Pao Pao Cafe Retrospective

[@baberuthless]

38:36 we can pretend I played the correct clip right here 😅 gonna try to fix it later today! Sorry folks

[@Brunobi02]

I used my imagination, plus the description was great :)

[@baberuthless]

Haha thank you. Even though it’s a short clip little mistakes like this always eat at my soul

[@TheLegendRome]

much like metro city/south town, i view the pao pao cafe as big as a character in the overall scheme of fighting games. it's just that prominent and important to FF/KOF

[@MrDarkace28]

Its only a matter of time before we get Pao Pao Cafe on real life

[@baberuthless]

God let’s hope so!

[@Shockbrawler]

I really liked the cafe design from Fatal Fury 3, as you mentioned. It has this aztec type ambiance. That and Pao Pao Cafe 6 Are My Favorite Variants. This cafe sure has been around since then! Great video as always!

[@baberuthless]

That’s probably the one I’d wanna visit the most!

[@davizloco]

Yay! Baberuthless always posts when we need her the most!

[@The4thSnake]

Put Pao Pao in Smash with a POW block in it.

[@baberuthless]

That be a lotta pows

[@isadoraanacleto8509]

@baberuthless As a brazilian i would like to add that there is actualy a missing spelling accent in "pao" the right spelling is "pão", and this stage name is a rather well known joke in the fgc here in brazil 😂😅

[@mattp6326]

Since becoming a (relatively recent) fan of KoF and FF, I love the weird lore surrounding Pao Pao Cafe in it's various iterations. What an awesome topic for a video! Here for it!

[@stevenwhuntva]

Me, 20 minutes ago: I'd like to see a Pao Pao video by BabeRuthless Honest to Orochi, that's what I was thinking.

[@baberuthless]

Haha im glad I have excellent timing 😉

[@stevenwhuntva]

Also RE: the statues in KoF15, that's also Mudman theming, he's seen with beings that look like that throughout his appearances.

[@RaitoADV]

Awesome video as usual! Here's some things worth pointing out about the Pao Pao Cafes: - In early builds of the KOF '94 cafe, the stage was more colorful and bright (and also more tiring on the eyes lol). Screenshots of the early version appear in the back of the KOF '94 AES box. - Richard Meyer's sprites in the '94 Rebout stage are edited sprites of Seth adjusting his tie. - The Pao Pao Cafes also appear in A LOT of SNK game endings, and it's usually a spot for celebrations and gag endings. In Bob's ending from Real Bout 2 for example, he accidentally burns down the cafe by just dancing so hard that it caused a fire to appear due to friction lol

[@spencerblais2539]

It's fascinating how much this one stage has so much personality in its own right. Goes to show SNK's got what it takes to give as much love to its fans and audience! And a shoutout to Searching4Rinoa , as I have chatted with the guy a couple of times back in the day. He's a pretty chill guy, definitely recommend his content.

[@braystar8578]

So those statues in KOF XV's Pao Pao stage are Mudman's water familiars he uses in his special moves! Man they really should've had a World Heroes team, Jeanne was in the (canon) SNK Heroines after all!

[@Lozzu]

BABERUTHLESS STAGE VIDEO, DAY BETTER

[@WaynesWorld12]

She's at it again ladies and Gentlemen. We ❤ Baberuthless

[@baberuthless]

Thank you 🥰

[@Gnmtro]

Maybe "pao pao cafe" sounds like "pão COM café", what is the most tradicional breakfast here in Brazil: café com pão. Even McDonalds sells coffee and bread with butter over here. É tão tradicional que vende até na McDonalds daqui. Diversos barzinhos e restaurantes servem também. Café preto com pão de sal é o café da manhã do brasileiro. Talvez o som de "pão com café"

[@lordvlygar2963]

I didn't know it meant Bread Bread Coffee. I always assumed it was a pun based on onomatopoeia of fighting: "pow pow".

[@TalesOfMrE]

Holy moly the amount of research that has gone into this, ESPECIALLY all those cameos in 94 Rebout 🤯

[@garou119]

My favorite FGC location; it's hard to think of a more iconic location in any other series, and I can't wait to see it in City of the Wolves.

[@snootlongbottom]

It’s gotta be pretty up there. Maybe Ryus stage is slightly more iconic ?

[@DerrickBitner]

That was so fascinating! I really love how I can get more out of this now that I’m more familiar with the world of KOF/FF!

[@OrochiPops]

Love your in depth analysis of every Pao Pao stage. Probably one of my favorites by SNK. Thanks for this!

