Metal Gear Ranma
by Michael �Ranma13� Cerda
8/17/00
I do not take credit for the Ranma 1/2 characters.
This is one of those stories where you almost don't need
the disclaimer, because the characters you're using are
not even remotely similar to the ones from the original
series.
A Metal Gear/Ranma crossover could be done, and it could
be done well. There area all sorts of different approaches
one coud take to writing such a fic. It's reassuring to know
that your story will depart from the game, but there seems
to be no reason for you to be using the Ranma characters
at all. They may look like themselves, but in this prologue,
not one of them displays a single personality trait which
would make them recognizable as the characters upon whom
they are based.
You are setting things up to reveal some back history as
you go along. That's okay... but from this prologue, I
get the impression that you're just plugging names from
the Ranma cast into the story. They may have similar
abilities and fighting styles, but that is really just
superficial. What makes Ryouga distinctive, for example,
is not his bandanna or his strength - it's his personality.
Put a bandanna on Liquid Snake and he does not automatically
become Ryouga.
Now, if the history you're planning to reveal is that these
are the Ranma castmembers we have come to know, but that
their adult lives have taken these unexpected turns, then
that might be more interesting. If you can make it
plausible, of course. If you can explain how Ryouga has
managed to evolve into a cold-blooded masterimind in an
American special operatives unit, how Shampoo and Mousse
decided to leave their people to join this same unit and
are content to work under Ryouga, how Kunou and Kodachi
also ended up in this foreign organization in spite of
their strongly Japanese outlooks, how Akane (I assume
this mystery girl is Akane, possibly Ukyou, or maybe
you're saving Ukyou for the Grey Fox role or one of Snake's
Codec buddies) managed to get herself involved in this
whole mess, how Ranma ALSO ended up joining this elite
force (by comparison, his burn-out is a relatively easy
bit of explanation), why he ended up moving to Alaska
of all places...
Tall order. Making it believable is an especially tall
order. That doesn't mean it's impossible, though.
If you've got some of that history to show us, I would
highly recommend doing it in this introduction. Have
someone recall their youthful days in Nerima. Explain
just a little bit of their feelings about having come so
far on such a strange road. You don't have to reveal
everything at once, of course, but it would help to know
that you've got some of this thought out.
Otherwise, I would suggest simply dropping the Ranma
cast entirely. If their histories and personalities have
no relation at all to their original incarnations, then
there's not much point in using them at all. Use the Metal
Gear cast and make it an alterante universe fic, where things
go differently from the way they did in the game. Throw
in a new character or two if you need. Have a blast. There
are enough fans of Metal Gear that you'll get plenty of
readers for your story. My advice is to not drag
characters from another series into the mix unless you plan
to be at least somewhat faithful to their original
personalities.
Best of luck with the story,
Grayson Towler
http://www.rigroup.com/~grayson/relentless