Response TO DailyRadar.com

*** Guys, let me know of corrections or details before I send this off. I want to be as right as I can. I'll send this out, with corrections, tomorrow morning, so please let me know as soon as possible if you need more time to get details. ***


Actually, the mini-gathering I described in my original email will be taking place Nov. 12-14 in Omaha, NE. There will be 3 Dreamcasts with TVs and VCRs since we almost always tape all of the action. We will be having this at one of the competitors apartments, Omaha Jeffry, with possibly another 1 or 2 staying at my place (Nutlog). This was originally going to be a couple of friends visiting, and it grew into a gathering of the pretty much the best "Specialized" players in the US.

That I know of, there really isn't a Aoi specialist among us. That title goes to a guy named Hans(Clopin on the net). He lives in L.A. I believe, right now.

The foremost Pai player also lives out that way, as Hans is always raving about it. But east coast belongs to a fellow by the name of Andy. (His picture can be found in Guinness' little book under "Controlled Hand Twitching Speed)

I haven't really seen or heard of any "excellent" Taka players in the USA. A lot of us dabble with him, but probably the best I've personally seen was a guy named Kevin from Southern California. He normally played with Jeffry, but his Taka was pretty thorough as well. (Some of the Toronto scene might debate this with me)

For Lion, the two specialists seem to both live in Chicago. Ed Cruz, the more unorthodox and riskier Lion, and Shota Tamura (yes, the Jacky Specialist) who plays a similar manner to his Jacky -- hard, fast and cheap.

For Akira, the man with the hands won't be in Omaha. That's Adam Yuki. The man with insane reflexes that make you feel like your playing in a vat of chocolate pudding compared to him.

For Sarah, probably one of the least desired titles for one of the USs most unexplored characters, the title goes to Alexei (Minneapolis) or myself (Nutlog - Omaha).

For Lau, the man to see is affectionately termed himself Sumeragi(Mike). Known for the Lau that "absolutely will not stop until you are dead." -- Terminator.

For Wolf, Hiro (New York) hands down. So damned frustrating that it's frightening. Of course, that could be applied to almost any character that Hiro plays. Probably the best VF player that most Americans will ever have the chance to meet. Close second is Andy (Chicago). "Iron defense" defines the man, though "Boring and cheap" will be from the people who lose to him.

For Jeffry, our own Omaha Jeffry has made a name for himself in the VF circles. He can weild the big man like most would in their dreams. Quick and unrelenting, he will pound you into the dirt if you back off for just a second.

For Shun-Di, Nelson is the man. He is the only one on the list I have not played personally, so far. Reports from friends all say the same thing, though. "After he beat me the 8th or 9th time, I realized that Shun does have more than 5 good moves..."

For Kage, this one gets fuzzy. Easily the most popular character in the states, Kage has some very good specialists all over the place. Jeff-Maru will be attending the Omaha gathering, and is definitely one of the top 5 in the US for Kage. Others would be Harold (Chicago) with his "Bastard Kage", Hiro (NYC) the omni-VFer and just about anyone from Toronto or Boston, since all you ever hear from them is "Kage and Akira this, Kage and Akira that..." (I believe the specifics are Rich - Boston, and Llanfair - Toronto)

For Jacky (Jerky), Shota Tamura from Chicago seems to edge out the "Air Jackys" from Minneapolis, Boyd and Jesse. Famous for his "4 move" Jacky, he can play with some real style when he relaxes a little about winning.


I've passed on your response to the 2 most visited VF sites that I know of:

www.virtuafighter.com
www.hardcoregaming.com

I'll be getting some tape bits from each of the attendees of the Omaha event, and get some tape of each playing against the other specialists.

Attendees for the Omaha Mini-gathering:
SausageMan(Troy) - Akira
Jeff-Maru - Kage
Nutlog - Sarah
Hiro - Wolf
Shota - Jacky
Mike - Lau
Nelson - ShunDi
Omaha Jeffry - Jeffry (duh)

Hope this a bit of what you wanted. I'll send more as the Omaha event stirs up.

