So the reasoning between "Soundtracks to SF4..."

If u have been paying attention to my Twitter in the past week, I have been busting out a new feature unoriginally called Soundtracks to SF4. Basically, as much as I love Street Fighter IV's music, it does get tiring after a while especially if the same stages keep getting selected. Even though it is pretty much my version of custom soundtracks, its better to hear some actual music once in a while. So I have been busting out all spectrums of music, from N'Sync, Jeremih, Maxwell, LMFAO, and more. Might as well multitask especially with the grind that is Street Fighter IV's Championship Mode on G2. I'm currently at G2-B with 7800 something GP now and G2 is slowly becoming G1 in terms of skill level, which is starting to get frustrating if you're expecting better competition. Turns out it is the same old deal as I hope G1 feels somewhat elite compared to the rest, but then again, I could be wrong. Maybe playing Street Fighter IV online is a mistake after all as Shoo told me against random players, but at least I should play more player matches against SoCal's best especially last night against Keno, which was fun times. Speaking of Keno, here's him in action above in the AI Ranbat 2.4 Grand Finals against Viscant's Zangief as his girlfriend Teresa provides commentary (lol!!!).

Two Events I Wish I Can Go, But Won't...

While I was rocking my Street Fighter IV Comic-Con 08 T-Shirt at the Ladies of SF4 tournament, I was asked by various folks that recognized the shirt wandering if I'm going to this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Unfortunately, I'm not and I have been going there for the past four years already. The tickets have been sold out for a while, but it is best not to go to the crazy opus or I should say "Nerd Prom" (whatever). The convention itself has been getting bigger and bigger of all the times I went there, but I don't think I could handle it anymore. As much as I love Comic-Con, it has gone way mainstream as it is more than just your convention and more of a spectacle. Plus, that weekend if things come through, I'll have other plans in mind anyway.

I also don't see myself going to Evo next weekend at Vegas either. As much I as want to go to Evo at the Rio this year because it will be the biggest one yet and I never been there to see the HYPE in person, it is not going to happen. Even the SoCal SF4 community is asking me if I'm going to Evo, I respond with I wish I can go. In case you don't know what Evo aka the Evolution Championships are, it is the biggest fighting game tournament here in the United States where all the big boys from all over the country to come and try to make a name for themselves in the community winning the grand daddy of them all. Besides being the big tournament, it is at Vegas again and more good times will ensue throughout, but hopefully no drama will go off. I can't even the imagine the numbers for Street Fighter IV alone of those entering and there's other games going on as well like Marvel, 3rd Strike, Tekken 6, and SSF2T HD Remix. Yeah I hope the people I know especially here at SoCal have an awesome time and represent at Evo.

The latest on my YouTube channel for 7/2/09

The highly anticipated video for Drake's "Best I Ever Had" came out last night as the hate for it on Twitter is staggering. I'm sort of on agreement with the majority that the video could have been better considering the song, but one person on Twitter pretty much said this right: "Drake made the song for the ladies and the video for the guys." I still think Kanye didn't want to make just another typical R&B-like video trying to be original as he always tries to be, but then again maybe this video as a whole is sarcastic. Who knows...

Last weekend's episode of Top Gear was pretty awesome with the new Lambo Murcielago at the desert and the epic drag race between the Bugatti Veyron and the McLaren F1 (shown above). Why is this show so good as I just started this recently. I'm not much of a car nut, but this show seems so brillantly put together with the cinematography and all those camera angles besides the cars and the personalities.

Here's a Street Fighter IV match at Arcade Infinity Ranbat 2.4 last month with Kai's El Fuerte and Keno's Balrog. Pretty epic match in terms of comebacks and the whole clock being used. Gootecks and Sanchez provided commentary as they mention randomness like Fuerte's crappy English voice on the console version to a 12-minute wedding Gootecks attended. Hopefully more LoSF footage gets uploaded soon, so I can add it to my epic blog post about that epic day.

Speaking of Kai, here's him along with Paul (somuchdamage) on Part 2 of their episode on the Dogface Show. He discusses his hate for Street Fighter IV in which I understand why he hates it in terms of how random the game can be and the fact you can get away with many things compared to 3rd Strike. He also talks about his story of a coyote exploding at the Arizona desert, which is funny.

A Quick Hands-On with DJ Max Technika...

