Issuu

We’ve gone for a different approach. We’re sharing this for free. Free to read, to own, to share. You can downoad the pdf from orochinagi.com/store and many other places. Just don’t pay for it! In this issue, we focus on Australia and talk with the most famous players about their experiences. It’s been long to get in touch with everyone and get the necessary material together but I firmly believe you’ll enjoy it. And now we’re even more hype for the next one, which will be global! Make sure you follow us on twitter and/or facebook, just look up “orochinagicom”. It’s gonna be serious business: cosplay, international stars, tactics, artwork, you name it! You want in? Get in touch! admin@orochinagi.com So for now, enjoy the scene and soak it up. These are the players.

The Editor, Alan aka “ON.Gunsmith”

DEDICATION This is for the people who love versus games. The players, the spectators, the organisers & the fans. Come join in, you’re always welcome!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Photo credits & thanks: SXC 2K14: Dejan Stantic, SS6: Soltography, BAM7: Couchwarriors, Button Smash Special thanks to: Colin Tan, Micka Camille, Kim Nguyen, Mooseking AU, Sam Baxter and Aaron Costello Some of you weren’t able or forgot to send in your photos by the deadline, don’t worry, we can always use them for the next volume! Email us: admin@orochinagi.com THE KING OF FIGHTERS is copyright SNK Playmore. MARVEL VERSUS CAPCOM and STREET FIGHTER are copyright Capcom. TEKKEN is copyright Bandai Namco. DEAD OR ALIVE is copyright Koei Tecmo. GUILTY GEAR and BLAZBLUE are copyright Arc System Works. UNDER NIGHT IN BIRTH is copyright Ecole Software and French-Bread (Sega / Arc System Works). PERSONA is copyright Atlus.

IN THIS ISSUE...

Southern Cross Championships 2K14 Interview: Mooseking

Shadowloo Showdown 6 Interview: Kim Nguyen

Battle Arena Melbourne 7 Interview: Kevin Burnout

Button Smash 2015 Interview:Micka Camille & Aaron Costello

iii

When: Where: Web: Archive:

Colin Tan - ON.Colonov “I don’t even play this game”

Sam Baxter - X5 Baxter “It’s actually ridiculous”

Micka Camille - ON.Dark Chaotix “Shermie in KOF XIV”

Adric Middleton aka Falco “I know how to tie my shoes guys.”

Sol Goodman “I don’t even play this game”

Kim Nguyen “I’m really fat.”

Duong ZG Nguyen “I ain’t yo Donny Yen son.”

Dion Xu “Cheap ****”

Troy “Mooseking” Nelson “Voted #1 Most Handsome in FGC”

oooohhhh look at all that lovely ad space...

Southern Cross Championships 2014

When: 5th - 6th December Where: University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5005 Web: http://sxc.agongame.net/ Brackets: http://sxc2k14.challonge.com/

