Do you really have to?

You really feel the need to fear what you don't understand in VF5? Whats is this game about nowadays?

No disrespect but why to i keep hearing us american players Kneeling down before the Japanese players like as if we are not on par with them? I mean really its like that whole Mike Tyson effect all over again. You step in the ring and get nervous because of rank or whateva pedestal you put them on and at like every throw will get teched or every attack gets fuzzied. Don't get me wrong the more technical some of guys make VF5 it seems its really is'nt all that on retrospect. You just adding to shit was never of that much importance like the Media and Press. I always believe you study long you study wrong. certain people/players you just have to change up on the fly with. One thing i heavily believe is one small calculation during a match and lead to 3 straight after going down 0-2 in rounds. Its all about the killer instinct and the ability to put opponents away.

Maybe im talking out my ass here but i know some of you out there feel me.

 

You got toilet paper crumbs around your mouth.

 

I agree Overfiend....

Going down 0-2 in rounds doesn't mean the match is lost. If you make the RIGHT adjustment in your style you can get the 2 rounds back and let the 5th round decide the fight.

The nastiest VF5 players out there don't give up. They have a way of erasing your lead and coming back. No lead against a really good player in too material because they can take a calculated risk and go for big damage to even it out.

I've also noticed that when their health is low, truly good players turn into a brick wall. That last hit never comes easily, and often, they will come back and steal the round out from under you.

I think one of the skills of VF5 is hanging in there until the match is truly over. Even if you have no health left you can look for ring outs or wall combos to get yourself back in it. Anyone who has played Happy Friend knows that when he is injured is when he becomes most dangerous. You are never more than 1 or 2 combos away from him stealing the round at any time.

 

I agree that they shouldn't be feared. However, the fact is the best players in Japan are just way above the best players here.

Those who have played against those who visited us, Itazan is the most recent, will agree with me that the top players in Japan are really that good.

 

With regard to Japanese players:

"Other things being equal", they'd be the same as us, or we would be the same as they are. But those "other things" are not equal, hence the Japanese are, on average, better. The key element other than the skills of one player is the environment.

Why Russians (or better, people coming from former Soviet Union) are the best chess players in the world? It's not in their genes, it's just because everybody used to be forced to play at elementary school, real talents could be found more easily and the talents of past generations could train the young. There was abundance of competition which basically meant more playing and more improvement.

Same goes for games in Japan, where you have a major arcade in every neighbourhood/quarter of each town. More people have a chance to get in touch with the game, which means that a higher percentage of innate talents will get to play the game. And because of that higher number of people involved, you'll have more playing, more competition and subsequently more improvement.

I don't think there's anything stupid in acknowledging the superiority of Japanese players (which doesn't mean giving up on trying to improve or anything like that) exactly because their skills depend greatly on their environment.

But claiming that these conditions, this environment are the same as we have or are irrelevant, is like claiming that the Earth is flat.

 

WTF!!!!

 

That is a good explanation. The last fighter that had this same environment in the U.S. was Street Fighter II - Street Fighter II Turbo. It kinda died off with Super Street Fighter II.

 

I don't think that's strictly true, GMonroy. The US is considered to have a vastly superior MvC2 tournament scene as compared to japan. It just wasn't a game that caught on over there, so they never got very good.

But yeah, VF just isn't very big over here, and it generally gets released later than in japan. Noone "fears" the japanese players, SDS, it's just common knowledge that every single time japanese players visit a US tournament, they always take the top spot. The solution is that, either, the US players need to practice more and get better... or, accept that we just don't have the right environment to really foster that level of improvement, and stop worrying about it.

 

we could also just go to japan periodically and own their faces through weekly yearly outings or something of that nature. The American invasion in japan ftw!

 

They are better. It is not close. I have played a few hundred matches with Yosuke and he utterly destroys me. Moreso than any US player I have come across. I am not saying you should think that you are going to lose if you go against a good Japanese player, but whether you think you are going to lose or not, the outcome will most likely be the same - spankage.

 

Just me and you Tricky. Let me know when you wanna set it off LOL! We got about 8 more slots left.

You right. We don't have the gameroom scenes that used to pop off in the early and late 90's like Playland no more. I see all this technology made us more anti-social in the world. Playland was the reason i used to practice my skills all day in 2-D fighters.

 

Eh average Japanese players aren't so hard but yah the top level is going to be beastly fooling yourself or expecting anything else is illogical.

 

I'm from the U.K so i need to travel to London for any "proper" fights so i envy both countries! I think the arcades in japan help the level of skill of Japanese players, its quite social place and very good for learning I'm sure the US has lots of arcades, but im willing to bet there isn't as many VF cabs... i think the arcade scene may have something to do with it

... then again theres always Live...

 

Yeah, there it is. It's about environment in any competitive game. For competitive fighting games you need a setup (console or arcade or whatever doesn't really matter), and Japan has loads of arcades with hundreds of setups. This is done by the game companies themselves, on a much larger scale than anybody could feasibly do, say, in the US where I'm at. Here, that job has fallen to an arcade scene that's dead in most of the country, save independents, and the wallets of the players themselves. There is neither the crowd nor the money to outdo Japan.

That doesn't mean you give up as a player and that doesn't mean you sit there worrying about Japanese players while you're fighting them. You love the game, you play the game, and being afraid of the guy you're playing is just the first step to losing any match.

 

Subbers! What's up dude?

We have had a lot of crazy matches. Don't you be trying to reverse my Lau stomp after /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/b.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/f.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/p.gif + /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/g.gif ok?

 

In non-vs games like 2D shooters, the gap is way smaller.

Many of the top western scores are absolutely commensurable to the Japanese ones, although often are obtained after seeing runs from Japanese players (but Japanese players learn from each other too, obviously).

This is because the lack of the environment is not so important, being the game a single player one.

 

Of course we rock out loud in shooters, we're the damned US!! /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif

Seriously though, yes, the Japanese are better, but there's always a chance to take on a Japanese guy that doesn't really know how to play and thinks being Japanese is enough. So never lose faith, and if you take on a good Japanese player that outclasses you, take it as an oppourtunity for learning and having fun across the ocean. I for one welcome the epic beating, especially by a beautiful asian woman. That usually costs me an extra $50.

 

here here you gata come with SDS_Overfiend1 and me to japan when we finally can get it together. I need to get some cash first tho lol poor college student.

 

I gotta make a pit stop at the Shibuya District first.
So i'll bring about 5000$ in cash with me just in case lol!
In between games we'll have beautiful asian girls Cosplaying Eileen,Sarah,Pai and import Vanessa.

@ Gallows - Hell yeah we rock out in shooters though but if they ever intended to learn the will be comp tho. Don't sleep the have a little small few who gets it in though out there.

Also maybe when i get my own pad and move out of my girls crib i can probably achieve when i need to be in VF5. I just don't have comfortability with my daughter and her kids in and out.

 

In fact the top 3 Western World records for, say, Ikaruga, are held by an Aussie (1st), an Italian (2nd) and a Brit (3rd).