[@meganinten0078]

Richard Meyer's theme (AKA the Pao Pao Cafe Stage Theme from Fatal Fury 1) is iconic 🎵 Glad that Sakurai put it in Smash I also really like the arranged version of that theme from the AST of FF1 I remember someone wrote this: "No-Prize for the vocals: Richard is Brazilian, but the Pao Pao Cafe is in America, and the clientele is from all over the world (the fighters from the first Fatal Fury range from the US to Japan to Australia to Thailand), so Richard and the Cafe staff have developed their own unique Capoeira music which is a mix of all sorts of different languages and cultures." And I think that person is right 👍 Glad that Richard and Bob have expanded the Pao Pao Cafe in many places KOF XIII, Fatal Fury 3 and KOF XV have my favorite versions of the Cafe

[@MisterTwit]

Good grief, thanks for handling the 94 ReBout stage, you deserve all the praise for diving into a game that isn't loved by a lot of people to dig up all those references. I can't believe they just threw all that in there. Minor fun fact about Pao Pao Cafe 2: in the English translation there's some dialogue where Bob refers to it as "Pao Pao Cafe West", probably because it's closer to the heart of downtown South Town while the original PPC was closer to the Southeastern-ish island where Sound Beach is.

[@LoaRicardo]

Yaaay!! I love your videos and this is one was amazing

[@Monhamd1000]

Pao Pao Cafe is no ordinary cafe huh?

[@toonorochi]

I love the video especially since this is another stage that is in Mexico, the KOF 94' rebout location looks like is located in Zona Rosa a place in Mexico city full of bars, cafes and antros that is surrounded by tall office building like can be seen on the stage also Zona Rosa is in avenida Reforma a highly turistic avenue which made sense for a venue like the Pao Pao Cafe

[@ManiacMonkboon]

I really appreciate the lengths you go to make refreshing content. Hat's off. Love it. Gracias. 🤩

[@DonVecta]

Nice, Pao Pao Café! As Capoerista myself, yeah, was one of the earliest representation of the martial art. The song was weird but tried to be a ladainha, but the instruments were off, none sounded like what you could hear in a roda. And yup, that's Pao Pao Café Mexico City in '94, most likely would be in Garibaldi Plaza. The one in '94 Rebout seems to be in some area in Reforma, were most Mexico City's skyscrapers are.

[@markcampbell8590]

I love the SNK universe because outside fighting, characters actually have chill social lives and are just willing to hang out with each other. xD

[@meganinten0078]

34:08 That is actually the appearance of the little spirits that appear in Mudman's throw, win and lose pose 34:15 Another reference to Mudman's stage in World Heroes 2, where there was a musician in the background wearing a mask There were also dancers in the background If you look closer to the bar you will discover that Mudman has his own brand of liquor There is a bottle with Mudman's mask as a logo xD Thanks to ATRyoSakazaki for the info

[@baberuthless]

I gotta brush up on my Mudman knowledge!

[@umgogo]

When I first played FF1, I thought it said "Pro Pad Café". The FF3 version is by far my favourite - that game has the highest average stage quality of any fighting game ever, IMO. BTW, Kensou and Kyo are just Easter eggs - they don't even exist in the FF/AOF continuity.

[@BajoBiscuit]

I just found this channel like 3 days ago but you talk about topics I never really seen covered. But ones im so interested in.

[@meganinten0078]

As a fan of World Heroes, seeing the Pao Pao Café have a Mudman theme made me very happy 🥲 Looks like Richard and Bob have heard about the legendary hero from Papua Nueva Guinea Here is something interesting. In Samurai Shodown (2019), there are two stages that were scrapped. One of those stages was for Earthquake, in that stage you could see Mudman's mask Would be awesome to see the shaman from World Heroes in a new game. Unlike the rest of the WH cast, Mudman is no longer mortal, he became a spirit/deity as you can see in his ending in World Heroes 2 (kinda similar with Nakoruru) After that, Mudman descends when he senses a big threat to the planet or when people claim for his help

[@ShinHakkai]

It was always my understanding that there are two SNK timelines: The "Main Timeline", where most games happen (Samurai Shodown, Last Blade, Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury, Garou, Savage Reign... yes, they are all somehow connected) and the "KOF Timeline". King of Fighters have a lot of "inconsistences", such as having a grown up Rock Howards and a very much alive Geese Howards existing at the same time. And if Rock is grown up, that means that we are in the Garou-era... but considering that Art of Fighting happens 10 years BEFORE Fatal Fury 1, and Garou happens 10 years after the events of Real Bout Fatal Fury, that means that Ryo and Robert are in their mid-forties, and yet, they look to be as young as they were on AoF... There are plenty of others, such as Krauser appearing in KOF 96 (he went missing after the events of Fatal Fury 2. Fatal Futy Special, Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2 are not canon) and so on. A different timeline would explain other absurd things, such as why Maxima exists in the present, when he is from the future (Robo Army happens in... 20XX A.D.). Or maybe I'm try to find logic where there is none. But I like my theory XD

[@braystar8578]

Samsho isn't in the FF timeline, it's separate.