By Colin Tan

So enough time’s passed for me to gather my thoughts on the weekend that was the Southern Cross Championships 2014 (5th - 6th December) in Adelaide. Better late than never I suppose First and foremost, a very, VERY big thank you to Mooseking AU for the kind of hospitality that can only be described as exceptional, for not only opening his house to myself and a few others to bunk during the weekend, but even offering the very bed of the king of mooses for the weekend! Also, how could I not mention your efforts in spearheading what has come to be known as one of the most fun filled tournaments on the Australian FGC circuit? Adelaide has seen its scene grow with your input and there’s no doubt this will continue. Much love...... Reece Nelson, always good to see you again, man. I saw the amount of effort you, Troy and Scott made to make sure the event ran as smooth as possible, and for that your dedication knows no bounds.....but as if bet against me in winners finals To Xavier Sailo Bryson with whom I shared a bed all weekend, it was good to see yopu again, and how the tables have turned. Still remember the vanilla days when you were watching and loving the way I played, and now it’s my turn to the same. Bad luck on missing out on the top spot, man. Hope to see you at many more majors cause I just know you’re bound to win some soon enough. Congrats to Sam - The Ham - Baxter for securing his first UMVC3 major under the x5 moniker. Many more to come, I’m sure. Keep on that KOF, you’ve got potential in every game you touch. Congrats also to Duong Thieu Nguyen aka ZG that swag Rufus for taking out Ultra and that amazing pot bonus. Welcome to the champions league, my friend. Long overdue if you ask me Good to see Adric Middleton changing things up with some Shen on the weekend. Picking a 4th is a good way to compliment the already solid team you have. Gotta stop dropping those combos! Derrick Wong man good to have you oin the ON family. Really happy that you’ll be heading to more majors in the future. Don’t let that talent go to waste, man. There’s a lot to learn but I know you’ll enjoy the journey as much as I did on the way there. To David Lee for meeting me in grand finals for the 3rd major in 2 years. Well played to get there, man. Always great to run into you at these majors. Come to Buttonsmash. You won’t regret it! Bun Chhim for not dying to my dark vergil Kevin Burnout Kim for being really, really Korean Anthony Majarian for making it back into the game. Hope to see you at more majors next year. Hope that character crisis is finally over. Always looking forward to Weng Choe ‘s latest beng antics. Thanks Xavier Nardella for sharing some tips in Ultra. Never really liked the game but I like it just that much more now.... #teamdecapre Duy Pham man your Guy’s ham mode is always on. So sick watching you in the tourney man......good stuff on the placing. Keep on that Kof as well! Honestly, there are way too many people to name individually that made the weekend no less than spectacular. It was good to see you all, new faces and old. Can’t help but love the resilience and diversity of our FGC as a whole. Oh, and lastly, shoutouts to these guys for once again getting me over the line: Beni, Duo Lon & Kim.

Interview with Mooseking AU, one of the organisers of SXC14.

And also to recognize the amount of effort that goes into being a part of the community and really celebrating that with everyone.

o you have any lasting memories of Southern Cross Champtionships 2014? Lasting memories...... Niah vs falco in top 8 for ultra street fighter, incredibly tense match with an explosive ending. Overall the best memories for me is getting to hang out with all of our friends over the weekend and partying with them Sunday night

If you’ve spent the money to come to Adelaide for our event we want to make sure you’re going to have an amazing weekend and likewise to the people that have supported us throughout the year we want to make sure that they get that same preferential treatment for supporting us and building this with us.

Looking at the scene then, do you think Australia now has the level to compete on a global level? How do you feel about nurturing a fun & comfortable scene versus a competitive one to prepare Australians for global level competition? Australia’s had the scene to compete globally for some time, more often than not it’s more a question of resources to get the players out to larger global events.

How did SXC come about? No reference to Hokuto No Ken, SXC (the name) came from being a more relatable (& palatable) Abbreviation for Southern Cross Championship. Similar to how Street Fighter “Cross” Tekken is SFXTK rather than SFCTK. But as for how it came about entirely, we’ve been building towards creating a FGC Major for some time, the name and its abbreviation stuck as a good idea and we rolled with it.

“Fun isn’t just comfortable, often at times it’s a necessary reminder of why a lot of people are involved with this in the first place.”

Previously we had run some smaller interstate gatherings as well as larger public convention events, but the goal was to build up our resources in both hardware and community-based to eventually build towards the type of event that we as players and organizers love going to.

It doesn’t take anything away from the competition itself and as far as I see it increases drive for your own results, even though you’re having fun you’re amongst your peers here and if you’re competitive minded you’ll always look for the best result you can possibly get.

And for most of us, we’ve had the best times when we were able to appropriately socialize and “party” with the other FGC’s in AUS, so SXC is designed to not just be a major but to also look at being the type of community focused weekend where everyone can interact not just at the event, but put in the effort for pre & post social events for everyone to re acquaint themselves over dinner, drinks etc.

