Four lucky and/or talented Commenters have their work featured on this week's RPGP Winners page - send in your best Comments at the Arena, cross your fingers, and YOU could join them! Hiro and Lucia vs Justin and Feena nemoincognito@hotmail.com: This is quite possibly the most balanced match I've ever seen on the site. Ever. In fact it's practically a mirror match - Hiro and Justin are improbably skilled adolescent warriors with enchanted blades and unique devistating sword techniques. They are both treasure hunters by profession (and nature) who like nothing better than a crumbling old ruin to investigate (and raid). They both have a wild, mischevious streak and are kept in league by a female authority figure (be it their ex-pirate mother or a red dragon). Their partners are apocolypticly powerful supermages confined to middle because of physical weaknesses. And both teams come from Game Arts. So which team will win? Justin and Feena by the narrowest of microscopic margins. They have greater variety, slightly better stats and they can heal. And of course Time Gate. We can't forget that hideously cheap excuse for a match-breaker, can we now. Hiro and Lucia: 131 Justin and Feena: 163 drumbkb@aol.com Hiro immediately charges up a Triple Sword... ...and has it canceled by Justin's Critical attack. Rest of the fight goes on pretty much like that. fuse14@earthlink.net Although Hiro and Lucia may not have spirit blessings like the Arc group, or genetic perfection and Ether like the Xeno guys, I think they may be the most powerful of all these couples. Maybe separatly it would be a different story, but Hiro is a wonderful fighter with very powerful skills, but he also has the heart of a Dragon Master, and Lucia may be the perfect mage when at her full. Together, at their full potential they may have the most power, plus they seem so much more passionate about coming through than the others. -Infinity Dragon- Despite her speed, Feena was far too slow Time Gate before Lucia was able to act. And what an opening Lucia had. Using the power invested in her by Althena, she summoned the Four Dragons themselves! "Remember us?" Asked a furious Nall. "Wee're Baaaack" called an anxious Ruby. The beatdown then commenced. Nall and Ruby started playing Hacky-Sack with the helpless Feena, while Justin valiantly tried to hold back the Blue and Black Dragons. He held his ground until he was hit with Triple Sword in the back. In the melee, nobody noticed Lucia hovering a hundred feet above the Arena, quickly gathering all the magical potential from everyone in the RPGP. "Huh? That's strange, my magic is gone" mused Feena while be thrown from Ruby to Nall. Hiro quickly cast a wind spell on himself to fling him out of the Arena a split second before Lucia unleashed all that gathered energy. When the dust settled, all that was left were the 4 Dragons and Lucia hovering above them...Justin and Feena had been completely atomized. Ryu and Nina vs Cecil and Rosa DragoonJay@excite.com: "Kain, I should really be getting to bed right now." Cecil said, faking a yawn. "Cecil, it's 4:30 in the afternoon. You're not getting out of this. We've been planning it for weeks!" "Yes, but how was I supposed to know I would be fighting this week? Besides, you know what those shows do to me..." replied the Paladin. Kain looked hurt. "All right, if you want to break your oath just so you can fight at your peak in armed combat for the personal enjoyment of paying customers, many of whom are evil despots or arch-fiends..." "Fine, I'll stay." Cecil sighed. "Great! Then let the animé marathon begin!" The next day... "This couples match is between Ryu and Nina, and Cecil and Rosa. Are all fighters ready? Begin!" "You should give up now," Nina jeered. "Ryu's stronger than both of you combined!" "Are you sure of that?" asked Cecil in a raspy voice, startling Rosa. "Cecil, you didn't..." "Of course I'm sure. You're just a paladin..." said Nina. "Oh, but I am not 'just a paladin'. I have discovered a power unseen in centuries. I am... a Super Lunarian!" There was a moment of shocked silence, followed by an eruption of laughter. "You've got to be kidding me." said Edward. "You don't believe in my power." said Cecil, removing his Crystal Helm. "Perhaps you require a demonstration..." Cecil crouched into a fighting stance and