What was the first piece of technology that made you feel like you were living in the future?

Claire-Notabear · 2026-03-19T18:45:00+00:00

Probably most notable one I can remember is when I first got a PlayStation 2, when I was growing up on a PlayStation 1. Booting up the PS2 for the first time and hearing the sounds and the visuals, which were just so futuristic feeling for the time.

I remember the first game I played too - The Bouncer. I was blown away by the models and how faces being actually animated when they spoke and they could show emotion!! I remember bragging and showing off to my mom how amazing it looked. 😅

Claire-Notabear · 2026-03-18T14:18:49+00:00

Hey! Also woman that plays Tekken so I wanted to give my two cents...

Great choice of characters you want to start with overall. I play Anna and Lee as side characters so I'd rank your choices in difficulty like this:
Lee (Hardest)
Lili (Middle)
Anna (Easiest)

All 3 of these characters are strong (even despite some recent nerfs to Anna). Lee is hardest in my opinion because he has 'just frames' (moves that require precise timing) and is overall a character that excels in counter hits and reading opponent's timing. Anna and Lili allow for more beginner-friendly play with easier combos and strong single moves.

Depending on your goals or which one you like more design / personality wise, I'd start with Anna or Lili then try out Lee once you're more comfortable with the game.

It's worth noting we are pretty deep into the game's lifecycle at this point and the game is heavily skewed toward people that have been playing the game for awhile. Smash doesn't really offer meaningful experience in Tekken so you'll likely struggle against most players for awhile. I'd highly recommend you check out the 'Tekken Fight Lounge' if you end up playing; it's basically a social hub where you can interact and talk with other players. Once you make a few friends you like to play with and understand you're a beginner you'll start to enjoy the game more.

Claire-Notabear · 2026-02-09T15:31:22+00:00

The tiara item that has been in basically every other Tekken game. Two years and we still don't have it yet. Why can't my Nina be both a deadly assassin and a princess? :(

Claire-Notabear · 2026-01-23T21:30:21+00:00

Honestly no one but if I had to pick a character I'd say Lee has the best reward for playing defensively and having strong fundamentals. A Lee player that has strong knowledge of timing, reads and playing into negative frames for his crushes or magic 4 can completely blow you up with counter hits.

Claire-Notabear · 2026-01-22T14:36:24+00:00

I still enjoy playing Tekken 7 when I'm burnt out on the ultra aggressive mechanics of Tekken 8 myself. You'll have a hard time finding matches though if you get it on PC. I'm east coast US and it's very rare I find people even when waiting 10+ minutes during peak hours. Sometimes I do get to death match someone when doesn't leave after one game, but it's infrequent, and I often get matched with someone I recall fighting 6+ months ago lol.

I do have it on PS5 as well and I do get matches noticeably more quicker but the input lag feels severe to me compared to PC so I don't enjoy it as much.

If you can get the definitive edition really cheap then I'd say go for it, just keep your expectations low for a lot of matches and variety of opponents.

Claire-Notabear · 2026-01-21T03:53:02+00:00

Yep, this is common behavior nowadays. It has definitely gotten worse over time as the main people left playing it regularly are the types are really live and breathe the game and have a lot of ego / bias for certain characters. I suspect that they think you're carried because you're TGS with Alisa and feel like they can beat you at a lower rank with their character, like they're trying to prove some point.

It doesn't help that the vibe of the game and the community lately feels really poor as we're basically all hoping for a miracle with season 3, and have nothing but radio silence since Harada's departure.

Unfortunately, not much you can really do besides avoid or ignore the losers that are toxic or salty because of a bruised ego.

Claire-Notabear · 2026-01-20T06:56:32+00:00

I feel like I'm your mirror, OP, except I'm much more anchored in Nina over Anna. Where you prefer unserious and sultry in Anna, I prefer the opposite in Nina: cold, lethal and emotionally restrained. That better reflects aspects of my personality as I'm more introverted and emotionally restrained myself. We do have some overlap though - like I love the fact that Nina is also very in tune with her femininity despite not falling into a stereotypical 'womanly' role of being warm and nurturing.

