The First Puppet Character in Fighting Games

[@flaregamer64]

They really gave one of the most innovative movesets in Fighting Game history to a dude who would later only appear in one episode of the anime. *And he's goated for that.*

[@choriflanero]

Dude, at least he actually appears. I play Midler.

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

​@@choriflanero lmao

[@tatsumakivee4201]

It's Capcom. They're huge Jojo geeks, only fitting they give all Jojo characters justice.

[@pachicore]

One who gets his balls stabbed no less

[@minutosdesapercibidosesp-e4508]

​@@choriflanero who?

[@Spooky_Bard]

The phrase “unsafe on hit” will never not be funny to me.

[@FiveStringC]

That move you only use to occasionally end a round and nothing else

[@CoolyCools]

theres too much moves in this game that can be unsafe on hit holy shit

[@SnipingIsAGoodJobMate]

DIO's grab immediately comes to my mind when I hear that

[@Nofixdahdress]

Its more common than you'd think, especially in anime games. Just usually the devs have taken that into account and its supposed to be canceled out of or done meaty or some other way of making the recovery less punishing. Not so much in these older games tho lmao

[@hiimpranav]

Even funnier is punishable on hit

[@hi-i-am-atan]

this man truly is the culmination of all sorts of old fighting game jank. a whole bunch of near-identical normals where some buttons are just other buttons But Bad, command normals that seemingly only exist to nerf attacks if you're not neutral on the stick, and specials and supers that have variants while the character's central gimmick is active, except all they do is punish you for not turning said central gimmick _off._ absolutely exquisite it's funny to think about how that last point would be _very_ different if they just let you cancel's devo half of the animation midway through by pressing stand off, but no controlling the puppet while you're playing the puppet character means that the specials that usually control the puppet are just normal specials where you have this massive extra hurtbox standing off in the corner. magnificent

[@projectpotato]

They gave this character so much love for what he did in the story, even is the only non-crusader to shout "DIO" when matched against him. One of my favorite videos I posted is devo doing a 95 hit combo on round start, has full HP, and STILL manages to somehow lose because of remote mode damage. Great design!

[@enenra6417]

Chaka also has a DIO line but it got cut

[@Adon_key]

Which video I wanna see

[@projectpotato]

@@Adon_key Average Devo Vs Nkak Interaction, I don't think youtube lets me link my own channel's videos or something in comments

[@texasred8424]

my favorite part of these videos is watching footage of mrmixtape doing 2 hit combos and clumsily using the character's mechanics in training mode interspersed between the high level gameplay

[@misterbadguy7325]

I think one of the best things about Heritage for the Future is that it was willing to zoom in so hard on a single segment of a long-running series. It meant that they had to do a bit of dumpster-diving, and get creative with the characters they could use. A lot of anime fighters try to cover the entire franchise, and it tends to result in either a quantity-over-quality approach, or a situation where only the big names are playable (in which case it ends up feeling like a rock band with eight guitarists in it). Heritage is one of the few I can think of where they went "we're doing twenty or so characters and they all come from this one part of the series."

[@Sauvva_]

naruto ultimate hero 2 on ps2 was great

[@SoulBro12]

Yeah, as much as I love the other parts being included as easter eggs or secrets. This game made Alessi and Devo so cool because they only focused on Part 3.

[@ciguatera780]

what better part to do that in than Part 3? it was the first truly memorable iteration of the "Villain of the Week" pattern Jojo would later follow where the side characters actually had personality. You wouldn't be able to do HFTF with Part 1 or 2 for example, not only because of the lack of cast size but also because the side characters are so boring it hurts.

[@misterbadguy7325]

@@ciguatera780 I think you could pull it off with later Parts, but yeah, there's not a lot to work with in Phantom Blood or Battle Tendency.

[@ciguatera780]

@@misterbadguy7325 you're right that it could've been based on other parts as well, I forgot the manga was already on part 6 by the time HFTF released

[@potatofarmergyro1720]

Its pretty cool to see just how much Jojo has impacted fighting games, from certain characters being inspired by Jojo characters to even making/popularizing archetypes.