started yelling. Ryu raised his hand, prepared to transform into any one of his dragon forms, but he was stopped by Nina. "Let him make a fool of himself. We can crush him afterwards... what!" Suddenly, the ground began to tremor. Then it got a bit stronger. Soon, the whole arena was shaking. "Waah! It's an earthquake! We're all going to die!" cried Edge. "That's not an earthquake." said Sabin ominously. "Whatever that is, it's coming from Cecil." Cecil's hair danced in an unfelt wind, a golden aura surrounding him. The golden locks of his hair began to flicker red as they defied gravity. "Hey, Crono, he kinda looks like you!" remarked Relm. "..." Ryu and Nina stood in awe at the glowing form of the Super Lunarian, forgetting for the moment about the battle at hand. This was a mistake, as Rosa had recovered from the shock and launched a well-thought out Berserk spell on Ryu. Without a moment of hesitation, Ryu came out of his daze and took a quick swipe at Cecil, who in turn dodged and pressed his own attack. Nina struck back at the white wizard with a powerful Typhoon. Rosa replied with a perfectly aimed arrow, and the two females began a fast-paced firefight. Knowing that if one fell, the other would be able to almost instantly revitalize their counterpart, both went fully offensive. Meanwhile, both warriors were furiously clanging metal against metal, neither having retained any of their sanity. They fought like madmen, with no regard for their surroundings, relishing every second of the fight. The onlookers were stunned. They had expected a quick fight, a single dragon form and then complete annihilation. But this was nothing less than a street brawl in the middle of the arena. Rosa fired off the last of her arrows. "Fly true..." And it did. The arrow went straight through Nina's stomach, but not before she could cast one last Myollnir to finish off Rosa. At last, it was down to Ryu and Cecil. Although Cecil was badly wounded, it was nothing compared to the gasping Ryu. Cecil stopped fighting and laughed. "Now you see the true power of the Super Lunarian!" Ryu merely smirked. "What are you so happy about? It's not as if you can win." Cecil said, right before Ryu transformed into the IRT Kaiser. "I think his Berserk condition wore out." Kain said unhelpfully. Cecil would have replied sarcastically, but was at that moment becoming the latest victim of Bonebreak. Ryu and Nina: 165 Cecil and Rosa: 159 Sabin1025@aol.com Cecil and Rosa are still my main canidate for the couples championship. RydiaCaller@aol.com There you go! Cecil and Rosa! The very best couple there is. They are a formidable opponent, and it will be very difficult to overcome Cecil's Ragnarok and Rosa's Artemis arrows. If Ryu even tries to stand at least a moment against Rosa's onslaught of arrows as a dragon, then he should try and get another form. Too bad Rydia and Edge aren't in this...they're a couple, right? Oh well...Go Cecil and Rosa! fuse14@earthlink.net Ryu and Nina would probably best Cecil and Rosa, while they are strong the BOF couple have more to work with and fall back on. yetanothertua@aol.com If I recall correctly, doesn't the FF4 party take out triple dragons for cheap experience? And can't Wall reflect breath attacks? I have to say that this time, the people with the larger pixels prevail. WolFPak957@aol.com Cecil and Rosa make me smile... :) nemoincognito@hotmail.com The pre-match blurb has a point about the Artemis Arrows but Ryu is hardly going to go down with just one damage factor leaning against him. Ryu has more HP than he will ever need and, unlike Cecil, is actually useful in the field of white magic. Besides Rosa's attack power is so pitiful that against Ryu she will do normal damage at best. Rosa also happens to be the weak link in the other team. There are wimpy healers who can't take hits, really wimpy healers who can't take hits and Rosa Farell. The difference in power between Ryu and Rosa is so astronomical that Ryu could knock her out by tapping her on the forehead with his index finger. With Rosa down that leaves Cecil. Even when being double-teamed Cecil will prove a tough nut to crack, but he will fall in the end. Why? Cecil is a little.... how do I say this.... old fashioned? By my reckoning Final Fantasy IV is the oldest registered game in the RPGP. Cecil is a