Slashdot Mirror
EVO2K4 Competition Shows Off Crazed Street Fighter Skills
Thanks to Shoryuken.com for its new post discussing one of the highlights of the recent EVO2K4 fighting game tournament, in the form of "a video of the amazing ending to the Daigo [Umehara] vs. Justin Wong match of the Evolution [Street Fighter 3] Third Strike finals." The video shows in-game footage and crowd reaction to Daigo's nearly dead character "parrying each hit [of a super] individually... then going for a jump in combo." Elsewhere, the brief game-by-game results of the popular multi-title tournament are posted on the official EVO2K4 site.
I remember the big competitions, every day, in a local arcade near work. I usually left work at 6, and player like for 2 hours. Not a big crowd, but at least 10/15 persons every day. Very fun. Didn't see that kind of group form around a game (unless you count DDR). It was fun, and everyone kept raising the bar. Usually from time to time someone from outside the group came in, adding some new tactics that got assimilated into the group :)
Unlinked supers against an anticipating player from across the screen in any of the SF3 games are stupid, especially spaz supers that bring your character in and have predictable hit timing. People train hard to parry against unpredictable hits, even from within staggered combos; how did that player expect to get away with this unpunished? He should have known better than to try to kill off a top player with tick damage, which is what it looks like he was trying to do.
He got what he deserved. That said, I'm no extreme parrying master myself, and I have no doubt that I would have had much greater trouble anticipating and parrying with the skill of the Ken player, with such a low life meter weighing on my mind. (I tend to worry more than I should about my own life meter.) Very, very well done on his part.
< tofuhead >
It is still the dark of night.
For those unfamilir with the Third Strike parrying system, it requires inhumanly fast reflexes and a virtual PhD-level knowledge of every character's basic and super combos. Combine that with needing to be perfectly psychic, uncannily lucky and able to bend your fingers into pretzels firing off insane combos -- you get the idea. That's what kind of dexterity and reaction time it takes to succeed at this game. Trust me, I watch the kids work their magic all the time at the local arcade. It's crazy like that.
The reason it was slo-mo is because he was issuing exactly the right blocks at exactly the right time: interrupting Chun-Li's kick is *not* an easy feat. She was my favorite character in fact because that hyper speed kick was death to all but those who were masters of the game (when not intrrupted she issues about 3-4 kicks per second on that special).
Sig under construction since 1998.
Not to take anything away from Daigo (who truly is a beast), but all Shotokan users (Ryu, Ken, ?) in 3rd Strike have weird parry properties. Like, Daigo had to parry 2 less hits because he played Ken than if Chun Li had unleashed that super against say, Dudley or any other non-Shotokan user.
Also, Justin Wong was stupid. He should've built more meter up (Daigo seemed to let him do it...he was just standing there for like 1/2 the match.) and thrown a super fireball and then used the Super Art. That actually happened in another match (forgot who were the combatants) and the Ken player tried to parry--->but it's much harder to parry all that (if it is possible) so he got KO'd.
I guess that since it was the first match (you have to win 2 to elminate the other guy) Wong figured "What the hell" and paid for it....