[@RubænCaptor]

Without Devo and his deranged gameplay, "Let Me Carve Your Way" wouldn't have existed, think about that

[@gamgen53]

Jojo’s venture and gg missing link were both released 1998 I am pretty sure that missing link came first but idk could be wrong

[@z1u512]

He carved his way

[@10001vader]

@@gamgen53missing link did come out first, but zato wasn’t a puppet character in that game

[@gamgen53]

Huh, thanks for the clarification

[@lukeblaker8009]

​@@gamgen53this is covered in the first minute of the video 😭

[@edelx3099]

Note about Knives vs Devo They punish next to everything if you aren't sandwiched and if you are there's still plenty of ways to make devo's doll positioning look dumb. Though unlike shown in the video sj236AB is not the pattern you want to ever use, it hits the doll but the real kicker is the amount of multiplied damage of the knives when they connect with devo himself, so sj236AC/sj236ABC pattern should be used pretty much every single time. The matchup is in my opinion a 2:8 borderline 1:9 if played well, Devo just can't stop Dio from constantly jumping around while building meter for knives. If Devo contests Dio's laming: He eats knives to the face. If he doesn't: Dio is happy building more meter to chip Devo slowly, even till timeout. Devo's tools to deal with defensive jumping are really bad and it makes him a very boring character to fight as and against if you are up against smart opponents that know how to abuse Devo's glaring weaknesses.

[@ALLCAPSNO_SPACES]

so true

[@leodiusd4858]

Common edel_x knowledge w

[@babsbabsbabsbabs]

That's my main guy! Been playing Devo for years and I'm so you talked about him in detail! Amazing work as always!!! ❤🎉❤

[@asdasd-dm1hd]

consider yourself an op

[@thunderrex59]

Even if he's not the first, he is the source of the term "puppet"

[@lancesmith8298]

Maybe? Maybe not? I actually looked into this to settle a debate with a friend once, and wow they released a lot of these really fast. I forgot who was who, but the gap between somebody and Carl Clover from BlazBlue was like. A month

[@OldManHan]

Zero clue why my first main for this game was Devo, but goooosh I love him.. Thanks, as always, for the awesome vids!

[@ConsarnitTokkori]

the best fighting game players are either masochists, casuals, or leffen destiny had chosen your role for you

[@OldManHan]

@@ConsarnitTokkori True...............................

[@doctordinos2651]

I'm surprised you didn't talk about the fact the puppet can walk on walls and the ceiling when talking about it. I don't know how useful that is but I find that quirk hilarious and fun

[@nmzp111]

You can use it for some crossup shenanigans, like jumping off the wall to do sjc that has to be blocked forward, but it isn't used for traversing It does, however, result in a glitch that allows the doll to teleport. I have a video of that somewhere on my channel. The glitch requires 4 consecutive frame perfect inputs and is theoretically possible on leverless controllers. I managed to replicate it by hand once, with multiple binds. The best thing is someone got it in a match and that's how we know of it.

[@S1ayer585.]

@@nmzp111I did that before on accident lol

[@michealmach]

Is 6:56 supposed to be totally silent for ~8 seconds or was a voice clip left out

[@onthedre]

I like how the puppet is always on screen unlike in other games where both you and the enemy are at disadvantage when it's off screen

[@IMMAOILMAN]

1:27 I gotchu fam. Karina from Asuka 120% Maxima BURNING Fest. (yes, that's the full name) is arguably the first puppet character, from 1995. She has a frog that she can set and use for extended moves (Mizuumi's article on Asuka 120% LimitOver has more detailed info). Yes, the first puppet character wasn't even a puppet. It was a frog. Asuka 120% is a bizarre but important series because it (and arguably Children of the Atom) inspired a lot of the big anime fighters, like Guilty Gear, Arcana Heart, Blazblue, and so on. If anyone's playing an Asuka 120% game in year 2024, though, it's probably LimitOver (which came out in 1998 and was an update to Limited BURNING Fest., from 1997). Check it out if you're in the mood for some real kusoge.

[@ericwitney5086]

the frog has a crazy Pot Buster lmao

[@ariloulei814]

Galford and Nakoruru from Samurai Showdown II while we are at it and counting puppets that don't have normals, you can't move independently of the player character, and are just special moves of said player character.

