Geek.Kon 2017: Super Smash Bros. (Wii U) Tournament Winner

At this year's Geek.Kon in Madison, WI, I had the opportunity to interview Josh (not John) Sullivan, winner of the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament. Find out how John used Luigi to take the event.

Geek.Kon 2016: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Tournament Winner

At Geek.Kon 2016, I had an opportunity to interview Jesus Solis, winner of a Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament. We talk about how he got  into competitive Smash, his choice of characters, and his strategy for the finals:



Transcript:

Steven: Hi, I’m Steven Reich here at Geek.Kon 2016. I’m here with Jesus [pronounced hey-suess] Solis, who is the winner of the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Tournament for this year. Jesus, we just have a few questions. First of all, how did you get into competitive Smash Bros.?

Jesus: Well honestly, I’ve always loved Smash Bros., but I just recently got into it when the game came out. I hung out with some friends around Geekplastiq, which is a local store around Madison. And they held these tournaments. I just figured I’d go, and I got to meet some friends who really got competitive with it. So, I kind of just hung around the crowd and kind of got into it.

Steven: That’s neat. So, what were the basic rules for this tournament? How many stock did you have, and what were some of the other things about it?

Jesus: The tournament rules were you had 2 stocks. It was timed for 6 minutes. The stages were a little bit weird, but they were tournament stages. And otherwise than that, it was just basic standard tourney rules.

Steven: So you are allowed in certain cases to switch characters. Basically, if you lose a round, you’re allowed to switch your character for the next round. So you actually used several different characters for this. What were the characters you used for this tournament?

Jesus: I only used 2, which were Mario and Kirby.

Steven: Why those 2 particular characters? Let’s start off, first of all, why Mario?

Jesus: Well, I love Mario’s move set. The mechanics just feel good. He always has a good reflector going on. And the FLUDD is kind of underestimated, because it can be used in very good moments, especially in gimping. And he just worked out pretty well.

Steven: And Kirby is your alternate character there. What do you like about Kirby?

Jesus: To be honest, he’s just a big ball of pinkness. But just his move set as well. There’s a lot you can do with Kirby that people don’t really quite notice. For example, if you’re trying to gimp a Little Mac off a stage here, they can just rush into you and you can swallow them up and poof them back out. But it’s kind of risky, because Little Mac is just this brute of superarmor.

Steven: Yeah, that did kind of come up in the finals as well. So, in the finals, you were paired against a guy-he used Cloud, which is of course one of the new DLC characters, relatively new, and Little Mac. So what was your strategy, first of all, against Cloud?

Jesus: Well, against Cloud- Cloud is definitely strong. And he definitely is fearful when he is charged of his move. So the only thing that’s unfortunate is his recovery. So my strategy was to try to gimp him off a stage here and make him fall off stage.

Steven: Yep, that was the basic strategy there. Eventually though, your opponent did switch to Little Mac. By that point, you had switched to Kirby, so what’s that matchup kind of like?

Jesus: Well, it was completely-it was a wait game, to be honest. Because if I had approached him in the middle of the stage, he would have definitely gotten me. Little Mac here, he’s easy to get in the corner of stages here, just because his recovery’s also really bad, his Up+B, and his side+B. From there on, it’s just a patience game with him. