Category Archives: Winnipeg Mixup

Here’s the second interview I’ve done.  It is none other than Shane Fleury(ShinAkuma).  He’s a local arcade legend, and one of the best players in pretty much every game he cares to take up seriously.  I know he has far more but some of his more recent accomplishments was winning 3s at TST, dominating every ST tournament in the city from arcade till now.  Somehow coming in second in SC4 at TST.  Just small sample of his impressive resume.  He’s a great person to talk to as he’s very intelligent and opinionated.  If you people want to improve your game talk to him and play him.  He’ll teach you a thing or two.  Just look at his most recent apprentice in Andrew.  He wenfrom garbage to well umm to me he’s still garbage but he’s improved a lot in the time he has played Shane.  Anyways onto the interview.

Name: Shane Fleury
Alias: ShinAkuma (ShinAkuma204 on srk)
Age 32

nYo:
How did you get into fighting games?

ShinAkuma:
I was at my local arcade – Enzo’s – when I first saw SF2. Suffice to say I put my quarter in, picked Dhalsim (lol), and never looked back.

nYo:
For those of us who never knew about the arcade days.  Care to describe how the scene used to be.  Like how things were at the beginning, how the game was played and such.

ShinAkuma:
It was amazing back in the day. Arcades were packed and the line up for SF2:CE was huge. You basically put your quarter up and asked who was last in line, and you knew you were after that person. Sometimes you waited 15-20 minutes for your turn, and that is on SF2, where matches would generally not last longer than a minute.Our first two tournies had over 100 players, for a single game!The character diversity was also amazing. Every character had a person who played that character exclusively. You basically had the opportunity to learn every match up inside and out.There was also the danger of the “cheap” haters – people who would resort to violence or threats of violence if you threw them, didn’t give them second round or hit them when dizzy. It literally took me three years as the cities best player to remove those “rules” from casual play, by basically beating people and pointing out that I don’t believe in those rules. Many scraps almost happened because of that. LOLThe scene back then is very comparable to the current Jap scene – big arcades with tons of players. Everything was so new and fresh. New combos and techniques were being discovered all the time. SF4 will bring a similar newness with it, but back then everybody was green, because this game was never done before. SF4 while new, is not so far removed from previous fighters in the genre to have that newness last for long. Pro level players will have a grasp on it fairly early in it’s life.The only game in my recent memory that had such a newness to it like SF2 IMO would be Smash, as there wasn’t anything remotely like Smash previously.  It’s funny, because recently KLB did an article on arcades and online gaming. He basically said online will never replace the arcade, and while that is true to some extent, current online fighters like GGPO and 2DF are the closet thing to old school arcades. You have a wide variety of different players with different styles gathering in one place. Hang out in the GGPO chat room and you can see it is as much a social gathering (like arcades were) as it is a competitive one.  For us in most of Canada, online is going to be the new arcade.

nYo:
How long did it take for you to become a top player.

ShinAkuma:
Maybe a little less than a year? I got lucky as one of the cities already top players from SF2 decided to take me under his wing and teach me about SF2:CE.  This apprenticeship greatly increased my growth at the game. I was learning the higher level strategy in no time. We also practiced execution together at an arcade in which he knew the owner. We got to play privately so that we could practice.However even with this tutelage I still did not reach elite level. I’m not sure what sparked my ascension to elite status, but I do remember the experience vividly. One day I went down to Crystal  Palace, a local arcade and pool hall on Donald, to get in my daily dose of SF. While I was playing it’s almost like I had an epiphany – suddenly everything changed. I could finally “see” the game for the first time. I knew all the possibilities, I could feel what other players wanted to do. And that was the night I invented in our scene at least, Ken’s TOD combo.It was basically like I went in to that arcade a different person than the one who walked out. My understanding of the game changed that dramatically.However…..It wasn’t until after the first tourney that I became the top player. Going in I was the favorite to win, however there would be some stiff competition. A friend of mine, Ho, used Bison and was a real good player.  Suffice to say we met in the finals and I was defeated. I was actually pretty crushed. Luckily however we recorded those finals and I used that recording to study why I lost, and it became evident – execution and instinct was not good enough. So basically I developed my instinct and honed my execution. (I can elaborate on why instinct and execution are perhaps the two most important factors in becoming a top player in any fighting game if you like)  At our next tourney I dominated the field and even dominated Ho in the finals winning in straight sets.After that I didn’t fail to get first place in any tourney for 8 years.  Unfortunately one of the worst things I ever did in those 8 years was play the VS series….

nYo:
How did you go about improving when you were near/at the top?

ShinAkuma:
Practice and playing against other top players keeps you honed.Playing against mid levels players or low level players will generate bad habits, and sometimes those habits are tough to break. I’m not saying don’t play those guys, as they need to level up as well. Just be careful on what you do and what you continue to do when you aren’t playing them.You also need to “know” you can win against any opponent at any time. Believing that you can win if often half the battle, as going into a tourney expecting to lose against some other player will often net you the result you expect.Another thing is to control your emotion. When I was at the top of my game I was a machine – emotionless and seemingly infallible. While I was basically emotionless at the time, I was not infallible. But since I had control of my emotions you couldn’t really tell if I made a mistake or not, so being emotionless can give the impression that you never make a mistake.  Trust me, the prospect of fighting a player who you believe won’t ever fuck up can be very intimidating.At high level play the winner can often be determined by Execution and Instincts.Why execution? Well generally opening for big damage are few and far between. Good players will often be able to defend themselves from your big push. So when the point in the match finally comes to get your damage in, you need that execution to make it a certainty.Why instinct? Again at high level play there is a certain set of variables for every match, but even those variables can be broken down into the most *likely* set of attacks or responses. One must develop the instinct for what will most likely occur, and in most cases when the pressure’s on, the opponent will defer to a certain response or attack. With the correct instinct you can have a counter ready or know how to exploit what the opponent wants to do.At the top level of play it can become a series of mindgames between trying to anticipate your opponents instinct and do something to throw them off.

nYo:
Pretty awesome stuff there.  If you can elaborate that would be great.

ShinAkuma:
For example – I played against the best Sim player in Alberta. We did a best of seven in ST (it was all best of seven back then) and this was game six. I’m up 3-2. It’s third round and I really don’t want to go to a seventh game against Sim with O.Sagat. With the round coming down to the wire – I have about 5% life and my opponent about 30% – I force myself closer with a small tiger knee. I know my opponent is looking for a psychic tiger uppercut, so I hold off. I am within sweep distance and start walking forward, keeping in mind he is waiting for the TU. I know he doesn’t want to poke or throw, and time is running out. So I keep walking into him as if to throw, but a throw won’t win the match for me, I need that TU. At this point I am in his face simply walking into his block. This is when he becomes confused at what I am doing and his instinct takes over – he goes for a throw – and I finally do that psychic TU he was waiting for and win the round, match, set.What I did, was anticipate what he wanted to do, confuse him and force his instinct to take over and punished that instinct.  Now keep in mind that entire exchange took place in a matter of seconds, maybe 3 seconds.

nYo:
When did the arcade scene die around here and what did you do in that time till now?

ShinAkuma:
The scene began to die in the late 90′s, say 98. It completely died when Games on the Avenue closed down in 2000/2001.  After the arcade scene died I basically deferred to console fighters. But it was more of a play for fun rather than play serious type of thing, so at this point I was pretty much retired from competitive gaming.The big game during this period was CVS2. I didn’t particularly like the game, but played it with a group of friends regularly. It was fun for the time.

nYo:
It seems you’re back now and have regained your status as the top player in the city.  What else do you do for the scene right now.  I know you’re building sticks.  Doing anything else?  Hows the stick building coming along?

ShinAkuma:
As you mentioned I build sticks at affordable prices, but I also handle the video capturing duties for the SSGA events.  I figured that since I have a good PC and the video equipment needed for the job that capturing our match’s and posting them ASAP would benefit our scene, as watching vids creates hype and interest in the local scene. So far it’s worked out pretty well. Just waiting on that DVD…..I also try to be an ambassador for the scene in Winnipeg or Canada when playing against people from other countries or cities. Generally this takes place on GGPO or the SRK forums.The stick building is coming along pretty good. I’m learning new things with each new stick and getting more comfortable in building them. However I’m still mid tier at it. LOL

nYo:
You’re name is starting to get out there.  What are your thoughts on the many new games coming out?  Plan to play any of them and compete?  Any plans to travel around in the next while?

ShinAkuma:
I’m really looking forward to SF4, especially after the travesty known as 3s. I can’t believe people have spent almost 10 years playing this garbagey game.  I would like to become the top player in SF4, and by that I hope to win an EVO in SF4. Hopefully our scene and the online community will make it possible to become a top level player in SF4 good enough to compete on the world stage.  Perhaps I may dabble in TvsC. But other than SF4 I’m not too hyped about anything else.

nYo:
What about ST:HD?

