Super Battle Opera / Tougeki
I've been following the developments of the upcoming Tekken and Soul Calibur sequels due to hit the shelves later this year. During one of my internet sessions I stumbled across the Tougeki, also known as the Super Battle Opera, which is a massive fighting game tournament held in Tokyo each year. It's regarded by many as the 'world cup of fighting games'. I feel that I should probably have noticed it long before I did, but serious competitive or professional gaming has never been something I've grown up with...
The tournament itself accommodates many games, all arcade versions as far as I know, but Soul Calibur 3 AE was the title that I personally found the most entertaining. There are several videos on the web from the latter stages of the tournament. One in particular, a semi-final match between Ivy and Zasalamel, which really showed off the skill of the players. Their reaction time really is split second, not to mention other qualities such as coordination. I play these fighting games but I'll never have the magic these players have...
Tougeki seems like a fantastic event, which is very good for the industry and indeed the genre, but there are many other fighting game tournaments all over the world, all with talented players. I feel that it is the competitive aspect that 'makes' this genre.
The Tougeki website is in Japanese but there is a
wiki .
- Notice the really cool overhead screen. Any game would be awesome on a screen that size!! Well maybe...
What's the point?
Been away for a while, so now that i'm back I think it's time for another token angry post. Guess this one's not gonna be quite as long...
Me, being as cool as I am, remember sitting down, many years ago, casually playing a video game (Crash Bandicoot, I think) when I was asked.... No, sorry, rather told that 'video games seem a bit pointless really'. Ok, no great crime, but in a way it made me notice many others who have the same point of view... If I begin to talk about career prospects, etc, I'll guarantee someone in the crowd will totally dismiss any value of video games.
It comes back to the tragic double standards I have mentioned before...
I like to relate it to playing the piano. Take 2 people, one plays the piano, and the other plays games. Everyone knows who would get the respect, who would be told how wonderful he was... The gamer would be told to take up a real hobby! Games are pointless, eh.... If it comes to pointlessness, doesn't sitting down at a wooden box hitting black and white keys to make noises and getting payed for it seem pretty pointless in comparison?
I can't say that!! Nobody's allowed to say that!!
Don't tell me they're pointless. So are films in that case (even more so as they require less brain power) Today's video games are majestic, artistic creations. They're fantastic and the people who judge simply don't have a clue...
If you think about it long and hard, you realise that there's no real point to existence in the first place...
PS.
Don't hit me with the argument that games need music to function. Different forms of media all link together. I'm merely referring to 2 stereotypical people with different interests...
