Time changes things. And in the case of popular mediums of today such as video games. Art styles within them come and change like the real life fashion styles we deal in the real life.
However, I must say, and this is all just my opinion. Change sometimes comes too fast to the point it ruins something rather than upgrading it. And when it comes to Ralf Jones, a character within King of Fighters, (specifically King of Fighters XII and XIII). It fits that message loud and clear. As I really don’t like what they did to my boy when it comes to his art style. As he is, as stated in a previous sentence, MY BOI.
Now, you might be wondering why his art style change bothers me so much. And for all of you to understand, we all have to go back to the late 90s like some Bojack Horseman flashback. The time, where I was introduced to this King of Fighters. The day I met Ralf…
Now here is the thing, when it comes to gaming, my forte is really not within the fighting game genre. Which is why I rarely play them. However, during this time I was really young as I was still figuring out what games were. And the only thing I had at the time as a Korean kid in order for me to know and experience more about them, came through this dinosaur of a computer my family owned at the time. Which at the time it was not much of a dinosaur, but more of a Giga Chad of computers of that time period.
And for those who have read my previous writings, yes. This is the same computer where I played my first video game. Which was Starcraft… Not surprising as a Korean…
Anyhow, I am digressing.
Point is, I wanted something new and experience more about gaming. Something to excite me and bring me out of my childhood boredom that I was stuck on at the time. And Lord and behold, I found a stack of computer game CD’s and there she was. King of Fighters 98. A damn classic even till this day by many KoF fans.
And in KoF 98, I learned two things. First, fighting games are not my forte as previously mentioned. And two, I became attached to my boi, Ralf Jones.
However, that doesn’t answer the question still. Why did I became so attached to this character so much to the point his art style in XII and XIII bothers me so much? Well dear reader, that is because he was the only character I knew how to do combos with. And for those that never played a fighting game before, well, combos are damn necessary.
So you can see my train of thought for my obsession for this character within this franchise. And just like all obsessions, you become to love everything about them. And for me the art style he had in that game and in later games that followed with this design; became ingrained within me like an inseparable marriage. And looking at the statistics of divorce in America, that is quite the strong bond.
So what did he look like in my love first sight of him? Well, he looked like this…
Muscular, confident, and brash within his core. Which now that I think about it, it pretty much is another stereotype within this game franchise how Japanese people see us as Americans. Which to be fair, I am not even offended.
Kudos to them.
Ralf, is pretty much iconic here. This design, is an icon. Hell, some among the KoF fandom might agree on me with this. Is simple, badass, and it has quite the damn charm to it. And I think part of that charm is that he is designed just as his behavior entails without him saying anything.
It’s design done right.
And when a design exemplifies something perfectly without saying anything, its hard to imagine seeing it in something else. I mean look at him. The design pretty much illustrates that he is strong enough to handle himself in a fight, but not that strong to the point he looks brutish. He has a fitting charisma to it. Which is what made his artistic design about him so perfect within my eyes.
However, this look of simplistic beauty of badassness gets shattered to me once KoF XII and XIII come to the picture. As his look in those two games literally obliterates what Ralf went for when it came to his aesthetics. I mean, take a look…
Marone… I am not Italian, but I must say. That is the only word that describes this design in these two games perfectly. Like Jesus Christ, he got roided like Bane. Just… Why?
This is not Ralf. This is a GMO experiment gone horribly wrong.
I mean I get as time goes on things must change. And in order to do so they need to experiment with different art styles and so forth, but to be fair. This design is really not good for an iconic character like Ralf within these series. It just doesn’t fit his character. As it literally shatters everything that made so aesthetically pleasing and cool about him to completely banish.
Like it might not seem like a big deal, especially since looks don’t necessarily affect gameplay, but first impressions are a thing. And they are extremely important in this case. As we humans, are petty animals that go for the looks first before to getting to know something better. And for new people getting to the franchise of KoF, they are not gonna see what I saw in Ralf in 98 with this type of design.
I mean just look at him. He is so big the developers couldn’t code him a shirt.
Nothing about this design screams simple and beautifully strong. Matter of fact, he now looks like a truly brutish person. Which with a word like that there is nothing charming about him anymore.
No elegance. No style. He is just another roided junkie within a fighting game.
Sure he looks strong and looks like he could mess someone up with one punch, (fitting for a fighting game), but you can still amplify that same energy without making him look like a caveman looking for his next mate. Which is why I am glad in the new 3D games of the franchise they finally went back to toning him down to his old design in a 3D layer form for him.
I mean, there is a reason why certain things don’t change even as time moves on. As those things are like the set rules of the universe. Unmovable and unchangeable. A classic. And Ralf’s design should never go like these two games ever again. As that design had nothing but Jojo vibes all over it.
Chill Jojo fans, I didn’t say your show and manga was trash. I just don’t like the art style and character design in that franchise that’s all.
With that said, please, please, please KoF devs… Don’t mess with my Boi’s look ever again in the future. He is fine just the way he is.
Thanks for reading and stay safe everyone.
LEETHALCORE 