Yesterday I made a list of Marvel characters I wanted to see bring home the download cake, so today we'll be taking a look at five of my favorite Capcom characters. The characters presented here have never appeared in a Marvel vs Capcom title, though a few of them may have crossed paths with SNK's Terry Bogard a time or two.
1. Sheva Alomar
Well, it looks like they've totally mixed things up with Jill, even going so far as to give her that bullshit Nina Wiiliams look from RE5, and in the process actually took a fighting style out of their game. Giving another female character from the festering streets of Resident Evil Jill's old move set would partially rectify this situation, and despite my love for Leon Kennedy, I'd rather see an old, but fixed, play style return. There were quite a few choices to go with here. Essentially any female player character from the franchise would have worked, but I'm going with Sheva for a couple of reasons. To start with, she's the most relevant, having appeared in high-scoring Resident Evil 5. She also provides a positive example for, wait for it, a black female character. In video games. She's actually fairly ground breaking in that regard, because I really can't think of another strong black female lead that originated in a video game. Sheva also has the arsenal needed to mimic Jill's old moves, and the Plagas to spice things up a little bit.
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| Holding guns makes me sexeh. |
2. Firebrand
Firebrand is a member of the Red Arremer class of demons that made their claim to fame in the Ghosts 'n Goblins franchise, which also happens to be the birthplace of Arthur, who has already been swapping blows with Captain America for a few months. The demons proved to be so popular that they were given a spin-off series known as Gargoyle's Quest which starred a particular Red Arremer named Firebrand, whom happened to possess abilities beyond the usual Red Arremer classes. Red Arremer's are quite famous creatures, and their design can be easily recognized by even casual gamers. They usually take the form of cameos in the Capcom vs. franchise, but one was actually a playable character in SNK vs Capcom: SVC Chaos. Previous crossovers and legacy aside, Firebrand just looks badass. He's like a demonic version of Sauron, and can probably rip Parker's head off faster than Quicksilver could blink. Also, his name is just badass. Say it with me. Firebrand.
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| Good. Now chant and bow. |
3. Vile
Vile has blasted the shit out of Mega Man X on more than one occasion, and he's even been playable in a 3D remake of the original Mega Man X. Vile is essentially the X franchise equivalent to Bass, much like X is the original Mega Man and Zero is some form of Proto Man. There doesn't seem to be a Roll X, but I guess Cinnamon counts. Anyways, Vile. Vile, kind of looking like Boba Fett and just as badass, is the only known reploid with the ability to go maverick of his own volition, which is really just a fancy way of saying "he actually thinks for himself and we don't like it when he does." He has a psyche unstable enough to rival Deadpool, and his sole motivation is to prove that he's the best there is. If you get between him and X, you're bound to get your penguinny ass blown to pieces. I've always been a huge fan of Vile ever since he first beat me into submission at the beginning of Mega Man X, back in the days of my youth when I thought his shoulder cannon was some kind of weird nose. The reason I've picked Vile to be another rep for the Mega Man franchise who isn't Mega Man is because I feel the franchise needs a little more variety going out into the crossover titles, and Vile is one of the more memorable characters the games have to offer. This really was a difficult choice, because if I could convince Capcom to give me some Chill Penguin DLC, you bet I frikken would.
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| X, I am your prototype! |
4. Saki
Saki has previously showed up in Marvel vs Capcom 2, but as she was only an assist character, she doesn't fall under the exemption of previous characters. Where she has appeared as a playable fighter was in the Wii's Tatsunoko vs Capcom where she was one of my favorite characters to play as, having a knock back and blast gameplay that was really fun to use. She might not fit the bill exactly in terms of visuals, but it really wouldn't be too hard to blend her into the ink and pen styled graphics, especially considering they managed to make Viewtiful Joe work out okay. Saki seems to have a few fans inside the company itself, as she frequently shows up in crossover titles despite not really being known as a character.
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| My advice? Go on the date. |
5. Cleric
Saving the unlikeliest for last, I'd like to introduce everybody to the Cleric, one of the five warriors who battled the dragon king Gildiss to save the land of Malus way back in 1991 in a little-known game called The King of Dragons. I was the fortunate and proud owner of the SNES port of the game, and I played it relentlessly (it's a miracle the thing still works.) Though I never played as the Cleric, often preferring the all-powerful Wizard, the Cleric was the character that managed to stick with me, visually, for so many years. I kind of see him as the game's figurehead hero. I also think he provides some unique opportunities for a versus character. For instance, the nature of the Cleric is that he's large, clunky, and slow, but he has some heavy attacks. That's fine, but if he can't get around, he'll get wasted. Except for that enormous shield he lugs into battle with him. That, coupled with his amazingly quick counters would provide for some interesting battles. The Cleric also has command over the second most powerful magic spells in the game, which ties itself nicely for making this guy stand out amongst the other big tough guys that pervade the genre.
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| Plus, he's got a mace. |
