[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unnamed_73.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''[[{{Catchphrase}} "LET'S GO!!!"]]'']]
->''"What's up, Doods, Max here."''
-->-- '''Max'''

The Online Warrior is an ongoing series of Website/YouTube videos, made by "[[https://www.youtube.com/user/Miles923 Miles923]]", primarily now known as Maximilian Dood (real name: Maximilian Christiansen), or in fighting-game circles, as simply Max. Originally covering both fighting and [=FPS=] games, he has become notably known for the former genre with his content creation, focusing on bridging the gap between casual fighting fans and the hardcore group.

Max gained notoriety among fighting game fans with the fourth episode of his ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' series, doing something different- a character guide for individual characters, called WebVideo/AssistMe, beginning with Doctor Doom. This series was a departure from his normal fare, with actors playing the parts of the various characters, and something resembling a storyline. It was even picked up by Capcom to promote the release of ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3]]'', with 6 episodes covering 12 characters, and ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom Marvel vs. Capcom Origins]]''. As time went on, Max's content became primarily fighting-game-based with playthroughs (including a subseries called Boss Rage, where Max will play on the hardest difficulties), online matches, and his individual thoughts and reactions to fighting game news and reveals.

Among the fighting game community, Max is well-received as a content creator who certainly knows his ins-and-outs of a wide variety of games (especially Capcom fighting games), but with a style and demeanor that is intentionally welcoming to newcomers. Various fighting game figureheads such as Katsuhiro Harada, the current producer and director of ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'', have praised his efforts in growing the community.

One staple of the channel was Max's Pomeranian named Benny. With a very expressive face, fans quickly latched onto him as the mascot of the channel and often appeared in Max's videos and merchandise until the later stages of his life due to Benny's declining health and increasing anxiety. Sadly, Benny passed away in 2022. Max has stated Benny will continue to be the mascot for the channel.

While Max primarily focuses on fighting games, he still will often play through other notable games outside the genre as well. He also has a second channel, [[LetsPlay/YoVideogames ''Yo Videogames!'']], a casual gaming channel with friends Matthew Simmons, Kenny O'Brien and Steve Springer (with guest appearances by Max's wife, Jessica, and their infant daughter Ripley). While the four are fighting game enthusiasts, the channel covers many types of games, especially on older hardware, and will often dedicate specific nights and weeks to a specific genre or console. Both channels are first streamed live on Twitch then are pared down into edited episodes for [=YouTube=] shortly after.

'''NOTE:''' Please add any tropes related to '''WebVideo/AssistMe''' or its alternate channel LetsPlay/YoVideogames in its proper page.
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!!Games with their own Online Warrior Series:
* ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' and ''Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3''
* ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomClashOfTheSuperheroes''
* ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken''
* ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII: Third Strike''
* ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur V]]''
* ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena''
* ''Super VideoGame/StreetFighterIV: Arcade Edition Ver. 2012'' (Under "The Salty Warrior" subcategory)
* ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' Resurrection (as Darkstalkers: The Night Warrior)
* ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs''

Max notably '''''doesn't''''' regularly cover ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct2013'', partially due to the fact he's actually credited as the Story Mode Cinematics Director from Season 2 onwards.
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!!This series provides examples of:

* AccidentalMisnaming: In his reviews of ''VideoGame/PowerRangersBattleForTheGrid'', as Max's knowledge of Franchise/PowerRangers barely goes past Season One of ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', he'll name characters other silly names, such as referring to [[Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy the Magna Defender]] as "Dark Souls Dude" and [[Series/PowerRangersSPD Kat Manx]] as "Catwoman Ranger".
* {{Angrish}}: Max will pedal backwards into this whenever things don't go his way during games, or after them. He starts to sound like Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger.
* AprilFoolsDay: Max posted a video, as a follow up a similar video that wasn't even done on the day itself, where he [[{{Troll}} trolls his subscribers]] into believing that you can get the voiceovers of Wesker, Doom, and Deadpool from ''Assist Me'' onto the VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 disc. Even funnier is Max treats this as [[CreatorBacklash absolutely horrible]].
* ApologeticAttacker: During matches, being the nice guy he is, Max will occasionally apologize for not holding back if he's playing against opponents who aren't as skilled as him. He'll especially apologize if he accidentally taunts his opponent, as Max considers taunting in fighting games to be UnsportsmanlikeGloating unless a game has {{Practical Taunt}}s.
* ApologisesALot: Whenever Max runs into an opposing player who has their in-game microphone on, he'll mute it to preserve the quality of the recording[[note]]And presumably so he doesn't get in trouble for anything the other person says[[/note]]. Quite often he'll get people who recognize him ("Oh shit, am I fighting THE Maxmilian?!") or are fans of his ("I watch you videos all the time, dood!"), which leads to him thanking his opponent for the kind words and fervently apologizing for having to mute them.
* AuthorAvatar:
** Max has two in ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur V]]''. One based off of Mitsurugi, the other based on Siegfried. He also has avatars of him and Doom for the action RPG VideoGame/DragonsDogma.
** Max has also stated before that he likes to think of choosing fighting game characters based on the one playing in some way, shape, or form. Thus, he tends to focus on blonde men that wear red. (For example, [[Franchise/StreetFighter Ken]].) He'll lampshade this tendency of his once in a blue moon, like when he called the Troubleshooter in ''VideoGame/DNFDuel'' "this handsome bastard right here". It should be noted that the character's official ''DFO'' art makes him look like an almost dead ringer for Max.
