Mugen: Aquaman

Okay, let me be honest. I've always, when I was a child, thought that Aquaman was a joke! I didn't take him seriously and neither did anyone else. Like Robin, I thought that he was in the Justice League as some kind of "affirmative action: He was their water guy. Of course, I wondered what they needed him for because Superman was breathing underwater and in space! Talking to fish? Right. I mean he is useless unless there is water around somewhere. What a difference 3o years make. I find that i have to take back every negative thing I ever said about Aquaman. I think what has changed is how the character is handled. He's got an attitude. They gave him more of a personality. He seems like someone who really could go up to Superman and tell him what he thinks. He acts like he really rules 3/4 of the earth. Being King of the world's seas and oceans mean exactly that he controls 3/4 of the planet.Writers are also giving him a cause. Of course someone like him would want to protect the world's ocean....by any means neccessary. He's a king. Of course he'd feel like he could dictate terms...leading him into conflict with other members of the Justice League. I think that if was pure genius the way Aquaman has been handled in animation since mid 1990's in Superman:TAS, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Batman: The Brave and The Bold. I have found 2 distinct versions of Aquaman for Mugen. Here is my compare/contrast table (Remember it is a relative scale 1- 10):

Aquaman Mugen Versions

Image	Creator	Fun Factor	AI	Look	Download
	Erradicator	6	5	5	www.presstart.cjb.net
	ZVitor	8	7	9	http://infinitymugenteam.com/

I want to be fair concerning Erradicator's version by admitting that I have a bias against the "classic" version of Aquaman. I prefer the bearded, hard-core version. As for how they fight, I tested them the same way I tested the other: Computer controlled against each other. The following is a playlist of that test.

Mugen: Spider-man

Spider-man is my all-time favorite fictional character. I like how he is constantly forced to choose to do the right thing even when it's inconvenient for him personally. He does the right thing because it's right not because it is easy. There are several different version of him for MUGEN. My favorites are the one's by Seth Zankuten and Erradicator. Here is a table comparing the different versions I have found.

Spider-man Mugen Versions

Name	Image	Creator	Fun Factor	AI	Look	Download
Spider-man		Erradicator	9	8	9	http://presstart.free.fr/spidey.html
Spider-man		Seth Zankuten	8	9	9	http://www.scruffydragon.com/f/chars_marvel_one.html
Spider-man		Sludge	8	7	8	http://infinitymugenteam.com/
Symbiote Spider-man		Seth Zankuten	8	9	9	http://www.esnips.com/doc/e8d2c1f7-c93a-4fc0-8e20-be7a4dc8694d/Symbiote_Spiderman
Spider-man		Infinity Team Mugen	7	7	8	http://infinitymugenteam.com/
Scarlet Spider		FreeMadison	N/A	N/A	9	Looking for this one
Iron Spider		Unknown	N/A	N/A	9	Looking for this one
Spider-man		Alucard	N/A	N/A	9	http://lethalmugen.scruffydragon.com/chars/Spiderman_page.html

Unfortunately, I was not able to find Iron Spider, Spider-man (Ben Reily version), or Scarlet Spider yet. In the meantime the other versions of Spider-man is great. Seth Zankuten's and Erradicator's versions are the most popular. Seth's version is part of a major project pitting Marvel characters against DC characters. The following is a playlist showing the different moves of the various versions and the Spider-man versions dueling each other.

Mugen: Iron Man

I love the character of Iron Man. The idea of a guy who has no superpowers but build himself a suit of armor that allows him to go toe-to-toe with just about anyone is very, very intriguing. I have found three versions of Iron Man in MUGEN. One version was created by Magus. One By Eradicator. And one by the Infinity Mugen Team. There is an updated version of the one by Magus, but I have an older one. Here is a short break down for them:

Ironman Mugen Variations

Image	Creator	Fun Factor	AI	Look	Download
	Magus	9	7	8	http://www.scruffydragon.com/f/chars_marvel_one.html
	Eradicator	8	7	8	http://www.presstart.cjb.net
	Infinity Mugen Team	8	8	8	http://infinitymugenteam.com/FrameCharacters_MvC.htm

Aesthetically, neither version looks different. But their abilities are very different and they have different color pallets. In terms of AI, the Infinity Team destroyed the Erradicator version. But the Erradicator version and Magus version was almost equal. However I believe the latest Magus version is a different story. Below is a video playlist of my test.

Mugen: Batman

I have found 4 versions of Batman for MUGEN. The first version I had found was by Magus. It was designed to be used in a project game called Marvel vs DC. It was amazing. But then I found out about someone who took this version and redesigned it a bit. Made the animation a little smoother and added some different moves. The creator goes by the name Spiderbat. And then during an Internet search on YouTube I found a reference to a version where Batman is based on the look of the animated series and has different moves. The 4th version was developed by the Infinity Team Mugen. I think the best way to compare all four versions of Batman is by use of the following table. I will give ratings on a 1 -10 scale. the ratings will be subjective by me.

