Press Start to Join - For Noob

[CyanDimitrik]

"Mmmnnnhhh."

It's an odd noise from Katsumi when Suzume makes her selection. Is she happy? Sad? Annoyed? Her face doesn't betray much, either. Her lips are set in a thin line, and there's a mild squint to those expressive eyes. She selects the powerhouse archetype in the bright yellow shirt - Adam.

And so the game begins! The first thing to note about the game is that it doesn't pull its punches. Katsumi is doing just fine, but she's used to handling it, hopping from place to place, switching targets, and lining up targets to throw into each other. But she's not leaving Suzume out in the cold. She offers some valuable pearls of wisdom:

"Bust a bottle on that bitch."
"Watch the assholes in 80s jackets. Those fuckers slide."
"Dammit, don't hit me, Lil' Bit!"

This is intermittent with the action, up to and including suplexing whip-wielding dominatrices. "Bam!"

[Noob]

While Suzume is by no means a novice at games, Katsumi was leaving the smaller woman in her dust. "Haaah wait hold on. Gaaah stupid goon! Ugh come onnnnn! How was I supposed to know that?" The woman whined as time and time again she found the game harder than she anticipated. Focus as she might, it was hard to just be thrown into a game that pulled no punches. Friendly fire was even a thing as Suzume soon found out. "Ahh! Sorry sorry!" She quickly mumbled after hitting Katsumi's character.

Finally Suzume was able to catch up with Kat and was starting to hold her own. "Oh...ok...What the hell is that and how do I kill it?" She commented, seeing an enemy she was not prepared for in a beat 'em up. She gripped the joystick firmly and got ready to start mashing buttons. Now getting quite into it the smaller girl was starting to display a side of her often hidden behind a computer screen while gaming.

[CyanDimitrik]

The game is progressing nicely now that Suzume seems to be finding her groove. And Katsumi appreciates the level of focus the smaller woman is putting into it! It allows her a level of freedom, not having to worry about doubling back to pry thugs off her partner. As for the enemy Suzume's referred to? It's a pair of hideously obese bald dudes who seem lame enough at first. But the boss tune playing in the background should really be a clue. And Suzume's question isn't exactly unwarranted. The moment she got near one, he exhaled a plume of godmode fire and ran across the screen. Like an asshole.

"Okay, so these guys - you're the fast one, so you get in close under'em, okay? When they do the fire thing, they always run forward, so don't be in front of'em," explains Katsumi as she attempts to demonstrate. "And be careful when you throw'em! Only do it forward! They're fatasses, you're a little girl, it won't work!"

Indeed, should Suzume's red-clad protagonist attempt to flip them, she'll find the wide load splatting right on top of her. No dice.

"You can also do thiiiiis..."

Katsumi hits the mysterious third button that had yet to come into play. She was reserving this just for a specific, dramatic moment. But once she hits the button, the characters freeze, the fatties fuss around in place, and the camera pans rapidly to the left. A police car pulls in and a cop exits with a bazooka. It fires. The screen pans back to the action at hand, and the Pillsbury Doughbros are blasted for massive damage.

"Hahah! We could totally cheese this fight since we saved up enough of these!"

Katsumi is having a grand time.

[Noob]

While Suzume was able to hold her own, she was still having a bit of difficulty keeping up. It was her first time playing this game and already she could tell it was going to be eating her quarters. "Heyy! Ugh why didn't you tell me that earlier." The shorter woman whined as she attempted to do a throw and her character was immediately crushed. She turned to Katsumi and stuck her tongue out. "You're just trying to waste my quarters so I can't drag you to Tekken and kick your butt aren't you?" Suzume started to tease.

Despite her mediocre performance Suzume was still having fun. Beat 'em ups with a partner were always a good time after all. She wondered just how far Katsumi would be able to get, especially while trying to keep her afloat. She figured though that eventually she'd just step back and watch, hoping to conserve her coins for another game after this. It would be quite impressive to see Kat beat the game solo anyway. Afterwards Suzume would be sure to drag the bluenette to her favorite game. She'd try anyway since if she was going by previous experiences she'd probably be the one getting dragged somewhere again.

[CyanDimitrik]

Suzume isn't in for too long a wait. Soon enough, they've reached the dreaded boat stage. The level itself isn't too bad, though the sliding enemies certainly take some cheap shots. Katsumi clearly likes the oddly spy-esque background music, her pert rear bopping in rhythm. It's what comes at the end that's the nightmare.

A pair of girls. They're not huge. In fact, they look like palette-swaps of Suzume's character, from bright red clothes to drab gray. They do, however, move absurdly fast and have one other very particular advantage: "Aahhh, don't let'em touch you! Goddamn suplex city!" And each throw does massive damage. Katsumi uses the last of their bazooka-cop reserve, which helps, but is far too little to turn the tide.

"Nonono-" Slam. "Shit!"
Next life.
"Comeoncomeon-" Slam. "DAMMIT!"
Next life.
Katsumi's character successfully backhands one of the attackers attempting to dart in from behind. "Pow, bitch!" Slam. "MOTHERFUCKER!"
Next life.
"Adam, you are so freaking slow, you deserve-" Slam. "F-M-L."
Last life.
"Is this how it's gonna end? To the freaking Segata Sanshiro twins?"

The manages to land a combo against one of the girls. She shrieks, falls over, and blinks out of existence.

"Ah! One down-" Slam. "Ow." She blinks, then melodramatically, "My pride! Dishonor!"

As the timer ticks away, she slants her gaze aside to Suzume. A hint of a smile tugs the corners of her lips, concerned she might be getting a little bored with this. "You, uh.. said Tekken, huh?"

[Noob]

Suzume was no match for the on screen enemies. "Ugh...no no no. Come onnnnn!" She whined, clearly not doing well. Eventually the woman's pile of coins had dwindled and she decided it was best to quit while she was ahead. "Sorry Katsumi...I let you down." She mumbled and gave her new friend a sad look paired with some puppy dog eyes. She backed away to just watch the woman play and very soon had become Kat's cheerleader. "Get em! Go go go! DODGE!" She yelled from the sidelines and occasionally started jumping up and down. Sure it might have done more harm then good at times but she was having fun with it.

Finally Katsumi suggested something else. "Tekken? YEAH. Oh my god let's go!" The woman practically squealed, her eyes lighting up. Before Katsumi could try and carry her again, the smaller woman was off, rushing to one of her favorite games ever. She couldn't wait to show off at a game she was good at this time. Suzume would gladly spend the rest of her budget on this game. For however long her coins lasted, Suzume would most likely be glued to her favorite machine until she was ready to go home.

[CyanDimitrik]

Le fini~!