* AuthorAppeal: Overlaps with the above trope. Most of Max's notable mains like Ken and Siegfried are based on his own criterion stated above. Aside from these, he is also known to play the following characters in other fighting games (some of which would go on to be featured on his channel's animated opening):
** ''Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3'': Dr. Doom, Strider Hiryu, Wesker, Nova, Dante, Akuma, Wolverine
** ''Persona 4 Arena'': Akihiko
** ''Street Fighter III: Third Strike'': Dudley, Q, Oro, Alex
** ''Injustice: Gods Among Us'': Batgirl, Batman, Superman
** ''Super Smash Bros.'': Marth, Captain Falcon, Link, Snake
** ''Street Fighter X Tekken'': Yoshimitsu, Ogre, Lars
** ''Killer Instinct'': Orchid, Jago, Spinal, Fulgore, Glacius, Sabrewulf, TJ Combo, Hisako
** ''Guilty Gear Xrd'': Sol, Ky, Leo
** ''Mortal Kombat X'': Takeda, Reptile, Predator, Ermac, Erron Black, Sub-Zero, Triborg, Xenomorph
** ''Ultra Street Fighter IV'': Evil Ryu, Oni, Cody
** ''Street Fighter V'': Nash, Alex, Akuma, Zeku, G, Gill, Seth, Dan, Akira
** ''Injustice 2'': Robin, Sub-Zero, Swamp Thing
** ''Tekken 7'': Akuma, Miguel
** ''Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite'': Strider Hiryu, X, Ghost Rider, Jedah, Dante, Ryu, Monster Hunter, Sigma, Venom
** ''Dragon Ball [=FighterZ=]'': Team {{Time Travel}}ers (Trunks, Goku Black, Hit), Super Broly, Baby
** ''[=BlazBlue=] Cross Tag Battle'': Team [[SinisterScythe Scythe]] (Gordeau[[note]]specifically his ComicBook/{{Gambit}} palette[[/note]] and Ruby)
** ''Mortal Kombat 11'': Noob Saibot, Sub-Zero, Shang Tsung
** ''Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl'': Ren & Stimpy
** ''Mortal Kombat 1'': Smoke, Reptile, Havik
** He also holds ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' and ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' in high regard, naming the first game as his personal game of the year for 2013.
** ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' had Max say it's one the best games he's ever played from MediaNotes/TheSeventhGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames.
** The above trend when it comes to mains was broken in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'', as he mostly plays Franchise/MegaMan, despite the Blue Bomber being meh at best, simply because he's a big fan of the franchise. Similar treatment extends to the later additions of Ryu, Cloud and VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}.
** While Max does have his preferred sense of style, gameplay is what counts most in his book; he'll give characters a fair chance if he considers them cool, but will only stick with them if they're fun to play. A big example came in the form of [[EnemyWithout Kage]] from ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' Season 4: Max was super hyped for the character because he seemed to be a fusion of Evil Ryu and Oni, two of his favorite characters from ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV''. However, he dropped the character after only a couple of days because his GlassCannon nature combined with slow movement speed meant that fighting anyone except other {{Shotoclone}}s was a massive chore.
** Even though his channel and his hobbies are dedicated to fighting games, Max has stated multiple times that ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', a role-playing game, is his favorite video game of all time. He did a whole playthrough of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' on his channel, and showed massive levels of hype for the game during its pre-release as he saw trailers and news footage about it. [[ApprovalOfGod He was even told by the creators of]] ''FFVII Remake'' that they liked his reaction upon seeing the game's first teaser. Max was also quite happy to see both Cloud and Sephiroth added to ''Super Smash Bros.'' as DLC characters, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK5gdf5cMPM the former]] in ''Smash 4'' and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT_r90jg8eA the latter]] in ''Ultimate''.[[invoked]]
** If a character's looks isn't what ropes Max into playing them, a character that's some variation of a {{Shotoclone}} will. As [[https://youtu.be/YXSmQXbRxJ4?t=917 he puts it]] in "What is... A Shoto?":
--->'''Max:''' ...but there's a lot of variances in between these [gameplay styles]. In fact, if we looked at the ultimate shoto game, ''Ultra'' ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' [...] Why do we say ''Ultra Street Fighter IV'' is the ultimate shoto experience? Well, it's the only ''Street Fighter'' game - which essentially "established" shotos, right? - to feature an absolute metric ''shit-ton'' of shotos, hybrid shotos, and New Age shotos, and almost every single way you can stick a shoto, they stuck it into this game. ''[leans into microphone]'' ''...and I fucking love it.''
* AtomicFBomb:
** Max lets out a ''huge'' one during his [[VideoGame/KillerInstinct Shadow Jago]] Boss Rage when [[OhCrap he realizes]] that because he switched characters during his run without returning to the main menu, [[EpicFail his victory against the first character still counts as a loss in the overall run]]. It ends up getting [[CurseCutShort cut off by a smash cut]].
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: [[https://youtu.be/lKMCdp1gCEc Max decided to spectate people fight]] in ''VideoGame/StreetFighter6'''s Battle Hub using their custom characters. Considering the limitations (or lack thereof) of the game's CharacterCustomization. Max was fully expecting to see several abominations beat eachother up. He managed to get that, with the last battle he watched having a character so deformed (and using Blanka's moveset, no less), that Max began comparing it with [[Literature/LordOfTheRings Gollum]]. It was this one fight that made him [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere call it a day]] as it left him very disturbed.