[@WhyIHatetheWorld]

@@ariloulei814 Yeah Galford and Nakoruru would be the first puppet characters, SS1 was from 1993

[@SadFatHamster]

​@@ariloulei814 I played alot of Galford because of Poppy. The first one was with Galford was in 93, and already was in its 3rd title by 95, which I believe added Poppy, as its own playable character with their own puppies that act similiar as a similar puppet like Poppy is to Galford. I could be confusing that with 4 but Galford had alot more options with Poppy by 3. Im not a huge fighting game person but I loved Samurai showdown. Who knows, theres probably an even more obscure one thar predates this though.

[@user-oe8tx9co1p]

THANK YOU for finally releasing this video after so much teasing

[@ultrayoshi100]

So while not quite a puppet character, Waku Waku 7 has Dandy J. As part of his kit he has 2 helpers in the background (a girl and her cat) who toss each other at the opponent covering different screen distances. But he is unable to do any command normals or specials and supers while the move is activd. But the move itself cannot be interrupted so using the background helpers are integral to keep up his god-like pressure

[@HammMann]

You can't see it, but i have the goofiest smirk on my face. Devo is my one-trick, and i never expected it to be that way because i played him once as a joke. To think, i thought it was an Oldseph main for the longest time, once which didn't know combos. I'll let you guess how that went. And now i'm remembered as the "funni barrel roll guy". And i wouldn't have it any other way. Stay cool Devo, stay cool.

[@duckstopherhftf4959]

Some other cool things about devo: He can teleport his doll to the right side of the screen by frame perfectly inputting s.866 He has 5 different infinites, one for each special, s.66a, and he can loop 214aa as long as he has meter. He can loop together all of his standing s.on chains, besides s.5aaaa, until the opponent reaches the corner Jumping with the doll and devo, turning off doll, and teching a grab with devo before doll hits the ground will make the doll float, turning on the doll and doing anything that isn't standing still will let the Doll airwalk, grabbing in this state(even if you're far above the opponent) will cause the doll to teleport the other player upwards and then throw them. s.3b 214s (empty tandem) will link back into s.off normals. He has 5 different taunts, which are optimally used when your opponent is stuck in your tandem for 2-3 business days.

[@ningyoangel551]

I was thinking maybe Alice from Asura Blade: Sword of Dynasty was the first one, but after searching a bit, i saw that Asura Blade: Sword of Dynasty released in December 4th, 1998 and Heritage for the Future December 2nd. I can't remember for sure if Alice really is a True Puppet character, as I haven't played the game since i was a kid, just like how Zato wasn't one at first, but if she is, it's kinda crazy that these 2 games, with their releases only being separated by a singular day, came up with the same/a similar concept for a character archtype.

[@ecode136]

How about Kinu from Kabuki Klash 1995?

[@ariloulei814]

@@ecode136 That's kinda more like Celica A Mercury where the 2nd character is just doing most of the fighting from right on top of the player character and not really a independant element outside of becoming a projectile. At that point we should count Nakoruru and Galford as puppet characters.

[@heyitsmort7744]

Didn’t realize persona has a dog puppet character I’ve gotta try that

[@kaynesantor8136]

Dude, that's pretty cool that perfectorange and gundog are supporters. You guys in the fgc are so tight knit. Very cool. I love watching you guys in the Croft cups. Anyway, nice work dude. This character seems a little busted and annoying, in the right hands.

[@kirathestowaway2538]

Thanks for the video!! Always good to see deep dives on more interesting experiments in fighting games. Don’t forget to take your time 🖤

[@Jdn-]

I think a big thing that wasn’t mentioned is that 5C is a decent anti-air, but you can tech it in the air and punish devo ON HIT because of where the move sends the opponent (to the ground instead of away like normal antiairs)- the dio matchup is so bad because of knives and how fast dio is but you can’t counter his jump in, since if you 5C him you just eat an entire bnb.

[@_Jay_Maker_]

Great breakdown! I'd love for you to highlight the total insanity of _Hokuto no Ken._ 😆

[@nightflare27]

I've only gotten into fighting games recently cuz of your videos, and ever since learning of Shadow Labrys, puppet characters are my favorite archtype. I can't play for shit yet, but I just love the (rare) satisfaction, and watching it is crazy Only problem is they're rare and I only choose cute characters ("o_o)

[@ZzigZaG00NIN]

This is interesting to me since most the stand on characters in the game feel like puppet characters

[@modestlatios5553]

Do you think Devo would ever use his stand to have the doll give him head?

