Meet Your Mod Episode 26: Jourdal

This week: Jourdal

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

My original handle was Xemnas from KH series, i generally default to that when i can't think of anything because no one likes that guy and the name tends to be available. When my YT page started to gain popularity i thought it would be best to have my DL/YT names matching. The name jourdal was just a combination of my two younger brothers names because....i couldnt think of anything when making a YT account.

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

I consider myself an 09er,though not in the deragatory sense as it's often used. I have been playing FGs since i was 4 or so, the first game i ever played was SFII. My dad figured a 2 player game would be easier to share amongst 3 kids lol. As to when i got "serious" that would be with SFIV/CT release. Prior to CT i only had basic understanding of the games i was playing but i was limited to friends, cousins and my brothers.

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

NY and i guess you can extend that to NJ since from what i understand they come out to the TSB events regularly. As far netplay and such goes...i don't really netplay, even less now that i discovered i have the best local comp. The advantages to being in the NY scene is that NY has a lot of strong (and notable) BB players like Omnisscythe, SKD etc. If you count the jersey players that make it out here like Lord Knight,St1ckbug or Lich then the availability of strong players increases even more. I think the scene is very friendly provided you can see beyond friendly EC banter (aka shit talk) and very very willing to help those who want to learn.

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

Well, we didn't let Tokido win evo so I'd say we're not that bad (lol). Our strong players are definitely strong, a few players have taken trips to japan and were able to play "the gods" and gain a lot of experience. Using Xie as an example, he showed up often in uploads from various arcades like Alpha station or Tachikawa. While the videos are of course not accurately telling of his experience, i did note something interesting. He lost pretty early on in the first view videos, i think Xie is a strong player from what i've seen and seeing him lose shows that as a nation we have a ways to go. In the latter events with him in it he did quite well and i believe almost won one of the Alpha Station tournaments. I think to get stronger we need more players playing and taking the game seriously though that itself is hard. The strong players are spread out all over the country.

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

Where do i start haha, i don't practice or play as much as i should, i may netplay maybe twice a month, which i think is pretty bad lol. I live close by to OmniSScythe, so i have some really strong local comp to help me level up and now i play much more often than before and the improvement is showing. An issue with me is that i only want to play the strongest players but i think speaking honestly that this mindset hurts as much as it helps. If i had to name the strongest opponents I've ever played offline or netplay : SHADOWREDzero, Lord Knight,OmniSScythe, SKD,Kid Viper,Tonberry,and Haven off the top of my head. As to why they give me so much trouble (other than the obvious fact that they are better) is because i get a bit star struck when fighting players who have reputations, so any gimmick or risky tactic i have in mind i automatically assume they've seen it and will see through it, in other words i think i respect too much lol.

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

The forums help when introducing you to a character, though to be honest some are far more helpful than others haha. My YT channel helps since its basically doubles as my own personal database of high level BB play. It's something i don't take advantage of enough though. I've been going to offline meetups and such since february and i find that EXTREMELY (and i can't stress this enough) beneficial to my growth as a player. Just having the person right there to tell you things like "don't back roll after this or this move is plus so don't push any buttons after it" is just too good.

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

Well everyone knows i play Jin, and i have been since CT when he was really silly and could do what he wanted. I feel EX jin is a bit weak? But in the sense that your wins have to come from you the player and not Jin. In CT you could pick jin and win, but in ex if you don't know jin or you're not that fundamentally strong i think it's going to be pretty hard for you to do well. He clicks too well with me for me to ever want to drop him, if the pattern keeps, he'll be really strong next game anyway.