* BerserkButton:
** Plain and simple: [[VideoGame/SoulcaliburV Natsu]] = Salty Max.
** "Bad Ping," for people with choppy internet connections. This includes his own internet.
** Max considers taunting to be offensive and UnsportsmanlikeGloating. He makes an exception for games with {{Practical Taunt}}s like ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII''. The few times he's taunted another player, it was either an accident (for which he apologizes profusely), or in response to the other player's taunting.
*** By the same token, teabagging quickly turns him into a salty revenge-driven player. Since ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' makes you tap Down repeatedly to grant Mercy, Max tends to perform the input while jumping so it doesn't look like he's teabagging.
** Max dislikes it when people choose the training stage in online matches, since he thinks it defeats the purpose of the game having stages in the first place.
** Max isn't particularly fond of people in the chat [[BackseatDriver trying to tell him what to do or how to play]]. If he doesn't put the chat into sub-only mode, he'll likely do the opposite of what he's told just to spite them.
** Crappy netcode is something that gets on his nerves a lot, especially as someone who plays online a lot instead of tourney-hopping. Max has been championing the cause for better netcode to Japanese devs at almost every convention he's gone to in the past few years, to no avail. It got to the point where he once dedicated [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW61xJNJ9m8 a 20-minute pseudo-"Real Talk" episode]] solely on the topic, specifically on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_invented_here "Not Invented Here" Syndrome]], citing the myriad proprietary Japanese MediaNotes/{{game engine}}s and proprietary, not-GGPO netcode, eventually boiling down the reason to "we can't be bothered to spend money learning foreign technology". His "Hype Check" video on ''VideoGame/DragonBallFighterz'' elaborates on how this issue affected his enjoyment of the game; after a few months of loving it, he became disillusioned by the netcode problems online not being addressed, and abandoned the game early in 2019. Even when he returned in February of 2020 to play it again, he expressed that he would very likely ''not'' play online because he was sure it had not been fixed. Max finally had his grievances on this topic addressed, albeit indirectly, in a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpC-JB--c7Q "Fighting Game Developer Roundtable" conference]] held late July 2020, when Katsuhiro Harada (''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}''[='=]s executive producer) talked about the technical difficulties of adjusting 3D animations for rollback netcode and how their development team plans to overcome those difficulties. Multiple times throughout the video, Max tells his audience how happy he is to see ''literally any'' Japanese developer, much less Harada himself, finally take the issue seriously.
** Max hates the idea that fighting games need to be for only hardcore players. While Max likes to play with skilled players and enjoys high-end play, he above all wants to have fun, and gets really annoyed at how many fighting game communities act like StopHavingFunGuys. In Max's mind, this kills the FGC's chances of growing and just comes across as elitist. This is part of why he doesn't participate in a lot of big name tournaments -- while Max likes the talent, he can't stand the attitude.[[invoked]]
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Max is mostly cordial and very nice, although he gets cocky every now and then, but press one of his buttons and all things tend to go downhill. Most of the time hilariously.
** In another video Max puts up with Doom's antics a lot but snaps when Doom, in quick succession, interrupts his ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' match, brings up gross Latvernian customs, sets the curtains and Ammy on fire, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and disconnects the host.]] We don't see anything but it's not pretty.
---> '''Max''': I'm gonna take your melted disfigured ponies '''AND SHOVE 'EM DOWN YOUR THROAT!'''
** He seriously lost his shit when ''Final Fantasy VII'' was coming to [[MediaNotes/TheEighthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames PS4]], ported from its PC release instead of being remade. Several months later, when he discovered that Creator/SquareEnix effectively trolled everyone, and actually '''''were''''' making ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' for [=PS4=], he lost his shit ''again'' in a much more positive way.
* BiasSteamroller:
** Defied as much as possible. Max does have his biases (he's not really a fan of modern anime aesthetics, most [=JRPGs=], and similar genres), but he does his best to keep an open mind and give everything he plays a fair shot. He's openly said that he tries not to call anything "bad" outright (unless it's something universally recognized as broken or low-quality, like ''VideoGame/KasumiNinja''); most of the time when he drops a game, the worst thing he'll say is "It's just not for me", and he'll still try to point out the aspects that he liked. That said, there are quite a few times where he had a lot of fun with games or characters that fall outside his normal range of interests, such as ''VideoGame/ThemsFightinHerds'', ''VideoGame/PowerRangersBattleForTheGrid'', or his maining [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} Ruby Rose]] in ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle''[[note]]he was actually eager to try Yang because she hit a lot of checkboxes on his "cool character list", but was turned off by gameplay shortcomings[[/note]].
** Played straight with Simmons, who actively ''hates'' most anime and is not shy about it.
** As Max explains in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJZ5TWsOnZc "Max is Killing the FGC"]], he tries his hardest to downplay the ArrogantKungFuGuy mentality of TheNineties arcade-era fighting game players (of which he grew up with) by helping people who want to graduate from being a casual rather than gatekeeping them.
--->'''Max:''' The "realities" of fighting games are kind of what I explained; that things aren't easy, things are very hard, and it's hard to get into this community. But, to be honest, guys... we're not gang members. We're not, you know, criminals. We are dudes playing video games, and I think ''that'' can be shared with almost anyone.