Batman MUGEN Variations

Image	Creator	Fun Factor	AI	Look	Download
	Magus	7	5	6	http://www.esnips.com/doc/1dadbc64-d0ac-4f89-9275-e43163482fc9/Batman-by-Magus
	SpiderBat	9	8	9	http://marvelvsdcu.tripod.com/
	Shamrock	8	8	5	http://shamrockworld.net/characters.htm
	Infinity Mugen Team	9	9	8	www.infinitymugenteam.com

Here are the videos I've recorded for the Batman mugen characters. I pitted them against one another. In the test I ran (computer controlling each character) the Shamrock version of Batman fared the best. It beat the other 3 version. The following is a playlist of the official tests I ran:



In conclusion, I think that all 4 versions are great. Each offers somethings that the others do not. Although the Magus version I found is not complete as the others are, but it is the version upon which all the others are based. I think out of the 4, I like the Spiderbat version best if I judge using aesthetic qualities. It looks like how I think Batman should look and I like his hypers the best. Although the Shamrock version won all the one-on-one duels, I must admit that the winning character in a mugen fight, with well-balanced characters (i.e. fair), is determined by the skill of the player. I think that a skilled player can do very well with any of these versions of Batman. There is another version of Batman that I have seen that is modeled after Frank Miller's "Dark Knight Returns" comic book. As of yet, I haven't been able to find him in order to judge how he stacks up to these four.

Mugen: Human Torch

The latest version of the Human Torch is fun to play on Mugen. The Human Torch is one of the Fantastic Four. He has the power to manipulate and control fire. He can fly and can withstand fire. It's kind of interesting to me that the personalities of each member of the Fantastic Four (the original) match their powers. Johnny Storm is very hot-tempered and adventurous -- like fire. You can download him from: http://infinitymugenteam.com/



The video is a demo of me controlling the Human Torch versus the Infinity Team Mugen version of Batman. As you can see, I got smoked, but it was still fun.

A Mugen Tool

I have about 1000 mugen characters and sometimes I like to mix up and change my rosters. It's not easy to unzip the engine, character, screenpacks, and stages by hand, and then make the hand edits to the files for my preferences. I could not find a tool to do it for me so I wrote one in VB.Net. It allows a user to build instances of Mugen in lots of customizable ways:

1. You can choose the screenpack from a directory called "ScreenPacks".
2. Just place all the stages you want into a directory called stages.
3. Characters into a directory called "Characters".
4. Each of these directories must be in the same directory.
5. The content may be compressed into Winzip or WinRAR files....does not matter.
6. When the Program is done, a fully usable game is available.

Here is a video of the program in action building a game using the "Fighting Jam" screen pack and just my Marvel and DC Characters. The video also shows the file structure of the source material. On my main blog I will make a post later with a detailed user's guide. If anyone is interested in the software or has a suggestion of features or questions of any kind, just let me know.

Announcment: Mugen Reviews

From Time-To-Time I'd like to mix things up a little bit by comparing different versions of mugen characters against one-another. For example there are different versions of Hulk, Superman, Spider-man, Batman, Goku, Iron Man, War Machine, and others. Which one is the best one? I propose to judge them by the following criteria:

1. Which one looks the coolest and why?
2. Which one has the most interesting moves and supers?
3. Which one wins against the same opponent - computer controlled?
4. In a computer-controlled fight one-on-one, which wins?
5. Documentation?
6. Smooth Animation?

Then I will give each a rating on a scale of 1 to 10 and tell the reader where they may find the characters for download.

Mugen: Super Skrull

I have seen the Super Skrull in a few YouTube mugen demos, but now I have found the character for download. It's a good character to use in mugen. I like the character because he is an alien from a race of shape-shifters. What makes this Skrull super is that the Skrulls got so tired of having their butts handed to them by the Fantastic Four that they gave their best warrior all of their powers. He can stretch, make force fields and turn invisible, create and manipulate fire, and has super-strength and invulnerability. I don't think that his powers are as powerful as the corresponding member of the Fantastic Four power, but he can use them one-at-a-time or all at once. He is definitely one of their most powerful enemies. You can download him from http://www.MegaShare.com/542901

Mugen: The Lizard

One of the Spider-man's best villains. His story is so tragic to me. Curt Conners, a scientist who loose his arm and in trying to merge reptilian DNA with his own so he could generate his arm, it mutated him into the character on the left bent on conquering people and make reptiles the top of the food chain. In some incarnations the Lizard has some intelligence, in others he is empty of rationality and an unthinking brute on murderous rampages. I'm not sure which is more dangerous. I've been trying to find a mugen version of this character and here it is. You can find him at: http://www.esnips.com/doc/329a7646-8139-4058-b4ed-08a578754a0e/LizardMan

Mugen: Red Skull

I found a great version of the Red Skull as a mugen character on YouTube. The link by chance did have a link to obtain the character. The Red Skull is Captain America's most dangerous enemy. And this particular character lives up to that. You can download him from http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SFSRAK5A