My Comic is finally done, also the direction of this site will be now related to my comic and other artwork that I do. Please feel free to leave feedback.

Got some new videos for ya'll. Seasons beating match between Wong and Gamerbee, now I'm sure everyone has seen it but this is from CrossCounter with commentary by Wong himself. This gives you a breakdown of what he is doing and why...good stuff. Also we have a vid about arcades in China and Japan which is pretty interesting. Lastly checkout the hour long Road to SCR titled Run it back. Good insight on the OG SF era in Cali.

RUN IT BACK: THE ROAD TO SOCAL REGIONALS EPISODE 1 from Zaid Tabani on Vimeo.

100 YEN: The Japanese Arcade Experience from Brad Crawford on Vimeo.

Ironreaver

It's just better if I get it to you straight from the horses mouth. Anyway read below about it.
EVO ONLINE

• The Online tournament, run by Galaxy4Gamers, will start on December 11th at 12 noon PST. It should take about 6 hours if you are advancing all the way, unless an unexpected number of people enter.
• The top 8 finals will be held on Dec 18th, consisting of winners from each regional bracket. You should only be fighting people from your region until you make top 8.
• The finals will be live streamed with commentary.
• Only $5 to enter the event, and the 1st place finisher gets an trip to Evo 2011, including airfare, hotel, and tournament fees.
• A special prize will be announced later, and it is something Evo has never given out before. Everyone in the top 8 will get some kind of prize.
• This event is Xbox 360 only, but if successful, a PS3 event will be considered in the future.
• Anyone in the USA or Canada may enter, as long as their home state does not ban them from entry by law.
• Galaxy4Gamers has a lot of rules and regulations, and various checks like IP and Address, to keep people from cheating the system.

By Mr.Wizard
For the first time ever, SRK and EVO proudly present an online event! This is a groundbreaking move for the Evolution Championship Series as we head into the new age. We are teaming up with Galaxy4Gamers to host this massive Xbox Live tournament, and the best part is that we are giving away a free trip to Evo! This includes airfare, accomodations, and entry into the biggest event of the year! Get Hype!

The tournament will take place on December 11, 2010 at 12pm PST. Once the finalists are narrowed down, we will showcase them via live stream on Saturday, December 18th. This broadcast will include commentators and all of the usual trimmings you would expect from an Evo event. Following the tournament finals, Galaxy4Gamers will be running their famous beat-a-pro contest, in which you can test your skills against some of the best players in the world for prizes.

Now is the time to test your might against the world! Calling all Online warriors! This is the fight of the century!

Ironreaver

Arcade Edition has gone gold so expect some Japanese Arcade to have the game by the end of Nov, early December. I hope Denjin and AI and FFA get it also here in Cali. I have faith that they will because they all had it first when the original SF4 came out in Aug 08. Anyway Ono San has confirmed the game has gone gold.

Ironreaver

Level|Up Series and G4TV are collaborating again to stream live coverage of SoCal Regionals. This tournament is gonna be big and having G4TV exposure will help elevate this event to even bigger heights. Should be interesting, although I might not be able to make it :( other real life priorities came up...but well see. Anyway view the article here.

Ironreaver

To put it simply no one even submitted a video expect 2. Anyway Desk was aware of some publicity and hate, putting those people on blast. Anyway I wanna try this one day once I can get the crouching fierce xx Lightning Legs down like he does with his smooth piano method. Anyway here is an updated video.



Ironreaver

Ight Tokido is coming to SoCal Regionals now....get even more hype. This tourament is gonna be something to remember so you should try to get out. Also we got some developer news on Yun who was added along with his younger brother Yang for the SSF4:Arcade Edition(AE). Anyway just some random but good SF news to hold you over. Enjoy!!!!


Here comes a new challenger...yup Tokido is on his way to SCR 2010. Bring your A game!!!! FYI Gamerbee, Sako, and Daigo will also be there....scary!!!!

About Yun No. 1

General Concept

The goal of the development effort was to make Yun a good fit in the SSF4 Arcade Edition system, while maintaining his image from Street Fighter 3 Third Strike as much as possible.

Using the Raigekishuu (Dive Kick) along with Yun's diverse rushdown moves, play tricks on the enemy with his agile, light movements, while articulating strings with few gaps to steadily pressure the opponent into taking your attacks, until you can build up the Super Combo gauge and activate his Super, Genei-jin, for a combo. Combining these aspects should be the goal for any Yun's battle plan.

Yun's vitality and attack power are on the low side, so in order to increase his chances of getting in contact with a troublesome opponent, the number of Cancelable normal moves has increased since Street Fighter 3 Third Strike.

Due to SSF4's system where it is more difficult to build meter than it was in SF3 Third Strike, and since EX Special Moves tend to be designated as countermeasures against projectiles, Yun's Super Combo, Genei-Jin, was strengthened a little.

For players accustomed to the Yun in SF3 Third Strike, or for players who like to use mobility to create a close-range fight and have a taste for unique combos, I might venture to say that this is a character intended for you.

Normal Moves

While Yun's normal move lineup looks similar to their animations in SF3 Third Strike, their uses in SSF4 Arcade Edition have received tuning. Let me bring up some examples...

Close Light Kick and Far Light Kick are Cancelable pokes with quick startup times.

