Jan 31, 2011

UPDATED AND CONDENSED: 10 Tips for MvC3 Newbies

I took way too long to update this post, mainly due to the fact it was daunting to write. However, I have thought of way to write this without making it long-winded. Besides, newcomers want quick tips and don't want to read an exhausting explanation do they? After seeing many people attempt MvC3 and session after session remaining clueless, I have a better idea of what makes these people struggle. Now without further stalling, here are my quick tidbits.

1. Execute your combos - This is one of the biggest hurdles people seem to face even with Marvel's very easy combo system. Execution of your combos means you take advantage of your hits which may not come easily against someone well seasoned in the game. This tip also implies doing the right combos. Research your characters and find out what combos are best for your team structure and personal play style. This is where videos help the most I think.

2. Use assists effectively - To Marvel newbies, assists are a very foreign concept. But put simply, assists are the most valuable tools in the game. They can be used to cover, defend, combo, mixup, and more! Remember, assist cooldowns are very short. If all else fails, when you're first starting out- do as my good friend Jayford says- "Spam the broken assist."

3. The best defense is a good offense - Marvel has always been a game of push buttons now, ask questions later and the games have been designed with the premise that rush down is king. This game is certainly no different with characters that have many offensive tools but lack adequate defense against them. When I first played a good Wolverine, I asked the player "How do you deal with that?" All he could say was "Don't let me get started." So true. As long as you keep the pressure on yourself, you can never be pressured.

4. Tag out your injured character - Having a fully comprised team is so huge in this game that saving all the red life you can while helping a severely hurt character survive should be a top priority.

5. Tag in/out safely - Learn to not rely on raw tagging all the time. Safe DHCs (Delayed Hyper Combos) and TACs (Team Aerial Combos) are the safest ways of tagging in. Of course you can always tag when you have killed off a character.

6. Kill off characters - Do whatever it takes. Killing a character is huge and 9 out of 10 times it's the right decision. As you become more advanced, you will know when to kill and when to pursue other avenues.

7. Use TACs - Team Aerial Combos offer little risk and a bounty of reward to the player using them. Use and abuse these for big damage, free meter, and a safe tag.

8. Use Snap-backs - Snap-backs are even more useful now than in previous Versus games. They can be combo'd into from any standing H and have tons of uses. Snap in the character who is close to death so he can't get red life back. Snap in your opponents best character if you know it. Snap in the team anchor to kill the come back factor and mess up the team order. Snap in the problem assist like Tron or Haggar. Snap in Phoenix.

9. Proper X-Factor use - Never die without activating!

10. Practice. Practice. Practice.





Jan 30, 2011

HPiLC, Mt. Mercy University- Cedar Rapids, IA 1/29/11 -Full Results

Brawl Singles (20 entrants)


1: Joker ($60.00) (Snake, Wolf)
2: Kuares ($30.00) (Fox)
3: BPOW ($10.00) (Wario)
4: NGamer3k (Meta Knight, Yoshi)
5: Twink (Marth)
5: Mushrooming (Sonic)
7: Soran (Marth)
7: Zephyros (Falco)
9: Nick
9: Mook
9: NoM
9: Dr. Slash
13: Fistr
13: Dan
13: Wang
13: BDJOR
17: Zeal
17: Mom
17: Dylan
17: Dad

Brawl Doubles (8 teams)

1: Cyberdyne Systems (BPOW/PCITY) ($48.00) (Wario/Diddy)
2: MOTHER Gear Solid (Joker/Yink) ($24.00) (Wolf/Ness)
3: Can't Let You Do That (Zephyros/QRS) ($8.00) (Falco/Fox)
4: Twink/Mook
5: Saros/Musrooming
5: BDJOE/Zeal
7: Team Gimp(ed) (Wang/NoM)
7: Team Sandbag (Dr. Slash/Nick)

Blazblue: Continuum Shift (7 entrants) aka Best Jin in Iowa

1: Saros (Ragna)
2: NGamer3k (Jin)
3: Kuares (Jin)

SSF4 (5 entrants, RR/Winner take all)

1. NGamer3k (Sakura)
2. Kemps (Boxer)
3. David (Claw)

Jan 29, 2011

Highest Point in Linn County - Mt. Mercy, Cedar Rapids, IA Event Today

This is Eastern Iowa's 2nd event we have hosted in three months. This is going to be an all-Iowa Brawl event with SSF4 and BB:CS thrown in on the side. Joker is the far and away favorite to win it, so the singles tournament will be largely a race for second place.