RESULTS The King of Fighters XIII:

1. ON.Colonov 2. Kyokugen 3. Falco

Ultra Street Fighter IV:

1. ZG

2. Phero

Guilty Gear Xrd:

1. Nerk

2. Coolzinferno 3. Javi

3. Niah

Blazblue Chronophantasma: 1. Isorropia 2. No Fun | Hero 3. Nerk Super Smash Brothers Melee: 1. Redact

2. Nick

Under Night In Birth:

2. Isorropia 3. Falco

1. Nerk

3. Blackshadow

All photos for SXC2014 were provided by Dejan Stantic (gamertag GCF Dejan) of goldcoastfighters.com https://www.facebook.com/GCFighters

shadowloo shodown 6 melbourne, victoria, 6-8 february 2015

The Kim of Fighters

Interview with Kim Ngyuen

I wanted to go to SS6 because Poongko and Kazunoko were attending and they were the two internationals I wanted to meet at SS. Kazunoko is one of the coolest and nicest internationals I’ve met and Poongko is just a funny guy. My favourite moment was when Poongko took his shirt off. Hahaha. Even Gonzales took his shirt off. Shirtless Showdown was hype, man.

When did you get into fighting games and why? I was always into fighting games since I was a kid because my older brothers used to play each other. I was playing Tekken about 6 years ago for fun at the arcade then started learning SF and Marvel about a year later. In early 2012, I decided to make KOF my main game since Colonov would whinge about no one ever wanting to play KOF with him. At the same time picking up KOF, I decided to play competitively since Colonov and a group of friends were at a tournament while I was at home watching the stream and learning KOF.

Have you thought about travelling to another major? Any country/ major in particular? I usually travel to majors within Australia but if I ever have more time and money I’d like to travel overseas more too. I’m actually going to Japan in less than 2 weeks for a holiday!

Do you think your involvement inspired other players to pick up the game? My involvement? Hmm maybe! I don’t think guys like losing to a girl. Haha :p but then again I don’t think my involvement really matters or really inspires anyone. I’m no Tokido....yet.

I’m hoping to get some sort of training/games while I’m there as well. As for majors/countries, I wanna randomly just rock up to a major in a random city. I don’t think it’ll happen any time soon though. I also wanna go to EVO for the first time! I’ve never been so I wanna experience it. I’m pretty bummed about KOF not making the lineup this year but I might be able to go. I’m not 100% confirmed yet. We’ll see!

What do you think about the comment “these days, when a female starts playing, they become a celebrity” Hahahha i’m famous! (Not really..) It’s rare to see girls play fighting games. When there’s the best female Japanese player named ChocoBlanka (or any girl actually) and another girl play each other in tournament on the main stage and streamed with thousands of viewers..That’s not something you’d see at every tournament. Everyone goes crazy. I’m just glad that article went into more details about who I am and what I play because i’m no Street Fighter and the commentators had no idea. I’ve only started playing Ultra about 2 months ago. I still love and play KOF though!

You had the whole attention of the venue and stream when you were playing against Chocoblanka. What can you tell us about it? At first I was ok. I was trying to keep myself calm. But then as soon as I got up, I was scared and nervous. I’ve never been on the main stage in front of so many people watching and with thousands of viewers tuning in to the stream. I was nervous because I didn’t know how to fight a Blanka. I don’t know what Blankas do. What do they do?! I even asked Derrace to help coach me but all he was thinking in his head was to pick Mr Karate which he told me after I had lost. Hahaha.. I wish I could have picked Mr Karate..

2 months? How difficult was it to learn Ultra? Hey man, there are a lot of matchups that I don’t know. I don’t know what every character can do... Give me a few more months!

Do you have any tips for dealing with that additional pressure? I think I would’ve been more confident being on stage if I knew the matchup and what I could’ve done. I really had no idea. At least it was an experience. I can go back to my lab, train up and improve for next time.