Far Medium Punch is a poke with a relatively good hitbox that leads to a Target Combo, although this time it is possible to Cancel it. If you happen to have meter, you could get into Genei-Jin (Super) from here by means of a special move.

Close Medium Kick can be jump-canceled on hit or block. A clean hit on the opponent should allow a variety of juggles to look forward to.

Crouching Light Kick has a fast startup and can be linked into normal moves, a low-hitting combo starter.

Crouching Medium Kick is well suited for occasional use as a poke due to its range and fairly quick startup.

In the air, Jumping Medium Kick can hit as a jump-in from far away, Jumping Hard Kick is an air-to-air measure, and Jumping Hard Punch is a jump-in combo starter.

Unique Attacks (Command Normals)

Yun has 3 Unique Attacks: Senpuukyaku (Overhead), Dakai (Toward + Hard Punch), and Raigekishuu (Dive Kick).

Although it can be blocked low, the trajectory of the Dive Kick will change depending on the button pressed, so it should see wide usage as a surprise attack from the air.

His Overhead (Toward + Medium Kick) and Toward + Hard Punch gain different properties during Genei-Jin. You can make use of these during your combos and attack strings.

Target Combos

Yun has 5 Target Combos in total. From among these we'll specifically point out the following:

TC3 (Crouching Hard Kick -> Standing Hard Kick).
TC4 (Far or Close Medium Punch -> Hard Punch -> Back + Hard Punch).
TC5 (Close Light Punch -> Light Kick -> Medium Punch).

TC4 especially should see use from a poke or after a jump-in as a quick source of damage.

TC5 can be used to allow time to buffer into Genei-Jin (Super) from normal moves, or be used with a special move for a regular damaging combo, and so on.

About Yun Blog Number 2

Greetings. This is the Developer Blog.

Society is all about sports this fall, but we at Development are cursed with physical weakness from working at a desk every day.

We've been fighting muscle pain from moving all that heavy equipment at location test time...

This time I'd like to talk about Yun's special moves.

Special Moves

Yun's special moves are: Zesshou Hohou (Lunge Punch), Tetsuzan Kou (Shoulder Slam), Nishou Kyaku (Dragon Kicks), Kobokushi (Palm), and Zenpo Tenshin (Flip Grab).

The setup is the same from the Street Fighter 3 Third Strike days, although you might say their properties as a whole have received various kinds of tuning for SSF4 Arcade Edition's system, and some new EX moves have been prepared.

The Lunge Punch can be a strong attack in combos, Shoulder Slam is good to use if you want to go through a projectile and juggle off the hit, and his Dragon Kicks will be the standard anti-air for combos and otherwise.

The effects will vary depending on the button pressed; it is possible to make small adjustments suited for different situations.

The Palm attack boasts the highest damage of Yun's special moves, and with that in mind, whether scoring a hit and juggling from there, or hoping for some nice chip damage against a blocking opponent, plan a setup for this move and the effects will be easily visible.

Flip Grab is a command throw that does no damage in itself. It's unblockable and can only be landed from close range, but from there it's possible to incorporate and use all sorts of followup combos.

In addition, since while Genei-Jin (Super) is active it strengthens the properties of special moves, highly-active attack strings can contain multiple opportunities for heavy-damage combos.

Super Combo

Yun's Super Combo is synonymous with Yun himself: Genei-Jin. When activated, the Super Combo gauge becomes a timer. For a set time, his normals, special moves, unique attacks (command normals), and Ultra Combos have altered properties.

Unlike usual, a variety of combo recipes can be created from this, so we would like to see different people plan out their own personal combo strings while aiming for high damage.

For those who mastered the Genei-Jin in Street Fighter 3 Third Strike, I think the SSF4 Arcade Edition version's Genei-Jin will still be relatively easy to get into.

Ultra Combos

Yun's Ultra Combo 1 is Youhou (lift and burn). Ultra Combo 2 is Sourai Rengeki (speared lightning barrage).

Compared to Sourai Rengeki, Youhou's damage is low. The range of the first hit is short, so it is necessary to discern the right conditions to use it, but it can be easily included in a combo, and since it is possible to juggle afterwards, with proper planning it can lead to high damage when the situation arises.

Sourai Rengeki does high damage and the range on the first hit is long, so the invincibility is appropriate for use to punish a projectile, counter a blow, or the like. On the other hand, this move is somewhat difficult to combo into. The attack animations were arranged based on the move's style from Street Fighter 3 Third Strike.

We have reached the end.

Dealing with Genei-Jin, with the afterimages and damage scaling and such, was a constant concern from the beginning of development on SSF4 Arcade Edition, making us wonder, "Can we really implement this!?"

But as a product of the staff's blood, sweat, and tears, everyone, I believe we can happily present you with the results of our efforts.

Against grapple characters he might sometimes encounter a bad match up, but with love and courage, please master him!

ULTRADAVID TIPS






Ironreaver

Shizza is probably the best Chun li in the US, I say that because his Chun li has produced results, he's place Top 8 or better at alot of tournaments even making Top 8 at Evo as the only Chun li, next to Ricky Ortiz who plays Chun li as an alternate to Rufus. Anyway Shizza gives some advice on playing Chun li at a level that will get you winning and playing harder. Read his insight on Chun li via SRK.

