Road to Juu Go Kakuto Geemu - Part 2
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Oct. 28, 2023
Part 2 - The "Main" Games
Hello folks, TheKiest here with the second of many short articles about my upcoming event: Juu Go Kakuto Geemu.
Why have main games at a "Dead Game" tournament?
So the image that came into my head when coming up with the theme is Left 4 Dead. You have 4 "regular games" up against a zombie hoard. But asking Maxim Ace to draw all of that would be crazy (especially with how busy we are in general). So we just left it in pumpkins with the "dead" game being tombstones.
Now clearly some of the "dead games" aren't actually dead... or are they? What will be funny is that some of these "main" games will have much less players than the others by the time the tournament actually happens. Let's humor ourselves and delve into why I picked these games. I'll also being giving my thoughts about the game as a TO and a player.
Street Fighter 6
TO: TRULY | Maj3r
Street Fighter 6 has been a blast for me as a player. At first, I felt like it was a healthy combination of 3rd Strike and Street Fighter V (SFV). But as the game's meta developed, I'm now starting to think it's more like Super Street Fighter II Turbo and SFV. I'm not sure if other players agree with me on this though. I rarely play these days, but I'm really liking Chun Li. As an organizer though, it's kind of amazing how low attendence is for this game across Columbus Events compared to SFV's day. Part of that might be on us TOs though.
Maj3r is one of the new TOs and FGC members in general who knew of the FGC before lockdowns, then actually went out of his way to discover us. He has since founded "TRULY" esports as kind of a meme, but does things a team qould actually do like sponsorships. His attention to "flair" really interests me as a TO. He'd be a great fit in my old OUGA group. I'd be helping him TO SF6, but I feel like I won't need to worry too much. I'm looking forward to working with him.
Mortal Kombat 1
TO: LongJohnCena
Mortal Kombat has always been a series I really respected and didn't get to really play. My folks were quite strict when it came to ESBR ratings as a kid, but who doesn't love Blue Ninjas?!? I actually bought MK11 with the intent of playing all of the single player, but I've sadly only opened it twice. I really should enter it more often to fill in the numbers. I feel the MK games in general lacked a certain "flair" with its sounds and moves. Tekken, SF, and especially Smash nail these aspects. This new MK though, looks like it did a much better job. It's a shame the FGC around here doesn't quite like it enough to come out to things here in Cbus.
LongJohnCena is hoping to change that. He's my latest apprentice to learn the "Art of TOing". He's very methodical in the things he runs. I'm looking forward to see how he handles a "larger" event like Kakuto. I think after this, he'll be ready to run his own events without my guidance. Stay tuned for that day!
Smash Brothers Ultimate
TO: DaveBot!
Smash Ultimate really is the pinnacle of Smash. The single player is amazing with all sorts of replay-ability (I might do it again actually). The stage creator is great. 8 player smash is a god-send. The sound track might be the best composite of video game music of all time. Characters feel like their characters from their games (for the most part... let's be honest about things like Pac-Man or Piranha Plant). The characters looks, sounds, and heart are all extremely well represented. This game really does have something for everyone. It's too bad none of those things matter to the greater Competitive Smash Scene though. But with that said, the scene itself is great. They are able to band together to do so much that I can't help coming back into it occasionally.
DavBot! is the first of my new Smash TO trainees to "graduate". But with TOing being much more streamlined, it's a lot easier for competent TOs to emerge without much guidance. DaveBot! started running his own small weekly "Lab Rats" before even coming to me. (soon to be rebranded thanks to Nintendo) This Kakuto will be a "larger" event for him to run, but the Ultimate numbers have never been super high at these for various reasons. Either way, he's ready for action.
Tekken 7
TO: TheKiest
Tekken is my favorite Fighting Game Series of all time. It was NOT a popular FG in the FGC though. Usually, we'd run Tekken for about 8-14 months. Then it would fade with just 2 entrants. Tekken 7 however, broke the curse. 6 years of a Tekken scene. I'm very excited for Tekken 8, but this will be the last larger Tekken 7 event I run. It's a little bitter sweet to be honest.
I won't really need to write about myself. I'll talk more about my histroy as a TO with Tekken 5:Dr and Tekken Tag Tournament 1. Just remember that as long as I run events, Tekken will have a place here.... as long as the scene wants it.
Guilty Gear Strive and Gran Blue
So I didn't include these two titles this year. GG Strive has way too much of a presence in Columbus. Kakuto only could have 4 main titles this time in favor of "less popular" titles. If MK1 did not come out, we'd do Strive. It's a tad selfish I suppose.
Granblue is weird. The scene demands I run it, but then the numbers don't align with it's demand. With the new one coming out though, it'll start to show up more often in Columbus.
I like both games as an organizer, but sadly one has to cut corners when running a "themed" event. Luckily plenty of events in Ohio do run these two titles.
These "main" games are "main" more as a joke. I do think any game can be a thriving game if it's scene steps up. But when they don't... I've done my part.