Ok. Let’s talk more about Shadowloo Showdown 6: what made you want to attend? What were your favourite moments? My first SS was in 2013 where I met Tokido! I loved it! It was my first international tournament and I loved every bit of it so I’ve been going to every SS since. I wanted to better in KOF at SS6 and I have done better. I OCVd* some new guy twice with Mr Karate. I kinda felt bad because he was new. If I had known, I would’ve played Kim on point :p **

*When you defeat your opponent’s whole team with your first, it’s a “One Character Victory”. **In team battles, first position is “point” and the last, “anchor”.

Do you remember how you felt the next morning? The next day, I wanted to stay curled up in a ball in bed. I didn’t want to leave but it was finals day and I wanted to watch. I didn’t want to talk or make eye contact with anyone. But I let that go. I wanted to enjoy myself and have fun. This is just my beginning. I’ll be more prepared for next time.

It feels good to win. When you finally get a game off someone ridiculously good after losing so many times, it feels really good! When you win a money match or when you win a first to 3/5/10 or whatever and when people underestimate your skills and you beat them up in casuals or tournament, feels good. All that hard work you’ve put into training will pay off and it’s a great feeling. You’ve achieved something, you’ve improved and you know you’re not a failure. It takes a lot of work and dedication to win. There’s prizes, money, recognition and even respect when you win. But you can also play to be the best because who doesn’t want to be the best?

The home crowd seemed completely behind you in that match! With the pressure to not disappoint, would you have preferred the opposite? Hahhahaha, no! I needed all the support at that time! I was trying to get someone to coach me on stage! None of my friends knew how to fight Blanka with Rolento. But I got a few tips and support anyway. At least I know what to do for next time.

You say “And even respect” do you mean that respect doesn’t come automatically with wins? Or that it’s less important than the other things? I said that because someone brought it up the other day when they wanted to verse someone. The FGC does have a lot of jerks. I think it really depends on how each players have played. For example, if the jerk lost to some scrub, he’d be so salty he still wouldn’t respect the scrub because he knows he shouldn’t have lost. But if he lost to someone who’s improved or deserved the win or whatever, I guess the opponent would be respected... hopefully. Also, I think often you won’t get more respect till you’ve played a solid game rather than rely on gimmicks or common tactics. Some jerks will never give you respect ... Coz they’re jerks lol

More women are picking up fighting games seriously. Is this true in Australia, from what you’ve seen? And if not, any ideas why? Nah. Besides the two female Tekken players in Australia I’m still the only female KOF player/SF player. Why? Well one of the Tekken girls I spoke to said SF links were too hard. Other girls I think don’t seem interested.

Being good doesn’t happen overnight so putting in time and effort is required. If you want to be good/improve, learn from your losses. Watch a recorded video of yourself losing can help. Watch videos of other people play can also help teach you a lot. If you don’t know why you’ve lost, ask for help. Get a training buddy and learn from each other. Learn from top players who have a lot of experience and can teach. Play lots. Verse a lot of people to understand different play styles. Also learn to adapt. Don’t auto-pilot. Travel to tournaments for experience and get motivated.

Is there anything you could say to women, or anyone really, who who might be interested in getting involved in fighting games but is afraid of the difficulty? Don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions. If you don’t know why you’re losing, ask. Be prepared to get beaten up a lot. Be prepared to hate the game and players. Find yourself a good coach who can actually teach and don’t give up. It takes time to improve so be patient, hit the training lab, verse heaps of people and watch how the pros play. Practice makes perfect, right? Also, keep yourself motivated.

PRO TIPS If you are the best player in the room, find a new room - ON.Dark Chaotix After every match, always say you dont play this game - ON.Colonov Learn how to convert off every hit, it’s Marvel after all.. Everything kills in one hit. So if you convert every hit, should be easy! - X5 Baxter

When: Where: Web: Archive:

wish you were here

Interview: X5 Baxter

Hi my name is Sam Baxter, better known as x5 Baxter or Sam the Ham in the fighting game community. When: I am a 20 year old professional fighting game player, Where: from Brisbane, Australia and apart of Team Exile 5. Web: I primarily play Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 and Archive: King of Fighters 13, yet as of recent I have been focusing on Ultra Street Fighter 4.