Other than the Ladies of Street Fighter IV tournament happening that awesome Saturday, I decided to take a shot of the return of DJ Max Technika in Arcade Infinity. This game costs a dollar to play and six dollars for a card tracking your data. DJ Max Technika is a rhythm game that uses two screens (one on top for display and the bottom for gameplay like playing a Nintendo DS) as you use your fingers to touch the screen along to the beat. Yeah, it is Japanese-based in terms of what music is being offered for the anime crowd, but its not bad if you're into that type of music. My experience with this game playing for the first time was trying to get used to the speed as I underestimated how fast it can go and as a result I failed the song. It is still fun to play and hopefully get better as I play it more if I get the chance to go to AI more frequently. This definitely feels like you're playing a Nintendo DS game, but at an arcade which is cool in some way. Definitely an unique arcade game worth checking out if you see it around.

The Epic Day that was Ladies of Street Fighter IV...

Oh man what an epic and awesome day yesterday as I was at Arcade Infinity for the first time in a month to watch the Ladies of Street Fighter IV tournament hosted by AI tourney hostmaster Shoo. I gotta hand it to Shoo as this was a brilliant idea (Well, girls + Street Fighter = success!!!) and it definitely lived up to being an event for the summer. Plus, it seemed like he went all out for it with a photo shoot with the competitors as some did dress to impress as if they're going clubbing before the tournament (photo shoot pics here and they were awesome!) and Get Your Tournament was there providing the awesome coverage with live blogging/video interviews after the event by the SoCal SF4 ambassador Gootecks (Thanks to Glenn for the coverage and Kara for the awesome pics). Good thing I showed up early for decent parking especially at Diamond Plaza despite the usual frustrating traffic at Rowland Heights (The 60 was slow and Colima Rd, as expected was what it is).

There were certainly some recognizable ladies I saw at the tournament since they were girlfriends of some of SoCal's best players as they coached them to do well in the event. It was an wide open tournament in terms of who would win in the end, but some clearly had the confidence to take it like Ciji aka StarSlay3r (played as Sagat), coached by her boyfriend, the one and only Mike Ross (pic of them above along with ComboJack). Early on, it seemed like the Russian invasion as I think a fourth of the field was using Zangief and I can tell that the other competition hates a dangerous Zangief player that knows what's she doing using Lariats and Spinning Pile Drivers to get easy victories. Eventually, players learned to take advantage of Zangief's weaknesses using spacing and the matchups to their advantage like Ciji and Stacy, aka the manager of AI. The other theme of the tournament that I noticed besides the Zangief show, was Chun-Li's jump crossup kick being dominant for the first half of the tournament by some Chun player (Louise I think), but eventually the competition figured out how to counter it. Most of the field that consisted of sixteen ladies were indeed trained by fellow AI regulars to make them competitive players. Also expect video of the matches at top 8 and beyond with commentary by Gootecks, Shoo, and KillerKai soon.

Yesterday was also a great opportunity to hang out with the SoCal SF4 community seeing the usual folks like Keno, Mike Ross, Gootecks, KillerKai, shglbmx, Kyrojenix, Luka, Jack, and more. Keno, his girlfriend Teresa (second pic above), who also competed in the tournament playing as Balrog, and I were talking to Gootecks (I'm in the background in the first pic above) about his "shimmy" dance he did at the GameStop tournament and how it is so godlike. Seriously Ryan, don't be embarrassed for the "shimmy" its amazing! I also chatted with Mike Ross about his win at last Thursday's Shadaloo Lounge tournament in Chinatown LA (also promoting the Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li movie release on DVD & Blu-Ray) and him living a "nerd fantasy" of three Chun-Lis giving him 2,000 dollars for the win. Mike told me he just wanted to go home when that happened, but still Mike, you're still living a "nerd fantasy," be proud of it! Even though I was told from many people that Shadaloo Lounge event wasn't all that even with the open bar and also Devastation the other weekend, I still overheard Gootecks going crazy on how two of the Chun-Lis were fine as hell (lol Ryan). At that rate, Gootecks might as well get one of those Chun-Lis to appear at Bar Fights #2 and also get a female 2 on 2 exhibition match going too.

Other highlights of the tournament consisted of JayJay (first pic above) getting her drink on and hype with her Akuma landing Raging Demons as well as shouting out the first "You Just Don't Know!!!" of the day. I expected someone to say YJDK more than once and I got that as I looked at Mike Ross when it happened and we were like nodding our heads "Yup!!" The hype quickly rose up near the end of the tourney with Naomi and Teresa's match as it was intense stuff and it never died down since. Ciji and Stacy (second pic above) really stepped up their game in the losers bracket after being sent there and when the two faced off at losers semis, I thought it would be the match of the night and it was when Stacy pulled off an "Eagle Eye Ultra" once Ciji did a Tiger Knee which cost her the match. In the end, it was Miyuki, who played Abel and knew how to play him well using his command throw along with his crouching fierce to ultra combo to win the tournament defeating Stacy's Bison. The bonus challenge was a "boss fight" against AI regular Tatsu who decided to play Ken instead of his main Vega. Tatsu tried to do Ken's "empire" combo in the end, but failed as Miyuki won that match. After the tournament ended, Get Your Tournament did post-game interviews with some of the entrants as Gootecks asked about how the tournament went for them and what not.