[@itloaf]

🚫🚫🚫

[@flurreo]

this is the best comment i've read in history

[@Rylaine]

Probably? Def not using this chucky doll tho, those teeth are nasty.

[@ciguatera780]

he wouldn't survive

[@DevManner]

Long day at work fatigue broken by the vid I've been waiting for, thank you so much homie

[@PopstarDracula]

Apparently this was released 1998, december 2. Asura Blade was December 4 same year and also features a puppet character. 2 days away from tying for first.

[@Chaos_Vergil]

9:37 Stand 2C is both a really cool reference and VERY horrifying because of the reference... At least, I'm decently positive that it's a reference to a scene in Jojo. During Polnareff's fight with Ebony Devil, there's a scene where a bell boy walks in on the fight. For his troubles, Ebony Devil SLICES OFF HIS FACE IN ONE SWIFT MOTION!... Now, the reason I say that Stand 2C is a reference to that is because of the smear frame on that slice looking like a horrified face. It looks too intentional for it to either be a reference to that scene or to be a cool little visual that shows off Ebony Devil's horror themes. I know that in the anime, the slice came from above rather than below, but the anime came out nearly 2 decades after the game. Idk how that scene looks in the manga, but if the slice is just like how it is in the anime, let me know. If it's not a reference to that scene, then it's just a cool visual that emphasizes the horror of Ebony Devil. Edit: Looking at Ebony Devil's other slicing attacks, some of those smear frames also contain Jack-O-Lantern faces on them. So, I might be wrong about the reference, but that visual design is still really cool.

[@Drip_Wooper]

I was just gonna comment something like that, the slash has a scared faced in it, I dont think its supposed to be a Jack-O-Latern face, but rather someone screaming. The dude who got slashed. I love how in early parts Araki really was on that 'Stands are like spirits, they're scary' timing before it was changed to alien virus circa part 5, literally all enemy Part 3 stands from the first half are based on horror movies. A haunted car with visible no driver that can disappear and reappear that is always trying to run you over, a possessed bloodthirsty doll seeking vengeance, an impersonator pretending to be your friend so they can push you off a cliff, a man that hides in your reflection, a literal zombie town, a creature that appears in your dreams and can harm your real body should it kill you, If you get the references you got them, its all western horror movies from the 80s.

[@Fontayga]

Finally some fuckin puppet character content

[@natezuniga-qd7pe]

6:55 thought my phone died

[@TForgery]

thank u mr mixed tapes this was a good video

[@Catamaran33]

mr mixtape you saved my marriage

[@leonchau345]

Wait how did he do ot

[@Catamaran33]

@@leonchau345 cause he's the goat.

[@Gro-Gorothhater]

The real first puppet character is blackpol in hftf since you controll the sword and polnareff and technically the sword is a person

[@thewholecircus]

Ah, a fascinating character and the marrow of this game's roster

[@itloaf]

i feel like half the cast is "easiily one of the coolest characters in hftf" in one way or the other -- who would you consider to NOT be cool?

[@ciguatera780]

probably Chaka, Abdul and HH+Boingo with the latter having so much potential yet sucking so much ass. Abdul is a solid pick but still, meh.

[@VaclavRytina]

I was waiting for video about him, I absolutely adore the idea of controlling two characters at once

[@ToniaGlitched]

the more I play and hear about this game, the more I love it, goddamn

[@Amalvipls]

Great video. I'm looking forward to the one about shadow dio

[@arktype586]

Fantastic video as always!!

[@mrcosmos6986]

my fucking jaw dropped and i said "OH MY GOD" out loud like im fucking old joseph 17:13

[@MierCat20]

Love your vids man, just binged the majority of them and can’t wait to see more.

[@jellophant9716]

The first puppet character is actually my stepdad because he was born in 85 and is a tool

[@trafalgar47official66]

I think I've watched more videos about HFTF than I will ever play in my life

[@amogfudi]

15:20 Well, as long as we're talking about s.5a s.5a s.22c (1st hit cancel into tandem) link you should've mentioned the fact that it's 1 frame ONLY for player 2. On player 1 side it turns to a 2-3 frames link which is significantly easier to land.

[@SoulBurnerIori]

Is Galford from Sam Sho 2 not a puppet character?