classic archetype fantasy character - the heroic white knight - which most RPG's abandoned long ago. Ryu on the other hand has changed with the times and adapted the ridiculously overpowered special attacks customary to any RPG protagonist. Ryu opens up with the power of Infinity and Nina provides magical support fire, and not even a powerhouse like Cecil will last long. He'll put up a good fight though. -Infinity Dragon- "What are we going to do?" asked a nervous Nina "As long as Rosa is alive, she can continually ressurect Cecil and Cecil and a Wall spell prevent us from damaging her." "..." Ryu replied "If you say so..." .... When the match started, Nina opened with a Typhoon spell. While not damaging, it did serve to prevent Cecil from harming Ryu before he could transform. Ryu then transformed...into the Great Dragon. Focusing all his AP on a single blast, Ryu instantly dealt a lethal amount of damage to both Rosa and Cecil, putting them out of the match. "I guess you were right Ryu...the most simple solution is the best...even if its a tad cheap." Arc and Kukuru vs Chaz and Rika fuse14@earthlink.net: Arc and Kukuru are going to practically rape Chaz and Rika, and I'm a Phantasy Star fan! They're awsome, but Arc and Kukuru are just too much of a perfect combination of offense and defense. Both very powerful on their own, but as a team they can double that. Arc and Kukuru: 144 Chaz and Rika: 121 Ramsus and Miang vs Alucard and Maria MoogleEmpMog@Laguorok.org: Ramsus and Miang entered the Arena, the latter wearing a rather oversized Executioner outfit, as she had not had the opportunity to get it retailored after possessing Marle's body at the end of the previous match. This possession had not been good for her relationship with Ramsus, who although technically younger than Marle certainly didn't look or act it, and who was somewhat uncomfortable with Miang's decidedly mid-teenage appearance. Miang fully intended to get her old body back, by hook or by crook, but for the moment was content with Marle's, as it allowed her to cast not only her own spells but the Guardia Princess' as well. It also gave her the perky Princess' natural athletic capability, and with her own ruthlessly efficient mind in command of it, she had no difficulty getting first turn and using her instant death attack on Maria. Alucard frowned. The old 'Invincibility Against All Attacks' routine had served he and Maria well for some time. Losing it at this inoportune moment set him back a pace. But as Prince of Vampires, he had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. Disdaining the Shield Rod/Alucard Shield combo as too cheap for words, he busted out his Moon Rod and dispatched Miang with two deadly spells. As Maria was already down, the Urobulous Ring had nowhere in the Arena to transmigrate. And so, it was left to Alucard and Ramsus to settle the affair. Ramsus, never the most stable person in the world, had gone completely over the edge since Miang's change of body. Tortured by longing (and, truth be told, by guilt, as he actually thought the new body wasn't half bad, but felt it was wrong to admit it), he hadn't slept a wink. His stress level was soaring. Suddenly, the voice of his dear, departed 'original' rang in his head. "Kahr," said Emperor Cain, "you can't win like this." "I know," Ramsus muttered. "I'm just trash." Emperor Cain rolled his eyes. "Listen. Did you ever wonder why you have Mega Flare... just like Bahamut? Why all your gears are draconic? Why you had those spiffy little wings when you were an embryo?" Ramsus blinked. He was vaguely aware that Alucard was ripping into him with the Crissaegrim. But the Emperor's words were compelling. Ramsus felt that he must be missing something. Emperor Cain sighed and held up a crude sign depicting Ramsus, an equal sign, and Ryu. "Get it?" And lo and behold, Ramsus did. Ten seconds later, Ramsus returned to his normal form, looked at his momentarily clawed limbs, silently thanked Emperor Cain for finally explaining how he was even second best, and said, "Groovy." Alucard was no longer *un*dead. Ramsus and Miang: 162 Alucard and Maria: 145 fuse14@earthlink.net RamsusMiang and AlucardMaria is tougher because both are very powerful. But Alucard has some serious skills as do Maria, I personally think though close, they would win by just a bit. Unless the Xeno couple bring in their Gears...but I don't think thats allowed. And even then, Alucard and Maria arn't completely out of options...