Then it was the "after party" at the bay that is filled with bananas, otherwise known as Banana Bay. This is the first time I decided to go to Banana Bay after an AI tournament and realized what I have missing out on as it was awesome times. Besides the food (Thai Fried Rice!!!) and drinks like Thai Iced Tea, decided not to go crazy with the alcohol, craziness ensued in the place. More of the known SoCal SF players showed up such as Sanchez, Kai, Mr. Bean, and more to eat along with most of the folks from the tournament. I felt like my mind was blown just being at Banana Bay witnessing the shenanigans for myself like Kryojenix and Tatsu dancing together near the music stage, some of the female competitors dancing together as well, and ComboJack doing his karaoke thing rapping the Ludacris verse from Usher's "Yeah." Damn, that was some good times and the night is not even over yet.

After Banana Bay, fellow AI regular Warren told us about this random place called Tea Bar nearby where it also has midway-like basketball with tournament settings. So most of us decided to go there and check it out as it felt like an actual midway arcade with basketball and those claw things for stuffed toys like Yoshis, mushrooms, and Kirbys. The basketball game they have consists of scoring more points to advance further by rounds as it requires specific coins provided by the staff to play, which is a dollar. After knowing about this place now, it seems to be the new spot to go to after Banana Bay on tournament days or just any other ordinary day at AI.

All in all, the Ladies of Street Fighter IV tournament is a huge success at Arcade Infinity with an amazing turnout of competitors as a first all-girl tourney at AI along with the numerous spectators like me as if we were watching a normal AI Ranbat tournament. The HYPE was everywhere from the tournament, to Banana Bay, and then Tea Bar. It is always awesome times hanging out with the SoCal SF4 community and they are nice people to chat even for a little bit. Congratulations to all the ladies who competed, everyone who showed up to watch and support the scene, and especially Shoo for throwing this amazing event together (Interview with him and his girlfriend Naomi, who finished tied for 7th at the bottom at this post). More photos (specifically the photo shoot before the tourney) are up courtesy of Karaface, who does an awesome job at these events, and the usual AI videos of matches with commentary in the coming days as well. So yeah, it was an awesome day and once again it was nice seeing everyone there.

Photos by Kara and other video by the AI YouTube channel / Get Your Tournament (more interviews with the ladies such as the champ Miyuki, the runner-up Stacy the AI manager, and JayJay the drunken master at their YouTube channel).

Also, the AI Blog for official results and more...

The "I Got Next" Doucmentary (Short Version)

Earlier today was the preimere for the "I Got Next" documentary by Ian Cofino that focuses on the Street Fighter IV tournament scene. Hopefully, this spreads to more than just us hardcore fighting game fans and reaches to a mainstream audience that can appreciate as special like this. This is currently a short version of the film that features Sinstation Fight Club and Final Round while a longer feature-long cut will be out after Ian films at next month's Evo. This is a great example of how the scene is pretty much these days with Street Fighter IV still being a fresh game, but the hottest thing going now in the genre as everyone is playing it. The West Coast/East Coast beef is somewhat shown claiming they're the best, but it is all still a "brotherhood" in the end for the love of the game. I hope people would enjoy this and get a sense of what I'm also into, but it doesn't mean I'll be like them.

My "General ProTips" Guide for Street Fighter IV

My most played game this year, Street Fighter IV, has been out on consoles for some months already and with Evo right around the corner next month, I will give my own version of how to become a little more serious player than someone playing it for kicks and giggles. So here's some general protips of how to be more competitive especially against the top players.

• Execute Execute Execute!!!! - When it comes down to games like this, it is all about execution first and without that, you'll go nowhere. Make sure to practice up combos and strategies as the more you do them, you'll likely perform them consistently. Even the simplest of combos and moves require practice which could take hours, days, or weeks to perform on a consistent basis. Some good execution warmup combos are Ryu and Sagat's Shoryuken and Tiger Uppercut, Focus Dash Cancel to Ultra combos as well as Balrog's Buffalo Headbutt to Ultra. I still have a hard time nailing these consistently especially Balrog's bread and butter combo with the charging and such, but these exercises provide good execution practice. Basically, execution is arguably the most important thing to learn in this game and more important than winning.
• Patience matters - The best players are usually the ones with the most patience utilizing the full game clock rather than trying to beat them up quickly. Take your time and once you have the opportunity to capitalize on an opponent's mistake, take full advantage of it punishing with a high percentage combo, or an ultra if the situation comes. Don't force yourself to the open if you're trailing in the match by health, your time will eventually come and if you have to turtle to wait for your opponent to mess up, do it.

