Linux-fueled Thoughts Unhinged

Originally written on June 1, 2024

Ronald McDonald in the Rivals of Aether Steam Workshop was inspired by the overpowered fan-created Ronald McDonald in the Mugen games.

Pepsiman is a similar Rivals clone of Ronald McDonald.

I'm surprised that basically all of these meme “cheap” characters have basically not been updated since 2020.

This includes the following:

• The original Ronald McDonald
• Nolan, an anime-inspired Ultra Instinct version imagined as a “backup” McDonald's employee working overtime
• RonaldGuacho, a very unassuming version of Ronald McDonald that passively gains lives (which is absolutely ridiculous w.r.t. game mechanics in the context of a Super Smash Bros.-inspired game)
  • This video probably best showcases this version of Ronald.
  • Also this version of Ronald can one-hit kill The Literal Sun.
• Awakened Void Ronald is apparently lost media.
  • There are only 2 video appearances of this version of Ronald: one shows some fighting and the other has its music theme.
  • This version was deleted from the Steam Workshop platform.
  • This version of Ronald seems to be inspired by some Mugen version of Ronald that is a “backseat” character that effectively has no hitbox and relentlessly deals passive automated damage to any character with a hitbox.

As mentioned previously, there is a tweaked clone of Ronald based on Pepsiman, the protagonist of a rather obscure video game that was only released in Japan and was never released (at the time of its launch) in North America; which was really a glorified advertisement for Pepsi in pure late 1990s aesthetics and zeitgeist.

In the Rivals Workshop, there's “R-Pepsi Man” (last updated in 2020). (This is not to be confused with a more toned-down and realistic version of the character called “Pepsi Man”, which still has somewhat overpowered moves, but lacks the giant laser move that all Ronald McDonald-inspired Rivals Workshop clone characters have.)

Conclusion

I look forward to making a version of the Ronald McDonald character for Altium Designer and Cadence's Allegro... with both character's Achilles' heel being KiCad.