(Dragon summon? Teleport?) MrBucket2525@hotmail.com Arghhh! Miang and Ramsus are the puniest RPGP characters ever. They will lose to Alculard and Maria like they should have lost to Crono and Marle nemoincognito@hotmail.com So Miang's got unlimited Ether power, huh? Can Miang make herself or her partner invincible to all attacks for well over a minute? Didn't think so. (Damn that move is cheap. It's about time RPGP introduced character-specific rules.) -Infinity Dragon- Ramsus starts off with his Mirror Stance, hoping to negate Alucard's Shield and Crissaegrim attacks...even though Alucard proved he had more up his sleeve last week. Alucard proved his versaitility again by immediately turning into a cloud of Gas and hovered above Ramsus' head. Despite Miang's attempts to remove the deadly gas, her status removal spells proved to be no success against the continuous damage source. When Ramsus fell, Alucard decided to end Miang quickly....this time he used the Crissaegrim...Miang fell effortlessly. "Hahaha...you though you had me didn't you" a voice came from the stands. Miang had possessed Maria, and was about to make herself invincible when Alucard replied, "Yes, but you're out of the ring. Maria and I had planned for her to sit this match out...just in case." With another win, Alucard walked off. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT DragoonJay@excite.com: "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS MATCH IS BETWEEN ZOAH AND FUJIN..." began Shigeo, before Raijin and Serge calmly walked up to the guest referee. "We got a problem, ya know? You see, Fujin was practising her voice techniques, and happened to yell a bit too much, ya know? So now she can't speak." "..." Serge added. "YOU MEAN NEITHER CAN SPEAK?!... VERY WELL. THE WINNER SHALL BE THE ONE WHO CAN FIRST SPEAK. THE RPGP CAMERAS WILL RECORD THEIR ACTIONS. BEGIN!" ~~ Zoah was frustrated. He needed to find a cure, and quickly. Hopefully, he could find someone who knew of a way to cure his throat. Noticing a strange person in multi-coloured clothing, he rushed up to see if he could get some aid. "?" inferred Zoah. "?" said Gogo. "..." Zoah replied. "..." mimicked Gogo. "...!" Zoah fumed, only to have his actions repeated by Gogo. Angered, Zoah reverted to his area of expertise, giving Gogo a mighty THWACK! Needless to say, that was something that Gogo wouldn't be mimicking... at least until he regained consciousness. With a heavy heart, Zoah continued on his journey... (cue Incredible Hulk ending music) ~~ A few miles east from him, Fujin was attempting the same thing, again with little success. But fortunately for her, she managed to find the senile old coot who normally tells the heroes about their latest fetch quest. "I remember a time when the fledgling town of Loomin was installing a new fountain. They said the fountain could cure any ailment. That's why they still remain at that spot... there's no way to move the magic fountain. Oh well, I guess I should stop speaking out loud, since the men in the white coats might hear me..." said Tellah. It didn't take long for Fujin to set a course for Loomin. ~~ During Fujin's trip, Zoah got a bright idea. If he had strained his throat through natural means, why not heal it through natural means. That's why he was in front of Taloon's Natural Healing Shoppe, entering to buy throat lozenges. Grabbing the first package he saw (after all, time was of the essence), he went to the cash to pay. "Thank you for shopping!" "..." "You know, it is common courtesy to respond when someone talks to you." "...!" "Humph! You adventurers should stop being so rude to us poor shopkeepers." Zoah wound up to deliver another powerful punch... THWACK!! ... and was promptly knocked out of the store by Taloon and his THWACKing skillz. "There will be no fighting in my store, got it!" A bit embarrassed, Zoah reached into his shopping bag to pull out his... breath mints? In his haste, he had grabbed the wrong item. With a sheepish grin,, he returned to the arena. ~~ Fujin arrived at Loomin, and gazed upon all the houses that were being rebuilt. She was greeted by the mayor. "Hello traveller, and welcome to the