(Como's Fighting Game Thoughts

[ThreadLurkingComorant]

Introduction, What's in a Main?:

Characters are a massive driving force in a large number of sweaty PVP games whether it be a Hero Shooter, a MOBA, or a Fighter. To put tons of tears and hours into refining their gameplay and grinding out patches is a crucial aspect of character based video games. Maybe vibe with their personality, maybe their tools feel just right in your hand, maybe you're just turbo autistic for what they bring to te table but ultimately: they become you. They are a extension of yourself, every connotation that character bares on their back, and your willingness to take on their debt brings you both solidarity and stigma from others around you for better and for worse? 

 
So what happens when you choose to pick a character like fucking Yasuo?
 

[Image Description: Yasuo, a Japanese Ronin Samurai with a piece of grass between his teeth and a unkempt classic look highlighted by a katana and blue scarf]

What the Fuck is A Yasuo

Making this clear now, Riot didn't give enough fucks to explain anyone's shit in this game so we're not dropping any cool lore talk today. 2XKO Yasuo is a distinct entity from his League counterpart.

On Glance he's a pretty archtypical Ronin, doing all the flashy quickdraw iaido Samurai tropes you see in popular fiction and blending pieces together from his League of Legends incarnation with the kits of other characters in the fighting game genre. Your Vergils, Your Johnnys, your Yuzuhiras all smelted together with a bit of unique flair through his signature windwall which eats projectiles true to his League incarnation and ultimately provides him with room for setplay and stage control. He is every Samurai fantasy, fundamentally perfect when in his lane.
 
He's a character for cool guys, having access to everything you could want in a point character made to take the lead and rule the match's tempo. A true All-Rounder who's given strong mid-range presence, long flashy combos, high execution with reward that matches, and plenty of places to flex both creativity and fundamentals that make him appealing to people who want to feel like the biggest sicko in the room...

 
He's also the closest thing to a normal all-rounder for most people in a game really lacking them in favor of pushing archetypes that fit into the mold of a Marvel vs Capcom inspired tag fighters. Those games tend to favor big damage, strong neutral, high mobility, powerful utility and..
 
He sure fits the sense of power at the cost of mastery and discipline in the same way as characters like Akuma in Street Fighter, if you're confident in yourself you will find yourself at home here..





 
Surely there must be a trade off besides initial difficulty, right?
 
Well there is, a very large one: Yasuo is a Selfish Bitch.

[Image Description: Yasuo making a comedically smug expression with his lip curling in a goofy smile and eyes closed]

 
He provides no utility for his teammates that particularly stands out. He can cast his windwall to cover projectiles and is offensive assist can sideswap to make burrito situations where both characters right nut, left nut the opponent into submission. He wants the world and gives nothing in return.
 
In a tag fighter this is a pretty significant downside that does limit him in which team compositions let him shine... but the places he thrives best are also the ones that already mold dominant strategy so he doesn't really care. He somehow makes it work, he's that guy.
 

(Image Description: A top 8 listing for a 2XKO tournament with 5 players picking Yasuo)

This man has eaten a truckload of nerfs too, he has more foam in his body than the average vaper has microplastic and lead. there is seemingly no way to kill his ass and make him irrelevant so long as he works as intended. Until his asshole brother gets added he will just keep getting away with it.
 
And... everyone who doesn't play him, hates him. He spent most of the early months contender for best alongside Ekko, still commits warcrimes daily as the staple pick for those who value fundamentals and stability over anything else, and he's more functional than 90% of the cast so that's not changing anytime soon.
And.. admittedly when you accept all those terms and conditions, there's a sadistic glee. You don't need a fucking anchor character, you can do it all yourself. The other guy in my team is just here to help me sandiwich people and pick off kills once blood's in the water. You ARE better than your opponent, you worked your ass off to do all this cool shit and they deserve to die in two hits actually.
 
You want to nerf Yasuo more? After all he's provided? Fuck you, enjoy your meta full of Zoners for a week and then crawl back to him. He is the most commonly played point despite his learning curve and precision because god knows Darius isn't doing shit against the walls of projectiles. Grapplers? Don't exist, Yasuo doesn't believe in them.

Do tag fighters make you evil? Have they made me a worse person? God only knows but I won't stop ego tripping everytime I made Braum eat his own fist or watch a Jinx squirm under pressure of having half her moves suddenly become invalid. They deserve it, you're the only one who's earned their damage. You had better footsies, you learned your bread and butter, don't blame me for being born unlucky.