[@ShinHakkai]

@@braystar8578 On Haohmaru's and Gen'An's endings, they both face Mai Shiranui. I assume it was initially done as a joke, however, it became canon, as Gen'An died on this battle and went to Hell (and escaped when Mizuki broke out of there). SNK then just said "yeah, the kunoichi resembles Mai" but I always thought she was her ancestor. Also Gen'An's surname is Shiranui... But SNK went on record to say they are not related.

[@braystar8578]

@@ShinHakkai Other than 'the ninja just looks like Mai', which has no confirmation that it *is* Mai's ancestor, there's no real proof that SamSho is connected unlike every other game. At least Last Blade has a very clear connection with an explicit ancestor to Eiji, even giving Eiji his super in XI.

[@ShinHakkai]

@@braystar8578 Sure it isn't a smoking gun evidence that they are part of the same timeline... But there is also no evidence that it isn't.

[@TheSitDownClown]

Love your videos!

[@GeekGhostGamerTop]

The most iconic stage in KoF history. As iconic as Terry Bogard

[@MaverickZeroD]

If I remember correctly, Pao Pao Cafe 3 is actually the one in Card Fighters Clash. It's been a while since I've played the game but I remember when you talk to one of the patrons there says the name of the place before Bob Wilson's theme plays.

[@TheSeventhForce]

0:14 got a bigass laugh out of me 😆 Already knew this was going to be a banger vid

[@baberuthless]

RIP those two rolls

[@TalesNT]

Amazing that you get almost an hour from a single stage. A small correction though, in 36:20 the kanji in Card Fighters' cafe is カポエラショウ, or kapoerashou in romaji, so it translates to Capoeira show, not music. And that specific phrase has appeared multiple times in other games' PaoPaos.

[@goldenguy7470]

If any Pao Pao Cafe opened up I'd go without hesitation

[@Peony_tree]

Damn that KOF94 reboot section goes nuts 😂

[@baberuthless]

It certainly does 🥲

[@C.V317]

Every time I see the Pao Pao Cafe in Fatal Fury, I can’t help to imagine Health & Safety closing it down; that place looks like such a fire hazard

[@sendo__]

perfect video to watch during this slow day of work!!

[@Brunobi02]

Another amazing video. Thank you!

[@baberuthless]

I'm glad you enjoyed it 😊

[@MarioGamer180]

In SF6 I looked around in the Camera of World Tour Mode The NPCs that are further in the Background and on the balcony of Pao Pao Cafe 6 are actually 2D and animated.

[@thomasnowatkowski9178]

At 14:30 you said Lily was in the first KOF OVA but I'm pretty sure you meant to say Fatal Fury.

[@meganinten0078]

28:50 I bet that is an AKIRA reference SNK LOVES AKIRA I heard a rumor that the stage from KOF XI is based on a scene from the AKIRA movie, the biker gang fight at the beginning of the movie

[@goorooschlum]

loved this video, for sure my fav yet

[@Winterfang]

The food in the SF6 stage looks SO GOOD

[@elocomon]

16:00 if you someday come to Mexico, go to some Garibaldi Street Restaurants in mexico city. it's basically the same as pao pao cafe 94.

[@baberuthless]

That sounds awesome! Love to go back to Mexico and see it for myself ☺️

[@Azure029]

babe wake up baberuthless just uploaded another stage banger

[@NicholasThien]

Seeing the Chinese architecture, I assumed the name related more towards "pao/泡" which is "to make tea" in Chinese. So it's like wordplay going on with Pow onomatopoeia and making tea in a cafe.

[@hitmanmonaghan6633]

My first introduction to SNK was KOF 94. (I saw Fatal Fury in a Korea convenient store, but didn’t play it. Man those were everywhere.) Thought it was strange some of the fighters represented countries they weren’t from. Glad they stopped doing it after that.

[@SPac316]

CvS2 EO version didn't have a Pao Pao stage but it's classic theme music was played in the training stage randomly.

[@bek9924]

When we do get a new Capcom vs SNK game (like MVC, it’s inevitable) I’d love to see them bring back the cafe.

[@SeoulMan]

39:28 Terry was feasting on these hotdogs in his Fatal Fury 2 ending.

[@DontKnowDontCare6.9]

My background in building design is telling me that Pao Pao Cafe in the Fatal fury I is a Sino-inspired former gambling joint with brothel elements (balconies where women hang out and smaller rooms for some one on one or group action).