village of Loomin. I apologize for the poor conditions, but we had a minor mishap last week (stupid RPGP... hope they all were fried by that Kefka character) and we're in the middle of construction. Still, feel free to make yourself at home." Fujin pointed at her own throat. "Oh, forgive me! You must have had a rough trip. Feel free to drink from our fountain!" Fujin walked up to the fountain. "See your face upon the clean water! How dirty! Come! Wash your face!" said the fountain. Fujin stared incredulously. "Don't mind that." said the mayor. "It's just a Conerian model. We wanted to take the voice out, but that would have cost extra." Shrugging, Fujin took a long drink, then smiled, cleared her throat, and spoke. "VICTORY!!!" The sheer force of her voice quickly demolished the half-built huts that comprised the village of Loomin. Sighing, the mayor went over to a turnstile and changed the number from 101 to 102. Fujin didn't notice. She was too busy celebrating her win. FUJIN: 185 ZOAH: 114 shibakev@earthlink.net ZOAH IS THE STRONGEST. drumbkb@aol.com Fujin uses wind attacks, which would translate into Chrono as having a green innate. Which means Toss and Spike = win. "OUCH." tabriis@aol.com RAGE. AshburnerX@yahoo.com ZOAH WEAR EARPLUGS UNDER HELMET. motorcitymadkat@hotmail.com Zoah is buff, coolies, he wins :) PumpkinSed@aol.com Fujin: "RAGE!" Zoah: "DIE! TOSS & SPIKE" Fujin: "..." *DEATH* Veryslightlymad@hotmail.com Zoah calmly entered the arena, assured that his opponent would be no match for him, and expecting an easy win. Instead, he may as well have been hit upside the head with a ton of bricks. Not that Fujin had hit him. Not physically, anyhow. Fujin was simply the most attractive woman that Zoah ever laid eyes upon. The eyepatched girl immediately tugged at the heart-strings of the helmetand loincloth wearing Zoah. It was a shame that he needed to fight her. "RAGE," said Fujin, indicating that she was angry. >SIGH< She was so well-spoken, Zoah thought. He knew that tournaments came and went, particularly when you looked like a gladiater, but such an elegant and beautiful woman only came around every once and awhile. Zoah knew he had to take his best shot. "IF I SAID YOU HAD A BEAUTIFUL BODY, WOULD YOU HOLD IT AGAINST ME?" Fujin looked confused. No man had ever been this direct with her before, and she admitted to herself, she was a little curious. However, Fujin was not about to let her shot at the arena get away. "CONCEDE," She commanded, hinting that she might agree, if Zoah threw the match. "DONE!" Zoah was quite happy with the results. "NOW, I KNOW THIS LOVELY RESTAURANT DOWN BY FIFTH STREET. I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO ACCOMPANY ME FOR DINNER, PERHAPS DESSERT CAN BE SERVED AT MY PLACE." "AGREED," the woman barked, before smiling. She had truly won the day, in every conceivable fashion. nemoincognito@hotmail.com THIS MATCH WILL BE DECIDED ON A SINGLE FACTOR - CAN ZOAH DEFEAT FUJIN IN ONE ROUND? FUJIN WILL GET THE FIRST HIT THANKS TO ZOAH'S SLOW SPEED AND CRIPPLE HIM WITH SAI. IF ZOAH CANNOT DEFEAT FUJIN IMMEDIATELY AFTER THAT SHE CAN DISPATCH HIM WITH A REGULAR ATTACK. OF COURSE FUJIN IS A BOSS, AND CONSEQUENTLY HAS MORE HP THAN ZOAH COULD POSSIBLY DRAIN IN ONE ATTACK. THE BIG MAN GOES DOWN HARD. tylorh@hotmail.com Zoah starts off with an early edge. Namely, his barrel sized chest giving him far more lung capacity than the diminutive Fujin. Fujin was thus promptly stymied as she was unable to produce anywhere near as much noise as Zoah. However, none of the complaints about Fujin was ever a reluctance to use violence. And the very same feature that allows Zoah to be so loud also makes him a hard target to miss. And it's rather hard to be loud after getting the wind and consciousness knocked out of you by a raging Fujin. Do you want YOUR comments seen at the RPG Playoffs Online? Just send them in along with your votes and Mr. Cranbud and the RPGP staff will review them for publication! Please refrain from using vulgar or otherwise offensive language in your comments, since Mr. Cranbud will only accept such language if it is used for genuine humorous effect, and only on a good day. General BCp comments, comments about previous comments or multi-match comments should be directed to the BCp Visitor Forum on the main BCp site.