ShinAkuma:
I’m about 50/50 on ST:HD. I’ve heard good and bad about it.You should understand that I don’t see ST as needing a new version, especially one that changes the game. As far as I’m concerned ST is fine the way it is. I’m also not a graphics whore, so ST:HD doesn’t bring much to the table for me.

nYo:
What did you not like about 3s and many of the other games that came out after ST?

ShinAkuma:
Well, as far as 3s is concerned it just comes off as a very poorly designed game. It also rewards and mistakes and doesn’t reward initiative enough.It’s basically a Street Fighter that doesn’t play like Street Fighter.The list of stupid 3s mechanics are:Stupid priority tables that make no sense (supers losing to normals or throws!?) – checkOdd orientation in close (your character will actually turn away from the opponent LOL) – checkThe safest jumps in all of street fighter (keep in mind the Alpha series had air blocking!) – checkA universal defense system that has no drawback!? (even invincible DP’s had recovery frames to them)- checkThe virtual lack of zoning or spacing game (zoning and spacing is nullified but parry) – checkDamage scaling when the opponent is about to die that lets them live – checkDon’t get me wrong, 3s is not Mortal Kombat level garbage. However it did throw away many of the logical aspects of fighting games in favor of what appears to be a hodge podge of ideas that didn’t work before.As far as other fighters since then – I really don’t think any genuine thought went into most of those games with the exception of Guilty Gear. GG actually tries to improve itself and fix the flaws.

nYo:
What is your favourite fighter?

ShinAkuma:
ST without a doubt, but Hyper Fighting, KOF 98 and the first Dreamcast Soul Calibur come close.

nYo:
Why do you like ST.

ShinAkuma:
Obviously nostalgia has something to do with. Being the premiere fighting game of my generation, it’s hard not to hold it in high regard. However that isn’t the only reason.ST was a culmination of everything Capcom learned in the SF2 series. All the best aspects they put into this game. The mind games, the execution, the match ups. Everything had to be learned  in order to win. I like that part of fighting games most. The game forces you to play your best in order to be the best.Games like 3s for example allow you to get lazy, and still win. Because the punish for a mistake isn’t always possible. In fact often mistakes can be saved by the parry.In ST when you make a mistake, you feel it.I also like that every character has there own hard to deal with pressure. Many fighting games have characters who simply are impotent. In ST, while there are still tiers, every characters is dangerous.

nYo:
How do you pick the character you main?

ShinAkuma:
At this point I am a shoto type, in any game. So it’s likely my main will be a shoto.

nYo:
It seems to me you’re an Akuma fanboy.  Would you still pick him he was completly garbage in a game?

ShinAkuma:
I’m going to try Akuma out, but my prospects of mains are – Akuma, Ryu and Sagat.I will probably end up using all three.  The only reason I use Akuma exclusive in 3s is because I hate that game, and I what little enjoyment I get is from using Akuma.

nYo:
How would you describe your style of play as?

ShinAkuma:
Aggressive/counter.I basically play aggressive for the most part but will go into small periods of defense with the idea of countering my opponent.  I’m not married to that style however, as sometimes you simply need to adapt to what the opponent is doing.

nYo:
Do you think its important to be an apprentice and have someone teaching you?

ShinAkuma:
It really depends.If a game is new and you play it from the outset with a group of players, you don’t need anybody to teach. The learning process will take care of itself through playing and experience.However if you are getting into a game after it’s release, you may be behind the curve, and that makes it hard to catch up. In this scenario I think vital to have somebody who has the experience to teach you so that you may learn at a faster rate and hopefully catch up to the curve.

nYo:
How do you prepare for a tournament?  What is your mentallity during tournament matches.

ShinAkuma:
Generally I try and become focussed. I want to get all distractions out of my mind and just get myself in a state of heightened awareness.  It’s easier said than done, but when it does happen you can “see” more of the game. I don’t have any particular mentality during a match because I am trying to think of only the match. I guess you could say my mentality is thinking “I’m going to win”, but generally I’m just trying to get in the “zone”.

nYo:
Anything you’d like to tell the community?

ShinAkuma:
Keep playing, have fun and I’ll see you at the next tourney.

This will be the column I use for posting.  I’ll be posting up my thoughts on the ongoings of the scene and other things.  One of the big things I’ll be doing is interviewing players in the scene and around the city.  Heres the first one.  With my favorite punching bag.  James “Korea” Kim