I was rooting for Sensei as well, but it is what it is. We always have fanart, at least.
Indeed, it does, but it can lead to it's fair share of unfair deaths if not prepared enough.
I never found that to be a problem; I don't hover much. And I never noticed X5's hover being any shorter than X4's. In both cases, you can hover in place for an extended time, but dies out quickly if you move.
Spoiler-izing my response to the previous debate with Zan so that it doesn't take up intrusive amounts of space (quite frankly I'm getting bored with that discussion anyway)
[spoiler]
But as is, Alia's recreation lends its name from the armor it is based on, not from the number it itself is.
I never said that wasn't the case, I simply said that it's illogical. To offer a "name" that is simply a numbered sequence, while said number truthfully refers to its predecessor with no additional label to denote itself, is completely senseless.
Just because I get it doesn't mean that I agree with it.
From the viewpoint of the fans at that time, Vile from the very beginning was said to have a defect in the electronic brain. Likewise to Sigma turning evil by the Sigma Virus. Neither Vile, nor Sigma should have attributed to the widespread belief that all Reploids can become Maverick by their own accord.
"Can" and "do" are two different things, Zan. I still do not see this "widespread belief" you keep talking about. It's generally accepted that the vast majority of Mavericks are not free-willed, that doesn't make it impossible.
Somewhere along the line, the fan perception changed the original definition to one more revolving around free will, while it should be all about the defects. To me, the term "Irregular" captures that part of the meaning much more than "Maverick" does, and I can't imagine that such a change did not influence our perception of these concepts, irregardless of the meaning defined in the actual story being the same.
I maintain that this entire point is merely personal interpretation. An "irregularity" can be anything, including either behavioral or functional. However, in the context of the X-series the cause of "Irregular behavior" being unknown very strongly implies the former over the latter, thus "Maverick" fits just as appropriately. By rejecting one possibility over another, you're merely pushing your own interpretation over the localization team's. And that's okay, but if you're going to hound the fanbase over it, you need to back it up with more than just explaining how it works. You also need to show why it is preferred, including why/how the equally valid and better established interpretation does not apply. You only came anywhere close to that with Repliforce, and it wasn't much of an attempt (more later)
It should be entirely possible to create Reploids with defects. And even if they aren't defected, they are grouped among them because of affiliation. That is still not free will; that is being forced inside of the boundaries of the human government's favorite anti-Reploid label. A label the New Generation opposed with the very statement that they cannot become "irregulars" as they have absolute viral immunity.
"Defect" in the context you're describing is in the eyes of the observer, not the creator. Objectively speaking, the creator's intentions would take precedence; an intentional defect is no defect at all, barring sabotage or research. Double, for example, is not a defect. He is Irregular, but is not irregular.
Your use of the label only furthers my point: the term Irregular is just as much a proper noun as Maverick, and as such cannot be taken to the literal extremes you insist upon.
I said "technically". Whether one can become an irregular by choice is even disagreed upon among the New Generation. The majority vote is that they are not irregulars, even if they choose to rebel consciously. It is only Lumine and Sigma that used the Hunters' own terminology (in simplification mind you) and spoke of becoming an irregular of one's own accord. That is, accepting the label you've been given for your actions. However, even if you willingly accept the label, that still does not mean you can become "the definition" by choice. To become the definition, the only option is to choose to lose your sense of self by committing mental suicide through self-infection with the Sigma Virus, or damaging the thought circuit of your own accord.
You realize you just admitted that you're arguing an issue which even the in-game characters have not settled upon, right? Your insistence on a strict definition of "defective" for Irregular carries heavy implications against the reality of an organized faction, which is what we face in the X-series. It's grossly naive, given the extreme ambiguity presented throughout the series, as "defective" is relatively objective and clean-cut by comparison. You admit that Sigma and Lumine use the term Irregular in varying contexts yet insist that the fans should not.
If a free-willed rebellion is not Irregular, then it is up to the in-game characters, not the fans, to redefine the term. Unlike Epsilon in XCM, X8 left no implications that Lumine was judged as anything but Maverick. In other words, to the Hunters and to all powers that be, the fact that Lumine acted of his own will was
IRRELEVANT. The same label was still applied. To argue against that is to argue your personal philosophy over what the actual text of the game tells us.
Only in the time of Neo Arcadia, when the definition of Irregular has truly changed, does turning into an irregular by choice become a much more easily achieved possibility.
Command Mission begs to differ:
"Didn't Epsilon tell you? Only future generations can judge whether we are truly Maverick or not."
"Maverick? You seem more Maverick to me, with all your stubborn nonsense about friendship, and your unwillingness to evolve."
What "Irregular" spin on that can you offer which eliminates all implications as to the term referring to behavior, I wonder?
That is why, when the Repliforce were branded as Irregulars, they hated it; they didn't want to be considered Irregulars. Not because of the consequence, as they were already at war; they hated it because the very label hurts their pride. They do not want to be considered as mere malfunctions.
That logic is by no means whatsoever exclusive to a "defective" definition of Irregular. Repliforce is not of the Irregular faction, did not pose any direct threat to humanity, and even upon acting in force maintained that insurrection against the humans was not their goal, merely a necessity to preserve their own interests. No matter how you define "Irregular" or "Maverick", the statement that the Repliforce was branded something which they are not, and have more than ample reason to hate it, still applies.[/spoiler]