At a systems level Strive is like the least interesting anime fighter playable today, but Testament is still so elegantly designed. Everything just kinda flows in the power fantasy zoners are designed to provide without ever relying too heavily on metagame outplays over mechanical expressivity (see: Guile). I think part of the reason they work so well without feeling frustrating to play against is that stain, your reward for playing midrange keep-away, is just a combo extension tool--not only does it require you to win neutral to capitalize on your advantage, it specifically emphasizes creativity in your combo routing in a way the rest of the game does not at all. Combine that with fun, unique oki that often feeds right back into stain, normal hitboxes bigger than god, and a fullscreen 50/50 mixup that i always feel slightly guilty for hitting online? If teleport was cooler this would be like a perfect character.

Reviewed on Nov 15, 2023


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