• Spacing & Zoning are key - Distance between you and your opponent are pretty key in certain match situations. Sometimes, being the perfect distance away like sweeping distance for charge characters will keep them guessing for possible footsies and poking opportunities. Characters with projectiles like Ryu and Sagat can deal great zoning with fireballs drawing people to jump in and get punished for it. It might be a cheap strategy for some folks who don't know what to do of characters fireballing all day long, but it is a strategy that works especially at the right distance and proven successful for some top players in this game.
• Meter management - Having the right amount of meter also plays a big role in matches that players would reconsider their plan of attack when someone has three or four EX bars ready. There are characters out there that totally rely on meter specifically to perform tougher combos like Rufus's EX Messiah Kick, Chun-Li, and others. Players with no meter feel limited with what to do before building it back up again, so that's a good opportunity to strike. Certain characters can build meter on safe like Bison's Devil Reverse and others with projectiles across the screen at a safe distance. Usually wasting all meter on a super is not a good idea if you have your revenge meter built up, but some characters don't rely on EX moves as their super works well with their game like Zangief and Dhalsim. Revenge meter also plays a role especially when the match wines down because someone can make a comeback with a maximum damage ultra. Managing meter can separate the best and the worst as wasting it can lead to mistakes.
• Expect anything - In Street Fighter IV, anything can happen and nothing is ever formulaic when playing matches. Be prepared to expect the best or worst out of everybody. Don't get caught up in random Ultras especially on wakeup because some players would get desperate to use their Ultra praying that it hits for a victory. Also, be prepared to expect reckless play especially online against flowchart Kens and also my latest frustrating character to fight against, Cammy. Cammy in particular can be annoying to face as her Cannon Spike has too much priority at times. Usually its best is wait for her to whiff out Spiral Arrows and Cannon Spikes to then capitalize on their mistake. Then again, sometimes if reckless play is actually working like in this clip below, then hey it works if your opponent can't punish.

• Learn the character matchups - Street Fighter IV is all about matchups and who has the advantage over the other. Learning your character's advantages and weaknesses against certain characters can lead to victory especially counterpicking who your opponent picked. Most matchups are usually lopsided like Bison over Zangief, Sagat over Honda, and so on, but definitely still winnable for the character on the losing end of the matchup. Even if you picked the wrong character that doesn't favor your end, don't give up and maybe you can still pull off a win if your opponent can't take advantage of it.
• Don't try to be someone else, establish your own playstyle - Usually watching match videos on YouTube or watching people at the arcades, it can be easy to replicate their playstyle to your own, but sometimes that's not the best idea. You can't be exactly the same as someone like Justin Wong or Gootecks, so it is better to establish your own identity in the Street Fighter scene with your playstyle that fits you. Don't try to be someone else, but it would likely get you nowhere. It is still okay to get help from the best, but playing the exact style as them is probably not going to happen. Try to be your own player even though you can still get advice from the elite players.
• Most importantly, play to win... no need to be flashy and show off smack talking to your opponent - At the end of the day, you play to win and you will do whatever it takes to take victory from your opponent. There is no need to be flashy performing crazy combos even though it can provide some entertainment to the crowds, but just getting the job done is good enough. Whether you play a style of rushdown, old school Super Turbo style, or turtling, the win and loss is what counts at the end and even though winning is a sweet feeling, losing is something you will expect lots and if you're willing to learn what you did wrong making the right adjustments, you'll become a better player. Don't expect yourself to win every match you compete in as being perfectionist especially in this game, will never happen. I think Street Fighter legend Alex Valle said this the best from his Twitter in which you have one round to win the whole match and figure out your opponent. After that, it comes down to whether or not you made the right adjustments to do better. Also, you don't need to be a show off trash talking at your opponent especially if you have a big ego. If you can't back up your smack talk, then why talk trash at all to your opponent. Honor and respect the game by shaking your opponent's hand after victory or defeat. You don't need to be a thug to win, but if you can back up your smack talk and win, then go ahead and do it.

Well, I hope this hopes this helps some people out there that want to take their Street Fighter IV game to the next level than just another casual player. SF4 is still a great game and currently the hot thing going for competitive gaming these days, but these are general protips to consider when playing. Of course, if you want more in-depth strategy like character specifics, using the focus attack wisely, and frame data of all the moves, check out Shoryuken.com and Gootecks's website gootecks.com for his podcast among other stuff.

Anyway STREET FIGHTER FO!!!