I love fighting games. If I had to pick a single genre to play exclusively for the rest of my days, I would choose fighting games in an instant. To me, the Fighting genre is one of he the purest "game" genres. They contain something that as an art, only games can do: inspire competition. The adrenaline rush of two (or more) warriors fighting each other to the end is pure ecstacy to me.

Fighters bring us gamers together, be it online or on the couch. They ask us to push our minds and skills to the limits, not to beat the game, but to beat the hardest opponent of all, other human beings. But my favorite aspect of any Fighter is the characters. These guys and girls (and bears, robots, vampires, etc) are what make the genre shine. When you choose a character to play as, you don't just choose a play style, you choose a sepreate entity to place yourself inside. They add the personality and pizzaz to the game that makes it worth playing.

But, as anyone familiar with the genre knows, a perfectly balanced cast is almost impossible to come by. Either some characters are too weak, or others are too strong. As a result, the community often creates a tier list, be it officially or unconsciously. Tier lists are controversial amongst gamers. Are they accurate, do they matter, is it too early in the meta game? But tha is not what I wish to discuss. I wish to declare my love for a certain part of the tiers. Not the top, or middle. No, the very bottom.

Over the years, I have always gone by a simple rule of thub regarding what characters I main in a game. Main who you like the most. Unfortunately for myself, I have a habit of choosing some of the worst characters in the game. At first, I was saddened by such revelations. But I ever abandoned these characters. How could I? Why would I forgoe them in favor for a character with whom I do not or cannot connect with? So I stayed, and I have come to love the underdogs of Gaming. here are some of the more notrious underdogs that i have mained over the years, for whom I have undying love.

Servbot. You're the greatest helper Tron Bonne could ask for. You cook, you clean, you grow to 100X your size and beat people with squeaky hammers. You are the only person I know who in a 3 on 3 battle against Wolverine, Akuma and Sentinal, would play with a paper airplane. That's manly. What you lack in power, you make up in sheer cuteness my friend of friends.

Bowser. I've played with you ever since melee my green friend. How could I resist the chance, nay, the HONOR of playing as the one true Koopa king? Our dance of turtley death was more beautiful than any proffesional ballet. But, you were slow, and heavy. Other characters could easily gimp you, and you have faced the embrace of death far to many times. But I stayed, and I loved every second of it. hen braw came around, and can you imagine how suprised I was to find tha you had improved since our last little encounter! true, you were still slow and heavy, but you had been working out since melee, and it showed. You may be upper low tier, but you're top tier in my heart.

Ganondorf. The king of all evil. My relationship with you almost borders upon masochisic. I knew you a little in melee, but we were aquantances at best, nothing more. But the Brawl came, and I was hooked. The way you kicked, the way you punched, the way you violently strangled the enemy, it was ecstacy. We've never been seperated since. You and i've grown old and wise over time and we know ever trick in the book between the both of us. But you were clunky to play as, and many of your most powerful moves, were flashier than they were useful. Shiek, Falco, Metaknight and more have given us our fair share of grief, but we've perservered. I may not be able to improve you, but I guess I'll just have to pick up the slack for the both of us. It may hurt when we lose, but nothing's better than whe we win.

Johny Cage. you're an asshole. but your my kind of asshole.



Last but not least, is Dan the man Hibiki. I have known since day one that we were meant for each other, and you hold a special place in my list. You are a joke, lets not lie. You were capcom's slap in the face to SNK, a mockery of the Art of Fighting. Your Gadouken is tiny and the Koryuken lacks punch, but you pull them off with such confidence and style that I can't help but love them. In your pink gi and pony tail, you are the epitome of fighting manliness, and put both Ryu and Ken to shame. I'm not the only one who like you either, after all, Blanka's your best friend! But most of all, what I love about you is your love for the fight. When you win, it is not some minor event, nay, it is the most exciting this to ever happen in your eyes (and under your mighty eyebrows)! Your tears of joy le all who see them know just how moved you are by your victory (or loss, or tie). And you are the oly warrior with the cojones to give your own enemy a signed picture of yourself. Because we all know it will be worth a lot in the future.