** Max's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zii4Iw-mPc4 reaction]] to ''Minecraft''[='=]s Steve getting into ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' was, at best, polite disappointment. However, he [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrnJ5nImf64 clarifies]] that, unlike the resulting outrage that occurred following Steve's announcement, he's ultimately happy that Steve's in the game since his inclusion makes other people happy. He also stresses that he's not obligated to hate Steve just because he's the polar opposite of Max's gaming preferences.
** Max discusses this issue when playing ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation''. He's a huge fan of the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' franchise, but isn't really the biggest fan of horror games due to his jumpy and easily frightened nature (as he has admitted). When he played the game back in 2014, he hated it and stopped playing it, but came back around to it in 2020 and admitted that he liked the game, and attributed his initial dislike of it more to do with his feelings on the horror genre than the game itself.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3ChLCW95Mo "REAL TALK: The Casual Appeal of STRIVE]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNHrPMV0yIE "Re: Casual Players"]] has him reiterating for the umpteenth time that yes, casual players in a fighting game scene are perfectly okay, and they're the biggest reason the StopHavingFunGuys of the fighting game community even ''have'' a soapbox to stand on.
--->'''Max:''' People are 100% allowed to play a game for two weeks, not learn ''dick'', but think it looks really cool and never play it ever again.
** As he points out in his ''Rate The Supers'' video on ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters XIII'', "he's biased, but he's not an idiot," and gives Athena Asamia her dues as having one of the best Supers in the game in his opinion.
** In contrast to most other fighting game tutorial channels, his response to "How do I get good at (insert fighting game here)?" is "just go play the fucking game". He explains in the Real Talk episode [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhgoE5RLGwQ "The HUGE Gap w/Casual & Hardcore Players"]] that learning things like frame data or movement techniques (specifically referencing Korean backdashing in the ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' series), while ultimately helpful, doesn't do a whole lot to help new players who still struggle with fundamentals like blocking or special move inputs. He also believes this misguided but well-intentioned advice on high level play is what gets casuals to stereotype the entire genre as "working for your fun", with Max hoping that the Real Talk series can help dispel some of the stereotyping.
** While Max was watching the December 2021 ''[[VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends Project L]]'' update video, Max takes a moment to pause when lead developer Tony Cannon [[https://youtu.be/JkNj5O-cxvY?t=579 explains]] that simplifying controls isn't about helping new players beat pros with little effort, but to unlock the fun at all levels of skill. Max then says that he's been reiterating this for literally years, believing the latter to be an unattainable goal fighting game devs need to stop fruitlessly pursuing, and he's personally glad that a dev team finally validated his viewpoint for once.
** Max is one of a few big name FGC figures that openly advocates for future AllegedlyFreeGame versions of fighting games, especially established brands, as evidenced by a small [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4jF1skrEBY series]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55adQ6QA25Y of]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRlQlhIv6TM videos]] he made in response to the Japanese Fighting Game Roundable livestream [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIBfhMbLggE discussing the idea]] in April 2022. He's well aware of the pitfalls of such a business model -- as his fans have pointed out, issues like BribingYourWayToVictory, FakeLongevity, more hackers due to low barrier of entry, etc. -- but he does firmly believe [=F2P=] fighting games can only mean good things for the genre's exposure despite the pitfalls, usually citing ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct2013'' as a good example of this.
* BossBattle: Invoked in Max's "Boss Rage" series, where he takes on the {{final boss}}es of certain fighting games at their hardest possible difficulty. He tallies his total attempts against the boss, which factors into his final rating. Defeated bosses include [[VideoGame/KillerInstinct Eyedol, Shadow Jago]], [[VideoGame/SoulSeries Inferno]], [[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha M.Bison]], [[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 Galactus]], [[VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroesVsStreetFighter Apocalypse, Cyber Akuma]], [[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII Gill]], [[VideoGame/SNKVsCapcom Shin Akuma, God Rugal]], [[VideoGame/StreetFighterIV Oni]], [[VideoGame/MortalKombat2011 Shao Kahn]], [[VideoGame/MortalKombatX Corrupted Shinnok]] and [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Master Core]]. He also occasionally delves into non-fighting game Boss Rages with games like ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' (specifically the DLC battles with Evil Ryu and Oni) and ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'' (where he, Simmons, Steve and Kenny hunted all the monsters in the beta).
* BreadEggsMilkSquick:
** Twice, in his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgA9RnaqSKk Gargos Week of]], where he does this in his battle against Kim Wu.
** Also, this gem from one of ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5S97D_Wwt8 Hype and Rage Compilations]]:
--->'''Egdelord Max:''' Yes, I dyed everything. I dyed my eyes, I dyed my lips, I dyed my hair and I dyed my ''dick''.
* BrokeTheRatingScale:
** Max loved the Dramatic Finish for [[VideoGame/DragonBallFighterz Super Saiyan Blue Gogeta vs Super Broly]] so much he gave it an 11 out of 10.
** Also Flash's super in {{VideoGame/Injustice 2}} where Max gave it a 13 out of 10 and called it one of the greatest supers of all time
** Max gave both Terry Bogard's and Sephiroth's trailer in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate an 11 out of 10 and 15 out of 10 respectively and called both of those trailers two of the greatest trailers of all time.