General Tips

1. Sometimes it's better to sacrifice damage for positioning: An example of this is to refrain from following up Chun's EX lighting legs with an EX spinning bird kick (SBK) in the corner against a character that is hard to get close to (Guile, Dhalsim etc.). You can also use this guideline for getting out of the corner with a back throw instead of a normal punish combo against characters that have really good corner pressure (Rufus, Dudley etc.). Positioning also includes safe jumps, so a lot of times it's best to go for the untechable knockdown instead of the standard and slightly higher damaging option.
   
   A great example of this is the Japanese Akuma player Tokido. He almost always finishes his combos with sweep, even though it does less damage than an uppercut, because he wants to keep the pressure on his opponent and induce a stun. Akuma has many more attacking options after he lands a sweep because he can control the timing of his next setup.
   
   
2. Find out how your opponent defends against throws: Once you learn this you can counter them with the appropriate throw bait setup. If your opponent is stand tech'ing, then hit them with a low attack. You can punish whiffed throws with anything as minor as a far range normal to an Ultra. If your opponent is crouch tech'ing (more widely used) then your goal is to hit them with a "frame trap." Find out what your character's best frame trap is.
   
   Here are some examples of what I mean: Sagat – crouching medium punch, Boxer- standing hardkick, Dictator – crouching hard punch. Use your character's frame trap to hit your opponent in the startup frames of their crouch tech'ing normal for a "counter-hit." A counter-hit gives you extra frame advantage and allows to you follow up with combos you wouldn't normally be able to. Check out this video of Uryo (04:48) for one of the most godlike counter-hit setups of all time.
   
   
3. Don't give anything away for free: Prior to starting a tournament there's usually a session of casual games. You can choose not to play of course. But if you decide to play casuals against potential tournament opponents, make sure to save your best stuff for actual tournament action. It's not a good idea to use your "super secret omg so sick" setup in casuals. If you run into that person in the tournament, or another player who was spying on you, they'll be much better prepared to defend against it.
   
   
4. Be aware of your emotions: Certain lame characters can annoy you with far range zoning. It's important not to get frustrated and attack recklessly, but instead maintaining a methodical approach to your offense. There are also certain moves that can just piss you off when you get hit by them. I've been told that Chun's standing hardkick is one of them. I know that Dhalsim’s standing hardpunch is popular in this category, as well as Seth's jump back hard punch. (Well, Seth's "anything" really). Personally I get annoyed every time I get hit by Guile's backfist. Most players’ first instinct in this situation is to immediately counter attack but good players will expect this and easily counter your attempt. Your subsequent attack will most likely be countered and you'll be even more pissed. You need to remind yourself to keep this impulse in check and not to play into your opponent's hands.

Chun-Li Specific Tips

1. Mix up your jump-in attacks: IMO Chun has the best jump-in mixup in the game. The most common setup is jump-in - hardpunch x 2. So against a good player you'll want to deviate from this pattern since they'll most likely be conditioned to blocking it correctly. Instead of that, try going for one of these options instead: jump hp x 1, empty jump crouching short kick, empty jump throw, and empty jump hazanshu.
   
   
2. Start doing reversal hazanshus: To do this correctly, time your hazanshu input immediately after coming out of blockstun when your opponent attacks you. These hazanshus can't be focus attacked because they have armor breaking properties. You might have noticed that Viper players use a similar tactic with her Flame Kick. Here's a video of me using this in the corner against Daigo. Notice the message "reversal" on the side of the screen. You can also check out (0:48) in that same video to see how NOT to do this.
   
   
3. Be unpredictable with your defense: I think one of the reasons Chun is at the top of the tier charts is because of her high defensive utility value. She has a godlike backdash that's very hard to punish. She has an EX SBK that will counter most of your opponent's attacks. Hazanshus have throw invincibility and can often avoid your opponent’s attacks.
   
   
4. Start using the increasingly popular crouching hardpunch canceled to lightning legs (cr.hp xx LL) combo: It isn't necessary to win with this combo, but it's such a good tool to add to your arsenal. Its most important benefit is being able to land a high damage combo without the need for meter or charge. You can do practical punish combos worth about 225 damage every time by ending your cr. hp xx LL combo with a standing hardpunch (2 frame link) or crouching hardkick (1 frame link).
   
   Although the combo does less damage than cr.hp xx mk.sbk and close hard kick (cl.hk) xx EX lightning legs, it has advantages over both of those standard punish combos. The advantage is that the SBK combo requires charge which isn’t always available. The SBK combo also leaves you right next to your opponent at the end so this isn’t a good choice versus T-Hawk or Zangief. It's a good example of why you should sometimes sacrifice damage for positioning. Chun’s close hardkick xx EX LL does 250 damage which is great, but it requires a meter. This isn't too bad of a result for 250 damage, but settling for 25 less damage and a sustained EX bar is the more efficient option IMO. That EX bar is probably more useful for EX SBK or Super.
   
   Now that I've made my case for this combo, I'd also like to mention another one of its cool features: Resets. You have so much frame advantage (+7) that you can put your opponent in different amounts of hitstun and throw off their defensive timing. Of course you're taking a risk in this situation but it can potentially pay off big. There are many possibilities to come from the reset to use your imagination to come up with different options.