[@plaguedfrost1753]

15:02 Me when I’m sipping my drink in Pao Pao 7 when Baberuthless comes up to me, says this isn’t cannon, then wave dashes away… >:(

[@baberuthless]

🤣🤣🤣

[@lordvlygar2963]

33:50 It reminds me of the entrance to the night club in Remy's stage from SF3 3rd strike.

[@GhostPurple69]

the notion of a themed bar that serves as a neutral zone calls to mind rick's café, the establishment owned by humphrey bogart's character in casablanca... as compared to richard meyer's café, a themed bar frequented by terry bogard

[@Apmix_YT]

LET'S GO! BABERUTHLESS VIDEO! BREAD BREAD COFFEE!

[@tpatt513]

Excellent Work

[@F1ghtGam3r]

The music from the older versions somewhat remind me of the songs from the capoeira movie Only the Strong ❤

[@tedjomuljono3052]

interesting how Maximum Impact 2, which takes place entirely in Southtown, and actually has Richard Meyer as a playable cast, does not have a Pao Pao Cafe stage

[@segajcharrua]

there is actually a connection of kof 94 stage as the Art of fighting game is a prequel to the fatal fury.

[@SanctusRexGAVIAL]

Can you imagine a 3D fighters iteration? Would be bonkers.

[@SeiryuuX]

Whelp, i was right. This video really did go "PAO, right in the kisser!"

[@apehawk]

Finally someone pointed out that the Andy on Terry's intro is a fake, he always looked kinda weird

[@karabearcomics]

Makes me think how there is a possibility that one could do a quite interesting video doing a brief overview of each major fighting game series focused on their most recurring stage. And it's making me think which would be considered the most recurring stage in Mortal Kombat. I mean, if you decided the Pit, Pit II, and Pit 3 all count as the same stage, then it's probably that, but that feels like cheating. It's actually interesting to me, thinking about it, how few stages actually repeat, especially in the Midway era.

[@baberuthless]

The pit,living forest,and the Deadpool are probably the most recurring. They all make an appearance in all eras in some fashion. street fighter a lot of sf2 stages return frequently like ryus stage off the top of my head

[@F1ghtGam3r]

I hope to see a video on the Street Fighter X Tekken stages someday ❤

[@Mage_Nichlas_]

Pao Pao Café 6's music have replaced Terry's standard theme for me. It's legitimately one of my favorite songs in the game, though recency bias may have a slight factor. Also, I've never seen Kim zooming though the stage before.

[@baberuthless]

Seeing that sprite made in the RE engine is wild 😆

[@sukmykrok3388]

The funny thing about team Mexico in KoF95 is that there isn't a single Mexican in the team, lol! And no, as far as i know, Robert is Italian.

[@GhostPurple69]

the meta-intent of "pao pao" may in part be onomatopoeia ("pow! pow! biff! klonk!), considering the genre and context of the environment

[@GhostPurple69]

apparently a pao-pao is also a kind of samoan outrigger canoe, which would fit the vague polynesian theming of many café locations

[@GhostPurple69]

(in the 1980s and early '90s it was common in the u.s. for ostensibly chinese restaurants to have polynesian theming and decor; i recall my favorite chinese place as a kid was called "hawaiian gardens.")

[@saynotop2w]

It better be a great place, it's the only restaurant in South Town

[@IgnantRizzyX]

New BR vid? Tis a good friday!

[@shadicpro21]

Emulation advice: I notice your KoF94 Re-bout footage has clipping on background elements so the next time you record footage of 2D PS2 games on PCSX2, put the renderer to Software Mode in order to avoid those kind of issues.

[@baberuthless]

Thanks 😅 I even bought a ps2 copy but the picture was ass when recording so I chose the lesser of two evils

[@shadicpro21]

@@baberuthless No problem! Great video btw!

[@JOTAROOT]

I think that's Chang and Choi, not Mr. Big in the Mexican inspired Pao Pao Cafe.

[@Partinaire]

15:07 Are you sure thats not Chang and Choi?

[@ranzorr]

Pao doesn’t mean bread in Portugese, actually. The word for bread has a ~ over the letter a, changing its pronunciation to something like “uh”. You’d think an accent doesn’t make much difference, but it does. There’s no such word as pao, without the accent, in Portuguese.

[@juarezamorim]

What's writing in Pao Pao Cafe 2? Teaca Tlipoca? What does that even mean?

[@waverazor]

Cvs1 ps1 version (at least) has different bgm versions in options. Arranged and arcade versions. I think the paopao stage is just the snk version, nothing special.. I can't remember now

[@PAKA62]

15:05 Chang and Choi

[@blueroman460]

The PaoPaospective