** {{SNK|Boss}} {{Ga|meMod}}lactus scores Do Not Attempt/10 in his Boss Rage episode.
** When rating the supers for ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXIV'', he reacts in StunnedSilence to [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Xanadu's]] "The Wisdom", doesn't rate it and moves on to the next character.
* BullyingADragon: Doom to ComicBook/{{Batman}} in Max's review of ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'', after the [[RedBaron Dark Knight]] lets the two off the hook for withholding information.
-->'''Doom''': Yeah, well, [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGallery your rogues gallery]] is cooler than you, anyways.
* CallBack:
** At the beginning of his ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' reaction video, he shows a summary of his horrified reaction to the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' remaster [=PS4=] release announcement, illustrating how ''different'' the two [=FF7=] reactions end up being.[[note]]With the remaster, he literally got up and walked off in anger. With the remake, he's celebrating that they finally made it.[[/note]]
** When playing VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}, Max says "I'll carve my own Steak" which is something he said when using [[VideoGame/SoulSeries Patroklos']] [[LimitBreak Critical Edge]]
* TheCameo: Max and Benny have appeared together as an AssistCharacter in the BeatEmUp ''VideoGame/JitsuSquad''.
* CapcomSequelStagnation: [[https://youtu.be/Caz8X3EdxhM?t=112 Discusses the trope]] on a ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' trailer, specifically referencing the ''X2'' series's propensity for extremely long titles.[[note]]For the uninitiated, the sixth (and final) installment in the series went by the name ''Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R''.[[/note]] While he doesn't explicitly say he dislikes this trope (he ''is'' a Creator/{{Capcom}} fan, after all), he does at least acknowledge that it's "super polarizing".
* CatchPhrase: See the page quote.
** "HOI!"
** "FINGER LASERS!". Directly from WebVideo/AssistMe.
** "My body is [not] ready."
** [Insert special move's name here] + LargeHam
** "VIDEOGAMES!" or "LET'S GO VIDEOGAMES!"
** "Let's go, son!"
** "That's a thing!"
** "GET HYPE!"
** "[=HypehypehypeHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPEHYPE!!!=]" (When about to do something awesome in a quick time event)
** "Sanic! Gotta go fast!". In ''Yo Videogames!''
** "Get that dick!" (Taken from ''Nidhogg'')
** "Salty Runback!"
* ClothingDamage: Max goes on about the application of this in ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur V]]''.
* ClusterFBomb: Max is prone to this whenever things don't go his way or his opponent pushes one of his {{Berserk Button}}s.
* DamnYouMuscleMemory:
** Max always has this problem when switching between the various ''Online Warrior'' series.
** As far as intra-series examples go, he [[DiscussedTrope discusses this trope]] while [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJIlgjSdJB4 watching]] pre-release ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' ''Strive'' videos - particularly for Leo, one of his favorite characters in ''Xrd''. Leo lost a lot of his follow up options after one of his special moves, plus an aerial command grab, and he admits that it'll be tough to wrap his head around the changes.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Playing as Vergil in ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 Ultimate Marvel Vs.Capcom 3]]'' is treated as one of these.
--> ''I sold my soul, and it was worth it.''
* DistractedByTheSexy: His attempt at analyzing [[VideoGame/GuiltyGear Jack-O's]] reveal trailer is briefly derailed when he pauses on a frame where she's in a particularly [[MaleGaze provocative stance]].
--> ''I mean, since I don't know... (zooms in on a bent-over Jack-O) WHAT THE FU-''
* EarlyBirdCameo: Possibly at the end of Max's review of ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'', when ComicBook/TheJoker offers his services to Doom, who has just sworn {{revenge}} on Batman for dumping a yogurt and cutting the mane off of a [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Rarity]] doll during his interrogation.
-->'''Joker''': So, having a bit of a rodent problem, are we? I believe I can help with that. Here's my card. ''*[[EvilLaugh laughs maniacally]]*''
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The channel used to feature a lot more ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' gameplay (''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2'', in particular), arguably in equal measure to his fighting game content. Max will occasionally relive these days whenever a new ''Call of Duty'' game comes out, with the last big stretch of ''[=CoD=]''-related videos pertaining to ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps4 Black Ops 4]]''[='=]s "Blackout" mode.
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: He actually suffered from vertigo during his playthrough of VideoGame/{{Deadpool}} whenever Vertigo used her powers.
** For the same reason, he barely could play ''VideoGame/FarCry3BloodDragon''. The game gave him terrible motion sickness, and he had to stop playing it for his own health.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent:
** Max frequently lampshades the ones that occur when he plays ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}''.
** If Max is live watching a presentation and he's really bored he'll stand up and start spinning the chairs in his streaming room.
* TheGadfly: While Max isn't malicious enough to be a {{Troll}}, he likes screwing around with his audience and friends. If the chat nags at him to do something, he'll generally do the opposite[[note]]Prime example: While playing ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle'', quite a few chatters complained about [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} Ruby]]'s English voice and begged Max to switch her over to Japanese audio; Max occasionally made remarks like "Change the voice? Okay." and then went right back to playing without changing anything[[/note]], and he loves facetiously making fun of things that other people like such as ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' to get a rise out of people.
** By the same token, the chat will occasionally try to screw with Max. During his playthrough of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'', they fed him false information to get him killed by the Nemesis and lied about Jessica sneaking up for a JumpScare. That said, it's never actively malicious; the chatroom is generally positive and supportive, and Max has repeatedly stated that he's proud to have one of the nicest audiences on all of Twitch.