Choi's Key Takeaway:
Shizza's tip about controlling your emotions is one aspect that is often overlooked. Yes it is important to train yourself physically so that your hands can execute the moves you want, but don't overlook the mental aspect which greatly influences your performance. Even when things get annoying, learn to stay calm and stick to your guns. A sure way to defeat is to lose control of your emotions.

As opposed to robotically performing the maximum damage combo in every situation, players should quickly take stock of the situation and make a decision on what combo to perform based on a number of factors:

• Are you fighting a keepaway character that is difficult to initiate offense on?
• How much damage do you have to sacrifice to end the combo in a way that allows you to maintain offense?
• Is it worth it to spend extra meter on this combo (either for more damage or for improved set up)

In Street Fighter, the decision making process doesn’t stop at any point in the match, including combos. Don’t be robotic!

Ironreaver

Got alot of videos to share today from interviews and promo videos and even the Super SF4 Anime OAV. Anyway lots of cool stuff for u guys to get into. Desk has a 126 hit combo that he is challenging people to reproduce and awards them $50 if they can. Anyway enjoy the vids folks...laters!!!

Canada Cup 2010


Seasons Beatings Goodness






Desk 126 Hit Combo Bounty


Marvel Capcom 3 Goodness








Ironreaver

Been busy celebrating my 26th Birthday so I haven't updated much. Anyway Seasons Beatings is done and Gamerbee took 1st place at the event, beating out Momochi in the finals. I didn't catch the stream because I was in Long Beach and Catalina Island. Anyway the results are below via Eventhubs

SSF4 Singles Tournament — Results
1. GamerBee (Adon)
2. Momochi (Ken, Akuma)
3. EG.Justin Wong (Rufus, Makoto, Balrog, Cammy)
4. TS.Arturo "Sabin" Sanchez (Dhalsim, Rose)
5. Mike Ross (E. Honda)
5. EMP.Sanford Kelly (Sagat, C. Viper)
7. EMP.Dieminion (Guile)
7. FYC.MarlinPie (Cammy)

Other notable results:

• In what may turn into a very famous counter pick, Justin Wong took Makoto against GamerBee's Adon, and won 2-0. Makoto has been ranked dead last in the tier rankings for a long time, but this has often been disputed by various members of the community, Justin Wong may have just shown why.

• In the losers bracket finals, Justin tried Makoto again against GamerBee, but ended up going 0-2. Justin switched to Cammy and went 1-1 and was eliminated from the competition.

• EG.Marn (Dudley) eliminated Daigo Umehara (Ryu) 2-1, Daigo placed tied for 25th overall.

Some Interviews from Gamerbee by various people

Protocol Snow: Let’s start by talking about what brought you out here. Season’s Beatings (SB) is one of the major fighting game tournaments in the U.S. This is only your 2nd U.S. tournament, with EVO 2010 being your 1st. How does your experience at Season’s Beatings compare with EVO?

GamerBee: When I went to EVO, it was my first time coming to the USA and I was an unknown player. It was a big decision to come all the way from Taiwan to Las Vegas and the expenses were considerable. Nobody in the tournament was expecting anything from me. I was put in loser’s bracket right away when I lost to RyRy in the 2nd round of pools. That put a lot of pressure on me because I had flown so far and was on the verge of being eliminated from the tournament so quickly. But I continued fighting and at the end of the night, I had advanced into the semifinals.

With SB, I was invited to come to this tournament and now people know who I am. I feel more pressure here than at EVO 2010, but it’s pressure of a different quality. I don’t want to let down the people who invited me here and the people who are excited to watch me play. I have to mentally prepare myself so I can play my best and avoid being humiliated.

Did you do any special preparation for Season’s Beatings, knowing you would possibly be playing Justin Wong, Daigo, Arturo, Momochi, etc. in the tournament?

I did not do any special preparation targeted towards any specific player. Instead, I focused on refining my personal playstyle and raising my overall level so I can better compete with the tournament field as a whole. I feel that rather than worry about other players, I should focus on improving myself. This is my approach to tournament preparation because it’s impossible to anticipate when I may be challenged by a very talented player I don’t recognize.

Can you share some insight into your team strategy for the upcoming 5v5 Team USA vs. The World exhibition? Such as, what is your strategy for player order?
(Note: at the time of this interview, about an hour before the exhibition match, we did not know that the exhibition would be a round-robin format. We had assumed it would be a standard Pokemon-style team battle where winner stays on.)

We do not have any particular strategy. We’ll probably have Choco Blanka lead off the battle and then we’ll decide from there. We actually haven’t met to discuss this yet. There’s not much to strategize. When someone on our team loses and we have to send a new person in, we’ll talk then about the most appropriate match-up.

Players from the world over come to EVO, but it is still predominantly a West Coast event. Season’s Beatings is more of a East Coast / Midwest event, although this year there was great representation from all over North America. Have you noticed any general differences in playstyles or skill levels between West Coast vs. East Coast?

Hmm… well, to answer this question, top players are traveling to all the big tournaments around the country. Justin Wong, Marn, Sanford, Mike Ross, etc… these are all high caliber players with unique individual playstyles so it’s difficult to make any generalizations about a particular region.

