"Meet Your Mod" Episode 11: Silent Shinobi

This week:

Silent Shinobi

[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

- Why did you choose that particular handle, is there a story or reference you'd like to explain?

I am not a narutard (I actually hate Naruto). I just played Shinobi 3 alot when I was younger.

- What is your background with fighting games...Did you start with BB or are your OG like SFII?

I didn't get into fighting games really until high school. Most of my friends were SF fanatics and usually played on free days at school. Just for shits and giggles. I became a fan of Guilty Gear after picking it up from a random Blockbuster. This was when I was really starting to learn of other fighting games other than just CvS2/3rd Strike. Around 2005, I started to reach out to other players in hopes of learning about Guilty Gear more. I guess you can say CvS2 introduced me to this high genre, but Guilty Gear enabled me to learn and play in tournaments.

- What competitive scene are you involved with? (Ranbats, Arcades, XBL, PSN, Reload Online etc.) Would you elaborate the benefits of this particular scene?

I live in Alabama, so all you have are either offline or online. Most of my scene is offline and around 5-20 minutes away from me so that's always a plus. It honestly didn't get very big nowadays until Super and Blazblue CT came out. We had a very, very strong scene in Guilty Gear a few years back. Before GG became a mainstream game here, it was a heavily saturated Marvel country. The experience between players converting to Guilty Gear varies much so you can notice alot of play styles amongst most of the Bama players. I always stress that an offline community is better than an online one if you are striving to better yourself in fighting games. Online, as an individual, is only a gateway to display how well you fare against others.

- How strong do you feel your nation is as a whole, what is the next step to strengthening it?

I'm not one to watch much Blazblue these days, but I can say this.

In a general sense, America has always been a mediocre nation in fighting games for many reasons. The limit of skill that one can hold is not the main reason though. We have the same capacity of minds as anyone else in the world since we are all humans. Location is how we get destroyed though. The scene in America (from what I know) is still far too spread out even though Blazblue has a statewide release. Tournaments are always good for strengthening the players and giving an overall level of play at any given time there, but we don't have a tournament going on every single day of the year. Even though this can't be done in the realm of reality, America as a whole can still gather information and get better through online play.

Like I said before, offline play (rather than on) is something that makes you, as an individual better in a certain game. Online is better to close gaps in location to make a closer-knit scene for the country.

Honestly the only way to strengthen our scene is to spread the word first and foremost. Seasoned players can always do their best at showing up and showing out at tournaments. If you don't have a scene, if you don't have a tournament, online is basically your only option but take it as an advantage and support/contribute to your community at sites like these and not play online all day.

- Which player(s) give you the most trouble and why?

Anyone with a brain and a controller/stick. I always believe that everyone has the capacity to become a threat and the best. Even myself. I am always trying to better myself in many areas at once to make sure I am staying attentive. Knowing this, everyone is capable of beating me as I am capable of beating everyone else. Kind of a scary thought, but it's true and one of the motivations that will forever keep striving for advancement in my games. Of course, I strive to win as much as I can but I never slack and use a sandbag as an excuse.

- What has been the most helpful tool while growing stronger in BB?

Having the game. I have been without CS for the longest time so finally achieving the game has made me stronger period since I actually have time and resources to break down the game for myself.

- Is there anything you'd like to share regarding your respective character or Dustloop in general?

Learn that you are the only person that you can ultimately lose to. Keep striving to fight your hardest and learn what weakness you start to develop. Don't give up, even if you have stressed out all of your resources. Practice as much as you can and don't stop practicing something you landed once. If it is that essential to you, master it. You are in a very good site for Blazblue information so don't ignore it.