So, That went well, didn't it?
Apparently trying Wedge was a mistake, there seems to be a lot more to him than I first thought and he burned me out a bit but I've decided to try and stick with it but Wedge is on the back burner.
Today is Friday and I like alliteration so from now on, Fridays will be Female Fighter Friday! Celebrating the most interesting female fighting game characters.
Today's subject is one of my favourite and one I doubt many will recognise, the somewhat ephemeral May Lee from King of Fighters.
"May" Lee Jinju is a Korean fighter who joined the King of Fighters tournament in her mentor, Kim Kaphwan's team in 2001 and 2002, in theory, uses Taekwondo but we'll get into that for a minute. She was added to add to the younger female cast of characters but because of her kick based fighting style and the absence of fan favourite character, King, she was seen as a replacement and fans reacted negatively to her.
Now something you've got to keep in mind with fighting games is that character comes after design and May's design is one of my favourite character designs ever. There are two forms of May, the one at the top, dubbed 'hero' May and the 'normal stance' May seen above, lacking the gloves and scarf. May's design emphasises her legs with long slightly flared trousers with a blue stipe running down the side, this gives her kicks a strong silhouette. She has something of a frog motif with her shirt and her glasses and she has a rather interesting belt. In contrast to many over designed fighters of the past she has a very simple look that she carries well.
The hero look adds gloves and a red muffler and changes her fighting style, something you can switch too and from on the fly during battles. This mode's moves are more sweeping and slower but more powerful. Her scarf billows behind her when she leaps around and the black gloves put a good highlight on her new reliance on punches and a certain couple of moves she has.
So her design is interesting but that's not all that pushes May into my mind as a strong character, what I love is her personality, or personalities, rather.
In normal mode May's face is determined, her stance is side on and, most notably, she doesn't talk much other than her standard fighting character yelling. In Hero mode her determination becomes a hearty grin, her stance shifts backwards and she talks a lot more, naming her moves and denouncing evil. It may not sound like much but it really seems like she has multiple personality syndrome or something similar to me and for some reason this quirk appeals to me more than it should. Maybe it's because the hero personality seems to think she's a Kamen Rider of all things, leaping into Rider Kicks, swinging into Rider Chops and going so far as to throw energy blasts and strike victory poses at the end of her super moves.
May Lee is interesting because, despite how briefly she appeared in the King of fighters, and perhaps because of it, she has an amazingly endearing character. A quirky, exciting gravitas that draws you in and makes using her a real treat. She escapes from the fighting game tropes of well meaning girl, reluctant champion or the cruel rival with the flair and style you can expect from someone who tries to fight the way a Kamen Rider does.
Next time? who knows, but eye'm sure It'll be on Tuesday. *wink*
