Shin-Kyo writes:
>>I recognize that he is their first fighting game mascot, but i think because he's the first he is immediately deemed the strongest. Though it could be argued that like many things the original isn't always the best.<<
Your logic is sound, but I don't feel it applies in this case.
Kyo's prominence in the KOF storyline is only partially about Kyo's actual power levels. Kyo and Iori don't have MORE power than Terry and Ryo. They just have the RIGHT TYPE of power to beat Orochi. The type of flames they wield were both necessary to do the job.
I'm firmly convinced that Terry, Andy and Joe could pummel the hell out of Orochi and do a much better job of actually outfighting him than Kyo and Iori could. Hell, I'd be willing to bet in a storyline context the DMs of the FF crew hit at least as hard as anything Kyo and Iori can dish out, but he'd just keep getting back up ad naseum, all the while absorbing the 'battle spirit' the fight was generating.
Now that I think of it, it's probably in Orochi's best interests to face the strongest possible fighters. Terry and crew would hammer away at Orochi, unable to destroy him because they don't have the right type of 'kryptonite', but the sheer energy of their 'battle spirit' would continue to build Orochi up all throughout the fight. Eventually he would become powerful enough that he would be able to destroy them.
>>If you compare the storylines, Kyo would be stronger since he helped deafeat a god, and omega rugal (pretty much a combination of krauser and geese)..<<
Omega Rugal was not a COMBINATION of Geese and Krauser. Perish the thought entirely. He was a CROSS between the two. Sure, he was supercharged with Orochi power, but so what? I'd say a ressurected Geese with the power of the Jin scrolls is a match for Omega Rugal any day, and Terry put him down all the same.
As for Orochi...
Kyo didn't beat Orochi by himself. He had Iori's help and I'm also sure Chizuru also had a hand in it. The combination of the three of them, and having the 'right kind of kryptonite', was what it took. In fact, the way the storyline portrayed it in '97, it seemed that victory was a hopeless prospect until they all attacked him with a combined effort. That tells me Kyo WASN'T good enough to do it on his own.
And besides, calling someone a 'god' doesn't mean they're indestructible. The concept of 'god' is so abstract and open to interpretation that no set of parameters could be fairly applied. Gods are being killed all the time in fictional and mythological contexts.
Kyo's power had something to do with it but not everything. After all, he had to be good enough to not get killed at some point in the fight. It was destiny. 1800 years prior, Kyo's and Iori's ancestors fought the same battle.
Kyo's beating Orochi had to do with being in the necessary place at the right time with the appropriate weapons and tools. I'm not saying he got lucky. What I am saying is that defeating Orochi was not Terry's destiny. It was Kyo's and Iori's. It was their story. That was the story being told in KOF. That's why they are the main characters of KOF.
Not because they are SNK's strongest. Because they aren't.
>>this obviously makes sense because with a new series you would want to 1 up the older series, to impress the gamers.<<
The gamers were impressed because of the quality of the game mechanics, graphics, character selection and storyline. I don't think anyone said 'KOF is better because now there's someone stronger than Terry'.
As for a new main character sharing a game with an older main character as validation of the torch being passed, I present to you Mark Of The Wolves.
Rock: new main character.
Terry: still the strongest.
Even though Rock beats Terry to move on to Kain in the official storyline, Terry wasn't fighting for the sake of the world or to avenge anyone's death. He was competing in a fighting tournament.
If Terry thought beating Rock would save peoples' lives, it would have turned out differently.
So 'new' doesn't necessarily mean 'stronger'.
>>In KOF Terry is weaker both in gameplay and storywise.<<
In terms of gameplay, I'll give you that Terry's not at the top of the heap in the KOF character rankings. But Terry doesn't rate at the top of the FF games, either. He's consistently NEAR the top, but there are other characters in the FF games that are more effective overall according to reliable ranking systems. One look at a neo geo freak or Gamest that rates the characters of an FF game proves that.
As for storywise, I'm sorry. I respect your opinion (I wouldn't be responding with all this text if I didn't), but your argument isn't convincing me. Terry is still the strongest fighter in SNK.
>>I think thats why i like him so much, he broke the mold and IMO is the anti-thesis of shoto/fireball characters. I agree that they used FF, and AOF to start out the KOF series but it would be pretty boring to see the mascot of FF or AOF be the main character of KOF as well..<<
I agree wholeheartedly there. KOF needed to be more than a 'dream match' every year. It needed a story, and it needed a brand new one that it could call its own. It accomplished that.
Sorry this one was so long, but my mind is involved right now
.
------------------
Taiso
'Because of my bloody life, it was no accident that I was involved in the troubles...'