There hasn't been an Iowa tournament without strong out-of-state representation for a very long time, so this event will provide a good benchmark of skill for the Iowa players not named Joker. This is also Eastern Iowa's chance to show what they can do against the traditional power of Des Moines area smash.

I will be helping to run the event and will run brackets for SSF4 and BB:CS. Stay hungry!

Jan 26, 2011

Evolution 2011 Games Announced

The Evolution Championship Series is the Super Bowl for fighting games. Just moments ago, this year's lineup for the annual event was announced by Mr. Wizard, during the live Wakeup Shoryuken podcast. For the first time ever, Evo will only be officially hosting tournaments for five titles: Super Street Fighter 4, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Tekken 6, Blazblue: Continuum Shift, and Mortal Kombat 9. Note that there will not be a sixth game added as a vote-in title like last year. Sorry, Arcana Heart 3 fans, maybe next year. Mr. Wizard did go on to say however that side events held by the players may receive some on-stage love unlike years passed because of the less strenuous schedule of having only five games. Also of interest, there are special exhibitions planned to add to the Evo hype. What those are is up in the air, although there was mention of a very cool sounding sponsored team only kind of event where players from Empire Arcadia, BLG, DMG, EG, among others could face off against each other.

I would love to go this year just for the experience of being there. Also, Iowa's representation last year was contained to only one Melty Blood player, pbj_mixxa. This year, Iowa has already started to make plans to go. I hope I can make it out with them.

Jan 21, 2011

Marvel vs Capcom 3: Predictions

The hype for MvC3 can hardly contain itself. The sequel to one of the most beloved fighting games in history is mere weeks away. While people with access to arcades are sinking their teeth into SSF4 AE, the vast majority of us in the community have been dying to play something new. But MvC3's release is monumental for another reason. It will be mark the first time since SF4's release in 2008 that a fighter will make this much impact on the casual player base. Anticipating the overall implications of this fact and their effect on the community has me just as hype as for the game itself.

Jan 20, 2011

Arcana Heart 3 Arcade Leaked to PC!

My prayers have been answered. As it turns out, just days before the release of the popular fighting game to consoles in Japan on the 8th, the arcade edition was leaked to PCs (on the 3rd to be exact). Due to the obvious legal implications, I can't tell you exactly where I found and downloaded my pirated copy-- and for anyone curious as to why this update comes so late, I've been playing it all day. Now usually I'm against pirating games like this that are so new, but I'm so desperate to play it. And perhaps, this leak will be a big enough FUCK YOU to developer Examu that the game sees an American release. I'm sure if you're as interested as me, you'll have no trouble finding the game on the series of tubes known as the internet. Check out Mizuumi.net (your source for all things poverty) for a great wiki on the game and visit Homingcancel.com (Think Meltybread for Meltyblood except for Arcana Heart) if you're interested in learning. For now, check out some high level matches and a brief tutorial to get you started.


Jan 19, 2011

Grand Finals from Brawl Doubles - Joker's Monthly #20

This was an epic grand finals between Iowa's own Joker and PCity (losers) vs Kansas' Fino and 4rce (winners) that went two sets. Iowa takes back the title after a long drought. There was even drama during the tournament that I'll detail later. Game 3 of set 1 was lost. Enjoy the videos after the break. Or if you don't want to watch them here, I've arranged all the videos in a convenient playlist.