You recently won Marvel at SS6. How long has it been and how do you feel? Do you still remember the feeling of winning? How do you feel now? Still excited or calm now? Of course I remember the feeling. Finally winning an international major, after placing top 8 2 years ago at my first Shadowloo, then last year just scraping the outside of top 3 after losing to RF yet again. It was an unbelievable feeling. I remember talking with Duong or better known at ZG a strong Rufus player from Melbourne, and saying it didn’t feel real. I still felt as if I needed to play again, like it wasn’t possible for me to take out the whole thing. It also really made me want to participate in more majors around the world, seeing how I fair against the thickest competition over in the US. And how do you feel today? Have the jitters faded? The jitters have faded now, although even now when I know the result of my matches I still get nervous. Still thinking that somehow I’m going to watch grand finals one day and I will lose.

The feeling when I won was just a massive sense of fulfilment. All those hours I spent in the lab, all those sessions losing game after game. It just made it all seem worth while. Even though It is just another tournament for the international guests. For me, being an Australian player, this was THE big tournament for me. Winning any tournament feels amazing. But when youâ€™re up on the big stage with people as renowned as EG | Kâ€™Brad and Eita, the feeling is incredible. Knowing that some kid from Australia with enough time and effort can take on big names is an unbelievable feeling. What are your goals now? My goal now is to go to EVO in July and make top 8 for Marvel. This has been one of my dreams for a long time coming. Also I really would love to beat one of the gods, (Chris G, Jwong, Fchamp). Would you say playing multiple games is a bad idea? I would say playing multiple games is a great idea. I play Marvel, KOF13, MKX, Injustice and a little bit of SF. The reason why I think its such a strength to have knowledge in multiple games is due to each game having slight differences in fundamentals. Although I suggest for new players to just play the one game. Learn the basics, and figure out what playstyle you mainly identify with. But for established players, I think its one of the best things you can do to improve your overall skill.

Fun 16

Fighting 17

SHADOWLOO SHOWDOWN 6 When: Where: Web: Stream: Archive:

6-8 February 2014 Melbourne http://www.shadowlogic.com.au/ http://www.twitch.tv/shadowloohq http://www.youtube.com/TheShadowloo

RESULTS Ultra Street Fighter IV 1: EG| Momochi (Japan) 2: Kazunoko (Japan) 3: RZR| Gackt (Singapore) Ultimate Marvel Versus Capcom 3 1: x5|Baxter 2: EG|K-Brad 3: Eita Tekken Tag Tournament 2 1: Saint 2: Rame 3: Dion The King of Fighters XIII 1: Poongko 2: ON|Colonov 3: x5|Baxter Super Smash Bros. for Wii U 1: Earl 2: Viva 3: Tibs Project M 1. S.D 2. Splice 3. Hobobloke

When: Where: Web: Archive:

Interview with Kevin Burnout Kim Battle Arena Melbourne (BAM) is Kevin’s local city event and he’s always supporting the local (and national) scene. He came 3rd at BAM7 for UMVC3. We talk to him about his experiences, the attitude and old games. “It was the first Australian major tournament to exhibit a newly introduced game Mortal Kombat X supported by Warner Bros. Games. It was interesting because it was a first major scale Mortal Kombat game ever and with a history of the previous Mortal Kombat 9 game being banned in the country.” Regarding his performance: “Honestly I was not happy. I’ve came 2nd in a Previous BAM event so I wanted to at least win for once. I was able to overcome Australia’s best player in the winners finals but then my bad habit kicked in where I underestimate my next opponent.” He goes on to make a point of this: “Just never underestimate anyone, regardless of if you know them or not. Also at the same time, do not underestimate yourself because if you’re paid good money to be in a ‘Tournament’ then it already means you’re serious about it. If you’re just in it for the enjoyment then this doesn’t matter to anyone. But for some people, ‘winning’ is enjoyment.” So what is it for you? Enjoyment or Winning? I join tournament with one purpose - to win and beat others. That is my enjoyment. when I lose, I immediately think that ‘now I have to wait another year’ and this has been the case for the past 5 years.

