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Latest Character Distribution Chart

Discussion in 'News' started by Myke, Feb 28, 2011.

By Myke on Feb 28, 2011 at 6:45 AM
  1. Myke

    Myke Administrator Staff Member Content Manager Kage

    PSN:
    Myke623
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    Myke623
    [​IMG]Latest Character Distribution Chart
    Click image for larger view

    From D.K's latest diary entry #86, two charts are revealed. The first (refer to translated image) charts the latest character distribution.

    As can be seen, Jacky and Akira are still the two most popular characters, which was also true when compared to results shown in a previous chart (diary #21) which dates back to VF5, and just prior to the release of VF5R. D.K. notes the stability in popularity with the main two protagonists of the series.

    Sarah is shown as 3rd most popular, which represents a rise since the previous chart position of 6th. Previously, 3rd and 4th most popular were Eileen and El Blaze, respectively, probably due to them being new characters to the series.

    This time round, however, the new characters Jean and Taka have somewhat polarising positions. Jean sits quite high at 4th most popular, yet Taka sits at the bottom representing the least popular -- perhaps due to his uniqueness as compared to the rest of the cast.

    A final note on D.K's diary entry: there's a second chart showing the Ranking Distribution. I have nothing of real interest to say about this chart apart from noting the nice curve, which probably represents a health distribution [​IMG]
     
    Myke, Feb 28, 2011
    #1

Comments

Discussion in 'News' started by Myke, Feb 28, 2011.

    1. Dennis0201
      Dennis0201
      Wait, did I miss it?
      Shun is on the second bottom?
      Dennis0201, Feb 28, 2011
      #2
    2. spyder0080
      spyder0080
      Interesting...Akira and Jacky are my favorite characters as well. When I play online, I mostly see Vanessa and Wolf players. I am also surprised to see Shun that low when some of the best players pick him.
      spyder0080, Feb 28, 2011
      #3
    3. Myke
      Myke
      Dennis, not sure why you're surprised but this is not a tier list.

      I'll just paste what I wrote to a similar comment on the facebook page:

      <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">the balance in VF has always been "good enough" (i.e. not perfect) such that the most popular character isn't always the strongest like in other fighting games. Fringe characters like Shun and now Taka have always had a relatively smaller following compared to the rest.</div></div>
      Katagiri goes on to mention in his diary that while Taka was brought back due to many fan requests, and even though he's the least popular, the development team are nonetheless happy with his return since lots of players do enjoy playing as the Sumo.
      Myke, Feb 28, 2011
      #4
    4. Dennis0201
      Dennis0201
      I'm surprised because I thought Shun should be more popular from the videos online. At least more than poor Jeffry's.
      Dennis0201, Feb 28, 2011
      #5
    5. Myke
      Myke
      Oh, I get you. Well, what we see online is never going to be an accurate representation of the real world.
      Myke, Feb 28, 2011
      #6
    6. T_Kang
      T_Kang
      Where is the Goh love D:? I expected Shun to be higher in there also considering the fact that I've seen quite a number of top players playing him. Thought there would be Itazan followers, haha.
      T_Kang, Feb 28, 2011
      #7
    7. Aidan
      Aidan
      Why ist Taka more unique than anyone else from the cast?
      No char plays like the other in VF. I´ve never played FS, but I guess that this hasnt changed.
      So, what is so special about Taka?
      Just curious.
      Aidan, Mar 1, 2011
      #8
    8. MP
      MP
      His size, weight and mobility springs to mind.
      MP, Mar 1, 2011
      #9
    9. Aidan
      Aidan
      Isn´t size&weight only really relevant when you play against, and not as Taka?
      Aidan, Mar 1, 2011
      #10
    10. jinxhand
      jinxhand
      Aside from being the heaviest character in the game, there are hits in particular strings other characters have that hit normal on everyone but him. So this property change can allow him to retaliate against a faster character (like Jacky) without fear of being pressured to death with a few strings. He has different throw animations depending on who is throwing him (just watch a Blaze/Taka match).
      jinxhand, Mar 1, 2011
      #11
    11. MP
      MP
      True, but I would still say Taka lacks mobility.

      You would also think that you would have an advantage using Taka as his unpopularity means people wouldn't know how to combo you properly (well at least getting maximum damage off combos anyway) and unfamiliarity of his moveset etc.
      MP, Mar 1, 2011
      #12
    12. jinxhand
      jinxhand
      Yeah didn't Taka get a new stance with stance-specific moves???
      jinxhand, Mar 2, 2011
      #13
    13. Myke
      Myke
      While Taka may have a stance (of sorts), I don't think this has anything to do with his popularity, or lack thereof. Most characters have "stances" too.

      I have a feeling that people are thinking too deeply about a player's motivation for choosing a character. In most player's experiences, and certainly my own, I feel that character choice boils down to something really simple.

      It's all about the appeal.

      The more a character appeals to you, and the stronger the connection you can make, then the more likely you are to play that character.

      I've said this many times previously, but the balance in VF (good-enough, not perfect) is such that you can stick with a character you like, as opposed to having your choice limited in order to be competitive.

      I highly recommend people read Choose Your Weapon on 1up.com by Zero-chan. It's a nice summary on each character's uniqueness, entertaining, and overall I thought it made for a great read back then, and still do now! [​IMG]
      Myke, Mar 2, 2011
      #14
    14. Reno
      Reno
      It is true that some strings hit differently on Taka compared to other characters but this is as much of a disadvantage as it is an advantage.

      Example 1: Jacky hits Taka with [6][P], [K] but it doesn't knock Taka down, but he's at -1. Good thing for Taka.

      Example 2: Akira hits Taka with his new [​IMG][6][P][P], but because of Taka's size Akira can combo into [2][P], [K]+[G], [K] for a 60 ~ 70-ish damage combo. Not good.
      Reno, Mar 2, 2011
      #15
    15. Aidan
      Aidan
      Didn´t know that article, nice stuff.
      Aidan, Mar 3, 2011
      #16
    16. steelbaz
      steelbaz
      The article seemed kind of generic, at least they're talking VF5FS though. Three months into 2011 and still no console release news, yay..
      steelbaz, Mar 3, 2011
      #17
    17. jinxhand
      jinxhand
      Yeah I know most if not all the characters have a stance (or two), I was just simply asking if he had a stance. That had nothing to do with my thoughts as to why people pick (or don't pick) Taka...

      Perhaps his long hiatus from VF3 kept players from really wanting to pick him up... Most players get to keep up with the other characters since they've been in the other versions of VF5, so it won't take long to adjust... Sure, Jean is a new character (since 5R), but being that he's a new (and more appealing) character (in comparison to EI and BL) and not a returning character there's some excitement in picking up a new character... There are some exceptions however like Armor King returning in T6, and Raiden returning in the later MK series. Not sure though...

      I'm always wondering why certain characters in a fighting game aren't popular, be it their low position in a tier, not "appealing" to the eye (or ear), or whatever reason... Speaking of "tiers", is Taka in this version considered weak??? I remember back in the arcades I played at, the Taka bandwagon was about as big as the Jin bandwagon was in Tekken 4...

      One thing's for sure, I'm still picking him up regardless of whatever changes he goes through (same for JE, AO, and LA)...
      jinxhand, Mar 5, 2011
      #18

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