Month: November 2016

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not reflect Shoryuken.com as a whole.

Olivier “Luffy” Hay of Red Bull is one of eight Evolution champions battling it out at Capcom Cup this year, joining Infiltration, Tokido, Daigo Umehara, Momochi, Fuudo, Xiaohai, and Justin Wong in in a bid to prove himself the best of the bunch.

The Frenchman has been one of the players from Europe to beat over the years. Will he continue to be at Capcom Cup?

New Character; Same Gameplan

Most people were surprised when Luffy picked up R. Mika in Street Fighter V. Something about the pick from the former Rose main in Street Fighter IV didn’t sit right with the analysts, expecting him to play Rose’s most comparable counterpart–Nash–in the new game. It is worth noting that before R. Mika, Luffy actually did play Nash for a spell before ultimately settling on R. Mika, further shocking commentators and analysts.

When you look deeper into the pick–beyond Luffy’s proclivity to play characters with large breasts–it starts to make more sense. In Ultra Street Fighter IV, he frustrated the entire top 8 at Evolution 2014 by playing a more aggressive Rose than expected, utilizing her strong dashes and safe normals to put pressure on his opponents. In Street Fighter V, what is R. Mika’s entire gameplan? She frustrates her opponents with her strong mobility, insane pressure and relatively safe buttons.

When you factor in that this is what Luffy did best with Rose, it begins to make sense that his character in Street Fighter V would have the same strengths. When you add in the mix-up potential that he didn’t have with Rose in Street Fighter IV–and the fact that he uses it so effectively–then it becomes unsurprising that Luffy has made Hay.

Europe Only?

This season has seen Luffy travel less than most other sponsored players. Where his fellow Red Bull teammate Bonchan has been traversing the planet, Luffy has been content to stay in Europe and let the competition come to him.

For qualifying for Capcom Cup–which he did through the European leaderboard–this has been a smart move. He has punished his body far less than the other non-American players, while still getting solid competition to play against, as the best from the United States and Asia have this year made their way to Europe for events as a nice middle ground between the two continents. By letting the competition come to him, he allows himself to still take on foreign competitors, while fighting on his home turf.

Beating Europe Only?

While he’s been taking in international competition, he hasn’t been beating them. All of his nine tournament victories on the circuit has been in tournaments where only Europeans have made it out. When he falters, it is often because someone from Japan or America was in the bracket.

When you’re a former Evolution champion in a game dominated by Asia–and the first and only representative of Europe and North America to win—you’re expected to be able to conquer Asia. Luffy has not. He was defeated in loser’s bracket at Red Bull Kumite by Daigo Umehara even while Daigo was still struggling in the game. Near the end of the season, nothing has changed, as Daigo has bested Luffy yet again at Milan Games Week. Japan is still beating him 9 times out of 10, and he has to find an answer to that if he expects to succeed at Capcom Cup. The problem is that he doesn’t have the time to do that now.

No Secrets

Luffy had one advantage going into Evolution 2014–nobody in the world was playing Rose like him, nor at the level he was playing her at. Every player in the tournament struggled to find an answer to him, and ultimately did not.

This time, there is no such advantage. Between NuckleDu and Fuudo, Japan has experience with arguably the best Mika players in the world. Every other R. Mika functions in the same vein as Luffy does. There are no secrets to be had here for Hay. The homework that the world is doing on NuckleDu, or even Fuudo for that matter, will also apply to him.

Final Thoughts

On his day, Luffy could beat anyone he wants, and I know this. Given his track record against Asia, and the fact that he is playing a character coming under heavy scrutiny nowadays really works against him.

He always has the capacity to make it through to top 16, or even top 8, but if you asked me to bet on that, I wouldn’t. I expect that Luffy will likely go 1-2 at best.

Featured Image by Nelo Hotsuma

Street Fighter characters have a long history between their various main game story modes, manga, anime, and crossover appearances. It’s nice to take a break from competition and the current games to take a trip down memory lane, seeing where some of our favorite characters came from.

First up is Violent Ken, a character that is fairly popular–despite not appearing in any main Street Fighter games. We go over his two main appearances, as well as a look at what inspired Violent Ken as a concept in the first place.

We also have history lesson on Gen, one of the best examples of a character struggling to redeem themselves in the franchise. Gen’s struggle with his health, his past, and his relationship with the ones he cares about are actually quite engaging.

Our next old man fighter is Oro, one of the odder characters in the series. Despite not making it out of Street Fighter III in any serious way, he has a strong and memorable presence in the series.

To top off this list we have Makoto, another SFIII character. Makoto did make it past her debut title, giving her more chances to build up a history for herself.

Source: History behind the warrior

Top players taking on handicaps or challenges while playing casually is nothing new. Most of the time it’s just a fun way to entertain, playing the game in a crazy and unexpected way. Smash specifically is an interesting case–as the only way to play it competitively is by turning items off, which sometimes seems like a challenge in itself to casual players.

TSM|ZeRo, one of the best Smash 4 players in the world right now, took to netplay to test his “Solomar”–that is, Olimar without any Pikmin-involved moves–against random opponents. High level players getting frustrated with For Glory players has been seen before, but it usually isn’t self-inflicted frustration! Check the video to see ZeRo struggling to maintain composure in online sets.

Source: ZeRo