am not really a top player or a popular person in any way. So I’ve decided to just spend my saved up money to travel to different tournaments and I never regretted it. I want to encourage others too if they have the passion but most people’s excuses are that they’re focusing on their career and their future. I’ve never lived a wealthy life style or its not that I never had any future, It’s just that my perspective changed a little and just want to do what I want to do without having to forcibly follow what the people or the society has already chosen us to do. People say ‘Get a job’ or ‘Get Married’ but they’re only saying that because other people have done them and they might feel left out if they didn’t. I for one, have chosen my only path and I will continue to do so until I die. But one thing for sure is that even I don’t know

Why do you think people still play Marvel, compared to say Third Strike and KOF? What attracted you to MK? Marvel is easily the most luck involved game compared to the other fighting games in the current generation. This is a very controversial topic but you cannot deny it. It is also the easiest game to learn. So I honestly thing the ‘luck factor’ and ‘easy learning curve’ is the reason why even if you don’t practice the game, people will still play because it is that ‘easy’ But in terms of skill gap is very big like night and day because those who play seriously can actually force the opponent to never let them touch you.

what’s going to happen in the future, so I live every day like as if it’s my last.

That could explain why some tournaments have a high number of sign ups for Marvel and how players are ready to jump in without training. Kevin’s main game is now Mortal Kombat but he will still be playing and competing in Marvel until it eventually dies.

Who do you recommmend or what site do you recommend for Australians who want to get into the scene? Is there anyone specific to talk to?

Where to play...

Right now there is no real website or forums online, it is more active on a Facebook page called ‘Official Australian Fighting Game Community’ But for information and such there is .www.couchwarriors.org which is Melbourne based and www.ozhadou.net which is Sydney based. I’m always available to answer questions on twitter @BurnoutFighter

As for where to play between tournaments, in Melbourne, there is a fortnightly casuals at Chris’ Club House (CCH) located at Collingwood Library, as well as a monthly tournament. It has been running for around 3-4 years now. Kevin also reveals he is currently working on another place for a weekly meetup for games....

Shoutouts to the organisers of Shadowloo Showdown who inspired me to become who I am currently, and to Couchwarriors and all the other respective state representatives of their local FGC, OzHadou, SAFGC, Buttonsmash, Stick Addiction, GCFGC and more.

We’ve seen you travel to many tournaments; not just in Australia. Why? And what would you to say to someone that is interested in doing the same?

Thanks to Kevin Burnout Kim for the interview.

I always see certain players or individuals on stream and I think it was really a privilege to travel around the world doing what they love. Unfortunately, I

Follow Kevin on Twitter @BurnoutFighter 25

When: Where: Web: Archive:

RESULTS

TTT2 1.Knee (SKR)2. Sodam (SKR) 3.Rame (MEL) KOFXIII: 1. x5_Baxter 2. Uproar Adric 3. ON.Colonov USF4: 1. uproar adric 2. somniax 3. genxa ST: 1. 002 2. Kyokugn 3. Kisou UMVC3: 1. x5_Baxter 2. DQT| Garfield Desu 3. DeathWish GGXRD: 1. Nerk 2. Ando 3. ATB | Cougar Patrol BBCP: 1. Nerk 2. Giggles 3. HunterSteven

Button-Smash 3 When: 28th February-March 1st 2015 Where: Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre More Info: http://www.button-smash.com/

x i t o a h C k r a ew with ON.D

intervi

I decided to try my hand at it. Since KOF XI was out and the game mechanics allowed for experimentation, I ended up making a few good combos and the vid was pretty decent. From there, I started to venture out on my own and make combos of KOF in my own vids and collaborating with others. If it wasn’t for Persona’s video, I wouldn’t be here now.

