What's with Clark!
And then there's Clark. Most people really just don't notice this background kind of guy. Contrary to most KOF contained quiet characters (Iori, Leona) Clark gets about as much attention as a quiet and secluded person gets, but there's actually a lot to him.
For one, he is one of the ACTUAL legendary Ikari warriors, (known as Paul then), until a mission failed. He was a mercenary for hire, but when that fateful mission (I think they were hired by Heidern at the time, but i'm not sure) failed, he and his best friend and partner, who we all know as Ralf (back then he was Vince) ended up stranded for quite some time in a jungle in which they were unfamiliar with, but then they were rescued. Now working for the neat and cool Heidern, they ended up entering the KOF tournaments. At first with the Hei-man himself. Then with the mystery girl Leona.
It seems Heidern wanted to pick some bones out of the garbage, or to put it bluntly, rip out Rugal's bones over a past grudge. So when a strange twist was made to the KOF tournament and Heidern was invited, Heidern suspected Rugal. So he, needing two partners, signs on his most trustworthy men. Clark himself, and Ralf. These two best friends actually are MORE effective when together. When Rugal was smitten and his crack-jack ship exploded, Rugal was thought to have done the world a favor by exploding with it. But the tenacious crack-ridden lice weed gone went and lived. So Heidern had the guys back in '95, where the cheater Rugal went of and pulled a Ren & Stimpy, imploding after the final match due to trying to harness power that didn't agree to his lowly demeanor. So Clark was kind of expecting to be done with the whole KOF deal (lest the garbage resurfaces). But then ol' Hei had another deal. The girl he had taken as his daughter was now ready to go out and.... do stuff. But the KOF '96 was to be a little training mission for her. So Heidern, now done with his duties of putting the dog to sleep, has asked Clark to join her on her little trip. Once again, he and Ralf are back in the fray (now dancin' a little bit). This time it's minimally different, as Leona's presence pits them into the underside of the KOF tournaments, where Orochi's presence lurks through participants of the tournament. Leona's Orochi blood caused her to go nuts when a mysterious man appeared from her past at the end of the tournament, so Clark (along with Ralf) gets his first taste of Orochi blood style, as he and Ralf now have to stop Leona's crazed rampage. Clark now realizes that there's more to the KOF than thought after Rugal's death. Of course, that's Clark's job. Realizing things.
After Leona kinda blasted away one of their missions, Ralf gets Heidern to sign on the trio once again to KOF it for another year, and the iffy Clark is once again drawn into battle, almost repeating the '97 incident when Leona goes berserk. Now it's '98 and the Orochi is gone..... right? Clark seems to like guns. In fact, he collects them like Ralf collects knives Clark kinda goes with the flow, starting and stopping as things stop and go. he also has a deep respect for Heidern, as it was the Hei-ster that rescued Ralf and he from that fateful mission. Yes, during that tiome stranded in the jungle, Clark's cool was challenged to the max, but he held out. Now he's dropped the mercenary for hire thing and works strictly for the considered lucky Heidern. The deal with the sunglasses? He likes them. As the KOF goes along in years, he takes them off more and more. People seemed disillusioned in a manner. One: People think Clark (or his whole team for that matter) is BAD because Clark is all hidden behind sunglasses and he's a soldier. Can't a man wear sunglasses? Two: People think that Clark and Leona are an item. From my research, it sems Leona's got a little playful crush on Clark that she doesn't pursue at all. AND Clark and Terry dress a lot alike don't they??????
If Clark had a best friedn (which he does) it would be (and is) Ralf. Ralf and Clark have been through sin and juice together, and the fact that they haven't got sick of each other shows that they'll be friends for life. Unlike Heidern, who is their all-time superior, Clark and Ralf consider Leona as a third, whom they accept, even though Clark is kinda leary of her demeanor. Lets see where this trio will end up. Suprise us SNK. Make it good. When it comes to Heidern, Clark is a bit more respectful than Ralf. Not that Ralf isn't respectful, but Clark thinks of heidern as a commander, as Ralf thinks of him like a dad/brother. Even though Ralf IS Clarks commander, Clark will not really acknowledge the fact, as won't Ralf. I guess in the heat of battle, Ralf's zany crazy style prevails. As shown in his fighting style as compared to KOF '94/ '95, Clark was not happy with his constant relation to Ralf (everyone always said "Ralf & Clark" not just "Ralf" not just "Clark." you know you used to do it too). Ralf also needed a change, so they decided to change their styles, Clark leaning more toward calculated thinking and grapples. Now you can't tell they were ever the same. Wouldn't you cringe in front of deadly throws and Heidern assasination arts?
Here's the thing. Playing Clark is quite a task for inexperienced players. Experienced players will see many new faces at their side as he/she plows through many a contender with Clark's to-the-point throws. Clark is one of the most effective characters in the game (not for me) because he is not bogged down by slow movement. The trick is very simple, get in close ad pound away. The Frankensteiner is anti-air, despite it's looks. His running throw should be used to counter, or just whip it out if your opponent is stupid and you're across the screen. It adds quite a bit to the advanced bar. There's no reason not to do the dropping elbow after anything it chains out of (unless you want to hear him say "Hey" after the frankensteiner). The Vulcan punch comboes well, and both his DM's damage greatly (although I like what he says after the regular Argentine Backbreaker DM instead of the SDM). That's about all there is. just throw them all over the place, make them jump, and do his air counter throw. Hey......
-Sho reppadan-
Clark: "Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...."
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