Personally I found Champions not only extremely playable but also a philosophically revolutionary RPG whose principles changed how I did roleplaying games. It was the first rule set to my knowledge that explicitly said the objective was to create drama and fun in a genre-compatible way, and not to be a competitive simulation much less any kind of “realism” simulator. I don’t think any game I knew of had made that point before - certainly not so clearly.
V&V to be honest I barely remember but my recollection is of a more fussy and rules-y system.
V and V was my preferred super hero rpg from the 8th grade to oh, about, twenty minutes ago. We were devoted to it for its open-ended conceit. I never warmed to Champions or Marvel Super Heroes (and certainly not Heroes Unlimited), though in my middle age, I think the simple elegance of MSH is noteworthy, especially for one shots and convention games. I'd run that, using MCU characters, in a heartbeat.
Cool. I would've been the edgiest vigilante of I played this when I was a teen. Inner-monologue, black costume, brooding nature, the whole shebang.
Personally I found Champions not only extremely playable but also a philosophically revolutionary RPG whose principles changed how I did roleplaying games. It was the first rule set to my knowledge that explicitly said the objective was to create drama and fun in a genre-compatible way, and not to be a competitive simulation much less any kind of “realism” simulator. I don’t think any game I knew of had made that point before - certainly not so clearly.
V&V to be honest I barely remember but my recollection is of a more fussy and rules-y system.
V and V was my preferred super hero rpg from the 8th grade to oh, about, twenty minutes ago. We were devoted to it for its open-ended conceit. I never warmed to Champions or Marvel Super Heroes (and certainly not Heroes Unlimited), though in my middle age, I think the simple elegance of MSH is noteworthy, especially for one shots and convention games. I'd run that, using MCU characters, in a heartbeat.
Good write up!