Horrifying

I watched live as this post aged from 9 months to 10

Lots of modern sequels to old beloved classics have also attempted this same idea-- but I feel like NG4 is the only one to actually pull it off properly, in such that it feels respectful and like it actually believes what it's selling. It feels genuine and earnest compared to its peers

There's a lot of effort put into making Ryu feel more powerful than Yakumo by several factors, and I think that's intentional. I feel the goal was to create this idea that Yakumo is part of the "new generation" that must train become LIKE Ryu, emulating him aspirationally. Ragebound also does this.

Especially with how NG4 kind of mythologizes Ryu, turning his presentation into this terrifying force of nature that educates and guards the gates to final success, who must be defeated in some way before you can become a "true hero". It feels like somebody writing about a scary but cool dad

There's this general feeling of "aspiration" when it comes to these new characters, and I think that this is a reflection of the general public's perspective of these characters. "They're old and dads now" type thinking. This leads to the audience feeling like they have to move on from them, I think

The worst, most socially inept people you can find will almost always be tabletop players, fucking somehow