Jason Clontz (Nutlog)

 

Guys...how come everyone keeps insisting on referring to me as "Jeff-Maru"?!

Not that I particularly mind, but...ice-9 sounds so much cooler dontcha think?

/images/icons/smile.gif

ice-9 | Sennin

 

Re: I hope this won't cause flame wars

Although I personally feel flattered to be mentioned in Nutlog's list, I have some agreements/disagreements to the player list he composed.

Followings are what I consider to be the good players with specific characters. And...to make a scene, I will boldly include myself in the list as well(so you can measure where my ego stands) Note that the people here are only limited to those I have played against.

Akira - adamYUKI, Hiro
Jacky - Hiro, Shota
Sarah - Harold, Hiro
Lau - Sumeragi, Hiro
Pai - None
Kage - Harold, Hiro, Rich, Ice-9
Jeffry - Omaha Jeffry, Hiro
Wolf - Hiro, Andy (Chicago)
Lion - Hiro, Jason Cha, Shota
Shun - Nelson, Ice-9
Aoi - None
Taka - Hiro

In selecting these people, I picked those who seem to have a very good understanding of the charatcters they use. As a result, some people who can play more impressively or do fancy combos are not here. Even though such are important, knowing as many defense options after the blocked elbow counts more in my personal criterion.
Therefore, Hiro, who is usually against the advanced "tricks", made it to a lot of characters because he very well understands the essences of each charatcter.

I included myself to Jacky and Lion. As for my defense, I state that Jacky is a difficult character to play, especially at the higher level. You have to be constantly aware of Jacky's foot-stance, in order to minimize the damage after the blocked elbow, as well as consistent (& highest possible damage) float combos. I've encountered many strong Jacky players; few seem to pay attention to such subtle yet essential information. On this, both Hiro and I agree.

As for my Lion, those who have played me know that my Lion is sub-par in competitiveness. Hiro's Lion far exceeds mine in that factor. However, I can confidently say that my knowledge in Lion's Ura tickrs is above average. Also thinking about when to use which trick is something I have not seen from many Lion players.

For example, after Lion's HCB+PG throw, Lion can do:
1) E -> d/f+P (opponent can do E to avoid)
2) E -> u/f+K (side-roll to avoid)
3) Run up and Ura (anything other than side-roll)

None of the options is all powerful nor complete. If the opponent does forward/back roll, 1) would work. If he does E to get up, you can take 2) or do usual Okizeme. If he does side-roll to avoid 2), 3) would work. This kind of thinking, Ed of HG lacks. He knows many of Lion's tricks but does not know when to use them. The end result is that his Lion keeps trying to go for the Ura trick while the opponent NEVER does side-roll.

Anyway, I hope this sets off even more dabates.

 

Re: I hope this won't cause flame wars

Just a quick question..cause of my terrible memory, but Harold was the guy at the NY gathering who kicked everyone's ass {mine severly!} with Shun almost exclusivly? <chuckles> my sarah rush doesn't get mentioned? <ducks and dives for cover from the flack I will get for that arrogance!>

 

Re: to serve your memory

That Shun player you remember is Nelson.
Harold played Sarah for the most part, and Kage when he felt like dicking around with Shinsodan.

 

Re: to serve your memory

Actually, I find it amusing that you bothered to list Shun as a character I could play with! The truth is that I only used Shun at the Chicago Gathering because I knew no one else would, and I wanted to show that Shun could be very powerful without being machi. I actually don't consider myself all that adept with him. In fact, I would say I know Jacky and Lau better! Too bad this doesn't always reflect in winning percentages though. /images/icons/frown.gif Nelson, however, had actually thought my main character was Jacky before I told him that it was "supposed" to be Kage. Oops... /images/icons/wink.gif

ice-9 | Sennin