@“mindleftbody”#p67727 Hmmmm….
this was a real fun time! bonus props to esper for getting it cut down under two hours!!!
it was quite the episode!!! Lengthy!!!
@“chazumaru”#p67700 i imagine i spend more time than the average person pondering the smells of fictional characters
@“mindleftbody”#p67727 ah yes, brandon and the snk goat. one of my favorite pre-neogeo classics.
i don't believe that made its way into the collection that's on steam...
@“exodus”#p67738 two and a half hours originally. esper sure snapped-up the heck out of this situation.
for those without a spoiler allergy, i feel i should stress that according to the team working on kofxv, snk heroines is indeed canonical to the current kof storyline. with that in mind, the miss x ending may in fact be the most important single piece of kof lore to date.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QsGcK2WC18
@“exodus”#p67712 Not me man, I‘ve played KoF ’94 so I've already been absolutely humiliated trying to beat Rugal on normal mode for at least 8 hours
and I only beat him in that game once! in my life!
It seems like the universe is hellbent on making me give fighting games another try. This episode was super entertaining even though I felt like the lame kid in a cool friend group that didn't know what anybody was talking about but keeps eagerly nodding along to every statement anyway.
Earlier this year I thought I might give the new Guilty Gear a try despite the fact that I suck at fighting games very badly but I resisted the urge. Now y'all got me hyped up for this fighting game franchise I know very little about only to find out buying one of the games basically now means financing a dictator. *sigh*
I‘ve been at work today, delivering pizzas and listening to this episode in 15 minute spurts. Some people have definitely gotten their pizza a few minutes late because I waited to hear the end of a thought. So I’d say I'm deeply engaged and entertained.
Edit to add to my thoughts: I've never played KoF and have barely heard of it. It's possible I've only heard of it because Terry is in Smash. So there's some context for ya.
banger episode
@“effigy”#p67753 well, think of all the art that only exists today because of theft…
not that i'm suggesting anything. i'm just musing about the nature of history and culture.
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@“exodus”#p67717 I do think knowing about “something related to snk” is an easier ask than kof specifically.
I mean if we go worldwide the answer is obviously KOF thanks to China alone. But I assume we discuss the United States here.
① I am not familiar enough with how popular culture from Central and South America typically permeates and corrupts itself among the US latino population (I assume it becomes its own thing?) but KOF had so much cultural imprint in Mexico and many South American countries that I would assume it remains a known IP somewhat? I am not sure these people would know about SNK, on the other hand.
② KOF is also the most common IP for games and crossovers on smartphones so that must help. Next IP is Metal Slug. (**edit:** speaking among SNK’s intellectual properties, specifically.)
③ Not sure which demographic was impacted the most but Metal Slug Anthology was a colossal success on Wii in North America. Maybe tons of young adults have good memories of Marco and Tarma.
④ The other big question is how much Terry in Smash changed the landscape of SNK fandom, among a generation for which [SNK fandom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Titan) means something completely different as any Google search will painfully remind you.
Obviously tons of kids have discovered Terry and the Neo Geo thanks to Smash. Let’s assume a natural decay of *X* amount of people not giving a damn where he comes from, I am sure at least a bunch of these kids have suddenly found out about SNK and Fatal Fury through the game, popular Youtubers like Maximilian Dood, etc.
Despite Sakurai’s honorable efforts, my gut feel is those adventurous kids who got interested to check out old people stuff have registered KOF moreso than Fatal Fury, but this was certainly the first time many of them heard about “SNK”.
One thing I wonder is how much this new generation, which is constantly bombarded with nostalgic reboots and branding (probably once a month in Fortnite), has incentive to find out more about this stuff. They have access to more pop culture than ever thanks to the Internet and social media. And it is now so easy to catch up and become cognizant of such cultural memes that I assume they just come and go and you have to become super selective what your brain’s available memory space larps on or not.
For instance, tons of people in the United States became interested in Fire Emblem thanks to Smash Bros Melee. But that was one of the few genuine mysteries in the game, catching up on Fire Emblem’s history required more effort, and that generation had fewer distractions to forget about the catching up (also: Gamecube players, so probably way less shit to do and think about than the average Switch kid, no offense).
I am not sure we currently live in the equivalent cultural context where Terry’s presence alone, despite being in a game at least five times as popular as Melee, will push kids to investigate about Terry and the games he comes from (moreso than than the forty other boomer IPs in the game). And the curious kids will have access to this information so easily and thoroughly that I assume most of them will bin it in their memory rechute within the next six months.
I lost track of the point I was trying to make so that’s enough rambling…
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@“chazumaru”#p67781 Obviously tons of kids have discovered Terry and the Neo Geo thanks to Smash.
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@“RubySunrise”#p67756 It’s possible I’ve only heard of it because Terry is in Smash. So there’s some context for ya.
This blows my mind. I hope you don't take this as an "LOL u r young" or "LOL I am old" post, though there is likely an age difference here. It really does crystalize how me and my game-adjacent buddies really were cut from a very different cloth than the general American gaming audience 20+ years ago and how the SNK brand has been permitted to get stale. I think part of it may have been due to the "death" of arcades in the 2000s and thus you didn't just encounter an MVS cabinet that had a _Samurai Showdown_ game and a _KoF_ game in the wild.
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@“chazumaru”#p67781 KOF is also the most common IP for games and crossovers on smartphones so that must help. Next IP is Metal Slug.
I this must be very market-dependent, because it's certainly not the case in North America.
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@“effigy”#p67753 new Guilty Gear
I'm a huge booster of _Guilty Gear: -STRIVE-_. The most current Guilty Gear is always the best Guilty Gear to start with. Strive's gameplay is fast and explosive and I think it is enjoyable at several different skill tiers. Go give it a shot. DM me if you want a sparring partner who can show you the ropes.
yeah, I don‘t know if in the US the melee stuff comes back to KOF or fatal fury, or what - obviously worldwide I do think KOF is probably the best known snk property. but samurai shodown literally build buildings in japan, KOF just facilitated SNK moving into smaller and smaller offices without closing down. either way: SNK is old people stuff in the US, but maybe some young people are doing the research and moving backward. In South America and China I suspect that SNK still maintains a hovering relevance just due to permeating the scene for so long. Like there’s a reason so many new mega drive games and especially hacks are coming out of Brazil right now.
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@“antillese”#p67787 I this must be very market-dependent, because it’s certainly not the case in North America.
Sorry I meant specifically "among SNK intellectual properties" but I now realize the comment was ambiguous.
The SNK property I got really into is Metal Slug. An anniversary collection came out for Wii and I played a whole lot of that game. I am certain there are loads of people around my age that have played KoF. In spite of, or maybe in fact because of, my forum avatar I am actually not well versed in fighting games (uh oh).
@“RubySunrise”#p67806 it’s cool. Your secret is well-hidden behind the fact that Cassie is my SoulCalibur 2 main. And that Metal Slug rules.
what a delightful episode! Certainly brightened my day. I‘m not sure I’ve ever played a KOF game but it was pretty sweet still to listen.
@“RubySunrise”#p67756 If I overheard my pizza deliverer listening to IC i'd be pretty psyched