# A video game question **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 2, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765 "2018-01-02T20:27:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/1 "2018-01-02T20:27:12Z")
Why is rank “S” higher than rank “A”? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/2 "2018-01-02T20:55:00Z")
What game has these ranks? I’ve never heard of them. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/3 "2018-01-02T21:06:37Z")
[Because of Japan](https://www.giantbomb.com/s-rank/3015-2962/): > [@](#): > > Originally created in Japan where anything below grade ‘C’ was considered a failure. The ‘S-Rank’ allowed for a wider range of obtainable grades and thus player motivation, meaning that it was soon adopted by western developers who realized that the ‘S-Rank’ was much cooler than the boring ‘A’. An A rank is commonly obtained by getting a 90% to 95%. If the player is flawless or achieves perfection in something, it qualifies as an S . ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/4 "2018-01-02T21:13:13Z")
It’s common in Japanese games and some Western games have adopted it as well. I’ve seen people asking why for years but have never seen a good reason. Probably as simple as “Someone did it once. Other people liked it and copied it.” ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/5 "2018-01-02T21:14:22Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > [Because of Japan](https://www.giantbomb.com/s-rank/3015-2962/): You left off the end of that quote… “Many people have wondered what the S stands for… Special? Super? No one knows for sure.” ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/6 "2018-01-03T01:15:05Z")
Everything I can find online discussing it seems to refer back to the Giantbomb article as a “source”, but that article was written by anonymous people on the internet. (Think of a Wikipedia article with no sources and even less credibility.) So basically there is no information readily available about it. Even the info about it originating from the Japanese school system is speculative if not totally fictitious. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/7 "2018-01-03T01:53:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What game has these ranks? I’ve never heard of them. One of the iPhone/Android “Walking Dead” games uses them as a measure of how strong the team you’ve assembled is. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/8 "2018-01-03T02:08:20Z")
The first example of this I can think of is the DreamCast game, _Sonic Adventure._ ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/9 "2018-01-04T19:30:09Z")
I thought we were talking about Devil May Cry. I honestly had no idea the “S” was common in other games ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/10 "2018-01-04T19:40:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What game has these ranks? I’ve never heard of them. I am familiar with it from some _Gran Turismo_ auto-racing game. I figured it stood for “Super” or “Special” or some such, not that I gave it much thought. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/11 "2018-01-04T19:50:18Z")
It is also the way the hero rankings work in _One Punch Man_- ascending order is **C-B-A-S**. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/12 "2018-01-04T19:59:35Z")
Perhaps it’s like going to 11. You know: one grade better than rank A. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/13 "2018-01-04T20:44:42Z")
It also shows up in Japanese anime/manga. In _Yu Yu Hakusho_, the highest class demons are S-class. They are stronger than A-Class, which are stronger than B-class and so on. (I think D-class is the lowest.) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/14 "2018-01-04T21:40:26Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > I am familiar with it from some _Gran Turismo_ auto-racing game. I figured it stood for “Super” or “Special” or some such, not that I gave it much thought. It’s in _Forza_ as well; Turn 10 split S into three levels. Come to think of it, the highest level in _Forza_ is X. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2018, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/15 "2018-01-04T21:43:05Z")
Is this sort of like how, when I dabbled in Starcraft II multiplayer, I wasn’t quite as completely pathetic as some of my early opponents, and so ended up placed in Gold league? I.e., you want to give your middling players a rank that sounds good, but then you need more ranks above them for the players who are genuinely good. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/16 "2018-01-05T04:23:47Z")
There is also Sonderklasse = special/exceptional class. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class was introduced in 1972, and the S-class yacht classification in 1898, so it’s not like the term had not been floating around. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/17 "2018-01-05T06:52:11Z")
Elite monsters in the Final Fantasy XIV MMO (which is, of course, Japanese in origin) also follow this classification scheme (B are the weakest, then A, then S). ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/18 "2018-01-05T07:14:42Z")
[This Gameranx video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31_NmJNTDGc) (skip ahead to 3:30 or so) points to a possible origin in Japanese rock concert seating grades, before spreading to other areas of Japanese culture (including video games). ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/19 "2018-01-05T13:35:52Z")
So, it is like the Japanese version of an old Disneyland ‘E’ ticket? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765/20 "2018-01-05T14:28:47Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#): > > [This Gameranx video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31_NmJNTDGc) (skip ahead to 3:30 or so) points to a possible origin in Japanese rock concert seating grades, before spreading to other areas of Japanese culture (including video games). Are there signs that the Japanese got it from the Germans (or whomever), though? Or is it an original Japanese invention to use S in seating grades, league classification, etc? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-video-game-question/805765.md?page=2)