So the Evolution Fighting Game Tournament is tomorrow, and thanks to this wonderfully terrible thing called a job I am able to once again spend five days mashing buttons with people who enjoy mashing buttons as much as I do! Unfortunately, my main game, Skullgirls, is not included as a main game at EVO nor is it getting as much coverage as last year. However, Skullgirls is getting a $2000 pot bonus along with a stream of top 8 on the Madcatz channel. Pretty sweet stuff considering it is only a side game.
I somehow worked my way into claiming 4th place at EVO last year for Skullgirls, so I was feeling pretty confident in my skill and knowledge of the game. I knew that I would not be able to attend very many tournaments, so to support the game and the community I had decided to construct a video guide for Ms. Fortune, one of the game’s most underplayed characters. I also held a few streaming events such as the Duckator kumite to do whatever I could to support Skullgirls. This was nice and all, but I really wanted to delve into other games. Blazblue: Calamity Trigger was the first fighting game that I had decided to take seriously, so of course I imported the Japanese version of Chrono Phantasma as soon as it dropped. After a few months, I decided that I wanted a game with a different feel to it, so just last month I decided to pick-up Arcana Heart: Love Max as well since it reminds me quite a bit of the Touhou fighter Scarlet Weather Rhapsody due to the flight mechanics in the two games. And of course, with Guilty Gear Xrd coming soon I have been working more on my skills in Guilty Gear +R to prepare for the release. It is a bit difficult to train up in both +R and Arcana Heart due to either lack of interest in my local scene or the barren wasteland on netplay lobbies.
My personal plans for this EVO are just to have fun and train up, really. For several reasons, I am not expecting to place as high as I did last year in Skullgirls, so my main focus is just to have fun playing Skullgirls while also getting casual matches in for both Guilty Gear and Arcana Heart. I also want to try out Persona 4 Ultimax and Guilty Gear Xrd which will both be having booths at EVO. However, what really has me excited is being able to meet and see people I have interacted with on Twitter, fighting game forums, and the like. If you see me at EVO, do not be afraid to say hi!