I'm happy with the X-Ray. It's cool that we get a close-up of that mad-as-hell face, and that it's not focused solely on the victim. Where the hell did that knee from her reveal trailer go, though? Haha The one she got Quan Chi with (and that, as JAX007 noticed, seems to reveal a Camo outfit)? Odd. Great X-Ray, however; I approve. And into a Brutality? Haha thumbs up!
Not a fan of the visual cue of Covert Ops; I would've just added the Garrote Wire somewhere on her belt rather than paint her face! Come on, man. Lemme see that pretty-ass face as you choke motherfuckers. Not cool.
I'll be quicker with my thoughts on the other variations, as I didn't swoon as much over them as I did over Covert Ops.
Demolition:
Not as flashy and in-your-face as I like to be, but it's not supposed to be so. I appreciate what they did with this Variation, it really does allow you to play her in a completely different way.
Mix-Up opportunities here are ridiculous in scope. I used to envy skilled Reptile and Cyrax players (and they often were the bane of my Sonya's existence) because of their crazy mix-up and guessing games with the bombs and the Forceball. It's a beautiful way to kill resets and confuse opponents, by forcing them to look both at you and over their own shoulder as they're getting rushed. I foresee a lot of Demolition players setting traps with the grenades, and pushing blocking opponents into them. If the grenade hits, great; if it doesn't, Throw! Or Overhead into Combo!
It's gonna take some skill and some practice, but players of this variation are gonna be a serious threat once they get a game plan down with these babies. And again, way to mix things up! If you're a good Covert Ops and Demolition player, you can throw your opponent for a loop with your play style fight after fight, lessening their chances of adapting to you.
The Grenade Wake-up is nice, will definitely be useful in stopping rush-downs. Wish you could EX that. The Grenade String will be a cool-looking combo-ender. Decent damage there, too.
The big question here for me is, can you combo into an explosion? In other words, can I punch, punch, Stun Grenade, combo string? That would certainly be a nice replacement for the Stun Kiss! You could never dream about combo'ing into a Kiss in MK9 unless you had them in the corner. I really wish they'd shown whether or not this is possible. I salivate at the possibilities.
I'm gonna stay optimistic and, for the moment, conclude that you CAN combo into a Frag or a Stun based on being able to combo into Military Stance moves.
(Just saw that Dropkick here again, gahDAMN, the range on that is crazy!)
Special Forces:
(Why's Liu Kang being a bitch to Sonya? Dafuq she ever did? Kung Lao got killed, too, but look how nice he's being to his friends! Punk-ass bitch, I'll have you!)
Not many people are excited about this one. Personally, I, too, would have devoted a variation to Tech-based attacks from her gauntlet, but I wouldn't have gone with a drone assist. It really doesn't suit her, and like some people have said, would have been more appropriate for a cyborg character. I can buy Sonya using Sci-Fi-ish grenades, but having a drone follow her around is underwhelming when you take into account one's plausible expectations for what she might be able to do with all her technology.
I expected this variation to build on the Energy of the Rings; perhaps enveloping her body for reduced damage intake, allowing for localized explosions to cut pressure, giving her Rings various trajectories and powers. I think that would have been cooler, and would have looked cooler. Moreover, it would allow us to play Sonya as a zoner; something we haven't been able to do. And while, yes, this, too, can be played for zoning, it feels limited in comparison to what could have easily been.
If anything, this drone should have been incorporated into Demolition; let IT drop the grenades on top of having these laser beams.
Pretty underwhelmed with this one. Feels tacked on.
That being said, it has its strengths, and isn't entirely dismissible. Basically, what I'm taking from this variation is that you can play mix-up and guessing games from a distance, and build off of creating breaches in which to rush. This will work well against Erron Blacks, for example; countering their zoning with your own (Droid + Rings), until one of the projectiles take him down and give you a chance to run in and do what Sonya does best.
Conclusion/TL;DR:
The way I see it, these variations cover the distance spectrum for Sonya. You got one that's totally in-your-face, chock-full of various moves for pressure and aggression..... The other toes the line between pressure and zoning, favoring midrange...... And finally, the last strengthens her most when she's far away, even if the variation itself is a little underwhelming.
I think they succeeded in giving her 3 variations with distinct benefits, allowing her distinct play styles. They look cool (although Covert Ops topples the rest in terms of flash, by far), and tell a strong enough tale of what kind of character Sonya is.
I'm satisfied with all 3 variations, extremely happy about Covert Ops, and I can't wait to whore the shit out of all her intros. I think we got the bottom of the barrel here, I bet you there are some much better Johnny/Kano exchanges!
A huge thanks to NRS for a job well done with my girl!! I'm beyond pumped to master her.
April 14th can't get here soon enough.
And... Holy fuck. Can't believe I just read all that. You and Queve definitely go the most in depth about Sonya haha. Good read.
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"BEER ME!" - Noob Saibot
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T-rex Wrote:
I'm not sure if anyone has already pointed this out before, but this just blew my mind:
I'm not sure if anyone has already pointed this out before, but this just blew my mind:
Spoilers: (Highlight to reveal)
Look at the trail that Kenshi's sword leaves.
Look at the trail that Kenshi's sword leaves.
Holy shit balls.
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KenshiMaster16 Wrote:
Holy shit balls.
T-rex Wrote:
I'm not sure if anyone has already pointed this out before, but this just blew my mind:
I'm not sure if anyone has already pointed this out before, but this just blew my mind:
Spoilers: (Highlight to reveal)
Look at the trail that Kenshi's sword leaves.
Look at the trail that Kenshi's sword leaves.
Holy shit balls.
HOW DID I MISS THIS?!?!
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J A X + J A C Q U I
PSN: JimmyxKricket
JxK
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Get that ass BANNED
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T-rex Wrote:
I'm not sure if anyone has already pointed this out before, but this just blew my mind:
I'm not sure if anyone has already pointed this out before, but this just blew my mind:
Spoilers: (Highlight to reveal)
Look at the trail that Kenshi's sword leaves.
Look at the trail that Kenshi's sword leaves.
Jesus fucking christ thats scary as shit but badass as well.
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