LogFAQs > #967956772

Sorry for the delay, released a video and getting everything set after that for the follow-up took a bit, just got sick of writing for the week. If you're bored, it's a 30 minute breakdown of Diddy Kong's character arc, channel in my signature.

Beedrill - Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire

I just feel bad for Beedrill. Its an awesome Pokemon from a pure design standpoint, gets its own signature move in Twinneedle, Bug moves are x4 times effective against most Grass types in Gen 1 because of poisons weird weaknesses in that gen, and you will always dump it in its original game by the time you get to Celadon, if not Rock Tunnel. Beedrill is so unfortunately statted that it is VERY rare you want it, even with its normally excellent availability (though its not in Yellow so I guess its not THAT excellent), and the sheer amount of physical attackers in Gen 1 gives it a very, very hard time standing out. Why pick Beedrill, after all, when you can go up to Nidorino with just a little more effort? And eventually that boy turns into THE KING. And after Beedrill lost its niche as the only bug who can actually use a damaging bug-type move, there was even less of a reason to use it, only kept in the conversation because Ariados somehow dropped the ball as its predecessor. At least it got a Mega Evolution in ORAS, one with a monstrous attack stat, one thats legitimately fun to use from the sheer novelty of having Beedrill in your back pocket and destroying teams with it and Kakuna is only made available after you beat Groudon/Kyogre. As a Safari Zone Pokemon. Secretly. Thus removing the entire niche of the Pokemon as a fast grower at the beginning with a great eventual payoff. And you catch the Kakuna at Level 30 so its moveset is gonna be all kinds of screwed up. Huh. At the very least, its a fun Pokeball pokemon in the one game it appeared in before being replaced with Unown, man, the poor bee cant catch a break, huh? Its got everything it needs to succeed, but drops the ball every single time it counts.

Greninja - Pokemon Sun/Moon

There is something hilarious to me about Ash Ketchum being SO canon to Pokemon but not allowed to speak that when Greninja bonds with its trainer to the truest extent it can muster, the entire species has decided to base their ultimate form around him. Ash-Geninja makes Ash feel like some kind of mythic hero, and that gives me no end of delight. Protean makes Greninja an inherently fun, if frustrating to face, Pokemon. It allows for a level of flexibility that Pokemon like Porygon and Kecleon tried to reach, but just couldnt manage to pull off, and makes for a really entertaining lead Pokemon where your opponent tries to read just what kind of spikes, support, or priority move youre going to throw out. And then Battle Bond Greninja is just happy to delete anything in its path, saving Water Shuriken as a wholly unique tool to clean anything with only after it gets its big boost, which is just a cool bit of utility that you rarely get to see on a Pokemon. It actually cleverly gets to use Pokemons abilities and movesets to create a varied assortment of fun movesets. Yeah, good that its popular!

Best Smash Appearance: Ultimate - Admittedly, if you asked me to name every single Smash Bros character, Greninja would probably be one of the last ones I name. It has a very similar issue to Yoshi for me, where it very much is here, is very functional, but lacks any sort of sauce to really differentiate it. The difference between them being that Greninja actually has something to base itself off of, and that is yo Striders pretty cool, isnt he? There are, obviously, elements of Greninja that are unique - it uses its tongue and overall physiology well, Shadow Sneak is a cool move, Water Shuriken is a neat variant on the charge and release shot, the down air really emphasizes the whole being a frog elements and uses its legs really well, plus it feels incredibly good to spring off of enemies with it. However, its very clear that this character was adapted from its art compared to its actual gameplay functionality, and the idea of a trapper-ninja instead of a purely rushdown one intrigues me a lot more than what Greninja currently has. Not that anything Greninja does is bad, but its surface level outside of Substitute and well, theres already another ninja in the cast, one that is VERY important to the competitive history of the game! There was never going to be a world where Sheik didnt overshadow Greninja unless the frog was significantly better than her, and both tap into that ninja cool feeling and dynamic without doing much else to differentiate themselves. Again, there is nothing Greninja does badly, it is entirely functional and flavorful and Strider is a fantastic character to use as a base! Theres just nothing that pushes it over the edge for me or endears it to me past wow cool down air. B


Col. Roy Campbell - Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops Plus

He was playable in PO+, right? Never touched the multiplayer of that one, but Im pretty sure you could actually play as 70s Chicken Fox Campbell there. Anyway, Roys probably my least favorite of the core Metal Gear codec group. Hes got a fantastic story hook, Paul Eiding sells the Hell out of his internal conflict and how his lies to Snake throughout MGS are slowly uncovered, but he doesnt really get much in the way of casual character outside of being Snakes old war buddy and having that level of camaraderie with him. Compared to Mei Lings playful goading and legitimate emotional concern for Snake, Otacon being a mess just barely keeping himself together in more ways than one, Naomis sardonic sarcasm making way for the whole getting to the heart of the professional schtick and, yknow, her role post-Raven, and even the disillusionment and bitterness of Natasha, Campbell is very much the straightforward CO. I would say hes still got more charm to him than Miller, but well, yknow. Major Zero was a lot more successful execution of Campbells concept, able to mix the straightforward commanding officer role with I guess British? It was endearing, regardless. I think I like Campbell more for what he represents than anything he does; just frank, reliable storytelling and strong character acting. For as little as he contributes, hes one of the main voices I hear in my head when I think of Metal Gear, and I think that counts for something.

I like when he insults Luigi, hes just so scathingly mean, you can hear the venom in his voice. But then, thats not really Campbell. Man, the whole Arsenal Gear sequence is so good. Like, if you wanted to hear that sequence is great, its really fantastic. The whole consciousness emerging from the primordial sea of the white house bit should be a slog, but damn Eiding sells the Hell out of it and has the most disappointed and chiding tone the entire time, its fantastic.