* GroupieBrigade: Max has said that he stopped attending EVO in person because of the sheer quantity of people that would want to meet him at the event. It got to the point that EVO staff warned he would need security escorts to prevent people causing fire hazards crowding him. Shaking hands with strangers also [[OutSick got him sick]] enough times that he doesn't want to deal with any more. He still loves EVO, though, and makes a huge event of watching the events and following the news on his channel.
* GuestFighter: ''Naraka: Bladepoint'''s free-to-play update added several cosmetics based off of Max, including a skin that resembles him in an attire befitting the game's style, with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTQXMNSYkLQ the trailer]] even featuring Benny as Max's lifelong companion.
* HeroicBSOD: Played For Laughs. Whenever Max comes across something in a game he's playing that leaves him speechless or one of the LetsPlay/YoVideogames crew says something outrageous (Simmons being the main culprit of these moments), he will often stare off into space and then cut to his "Thanks For Watching" stream outro for a couple seconds before he continues with whatever he was doing in-game
* HypocriticalHumor:
** Max tries to cover a new weapon for ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare3'' only for Doom to cut in and tell Max to stop camping. Eventually Max hands Doom the controller and tells him to show him what's not camping. Doom then immediately started camping.
** When Max manages to get Skarlet's unmasked face option in VideoGame/MortalKombat11, he deliberately causes Kenny to RageQuit due to looking for it for weeks, and spends the rest of the stream celebrating the Quitality, despite the fact Max hates rage-quitters with a passion.
* IncrediblyLamePun: Max calling Super Skrull's [[PlayingWithFire Inferno]] attack "hot" in one ''The Online Warrior'' video.
* InsistentTerminology: He calls fighting games with extremely large LagCancel windows "loose", most prominently with ''VideoGame/DNFDuel''. He uses the term often enough that he even made a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEgu2xx5hjw "loose" vs. "tight" tier list]] to explain his positions better.
* IShallTauntYou: Played with. Max is not fond of taunting midmatch or post-match, believing it is [[LetsFightLikeGentlemen unsportsmanlike conduct]]. However, for [[BreakingTheFourthWall Deadpool's taunt]] or {{Practical Taunt}}s in ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII 3rd Strike]]'', he says it's alright.
** Max, however, is more than happy to pay back any sort of taunts back if he has the chance.
** In one instance Max accidentally taunts his opponent once the match is over and feels terribly guilty about it.
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Max will often claim to be an expert at things he's clearly inexperienced with, such as when translating foreign languages when subtitles aren't available. If the chat attempts to correct him he'll disregard them and claim he's right. Thankfully it's PlayedForLaughs and is all in good fun.
* LetsFightLikeGentlemen: Max has this mentality when playing fighting games, as he dislikes [[RageQuit rage quitters]] and [[IShallTauntYou post and mid-match taunting]]. (A bonus is that he often employs the TropeNamer while playing ''Third Strike''.)
* LittleNo: Max's reaction to seeing Hugo in [[https://youtu.be/frJGCpKDXMc?t=3m18s this]] Boss Rage. Considering what Hugo does to him, he has every right to be concerned.
* NiceGuy: Max is this, really. He never has a bad thing to say about any opponent he faces online (no matter how outmatched or inept they are), and will heap large amounts of praise on them if they play well.
* PleaseSubscribeToOurChannel: Defied as much as possible. The closest he'll get to advertising anything helmed by him is video reminders on [=YouTube=] that he's streaming on Twitch, which he removes once they stop being relevant. It's to the point where he felt uncomfortable playing this trope straight once changes in [=YouTube=] engagement algorithms essentially forced him to in late 2021 (although he's since sidestepped this issue by having a less obtrusive animation of a subscribe button being clicked).
* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure: Max usually isn't too well-versed with video game [=IPs=] outside the scope of his Creator/{{Capcom}} fighting game interests.
** Simmons had to give Max an "explain it like I'm five"-styled summary of ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' when Pyra and Mythra were released for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.
** He's not the biggest fan of anime fighting games, and for ones he ''has'' played, such as some games in the ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' series, he'll readily admit he doesn't know anything about the overall story.
** During Capcom's [[UsefulNotes/ElectronicEntertainmentExpo E3]] 2021 presentation, he admitted he doesn't know anything about the ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWright'' games, how or why they got popular, or the titular character beyond his FightingClown portrayal in ''Ultimate'' ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3''.
** Max knew so little about the extremely popular and arguable [[MultiplayerOnlineBattleArena MOBA]] TropeCodifier ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' that he [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M1J-_BRHD0 dedicated an entire 20 minute video]] looking at the game's roster and character lore, feeling the need to at least give it ''some'' attention to it before the release of ''League''[='=]s fighting game spinoff, ''Project L''.
** Zigzagged with ''[[VideoGame/DungeonFighterOnline DNF Duel]]''. Despite being the world's most grossing IP while its first few trailers released, Max knew next to nothing about the characters that were showcased. However, the game is extremely niche outside of east Asia, making his reaction justified. On the other hand, Justin Wong (another high-profile fighting game player and friend of Max) used to show up in DFO advertising years ago, making it a bit surprising he hasn't at least heard of the game from Justin.