Set 1


Jan 18, 2011

Joker's Monthly #20 1/15/11 - Des Moines, IA - Full Results

Brawl Singles (30 entrants) Bracket


1(Split): Cook (Olimar)
1(Split): Fino  (Olimar)
3: Nicole (Peach)
4: Nappy (Snake)
5: Brezzy (Ganondorf, Falco)
5: YoshQ (Luigi)
7: TMACC (DDD)
7: Joker (Snake, Marth)
9: Rob
9: Amarze
9: Moe
9: Fource
13: Mushroomring
13: Ironhand
13: BPOW
13: Silver
17: JBM
17: Gamegenie
17: Mook
17: Zeal
17: Triple R
17: Soran
17: Trent
17: Ndrl
25: Aura
25: NGamer3k
25: Hills
25: Twink
25: Rockstar
25: Wang



Brawl Doubles (10 teams) Bracket
1: Dirdy D / 515 / DMI (Joker / PortCity) (Snake + Diddy)
2: Fulltiltbrawler.net (Fino / Fource) (Olimar, MK + Diddy)
3: Fino Is a Douche. (YoshQ / Moe) (Luigi + MK)
4: Minnesota's Finest (Amanze / Nappy)
5: I Hate My Teammate (Nicole / Cook)
5: Team 69 (CBK / TMACC)
7: RRR / Breezy
7: QWOP (Brandon / Greg)
9: Twink / Mook
9: Wang / Spoge



Melee Singles (21 entrants) Bracket
1. (Split) Ironhand/Tyser (Random)
1. (Split) JBM (Falco, Marth)
1. (Split) Mexi (Falco)
4: Majoras (Samus)
5: Moe (Falco)
5: Triple R (Kirby)
7: ULi (C. Falcon)
7: Amanze (Samus)
9: Joker
9: Nappy
9: Tmacc
9: Rob
13: Breezy
13: MushroomRing
13: GameGenie
13: Nicole
17: Zeal
17: Fino
17: NGamer3k
17: Mook
17: Twink



SSF4 (8 entrants)
1. Grog (Honda, Blanka)
2. NGamer3k (Sakura, Rose, Ryu)
3. the SPRINKLER (Gen)





Jan 15, 2011

Joker's Monthly Today!

Short update today folks. I'll be leaving for the tournament in three hours. It's looking to be HYPE! This is the return of Joker's Iowa Smash Monthly after a period of about three months without one. We have a number of excellent players confirmed to attend this one including: Nicole, Tmacc, and Cook from Missouri, Fino and 4rce from Kansas, Moe, Nappy, RRR from Minnesota, and of course Iowa's own Joker490Frozen. This tournament will also be slightly different as singles will be run first whereas traditionally doubles is run first. This alteration allows Iowa's best kept secret, PortCity to enter doubles and throw down with the rest of the competitors. Side events will be SSBM (the last Joker's for Melee) and SSF4. I'll be back with results and a tournament diary. Ciao.

Jan 13, 2011

Arcana Heart 3 Released to Consoles in Japan Today

It's been a long time coming for fans of Arcana Heart games to get a decent or even playable home port of the series for a quite some time since Arcana Heart 2 suffered from hideous lag and slowdown issues. Released to PS3 and Xbox 360 in Japan today, Arcana Heart 3 makes its splash on today's modern consoles. With Arc System Works (responsible for Guilty Gear and Blazblue) handling the console release this time around should ease any fan's worry of history repeating itself.

For those unfamiliar with the series, Arcana Heart is a fighting game series that features a roster full of girls. What further separates itself from other fighters is after the player makes a character choice, the player then chooses from an extensive list of unique "Arcanas" that give the character different abilities. The series had a brief stint of popularity in the U.S. because of the lack of new fighters being released at the time, and players like Arturo Sanchez driving the scene.

I wouldn't be writing about the game if I wasn't interested. This is another series that has passed me by because of the fact I didn't own a PS2 for a really long time. I've always wanted to give it a try, but never had a real chance. And unlike many of those that populate the fighting game community, I don't discriminate against games like these just because of its roster choices. I wish I had a PS3 so I can play it. A stateside release is somewhat unlikely even though the previous games in the series were brought over.