What about in pool play, when you fight good players who may not be top level? Any observations about the differences in competition between EVO and Season’s Beatings?

I haven’t noticed much difference.

Just as an aside, people really like the SB venue at Momo2 entertainment facility because of the easy access to food and drinks. They especially rave about the Korean food and boba tea drinks (aka bubble tea). Did you try the boba tea here, and what did you think?

No, I have not. Is it any good?

I think it’s rather mediocre. But I’m from San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles, home to the largest Taiwanese community in the USA. We have casual eateries with boba tea drinks on practically every other block. Lots of fierce boba competition.

Of course, it’s a little hard to compare that L.A. environment to this in Ohio. Boba tea was invented in Taiwan after all so I think our country makes it the best. *laughs*

Speaking of L.A., you’ve been confirmed to compete at SoCal Regionals on Nov. 5-7th. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Sakonoko (the Japanese Cammy player) has also been confirmed to be there, with possibly more international players to be announced soon. You play a lot of Japanese players on Xbox Live, but have you played Sako yet?

I played him a long time ago on Xbox Live. He is very talented but we played so long ago, I don’t think that past experience will be very helpful at SoCal Regionals. We both have improved a lot since then.

I heard you were planning on doing some training in Los Angeles in preparation for SoCal Regionals. Are you staying in the USA until that tournament?

Yes, after Season’s Beatings is over, in a couple days I will be going to SoCal. I will be staying in the Los Angeles area for a few weeks until SoCal Regionals.

With you and RB (Rufus and Guy player, 13th place at EVO 2010 SSF4) both making strong performances at EVO, there has been increasing interest in the Taiwan fighting game scene. How strong is the community in Taiwan? What is the competition atmosphere there like? How do you feel Taiwan ranks on the international level?

The Taiwan fighting game scene is fairly weak. A proper environment is necessary to nurture any fighting game scene and unfortunately we do not have the components to truly develop our community. Our biggest weakness is that we have a small player base. We need a lot more players with a greater variety of playstyles in order to challenge each other and elevate our competitive level. Luckily we have excellent Internet in Taiwan and can challenge Japanese players on Xbox Live and play matches with no lag. Without that experience playing against Japanese players, we would be much weaker. But nevertheless, we always strive to improve and play our best.

The most well-known Taiwanese SSF4 players are probably you and RB. Can you recommend 2-3 more top Taiwan players everybody should pay more attention to?

GiPie (El Fuerte) — He is a very determined player and plays an excellent El Fuerte. Be sure to look for his match videos.
lsy9983 (M.Bison/Dictator) — He has exceptional self-control with an individual style.

Other than your performance at EVO 2010, what other notable tournament achievements are you most proud of?

I participated at SBO in Virtua Fighter.

So in the past, you’ve been a good player but maybe not quite top level status. Now that you’re one of the top players in the world, can you talk about what you worked on to help you reach the top? Is it improving your mental game, execution, motivation, or other factors?

I don’t consider myself a top player. Maybe in the Taiwanese scene, I am. But on the worldwide stage, I am not, especially when compared to Japan. My philosophy is that if I want to get better, I can’t consider myself a top player. I have to constantly fight better competition to improve myself and not get stagnant. If I start thinking that I am a top player, I will become complacent and will not work as hard.

I still have a lot of areas to improve in, such as experience and reaction speeds. I win a lot of matches that I don’t deserve to win. In Super Street Fighter 4, often the winner of a match can go either way. Luck plays a role in SSF4. I want to improve my skill to the level where I can control the match from beginning to end.

Coming into EVO, not many people in the U.S. knew you. After EVO of course, you’ve become a recognizable player to everybody who follows the competitive SSF4 community. Do you feel people treat you differently now, and how do you feel about that?

At first, I was a nobody at EVO. But when I advanced into semifinals and then to top 8, people started noticing. Americans are so friendly. When they come up to greet me, they are always smiling and shaking my hand! I am always happy to meet new people at tournaments. No matter where in the world we come from, we fighting game players share a common language, hobby, and passion. I think it is amazing that through fighting games, we can become so easily acquainted with strangers.

What motivated you to come to EVO, making your first trip to the USA?

I was playing Super Street Fighter 4 a lot and had worked hard to improve my skills. My friend Zhi recommended that I go to EVO and test my skill on the worldwide stage because he believed that I had a chance of performing well. I decided to follow his recommendation.

Did you expect to perform as well as you did? (5th place singles tournament, winner of after-hours Salty Suites buy-in tournament)

I don’t enter a tournament with a pre-set goal to make it to top 8, to win the tournament, etc. My philosophy is to take each match one at a time and not think so far into the future. If you win, don’t be too happy and let the victory go to your head. Compose yourself and get ready for the next match. If you lose, don’t be too sad because everybody will lose at some point. Reflect on the match, try to think about what you could have done differently, and then move on. Both winning and losing can affect you emotionally and cloud your judgement. Don’t spend too much time thinking about the past. Live in the present.

I noticed both at EVO and Season’s Beatings, you were wearing NVIDIA shirts. Are you sponsored by them or any company?

In April 2010, I helped NVIDIA Taiwan with promotions for 3D glasses and their NVIDIA 3D Vision technology. They held public demonstration areas where people could test out the 3D glasses and challenge me in Street Fighter 4 PC.