[@CoolyCools]

i love this game on how deep it is and extremely high skill ceiling

[@hngdman]

1:28 I was thinking about Alice from Asura Blade/Buster but seems like her Blade version is a Zato case where she wasn't a puppet character yet.

[@hsalfesrever3554]

I've been waiting in anticipation for Devo to get covered, this is going to be great!

[@LuwiigiMaster]

The fact Devo is a remote only character makes one wonder how the other characters would fare if played like Devo. Would they be better "Devos"? Also, fun fact. While Midler is not a remote Stand user, some attacks of hers are classified as such, and thus significantly reduce her defense. And much like Devo, she never encountered the Joestar group head on, instead sicing High Priestess on them and presumably controlling it remotely, ironic since she's not a remote Stand user.

[@vollstaendingennamen]

arguably the protagonist from dr. jeckyll and mr hyde for the nes was the first puppet character in a fighting game. (its a joke, pretty sure if you stretch the defintion that far, theres older characters ^^)

[@peterstorm8089]

Devo require a lot of set-up with positioning his doll correctly in order to be effective is surprisingly accurate to him in the manga and anime. Given his stand is so weak on its own that he massively relied on surprise factor with having the doll already in the room in order to get the upper hand against Polnareff.

[@massacremcjoe3]

The twerk off tandems going nuts.

[@DrewPDrawerz]

Finally, I've been waiting for this!

[@rocketgrunthyunho]

I'm not sure why but that face devo makes when he's doing his super that flashes on the screen is very me esp that look in his eye and subtle lip clench

[@ecode136]

Probably not the first, but Kinu from Kabuki Klash 1995 seems an earlier contender.

[@cutefenns]

Yo some nice music choices in this video. Devo seems cool too though!

[@thatboybear]

Am I the only person who hears “puppet character” and immediately thinks Kankuro?

[@aexcel936]

Devo will always be the goat for his victory animation

[@goozantaro]

4:24 Rob d-tilt and stationary gyro ass combo

[@anothenblue2630]

Devo crawled so that Carl could put you into an infinite and fly.

[@jjarina]

Devo is a master of infinites, probably the biggest amount of loops in the entire game xd

[@anothenblue2630]

@@jjarina yeah, but he's not an obnoxious top tier character (or rather Carl tier because the brat needs his own) who can just do it when he feels like it and only loses to the even more obnoxious god tiers. Comparatively and literally, Devo crawled in comparison.

[@tora9567]

Successfully guessed ebony devil from the thumbnail!

[@datankz2498]

devo more like uhm uhhh peepoo! (love ur vids mrmixtape)

[@The15231]

Smtvv enjoyer identified

[@Eddie_Enfer]

The fact you have to manage Devo and the Doll separately feels like he's a stance character instead of a puppet character

[@juliankanzuki2013]

Darkstalker's 2 was 1995 and not even an obscure game, and Donovan is a puppet character, you control Donovan and his sword seperatly. I doubt he was the first either, I'm sure if I researched I could find one even earlier...

[@drakelipse]

Very good video! You explain the mechanics in a way even a weird arthropod would understand (clearly me). And I wanted to ask if Devo really have a "grudge" system attached to him, I saw someone saying this but I don't really know if it's true.

[@MrMixtape]

Thank you! There's no grudge mechanic for Devo in this game to my knowledge, he's just a puppet weirdo here.

[@drakelipse]

@@MrMixtape Thanks for the clarification! Stay strong, dude! ꓷ:

[@ermikeng1902]

Devo does way more damage than other characters when he has lower health

[@TerploNiceHat]

It all circles back to JoJo.

[@PriestOfTheHelix]

HELLLLLLLLL YEAH D'BO GAMING! I've mained Devo/D'bo for a long time, my fingers have broken in ways words I can't describe. This character sucks ass to learn and play, I love him so much. Edit: To quote someone I know, Devo either looks like a top 1 character or the worst fighting game character ever made depending on who is playing him.

[@Darkloid21]

Still seems like Zato is the true first puppet character as this dude's stuff seems more like Relius than something truly separate like Carl or Shadow Labrys.

[@deathcatthor]

puppet character more like mistermixtape character

[@h3115pawn]

Wonder if Glaford from Samurai Shodown (1993) applies. Was pretty awesome playing that character.