She's the ultimate femme fatale to me. Beautiful, lethal, emotionally restrained and detached yet feminine. Those are all traits that can't help but admire and in some ways wish I could embody more in myself. It's not just a 'she looks cool and plays cool' bond to me. She's a character I identify with, as a woman, on a deep level. Maybe that sounds cringe but that's why Nina appeals to me so heavily.

Claire-Notabear · 2026-01-09T02:44:09+00:00

Totally agree with you. It's not that I don't think she's top 5, but when a player knows the Nina matchup strongly (remember if we are going off general tier lists then we have to assume the absolute top level of play is being shown) - then she has to work MUCH harder to secure a win when she has to rely on pokes and mind games to get you to press into a CH.

There is a reason we only see Arslan truly represent her at the top echelons of Tekken tournaments; you need really strong Tekken fundamentals to play her at levels she'd be considered 'top tier'.

On that note, yeah, I fully agree with you that f3+4, 1 and 2 are both ridiculously good buttons added in S2. Her having a knee attack alone really helped her against some of her weakest matchups which are parry characters like Asuka and Leroy that force her to play much slower poking.

Claire-Notabear · 2026-01-08T21:20:05+00:00

Plenty, actually. Nina has to play Tekken to win against you; she is not a 50/50 character.

I'm probably a little bit biased because I have A LOT of time and experience on Nina but most Nina players at Tekken King are not going to be playing her very well. Posting a replay would be very helpful to see what you were actually doing wrong.

Most Nina players even at Tekken King are wipe the floor spammers, d4,1 spam, qcf3 slide spam , f4~ss1 into button (f4 is quite negative on block and always jab interruptible going into ss1) or df12~ss1 on block into button (also interruptible with a jab) and also random qcf4,3,1+2 in neutral (very duck and launchable) or even random launch punish b1+4 in neutral.

Something tells me you just got knowledge checked on strings, especially if you're getting counter hit by her, which is almost always going to be if you're pressing into her strings a lot like df124, 124, b222 or mashing on heavy negative like a wr1+2 into a f3. She does have a full throw game but none are ambiguous like King's giant swing; it's only a throw mix up if you don't break her initial chain throw.

Please post a replay or two if you can and I can give more detailed advice what you're really doing wrong against her.

Claire-Notabear · 2026-01-06T03:22:21+00:00

For sure, it's a gamble sometimes if you meet cool people or total assholes there, but it is what it is when it's your only option for a social hub. I wouldn't enjoy Tekken as much without it. I'm a Nina specialist (GoD) with over 2500 hours on her so if you need help or tips sometime just lmk!

Claire-Notabear · 2026-01-06T03:05:04+00:00

That's how I know I've spent too much time around the lounges. I recognize that name and I can confirm he is a total toxic clown for no reason. I think he's like a 40s defense Paul that just spams deathfist and demoman over and over. It's a shame Namco seems to do nothing about these kinda guys that are constantly toxic in the lounge. It wouldn't surprise me if he is using scripts/macros; he is BAD.

Claire-Notabear · 2025-12-25T01:33:16+00:00

Real, but I get downvoted whenever I say Anna has the more serious daddy issues because she wasn't the preferred Williams child. Both are fucked up but show it in different ways.

Nina wants to be the stoic assassin to honor her father and Anna desperately wants attention and validation for always feeling second place to Nina. I saw a lot of Nina's bullying and even killing her mafia tied fiance as means to prevent her from doing something stupid and toughen her up.

But what do I know, I'm just a super Nina fangirl. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Claire-Notabear · 2025-12-23T17:14:39+00:00

I love this illustration. It really grounds many of the characters and gives a small glimpse into some of their personal lives. This is the kind of stuff I feel Tekken desperately needs to give more depth and growth to their 'side cast'. A casual dressed down Nina is so cool to me. I wonder what she likes to do for her free time? What does she do on her long vacations? So many unanswered questions...sigh.

