Vayseth's Voyage is an article series written by The Big House 5's Wii U Head TO Vayseth straight from Japan. Every week, he will be bringing you articles on various topics regarding the Japanese Smash Community. Bringing Smash Communities around the world closer and closer together with every article!
Previous Articles:
Vayseth's Voyage: Japan's Top 3 Wii U Tournament Series
Vayseth's Voyage: KARISUMA 6 Results and Review
Vayseth's Voyage: SUMABATO 9 Results and Review
Vayseth's Voyage: Japanese Game Bars
A view of the Melee section in the KVOxTSB 2016 Venue including the main stage.
This article discusses the results of KVOxTSB 2016. In order to gain context it is highly recommended to read through the preview article posted last week.
I apologize for the two week hiatus from my article series. I was the sole translator for all three days of KVOxTSB 2016 and had a lot of preparation going into it. Immediately afterwards I came down with the worst post-tournament cold I have ever had in my career. However, no worries! I am back and ready to continue talking about what is going on in the Japanese Smash community.
KVOxTSB 2016 was one of the most unique experiences I have ever had as a TO. I worked primarily with FGC TOs and streamers @Team Spooky and @St1ckBuG. The focus of the event was primarily on popular FGC titles but Smash was also included, similar to how the majority of major tournaments back in the United States are run now. One thing I noticed is there is very little dissension between the FGC and Smash communities here in Japan. It was extremely refreshing to see all these communities working together for each other to make the best event they could for everyone.
KVOxTSB 2016 was also the event where I finally was able to make contact with the Japanese Melee community. I had heard they were small and had events very infrequently but was unable to establish contact with them before this event. Now that I have contact with them I hope to bring you more Melee content in the future! For now though I had to adjust to the completely different size and energy of the Japanese Melee community. Melee's turnouts are approximately 1/3 of those at Wii U tournaments. Even "old school" players such as Masashi have long since dropped Melee for Brawl and now Wii U. Those that remain are few, but they are definitely an interesting group.
Melee takes the main stage at KVOxTSB 2016.
The Wii U side did not disappoint either. Melee had a mere 40 entrants but Wii U packed in almost 120 entrants for their last chance qualifiers. 8 spots had already been given up to players who qualified at previous events and KVOxTSB 2016's pools were split into 8 blocks where the winner of each block would proceed onto the final Top 16 Bracket. The winner also had much more of an impact on the international scene because the winner would earn a travel subsidy to an international tournament of his/her choice! The stakes were high and the match-ups were absolutely incredible.
There are two main stories from the Wii U side of things. First, Japan is home to players like @SHIG | 9B and @ikep, some of the best Bayonetta mains in the world. At KVOxTSB2016, those competitors were eliminated by Duck Hunt, Megaman and ROB players. Once again, characters that are placed fairly low on the tier lists in the west completely dismantled top tier Bayonetta players. Some regions have gone as far to ban this character and yet the region where she is the strongest and most prolific has her eliminated by underutilized characters. I am not sure if the #$5.99 movement can go much further after these results.
The second story is one that we can relate to in the west. During Top 8 @Nasubi (Wario) was playing against KEN (Sonic) on the loser's side. Nasubi hit the back air that should have clinched the set but instead of waiting to see if KEN had actually died, Nasubi dropped his controller and began to pop off. As a result, Wario plummeted to the bottom of the screen where, mere seconds before Sonic should have met his demise, Wario self-destructed and awarded the set to KEN. You can see the incident here. We have seen this occur all over fighting games tournaments and it can all be fixed by doing one thing: hold your controller until the results screen. It's unfortunate that Nasubi lost his chance to fight for an international flight over something so easily preventable. Let it be a lesson to all of you out there.
VGBC aMSa is victorious over longtime rival Rudolph.
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Kamemushi defeats Komorikiri for a chance at an international tournament!
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Finally I was able to speak with each winner and here is what they had to say about Smash, KSB2016, and more!
VGBC | aMSa
I finally won! Rudolph has been my rival in Japan for a long time. I have not beaten him since the last time I came home to Japan after going to America to compete. Rudolph is unquestionably Japan's best Melee player. Finally beating him in tournament, especially on a stage as big as KVOxTSB's, made me incredibly happy.
Kamemushi (Kameme)
I played Smash competitively since Brawl. During those days I would regularly be placing at the top of the standings. However, ever since Smash 4 came out the big stage eluded me and I would continuously be swiftly eliminated after getting out of pools. I started learning Megaman along with a wide variety of other characters but the main turning point was when I decided to solo main Megaman. After doing so I have seen great results: 4th at the April 24th Umebura, winning another tournament the week after and now winning KVOxTSB 2016. As for where I want to go I am largely undecided. I am thinking about attending EVO but, I love doubles. I want to go to a big tournament that has a doubles event as well. My partner Daiki and I go double Megaman and regularly Top 3 at all doubles events we enter. I would love to test our skills together at a tournament against the best in the world someday if possible!
VGBC aMSa post interview showing off his prizes.
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Kamemushi post interview showing off his 1st place prize.