[@gogojz81473]

dimrain47?!?! awesome music choice :)

[@zerofitz]

Samurai Shodown 1993 has two puppet characters.

[@OrionTeller]

That was my first thought but I'm not sure they count, since you can't really control poppy or mamahaha

[@m8.614]

The term "puppet character" doesn't mean just having some random entity in the middle of the fight, the character has to actively control them.

[@genso6052]

If you're curious as to what Devo's Localized name is, it's "Soul Sacrifice"

[@flurreo]

Blueford solos neg diff

[@benjimiguel17]

jojo’s, ever the innovator. popularized the tsundere as well

[@kenspeedway1572]

WAKE UP BABE MR MIXTAPE UPLOADED A NEW HFTF VIDEO

[@AttitudeIndicator]

Check out alice from asura buster eternal warriors released in 2001, super interesting puppet character that controls an invulnerable skeleton called "dead man walking"

[@rampant1apart]

Heh. He literally had a puppet.

[@ericklourenco2053]

Very based, but i'm yet to see a mixtape dropping

[@laku-tikku554]

Goddamn been waiting for this

[@Tseuq4gninaem]

Just to let you know, Devo is the first puppet character, the only other Characters that would be close are Galford and Nakoruru from Samsho 1993, but they only use their pet as a projectile attack.

[@bendoucet8641]

Once again, in the context of fighting games, the answer to the question "Is that a Jojo reference?" is "Yes".

[@LuwiigiMaster]

Most pre-anime Jojo references were in fighting games and tended to chiefly reference Dio. Luigi's Minus Zone being reminiscent of time stop and the starfox characters dropping their landmasters being reminiscent of road roller.

[@darkwater124]

oooooh I get it. Puppet character

[@oh_gosh]

I think Galford in Samurai Shodown (1993) fighting with his dog might count. I wouldn't call him obscure😅

[@g0reshow]

oh my surface by dimrain47 jumpscare

[@DollarStoreGuardian]

Uhh… the first puppet character in fighting games by your own intro definition would be Galford in Samurai Spirits which was 1992, who you could also use his dog ‘Papi’ to perform moves independent of the main character.

[@nmzp111]

13:36 This is a very bad idea, if you catch someone with 214aa while they're anywhere in air, you'll get mediocre reward, if any, AND you'll lose meter. Devo has the worst meter build in the game, with his whiffed normals giving him very little meter compared to other characters. S22c is his only meaningful way to earn meter, which is, as you said, unsafe. Devo uses meter very efficiently, able to kill the opponent if he landed a hit with 1 meter, but with the way he struggles in neutral, using 214aa too much will turn you into a significantly worse character. With 214aa, not only can you get a combo without the need for correct positioning, but devo gets invincibility frame 1, which stays on until a bit after the superflash, during which he's fully actionable. If he gets a grounded hit, he theoretically already won. Man, I love writing multiple paragraphs that boil down to "don't waste meter".

[@christopherauguste1008]

Jo joooooooooo nice. The world ftw tho. But eh Samurai Shodown 1 from the 1992 was the first with puppet characters Galford with a dog named Poppy lol, Nakauro using a hawk. They kinda belong to SNK. One of the old school legendary companies with the KoF series Metal Slug etc. ...I like the future proofing you did though. I say that to say dude I'm a fan of Jojo especially this game I rate it as a technical fighter. Just say you like the game and yes I watched your channel. Cheers my guy.

[@legionofcats5175]

So after this who has not been covered I don't think iggy had been covered yet

[@okidoxb4846]

nice work

[@jasonmasterson3802]

what about poppy and galford from samurai showdown?

[@ShadowNinjaku]

My lawd he packing that backery

[@zenny8877]

based smt vv ost enjoyer 🗿

[@jakesimpson3373]

I could definitely be wrong but I thought Avdol had to use remote mode after his divekick

[@pleaseenteraname9158]

avdol kak and pol can turn their stands into remote mode, not exactly useful though

[@ThePageofCups]

I was going to say 'Missing Link beat JoJo's Venture by a few months' but then remembered Zato in Missing Link isn't actually a puppet character. Eddie's just a stand :)

[@SpectraPrime]

Wouldn't Donovan from Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge in 1996 be the first? the sword is it's own entity