So your involvement with NVIDIA started before EVO 2010. At that time, you hadn’t become a Street Fighter 4 star yet. How did NVIDIA find you?

I was invited by acquaintances I have at NVIDIA Taiwan.

Is NVIDIA helping to support you in any way? Are they a sponsor in the sense of providing a salary and supporting travel expenses?

Not in that way. After I helped NVIDIA out with that promotion, they gave me a 3D monitor and glasses but that was the extent of any compensation. They are not paying me to wear their shirts but I enjoy wearing them to competitions as a favor to them and out of goodwill and loyalty.

Do you think they’ll sponsor you in the future?

It is not impossible, but I am not expecting it and don’t think it’ll happen.

Did you know that recently many players in the U.S. have been sponsored? Ricky Ortiz, Marn, Justin Wong, Juicebox Abel, just to name a few. Also Daigo is sponsored by American company MadCatz. Are there any Taiwanese players who are sponsored in any videogame?

Not in any fighting games. I think the only sponsored players are with PC games like Starcraft.

When you returned to Taiwan after EVO, you had a couple national TV appearances and interviews. Did this spark increased interest in the fighting game community in Taiwan? Have more people been showing up at Taiwan tournaments?

We have a very small community in Taiwan so anybody who plays fighting games already knows everybody. Despite the TV publicity, there has been no difference in the growth of our scene. There is no greater interest in fighting games. The same number of people as before are showing up at tournaments, which is only a handful.

That’s a little surprising to me.

I think the reason is because the Taiwanese government has long associated video games with a negative connotation. People in Taiwan are generally conservative so they will not actively seek out something like this with a negative stigma.

Actually, I just remembered that thanks to the TV news report, people at my workplace found out about my EVO trip and fighting game hobby. It is interesting for them to learn about a different side of me. However, it is also bad news!

Why’s that?

Because if I do something wrong at work, they can put on a disappointed face and say, “Gamerbee… how about spend less time playing games and try harder at work?” *laughs*

Have any strangers in Taiwan recognized you in public?

No.

Not one?

No.

Do your parents know about your gaming career and what do they think about it?

Yes, they know. I believe they are proud of me, though I can’t say for sure. Regardless, I am old enough to be independent and to make my own decisions about what I choose to do.

After EVO, when you returned to Taiwan, a large group from your community was waiting for you at the airport to welcome you home. It seems that the Taiwan scene is very tightly knit and you are all friends. The U.S. fighting game community sometimes has a reputation for trash talking and bad blood. Does Taiwan have anything like that?

Not really. I have seen players pound the table or do things like that when they lose, but it’s always because they’re mad at themselves, not directed at other people. I don’t think there’s any player grudges or anything like that.

Why do you think that is? Cultural differences?

Americans are more outgoing and readily display their emotions on the surface. Sometimes they take their emotions too far and fighting games become far too personal. Taiwanese people have more self-restraint and know not to take it too far.

But that doesn’t mean America’s style is bad. I think playing in America is more fun than playing in Taiwan. People are a lot more active and vocal, which makes for more exciting matches. Especially when somebody makes a big comeback, the excitement and energy in the crowd is tremendous. It is so much fun to be a part of. Taiwanese players are usually more reserved.

In a previous interview by Season’s Beatings, you said that you have been playing fighting games for 20 years. What is your all-time favorite fighting game?

Virtua Fighter 3 or 4. I love the design and game mechanics of this series. Skill is of utmost importance in Virtua Fighter. There is not a lot of luck involved and the best player always wins. It is a very technical game where if you’re strong, you will win.

Do you have a favorite Street Fighter player to watch?

I like watching all top level competition from around the world.

What is your personal goal in Street Fighter?

The competition and the never-ending quest to improve myself is my favorite part about fighting games. My goal is to never stop striving to become stronger.

Recently Yun and Yang have been revealed for arcade version of SSF4. There are rumored to be several additional characters left to be unveiled — any Street Fighter favorites that you want to see?

Not especially. I think there’s already enough characters in the game! But if they want to add more, I want to see a Taiwanese character. Like how Juri is the first Korean character, I would love to see the first Taiwanese character in Street Fighter.

Final thoughts and advice for the fighting game community at large?

Have fun playing the game. Work hard at training and do your best in competition, but don’t take the results personally. Relax while you play because this is supposed to be fun. Don’t focus on beating a certain player. Instead, learn as much as you can, elevate yourself to higher levels, and things will take care of themselves.

Season’s Beatings ended with GamerBee defeating Arturo Sanchez, Justin Wong, and many other strong adversaries. He ultimately beat Momochi to win 1st place in the SSF4 tournament. After his win, I asked him a few follow-up questions as an addendum to the original interview.

Congratulations on winning! What matches in the tournament did you find the most challenging?

Arturo and Justin Wong gave me the biggest challenges. And I had to fight both of them twice! Those were the matches I was most worried about and the matches were extremely tense.

Were you caught off-guard by Justin Wong’s Makoto?

Yes, I was very surprised. But after I lost to him in winner’s bracket, I had some moments to think about the match-up more. When I faced him in loser’s finals, I was better prepared mentally to take him on. It was still a very close fight. Justin really gave me a scare.