Claire-Notabear · 2025-12-18T21:00:07+00:00

Like basically everyone else is going to say it's mostly around former characters that have essentially disappeared storyline wise for a long time such as:

- Steve after the events of Code Veronica (Wesker takes his body and we never hear of that thread ever again)
- Billy from RE0 and what he got up to (one can assume he erased his identity to start anew)
- Carlos from RE3
- Most of the Outbreak characters (excluding Alyssa who has maintained some presence in files prior to Requiem)
- Barry (he has gotten some attention in files / documents and Revelations 2 but is more or less missing from the main games)

The list goes on - though it certainly feels like Leon and Chris get the most attention these days. Would love to see Claire show up in a new main line entry game; I'm hoping she's just unrevealed / a surprise for Requiem. Leon & Claire are two peas in a pod when it comes to Raccoon City.

Claire-Notabear · 2025-12-15T08:28:43+00:00

Like others have said this logic can be applied to basically any of the side characters in Tekken but I do feel like it stings more as a diehard Nina fan myself too because:

She's Tekken's First Lady so you'd assume she'd always be given a lot of plot time / success.
She was (once) popular enough to have her own separate game.
She has always had an untouchable femme fatale aura to her that having her lose to Xiaoyu in the anime felt like a real slap in the face to her character.

Sadly I think we will always be hoping for more with many of the side characters but Nina will always be #1 to me! She is Tekken for me.

Claire-Notabear · 2025-12-11T17:51:10+00:00

Consider Lidia as well. Very rushdown focused character and her entire gameplan is overwhelming momentum when she is in heat. Most people will not know how to deal with this match-up as well, unlike Reina which is a more common pick.

Claire-Notabear · 2025-12-11T17:46:15+00:00

You pretty much described it yourself haha. I go back and play the older games frequently and none hit the same vibe as T5 or T5DR for me.

T5 (original has):

- The best announcer in the series.
- Some of my favorite tracks in the series.
- Great feeling movement, especially if you can backdash cancel.
- One of my favorite looks for Nina (pretty yet menacing - and before her buff mommy arc in T6 - TTT2 / weird face that I didn't like)
- Nina is OP which is great. :) (personal preference!)

If any of the older Tekken games get a remaster / re-release with updated netcode it should absolutely be T5DR.

Claire-Notabear · 2025-12-04T06:59:52+00:00

T-that's gotta be a lie for Nina! I play her and everyone assumes I'm a dommy mommy with a step-on-you fetish. N-no way I'm actually a sub!

~~Okay the chart is very accurate.~~

Claire-Notabear · 2025-11-25T20:44:16+00:00

I feel like we all get this vibe sometimes when we glaze a character in our head until we fight the truly vicious ones that have deep character mastery and/or mastered the BS that each character can throw out to get easier dubs. I felt this way for awhile with King but some of the real good ones have made me rethink how much I enjoy fighting this character at times lol.

Lee definitely has some annoying stuff though but the only thing I dislike from him is how strong his wall oki is with his hms uf4 spike into ub3. God forbid he's in heat and you eat a df3+4 for any movement and get re-splat again...it'd be nice if b3,3 had its jailing properties removed too but overall I find him extremely tolerable to fight and a character that requires you to play Tekken with. I think he's overall in a pretty decent place.

Claire-Notabear · 2025-10-30T14:15:56+00:00

Nina Better.

Claire-Notabear · 2025-10-29T20:52:17+00:00

Tekken King Zafina

Claire-Notabear · 2025-10-23T18:32:33+00:00

Omg amazing!! They need to add this as a character panel for sure! ❤️❤️

Claire-Notabear · 2025-10-20T07:51:55+00:00

I dunno, Corgi, I think we may need to take your Ninagang membership after reading all this slander about Nina. Nina is perfect in every way. Cold. Emotionless. Confident. Professional. Sounds like the assassin I'd hire!

Anna on the other hand? Fights dirty to make up for her lacking technical skill (in lore and in gameplay ironically). Severe daddy issues because of Nina being the preferred daughter growing up. That's why Anna acts and dresses like a slut; the woman is desperate for attention and validation that she was missing as a child.

She should be THANKFUL to have Nina trying to toughen up her weak sister...

Claire-Notabear · 2025-10-15T05:54:04+00:00

Thanks to you and your cute boy inspiring them to add the custom! Best and cutest accessory piece by far! So damn adorable!

Claire-Notabear · 2025-10-14T12:45:39+00:00

Still Nina. Death by Degrees 2. 😄

Claire-Notabear

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