I got a couple more tournament wins under my belt, but as far as playing for keeps it was a light week.  Grats to Jimmy for jumping into the G2 bracket! Welcome to the next beatdown hehe…

I recently took a trip to Chinatown Fair, and sat down with the machines there.  The competition wasn’t there as it was still about 1pm, but it was still nice to check out the true arcade version.  Being that the console special characters weren’t available, I ran with Ryu, who I consider my 2nd strongest character.

For sure, the timing in arcades for certain links is much more strict, it was a few times before cr.short x cr.jab x cr.forward>FB strung together.  It was also interesting getting used to the screen being so close to my face.  It was nice being able to sit down at the machine though.  In the past, for CVS2 and Third Strike I’d have to hunch a bit due to my height, so in addition to catching a beating, I’d leave with a kink in my neck!  I’d like to go back and play, when there are a few more people there, as I played a few matches against people and then just beat on the computer till Game Over.  I’d love if they would bring out the rest of the cast to arcades, it might get through the door.  It was fun for sure, but the dollar per credit is a sure way to stop me from making it a habit.

Onwards to more match-ups!

El Fuerte by far is one of the more foreign matchups for me.  Initially, I likened him to Maki and Guy based simply off the run in and high/low mix up game.  Boy was I wrong.  He is so much more mobile and in the proper hands it feels like im fighting a random blur.  I used to fall prety to Tostada Splash mix up game when I was picking myself up…  Forward dash didn’t work, and back dash worked only part of the time.  Jab SRK seems to be doing the job for me now, sometiems I get a trade, but its better than ending up on the floor again.  Other than that, I toss out a few tatsu’s and fireballs of varying strength in an attempt to bait and punish.  Staying on top of him is difficult, but once you’re in, he bleeds out fast.  Being able to avoid the Tostada wake up game really opened up the match and made it alot less intimidating.

Guile is not a problem for me with other characters usually, but Sakura’s lame fireball and the “hop” nature of her tatsu compared to Ken/Ryu’s makes getting in a bit tougher.  I love her focus attack’s range, but I rarely get a crumple when teching the 2nd hit of  Guile’s sweep, its a bit dissapointing.  Jumping is a quick death for sure against him, and while I wouldn’t say I jump alot, its still in my gameplan.  I think I have to just hang out midrange and find a way in.

With all the news recently I’ve been hearing on podcasts and reading on forums about the possibility of banning Seth and Gouken, alot more players have sprung up with them.  Thankfully, few of them are only mimicing and relying on a gimmick to win them the match.  That doesn’t by any means make this match any less frustrating.

For Seth, the fact that he takes so much damage is a relief.  Still, getting in and staying there are next to impossible due to the instant teleport.  I’ll build a bit of meter, and then EX Sakura Otoshi over to them when they toss out a sonic boom, and then the rush down is on.  Her fierce SRK is nice too, due to its horizontal range it helps deal with the constant vertical jumping.  I’m proud to say I’ve won a vast majority of the times I’ve played this match.  Beating a Seth player really feels rewarding.

Broken Gouken is a tough, old bastard.  From across the screen its already a guessing game because of that damn fireball.  The angled fireball even puts a hold on EX Otoshi if timed poorly.  The main issue here is his health and defense are so strong, and he has so many tools available to him.  Even if I get in its an uphill battle.  He is a wonderful example of a passive aggressive character.  The counter leads me to do lots of empty jump ins unless I’m sure of a hit.  Brings me back to my days when I dabbled in Third Strike(I do miss that game a bit).

Still G2 Grade D, but moving along nicely.

Tags: arcade, Capcom, Chinatown Fair, El Fuerte, fighting game, Gouken, Sakura, Seth, Street Fighter

This entry was posted on Monday, May 18th, 2009 at 5:25 pm and is filed under just me. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.