LiteralGrill
Smokin' Hot~
Zachary "SoldierSunday" Pittenturf wasn't always a Smasher. Competing in games "as long as I can remember" he begun in the first person shooter area with Call of duty, Battlefield, and others. After switching to fighting games they became his main preference in gaming for several reasons. His first introduction to Smash that hooked him for life was Swift vs Phish It at Evo.
"I fell in love because of the freedom that reminded me of playing those shooter games." He told me. "Melee has crazy movement options and positioning, combined with everything that makes fighting games entertaining, like combos, outplaying your opponent, etc."
After seeing the match he was looking for a smash game to play. However being broke Super Smash Flash Demo V0.8b was what he could afford and it became his first competitive smash game.
"The way it felt when i was 14-15 at the time felt like i was Armada or Mew2King, except doing 2 hit combos on the lvl 1 CPU. When 9a rolled around is when I started becoming more interested in competitive Smash Bros so i practiced tech skill in 9a by just doing Sonics' SideB and canceling it with an attack. That was the first ever "advanced technique" i ever learned. Seeing Sonic zoom across the stage felt like i was the best, and i wanted to share that with the rest of the online community, so I started making videos of me practicing tech skill."
Despite some of his best tech skill being a short hop Nair with Fox folks complimenting him on his "prowess" boosted his confidence to try out streams since people wanted to see him play. "I started out being a chump and then I grew into becoming a better player/person because of the Smash Flash 2 community. When you look at my first videos of me doing commentary and gameplay, i was bad, i mean baaaaaaaaaaaaad. I'm glad that I got to experience my humble beginnings, and if i ever get an ego or start to become a bad person, I have something to look back on to make me remember"
Streaming a game less mainstream has given his stream a self described "local" feel. Seeing some of the same players every day vs some larger streams where the conversation flies and is hard to watch makes this a bit for friendly. It does not come with its downsides however as those who don't like the game sometimes go to the stream and express their opinions loudly.
"The most asked loaded question is: 'Why not play Melee? Melee's way better.' I still prefer Smash Flash 2 over Melee, but its pretty much a toss up sometimes. Super Smash Flash 2 offers unique gameplay, with a focus on competitive balance. The removal of L-Canceling, Wavedashing, and Crouch Canceling changes the game significantly but makes it deeper in a sense. There's other techniques exclusive to Smash Flash 2 as well, like Quick Dropping, Shoryuken-Dash-Canceling, and etc."
His stream however is still wonderful to do and many viewers and fans are close friends. He has viewers even join him to commentate at times and with Super Smash Flash 2 being online it's easy for fans and viewers to even get in on the fun and have a chance to play against him. He does worry though that his presence sometimes hurts people new to streaming the game.
"Pretty much not a lot of people stream SSF2 besides me. A lot of people who have quit aren't willing to improve when it comes to commentary and gameplay. I dont wanna toot my own horn here but people have said that i'm one of the best players in the game right now even though i have alot to improve on. So if you combine semi high level gameplay with enojoyable commentary for some streamers that's a tough act to follow."
Right now what has him most excited in the game is the upcoming Beta where new characters like Isaac, Bowser, Luigi, and Mr. Game and watch will be joining the fray. "Honestly, i never expected this much to be added to 9b, I thought it was gonna be 1 new character but its so much more. I can't wait to be playing new players starting in Beta." For those new players interested in getting into the game now he gives this advice:
"Each character has a chance to win a tournament, and there's no set in stone 'Unwinnable' matchups so you have a lot of freedom to mess around with a character you like and not worry about tier lists. Smash Flash 2 is more about the fundamental aspect of Smash. Since it does have the speed of melee, relentless pressure isn't the best way to go in some MU's so you can play this game in any playstyle you want and still succeed. Go to the Super Smash Flash 2 IRC and try to find good matches."
To see his stream in action be sure to follow SoldierSunday on Twitch and be sure to go follow him on Twitter. Until next Wednesday let SoldierSunday show the world what this game can really do in the style only possible with Captain Falcon.
SmashCapps is a huge fan of Super Smash Flash 2 (Black Mage for life!) and hopes people have been enjoying this series. Be sure to follow him on Twitter to discuss Super Smash Flash 2 and all things Smash.