Veteran Combo Video maker Dark Chaotix aka Micka Camille had a few moments to tell us about attending Button Smash, making and getting better at combos. So, why ButtonSmash?

How many times do you need to practice a combo before it’s natural? How long does that take?

Buttonsmash is the Brisbane major and the closest major to where I live. I attended the first Buttonsmash a few years ago and it was quite fun. After last year’s OHN, I guess everyone had the motivation to travel to Brisbane and play. I know of a few interstaters who aren’t keen on travelling to play and would rather wait for a major in their city, but it was really pleasing to hear that some were willing to do it and made the effort to attend. As days off work were in my favour, I took the opportunity to attend and support the Brisbane crew and catch up with all the players.

I guess it depends on the game and the character. In general, KOF XIII takes longer because combos can be longer in length and duration. I’d then say KOF XI would be next, followed by a tie between KOF 98UM and 2002UM. In terms of execution, it’s actually the opposite with 2002UM and 98UM being alot stricter in timing and precision. KOF XI and XIII have much more lenient controls which make executing motions a bit easier. Some combos can take a few minutes to get down, some can take a few hours. I know I have spent a day on maybe one or two combos to write, test, perform and record before so sometimes it can suck up alot of your time.

It was great to see a decent attendance to Brisbane in support of Buttonsmash and KOF XIII. It that regard, it was great to catch up with all the players from the other states to chat, have a laugh and play KOF. The finals were pretty hype and I was really happy to see X5 Baxter continue to grow and become a formidable player in Australia, as he won KOF. I also play Tekken and Buttonsmash had one of its highest attendances to date, as well as having the honor of hosting arguably the best Tekken player today, Knee from Korea. Meeting and seeing him play was a joy to watch and definitely a highlight of the tournament.

Do you have any other tips for players trying to learn combos? I think people have issues learning combos when they are not actually familiar with the system of said game, which in turn makes it difficult to perform combos. I think its vital to learn how the system works and pick basic characters that have easy combos, which in turn, helps transition to harder comboing characters. I also think it is more important to learn easier, decent damage combos for any situation than harder, high damaging combos when playing competitively. I have seen a lot of players get discouraged in KOF because they are never able to land the cool looking combos, but I bet if they asked any high level player, they would tell them to learn the basics and understand them first before moving on to the harder and more damaging ones. The other thing about combos that’s important, is to learn how to recognise a hit confirm; being able to convert that into highest available damage and adapting the combo where possible.

Who would you like to play with, in the world? For competitive gameplay, there are far too many to name but if I had to name a few, I’d say: Dune, Bala, Xiao Hai and more recently Khanibalito for KOF. For Tekken, I’d say Rain, JDCR, Ace, Knee and Help Me. To be honest, I’d like to play anyone who is willing to and wants to get better. There was a great community of combo makers at the start of the millenium, what has changed in the last decade and a half ?

How do you use the practice dummy for training?

From what I remember, there were a lot of asian (chinese, japanese, korean) websites and very few english ones. The two main english KOF websites (which are both still alive to this day) were Orochinagi and Cyberfanatix which had lot of combo makers from all different countries posting in their forums. Back then, emulators were the way to record videos and if you didn’t have a computer, you were left behind. I think because emulators were so easily accessible, KOF combos vids were everywhere. If you had a decent computer, were able to record on-screen and do basic editing, then you could make a video.

I always put the dummy on “down” which tech rolls the opponent when landing on the ground and “1 hit guard” on. I wouldn’t say that KOF dummies are the best for training or learning but sometimes its randomness can help with hit confirm and reaction training. This is still miles apart from a proper player that you can play against and learn from. You’ve been making a lot of other videos now, including some for smart phones. What made you interested in Metal Slug Defense?