What are your thoughts about the grand finals with Momochi?

Momochi does not know the Adon match-up at all, so I feel ashamed that the final outcome of the tournament had to be decided this way. After I beat him in the first set of grand finals and sent Momochi to loser’s bracket, we had to play a second set to decide the winner. At that point, I felt very badly for him and my heart wasn’t in it any more.

You shouldn’t feel bad about Momochi not knowing the match-up. It is his responsibility to prepare for all match-ups coming into this tournament. Japan had Super Street Fighter 4 just as long as everybody else in the world so I don’t think it’s necessary to make excuses for him.

*shrug* I don’t think it’s fair for Momochi. Even though I beat him, it is a hollow victory.

Yesterday when I interviewed you, you said that you’re not a top player. Now that you’ve won the Season’s Beatings tournament, do you think you’ve elevated your status?

No, I still feel the same as I originally did. Beating Momochi this way does not prove anything.

———-

My sincere appreciation to GamerBee for taking the time during the tournament to chat with me. He is an incredibly humble competitor. No matter what he says, I believe he’s one of the top players in the world, and I’m sure many people will agree with me. GamerBee’s story does not end here. Look forward to his continuing adventures! Next stop: Southern California.

Random Videos

Ironreaver

Well I played a few good games...11 actually and won them all...perfect day for a short session, and I decide to upload them all on my computer and I'm in the process of uploading them to Crosscounter.tv which is the Facebook of fighting game community. Just look for Ironreaver Chun li and you should see them.

Maj from combovid.com did an interview with Desk, the CMV maker and guy who pulled off the 114 Hit Chun Li combo. Desk is a pretty interesting guy with some sick execution. Check the interview here.

GODS GARDEN MATCHES








Ironreaver

Gods Garden took place yesterday also with all your favorite Japanese players including Daigo, Mako, Sako, Momochi, YHC-Mochi, andUryo. The style was round robin format. Anyway below are the standings so far. Info was pulled from Eventhubs.

Overall Standings and Player Records — Finals

The finals are another round robin set up. Each of the six players take turns going head to head in a first to 10 set.

Finals Battle Log and Round 1 Notes

• Sako (Cammy) beat Daigo Umehara (Ryu) 10-8. This match featured two of the players favored to win this competition and was a true clash of the titans — although it didn't start out that way. While the early fights were fairly close, Sako dropped combos that would have given him some wins and Daigo made clutch plays to take a commanding 5-0 lead. Things were looking really bad for Sako, but he pulled off 7 straight wins to take the lead. Daigo's play looked a bit shaky during Sako's winning streak, but The Beast recovered well and he was able to put an end to Cammy's long string of victories. Still, Sako's ability to counter Daigo's pokes and land big combos in the process proved too much for Umehara and Sako was able to gut out an incredible win in a set that will be talked about for a long time. Previously, in round 1 of this competition, Daigo (Ryu) beat Sako (Cammy) 3-0.

• Daigo Umehara (Ryu) beat Momochi (Ken) 10-5. Daigo opened up this set going 5-0 against Momochi. While the matches were close, Umehara always seemed to make the clutch plays to take it. These matches were played with a lot of zoning, footsies and fireballs. Momochi started to make headway by using Ken's Kara throw to break down Daigo's defense and was able to win the next 4 out of 5 games to make it 6-4. This would be one of the last times Momochi tasted victory, as Umehara won 4 out the following 5 games to take it. In Round 1 of this tournament, Daigo (Ryu) beat Momochi (Ken) 3-0.

• Mago (Fei Long) beat YHC-Mochi (Dhalsim) 10-2. In a match that might change some people's tier rankings for the Dhalsim/Fei Long match up, Mago turned in a dominating performance against one of the best Dhalsim players around. This started off close and very competitive, but Mago was able to rattle off 9 straight wins in this set, picking his spots and breaking down his opponent's defense consistently. Once Mago worked his way inside, he continually wrecked havoc and made Mochi pay a hefty price when he didn't make the correct defensive read. In Round 1, Mago beat YHC-Mochi 3-0.

• Momochi (Ken) beat Uryo (C. Viper) 10-7. This was a back and forth set. The momentum would swing from one player to the other and back again. With the score at 7-7, Momochi made some clutch plays to win the next 3 games and take it. In Round 1 of this competition, Uryo beat Momochi 3-0.

Ironreaver

Ricky Ortiz won the King of West Coast Inventational beating out the likes of Alex Valle, Justin Wong, Combofiend and others. Below are the results of the tournament. Anyway Ricky is stepping his game up and seems like Wong needs to hit the lab ASAP!!!!! Congrats to Alex Valle for taking 2nd, stepping it back up again too!!!

Super Street Fighter 4 Results

Battle Log

• EG.Ricky Ortiz (Rufus) eliminated Alex Valle (Ryu) 5-1.

• Alex Valle (Ryu) beat EG.Ricky Ortiz (Rufus) 5-4.

• Alex Valle (Ryu) eliminated Peter "Combofiend" Rosas (Abel) 5-1.

• Peter "Combofiend" Rosas (Abel) eliminated Vance "Vangief" Wu (Zangief) 5-4.

• EG.Ricky Ortiz (Rufus) beat Alex Valle (Ryu) 5-4.