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There are far too many things to discuss regarding this year's KVOxTSB. I am excited for next year's event where I will hopefully be more involved from the beginning so we can have a greater representation of non-Japanese Smashers at the event. There are constantly more and more players in Japan solo-maining underutilized characters who are taking out the top players we all know and love. What is your opinion of the low tier Bayonetta slayers? How do you feel about the size difference between Melee and Wii U in Japan? Would you come to an event in Japan like this to showcase your skills? Sound off in the comments!
Sayonara until next week.
Previous Articles:
Vayseth's Voyage: Japan's Top 3 Wii U Tournament Series
Vayseth's Voyage: KARISUMA 6 Results and Review
Vayseth's Voyage: SUMABATO 9 Results and Review
Vayseth's Voyage: Japanese Game Bars
A view of the Melee section in the KVOxTSB 2016 Venue including the main stage.
This article discusses the results of KVOxTSB 2016. In order to gain context it is highly recommended to read through the preview article posted last week.
I apologize for the two week hiatus from my article series. I was the sole translator for all three days of KVOxTSB 2016 and had a lot of preparation going into it. Immediately afterwards I came down with the worst post-tournament cold I have ever had in my career. However, no worries! I am back and ready to continue talking about what is going on in the Japanese Smash community.
KVOxTSB 2016 was one of the most unique experiences I have ever had as a TO. I worked primarily with FGC TOs and streamers @Team Spooky and @St1ckBuG. The focus of the event was primarily on popular FGC titles but Smash was also included, similar to how the majority of major tournaments back in the United States are run now. One thing I noticed is there is very little dissension between the FGC and Smash communities here in Japan. It was extremely refreshing to see all these communities working together for each other to make the best event they could for everyone.
KVOxTSB 2016 was also the event where I finally was able to make contact with the Japanese Melee community. I had heard they were small and had events very infrequently but was unable to establish contact with them before this event. Now that I have contact with them I hope to bring you more Melee content in the future! For now though I had to adjust to the completely different size and energy of the Japanese Melee community. Melee's turnouts are approximately 1/3 of those at Wii U tournaments. Even "old school" players such as Masashi have long since dropped Melee for Brawl and now Wii U. Those that remain are few, but they are definitely an interesting group.
Melee takes the main stage at KVOxTSB 2016.
There are two main stories from the Wii U side of things. First, Japan is home to players like @SHIG | 9B and @ikep, some of the best Bayonetta mains in the world. At KVOxTSB2016, those competitors were eliminated by Duck Hunt, Megaman and ROB players. Once again, characters that are placed fairly low on the tier lists in the west completely dismantled top tier Bayonetta players. Some regions have gone as far to ban this character and yet the region where she is the strongest and most prolific has her eliminated by underutilized characters. I am not sure if the #$5.99 movement can go much further after these results.
The second story is one that we can relate to in the west. During Top 8 @Nasubi (Wario) was playing against KEN (Sonic) on the loser's side. Nasubi hit the back air that should have clinched the set but instead of waiting to see if KEN had actually died, Nasubi dropped his controller and began to pop off. As a result, Wario plummeted to the bottom of the screen where, mere seconds before Sonic should have met his demise, Wario self-destructed and awarded the set to KEN. You can see the incident here. We have seen this occur all over fighting games tournaments and it can all be fixed by doing one thing: hold your controller until the results screen. It's unfortunate that Nasubi lost his chance to fight for an international flight over something so easily preventable. Let it be a lesson to all of you out there.
Finally I was able to speak with each winner and here is what they had to say about Smash, KSB2016, and more!
VGBC | aMSa
I finally won! Rudolph has been my rival in Japan for a long time. I have not beaten him since the last time I came home to Japan after going to America to compete. Rudolph is unquestionably Japan's best Melee player. Finally beating him in tournament, especially on a stage as big as KVOxTSB's, made me incredibly happy.
Kamemushi (Kameme)
I played Smash competitively since Brawl. During those days I would regularly be placing at the top of the standings. However, ever since Smash 4 came out the big stage eluded me and I would continuously be swiftly eliminated after getting out of pools. I started learning Megaman along with a wide variety of other characters but the main turning point was when I decided to solo main Megaman. After doing so I have seen great results: 4th at the April 24th Umebura, winning another tournament the week after and now winning KVOxTSB 2016. As for where I want to go I am largely undecided. I am thinking about attending EVO but, I love doubles. I want to go to a big tournament that has a doubles event as well. My partner Daiki and I go double Megaman and regularly Top 3 at all doubles events we enter. I would love to test our skills together at a tournament against the best in the world someday if possible!
There are far too many things to discuss regarding this year's KVOxTSB. I am excited for next year's event where I will hopefully be more involved from the beginning so we can have a greater representation of non-Japanese Smashers at the event. There are constantly more and more players in Japan solo-maining underutilized characters who are taking out the top players we all know and love. What is your opinion of the low tier Bayonetta slayers? How do you feel about the size difference between Melee and Wii U in Japan? Would you come to an event in Japan like this to showcase your skills? Sound off in the comments!
Sayonara until next week.