If we fast forward to now, a lot has changed. The most recent KOF games were on next gen consoles (PS3/XBox), so emulating wasn’t an option (this is before Steam releases on PC) and could only be recorded with a capture card. I think the time between KOF XI and KOF XIII, combo groups that used emulators to capture combos, milked the games so dry that in order to create something remotely decent, you had to have a really elaborate combo setup which meant using saved states and advanced macro / hexing (Athena bug setup in KOF2002 anyone?).

It was posted on the KOF World Facebook page, so I decided to check it out. Plus it was about Metal Slug, who doesn’t like that?? So it was just the name that got you interested? It was from SNKP, and I love Metal Slug so I gave it a go. For the first few months, the game was pretty static but a few good updates helped propel it up with fans and other new players, where now we are getting regular updates every two weeks. It’s a great game to pass time and its online component works really well and there are always a healthy amount of players to play.

Overall, I think the scene has definitely died down and gaming groups are a lot smaller now. Everyone grows up, life takes over and all of a sudden, there isn’t time for combos, let alone gaming. Saying that, there are still some old players hanging around creating and making videos, it’s just not as frequent.

From your channel, which video are you most proud of ?

How did you begin making videos?

Probably my KOF XIII combos for sure. It’s the series of vids I’ve put the most work into, so I’m proud of that. I just wish I had alot more time to invest into doing more and with other games as well.

I was apart of the CX crew years ago when Persona created a series called “new blood” which was a collaboration between himself and new combomakers on the scene. At the time, I had a capturing option from a friend so

https://www.youtube.com/DarkChaotix187 http://www.orochinagi.com/team/dark-chaotix

coming 2016

Finally, a few words with CEO of Keep â€˜Et Classy, Aaron Costello What made you want to start the Button Smash events? There was a big void in the QLD scene with really no events being run. I started small and drew a lot of inspiration from other big overseas tournaments. I wanted to provide a great fun time for anyone involved regardless of skill. Tell us some of your fondest memories of the last event(s). The Killer Instinct tournament was one of the smallest turnouts but everyone in the scene was super passionate. The Tekken Finals were also super Hype! What are your hopes for the future? To expand and get more people playing fighting games! Which game do you see staying in the line up regardless of sequels? Street Fighter is always strong. I think Blazblue will have an amazing staying power. Which game do you think has the strongest community? Tekken without a doubt. Which game is the most underrated? Super Turbo!

For more info on fighting game events in Australia Button Smash http://www.button-smash.com/ SAFGC Tournament Season https://www.facebook.com/SouthAustralianFightingGameCommunity Southern Cross Championships http://sxc.agongame.net/ Shadowloo Showdown http://www.shadowlogic.com.au/ https://www.facebook.com/ShadowLogic Battle Arena Melbourne http://couchwarriors.org/wp/category/battle-arena-melbourne/ https://www.facebook.com/couchwarriors Ozhadou Nationals http://www.ozhadou.net/ 30

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Alan François started a fan website in 1997, but only became more physically involved in organising events around 2010. He went bowling one day and used a nickname after having just watched Gunsmith Cats the day before. At time of print, lives in France and works as an english language trainer. Founding Orochinagi in 2000, the team has grown from a little club in London to a global membership, from Santiago to Tokyo, running and helping events across the world. He likes to commentate on stream, talk about himself in the third person and won’t freely admit that he’s been involved with the planning, organisation and communications of many major events. You can contact him via: admin@orochinagi.com, facebook.com/orochinagicom or @orochinagicom on twitter. TEAM OROCHINAGI ARE: Haregoro, Myu and Tennkawa P (Japan), Colonov, Dark Chaotix, Paparoach and Derrace (Australia), Tortita and Misterio (Chile), Vicio (USA), Gabo (Costa Rica) Giga D, Kusojiji and BigFool (UK), MichelS (France), BubblanAB7 (Sweden), Emperor Cow (Saudi Arabia), Fidoskin (Russia), Force D Gyp (Belgium), FreeZer (Morocco), Kendeep (Germany), Mr Wolf (Italy), Yamazaky96 (UAE), Frenxi and Dims (French Guiana) Rockland Kyo (Colombia).