• Peter "Combofiend" Rosas (Abel) eliminated Mike Ross (E. Honda) 5-2.

• Vance "Vangief" Wu (Zangief) eliminated EG.Justin Wong (Rufus) 5-2.

• EG.Ricky Ortiz (Rufus) beat Mike Ross (E. Honda).

• Alex Valle (Ryu) beat EG.Justin Wong (Rufus) 5-2.

• Peter "Combofiend" Rosas eliminated Shizza (Chun-Li) 5-2.

• Vance "Vangief" Wu (Zangief) eliminated Filipino Champ (Dhalsim) 5-1.

• EG.Justin Wong (Rufus) beat Peter "Combofiend" Rosas (Abel) 5-0.

• Mike Ross (E. Honda) beat Vance "Vangief" Wu (Zangief) 5-0.

• Alex Valle (Ryu) beat Filipino Champ (Dhalsim) 5-3.

• EG.Ricky Ortiz (Rufus) beat Shizza (Chun-Li) 5-2.

Ironreaver

Been awhile huh, well this is my first October post. Anyway I had a chance to get over to AI and play KOF13. Beautiful game, nice engine and playstyle. Learning curve is a bit....well I learned the hard...Live competition, so to say the least it was hard but I got good really fast. Anyway it was a good experience and hope to play again soon...really soon!!!

DAIGO vs SAKO from GODS GARDEN!!!!!! Dope match up enjoy (starting at the 1:08:45 mark), but you can watch the other good matches on here also.



I hate seth but here is a Seth Combo Video from MrDustKicka

Ironreaver

We got a link to combovid.com that shows us a handful of SFII:WW related glitches and more. Pretty interesting stuff because some of it is useful in winning matches and stuff. Anyway it's neatly compiled for you here.

Up Next we have markman with an annoucement that madcatz is having a sale with items being 20% off and more. Definitely be ready to place your orders because it start tuesday, so 12:00am if you're hardcore about and place your orders. More info here. Definitely gonna get my Chun Li stick tomorrow coz...I need that.


Video Time
Got some Street Fighter and King of Fighters for ya enjoy!!!!





















Ironreaver

SpotATrain from youtube recorded and uploaded some matches that Daigo had during the NSB 17 tournament. These are just exhibition/casual matches. Daigo as usual looks really strong and seems to have stepped it up alot. Overall his Ryu is looking better. Enjoy the videos!!!!







Ironreaver

3v3 Teams today featuring Justin Wong and Daigo Umehara. All members are allowed to choose 2 characters. The stream has started and you can view it here http://www.ustream.tv/user/nsb_sf4 enjoy!!!!

Justin Wong playing with Yang on SSF4. Yang seems cool. Check out Justin Wong in action.






Ironreaver

The year 2007..... sometime in earlier October we got a very exciting teaser of a highly stylized Ryu and Ken sparring session and after that we were given the title "Street Fighter 4". I remember thinking to myself holy-crap finally after almost 12 years since 3rd Strike dropped in 1999 we are getting an actually numbered update to Street Fighter.


Months later we get more info on the engine and in game specifics, characters, consoles to which it would be released and so forth. Then sometime in Sept of 2008 a few Arcades in America, most notably in SoCal get there hands on the Japanese Arcade version and BAM, it feels like the early 90's again. People are lining up to pay 75c to $1 per play just to see what this game is all about. Some like it...some are in the middle and some are just like...I'll stick to 3rd Strike.


Anyway Arcades are booming and Feb 2009 hits we get a launch party and the console release with more characters and game modes. Now in between all this Hype for Street Fighter it seems the other companies who held the fighting game community up jumped on track also. Namco releases Tekken 6, Arc System Works release Blazblue, SNK-Playmore release King of Fighters 12, Capcom also re-releases Super Turbo in the form of HD Remix and Tatsunoko vs Capcom for Wii.


Within the span of 2 years the quiet and considered by some dead Fighting Game Community saw a resurrection and surge. It seem like everyone wanted in on the action. Tournaments are bigger, better, more hype, new games and champions to be crowned. We also saw the surge in streamed tournaments and matches being uploaded to youtube like crazy. On top of that a ton of good fighters were released on XBLA and PSN (Marvel vs Capcom 2, King of Fighter 98 UM, Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, Garou:MOW, Fatal Fury 2 Special, Samurai Showdown 2 etc) that's just a handful of games.


It seems now that we are in for a huge increase that even I or even the fighting game community expected. This year alone we have had release updates for King of Fighters, Blazeblue, Super SF4, Virtua Fighter 5, and have been promised future games like Marvel vs Capcom 3, Street Fighter X Tekken, Tekken X Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat 9, Virtua Fighter 5: Final showdown (for consoles), Blazblue: Continuum Shift 2, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and possibly Soul Caliber 5 and King of Fighters 13 for consoles.


Right now is the time to be a fighting game fan especially if your like me and grew up around the Street Fighter surge in the 90's. The future seems bright and with it years of good memories to come, new battles and friends to be fought and made. In the End I hope there is room for all this and it's not overcrowded and gets over-saturated with half assed weak stuff....like we saw in the 90's, but I'm confident we won't be going that route this time. Only the Best of Best will stand tall this time.



Ironreaver