** Max claiming that Geese came back from the dead when he pops up as part of the second DLC team of ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'' is erroneous. This is because the ''King of Fighters'' continuity is separate from the ''Fatal Fury'' one; while Geese is and ''stayed'' dead in the latter, he's still alive and well in the former, first appearing in ''[='95=]'' as a cameo before his playable debut in ''[='96=]'', and literally made an appearance in the base roster of ''XIV'', the game before ''XV''.
** On a separate (though still tangentially related) note, when playing ''VideoGame/IdolShowdown'', Max has made it very clear that he barely knows ''anything'' about {{Virtual YouTuber}}s like the ones in ''WebAnimation/{{Hololive}}'', those being what the game is all about. He even admits while rating the game's supers that he would likely give them higher ratings if he understood the references.
* PrecisionFStrike: Thrown around from time to time, though rarely by Max, unless he's feeling salty.
* RageQuit: Averted; Max almost never rage quits if he's losing. And his "Boss Rage" video series is all about how he won't quit until he beats a boss on the hardest difficulty (if whichever game he's playing has difficulty levels). Max also created a whole video explaining why no one should rage quit. Max argues that besides it just being good manners to not quit when you're losing, many games now have AntiRageQuitting, and leaving early might penalize you.
* RousingSpeech: He's done a few of them, in some of his RAGE QUIT videos:
-->'''([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frJGCpKDXMc against Oni]])''': We travel lightly down this path--the path to enlightenment. At the end lies a demon--a demon that cannot be surpassed unless motivation and spirit guide your soul. [[LetsGetDangerous LET'S ROCK.]]
* RunningGag:
** Whenever someone in the chat asks Max to explain the plot of a video game (usually the one he's playing right now), the synopsis he gives is always a warped version of ''Franchise/SuperMario''.
** Every time Creator/{{SNK}} comes out with a new silhouette for the next character (and their trailer) in ''The King of Fighters XV'', expect Max to say it's [[VideoGame/GarouMarkOfTheWolves Rock Howard]]… ''every single time.''
* TheScrappy: In-universe; Max and his friends are not fond of [[Franchise/MortalKombat Bo' Rai Cho]]. [[https://youtu.be/L5_LE21CoCU?t=11m9s Case in point]].
* ShoutOut: The end of Vanilla VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 ''The Online Warrior'' episode 7 plays the fanfare from ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' with Doom coming in like Marty at the end of the [[Film/BackToTheFuturePartII second movie]]. The segment serves as tie in to the next episode, which has ''Assist Me'' featuring Wesker.
** Max makes [[Film/ThePrincessBride Inigo Montoya]] in Soul Calibur V's Create-a-Character mode. [[HilarityEnsues A fan has promised to make a Count Rugen character to meet him in battle]].
* SitcomArchNemesis: From ''3rd Strike: The Online Warrior'' there is [=UFCgym=], a player perpetually AFK who is there solely to steal matches from people actually trying to play the game.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Inverted. Max is a very humble person and he would have to be well known in order for Creator/{{Capcom}} to approach ''him'' to assist the release of [[UpdatedRerelease Ultimate]] VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3
* TemptingFate: His ''Max Reacts'' videos are full of this.
** Right after the [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII FFVII Remake]] announcement, Max mentions that it's one of "the most requested games that was never made", besides [[VideoGame/HalfLife Half-Life 3]]. Then he remembers [[VideoGame/{{Shenmue}} Shenmue 3]]... [[BigWhat right as it's announced]].
** He's watching the Nintendo Direct for 2015, and he invokes it twice. The first time is a minor one, where he decides Cloud won't be in VideoGame/FinalFantasyExplorers because it's a Nintendo title, [[BigWhat only for him to appear at that exact moment]], then he lazily declares it's the inevitable VideoGame/SuperSmashBros announcement, only for his eyebrows to raise at the music that starts up... The introductory music for '''''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'''''... Apparently, Cloud ''is'' in [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU a first-party Nintendo title]]...
** He does it again with the Capcom "Kitchen" VR demo, first telling {{Creator/Capcom}} that, if it wants to make horror games like this, it should just make a Franchise/ResidentEvil; then making a "[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard Resident Evil 7]]" joke. Cue BigOMG as Capcom reveals the "Kitchen" demo was a tech demo for '''''exactly''''' that game.
** Just before the Capcom 30th Anniversary celebration, his thoughts on the big announcements are a fake announcement for [[VideoGame/MegaManLegends Mega Man Legends 3]], along with [[VideoGame/MegaManXDiVE a new mobile game]]. He didn't expect, at all, VideoGame/MegaMan11...
** When the announcement of Sakura for VideoGame/StreetFighterV comes in, he's initially all for it, until Capcom shows a group of silhouettes, pushing one of his {{Berserk Button}}s, then they effectively seem to have heard his complaints, as they announce everything else in a trailer a few seconds later!
** On a less happy note, during his [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Master Fortress]] Boss Rage, he - playing as Cloud - decided to end the battle with Finishing Touch, a move that requires fully charged Limit Break and deals only ScratchDamage, but has very high knockback. After fully charging the move, he turned to camera saying "We can smile again" and unleashed the move... but Core wasn't damaged enough and wasn't KO'd. He repeated it with the same result, and before he charged third attempt, Master Core unleashed its {{Desperation|Attack}} OneHitKill attack, forcing him to ''restart the run from the very beginning''.