Jan 11, 2011

Video from Midwest Final Round Qualifier in KC

This video comes from my most recent tournament showing for Street Fighter and Blazblue on the 17th of December. Losers bracket, third round. As you can see, I'm pretty familiar with Gouken. My opponent seemed to be just as unfamiliar with Sakura. Rape ensued.



For those curious, I lost to Honda in the next round. Good enough for a 13th place finish. Not bad, but definitely not up to my potential or given ability. I'm still getting used to tournament play for this game. In Blazblue I fared somewhat better depending on how you look at it. I finished 5th. My lack of experience in the game shown through in my losses. If only I could get more competition in the game. I'd have more to say, but I'm too far removed from this event to go into detail. Enjoy the video.

Jan 10, 2011

Videos from Mt. Mercy Casuals- SSBB - 1/9/11

With Joker's Iowa Monthly coming up in a week, Eastern Iowa's players met up for a Smash session to get ready. Here are the highlights of the night, featuring players like myself, Kuares, and Zephyros. Full playlist here. More after the jump.





Jan 6, 2011

Vintage NGamer3k SF4 Vids!

This is from my very first Street Fighter tournament in June of 2009. This should be a special treat to anyone who has seen my gameplay now and thinks I didn't once suck or take my lumps. I played on a pad back then and didn't know how to hit-confirm combos. I also jumped a lot.

Every once and a while, I watch these to remind me of my progress and how far I've come.



More after the jump...

Addendum to Blind Pick: Why Just Smash?

With all the benefits of calling for double blind pick I outlined in my previous posts, it begs the question: Why wouldn't I do this for all the tournament games I play like SSF4? A fair question indeed.

Updates for today's and future posts

How do you like my ghetto design? Yes, it sucks, but it's about 1000 times better than the old one. I plan on making it a few more degrees of magnitude better in the future when I enlist some help, but this is good enough for now

For today's post, I know I promised one, JayFord, I would have an entry detailing my advice for improving in Street Fighter. Well, the article is turning into quite the monster and since I don't want split it into separate entries, because I want it to be a one-stop reference point for people, it will have to wait for another day.

In the meantime, I'd like to say I have plenty of ideas for this blog to keep it alive and I'll have two smaller entries posted today. Cheers.

Jan 5, 2011

Why Request Double Blind Pick? (Part 2)

This has two effects. First, it displays ability for multiple characters. This deters anyone who thinks calling for the rule is a big charade. Essentially, it gives meaning and force behind my action. The second effect stems largely from the first. It changes how my opponents think about playing me. They may feel more compelled to choose their main, or in the coup de gras of calling for a blind pick, it may make opponents second guess themselves so much about my character choice that they deviate from their main whilst I have all along decided to choose my main. Like I mentioned earlier, the mind games have begun well before the match even begins. Not only that, but by being the initiator, I have the psychological advantage even though I am literally in the same character choosing dilemma as my opponent.

Why Request Double Blind Pick? (Part 1)

Since I've made several announcements that I intend to utilize the double blind character select rule in all of my future tournament matches in Super Smash Brothers Brawl, I'd like to kick off my new blog by explaining my reasoning behind this. Even though I haven't been directly inquired as to why I intend to be "that guy" who calls tournament directors over to his station before each match, I fancy many have been wondering.

Do I NOT Deliver or What?! (Yet another blog change)

Whoops, so that whole jab about posting more really didn't come through, eh? Sorry, while a lot has been weighing on my mind, I haven't taken the time to write it down. If I can promise anything, I can certainly promise disappointment.

Anyway, onto the next chapter of possible- nay probable dashed expectations as I've decided to revamp the blog again into a video games centered blog featuring posts related to my involvement with the local fighting game scenes here in Iowa. This will include personal journal entries logging my development in different fighters, insight to newer players, and my general musings of experiences. I hope this helps out everybody out there (by "everybody," I of course mean "nobody").

You have to start somewhere, I am obviously aware I have lost what was my single digit readership over my *ahem* hiatus from blogging, but I intend to commit to this. Probably maybe.

As for my old posts, I'm saving the ones I like. That's it. Even though they might have zero to do with the current blog, I want to keep them around for posterity. Any others are going to be deleted. Ciao.