** During his stream of the [=EVO=] 2020 announcements, he made an off-hand joke that ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2'' would be on the official game roster for the event, even going as far as to say that he'd throw in 100 gift subs if [=MvC2=] was announced. The ''very last announcement'' for [=EVO=] 2020 was an 8-man tournament for [=MvC2=] to celebrate the games' 20th anniversary.
** Happened twice during the Street Fighter V Summer Update stream:
*** Prior to the stream, Max had undertaken a Legacy video series on Dan Hibiki as a way of expressing his desire for Dan to appear in SFV, which was a bit unusual as he normally does a Legacy series after a character is announced. Dan ended up being the first character announced during the stream.
*** Later during the SFV Summer Update stream, Max said that if a Rival Schools character was to be announced, it would show that Capcom cares about its' fans and that they're trying to do right by them. The last character reveal during the stream '''''was''''' a Rival Schools character; Akira Kazama.
** During the Game Awards 2020, Simmons sings "Backstreets back, alright!" During the Smash Ultimate DLC character trailer to which Max jokes, "[=N*SYNC=] in Smash!" This is just seconds before Sephiroth made his appearance... [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI who has been voiced by Lance Bass of N*SYNC]].
** The intro to Capcom's [=E3=] 2021 presentation had them off-handedly mention that Capcom's fighting games division had news to share. After a brief moment of excitement, Max dialed his expectations back and advised his chat to do the same, because he assumed it was going to be something [=eSports=]-related. Sure enough, [[https://youtu.be/ApzPUqn5ZyE?t=336 that's exactly what happens]] when the presentation gets to ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV''. Max slouched in his chair and went on a tangent comically rolling off depressing movie quotes in response.
--->'''Max:''' I hate being right, chat. I hate... I hate being cursed with knowledge.
** Max lampshaded his tendency to predict fighting game reveals in his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBbEvdAKK5U reaction]] to [[VideoGame/GuiltyGear Baiken]]'s GuestFighter appearance in ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'', going back to stream from a whole ''two years prior'' to his reaction video, where he randomly muses about a popular samurai possibly becoming a guest fighter and saying he'd be happy if it was Baiken. When he realizes that particular stream predated the 2019 installment of ''Samurai Shodown'' by two months, he lets it get to his head:
--->'''Max:''' What I'm trying to say is that I have an unearthly ability to... uh, directly manifest things that are ''not'' existing into existence. Somehow, in some way... ''[OminousVisualGlitch, Max gets a VoiceOfTheLegion effect]'' there is a manifestation and manipulation of, um... physics, time, and... my own will, that is having an effect directly on the things that I want and the way that they appear in this real life.
** Max made a prediction that EVO 2023 would not have any content for Killer Instinct due to Sony, the owners of EVO, not wanting to give press to their major competitor Microsoft. He ate his words when days later EVO announced a celebrity Killer Instinct tournament for the tenth anniversary of the game. Admittedly, ''[[BlatantLies Considering how he]]'' '''''[[OffscreenTeleportation attended]]''''' ''[[BlatantLies EVO 2023...]]''
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Max's overall response when he does something wrong and gets punished.
** How Max reacts when he has to fight a [[VideoGame/SoulSeries Natsu or a Dampierre]] online.
* TitleDrop: In Max's review of Injustice, Batman calls him and Doom "The Online Warriors."
* TookALevelInBadass: Galactus was one of the easiest Boss Rage opponents first time round. However, {{SNK|Boss}} {{Ga|meMod}}lactus put up much more of a fight.
* ViewersAreGeniuses: Max is a very skilled player, so for a lot of new players a lot of what he says can go right over their heads. To correct this, Max has started creating a fighting game basic tutorial for beginners.
* WhamLine: At EVO 2023, Max is watching a segment on Killer Instinct, when, as they are about to do an announcement, he gets up and moments later, '''''[[OffscreenTeleportation on the live stream itself]]''''', we hear...
--> '''Max:''' ''[[AuthorCatchphrase "What's up, Doods, Max here.]]"''
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes:
** Max's greatest weakness are platform games. Watching him playing any platform game may cause sodium poisoning.
** He also has a fear of spiders, based on an incident where a black widow bit and nearly killed him. As such, he has a partial disdain towards using ComicBook/SpiderMan in any Marvel fighting game (not that it has stopped him from actually doing so several times).
** In another video, Max revealed that he used to have a fear of (ironically) dogs, due to a childhood incident where one, in his words, "bit his face off." He overcame this fear for Jessica's sake, since she's a dog person.
* YouRemindMeOfX: Max is told quite frequently he looks like Creator/NicolasCage and [[Music/{{Nickelback}} Chad Kroger]]. It comes to a head in ''Retro Assist Me'', when Max meets his alternate self. This returns in the ''Capcom vs SNK 2'' Boss Rage, as he introduces himself as [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Nick Kroger.]]
* YourMom:
** Max, of all people, to Batman in the former's review of ''Injustice''.
--->'''Max''': "You know, [[BrokenPedestal I once thought you were a hero. I really looked up to you.]] [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech But then I realized behind all that stern and batarangs that…]] [[BullyingADragon you're just a little boy in a playsuit, crying for Mommy and Daddy.]] [[WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker I'd actually find it kinda funny if it wasn't so pathetic.]]"
--->'''Batman''': ''(screams, grabs Max)'' "The hell do you know?! My parents are [[DeathByOriginStory dead!]] Your family's still alive! All I have are a butler and a scared, confused little teenager!"
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-->''"My name is Maximilian and I'll see you guys next time."''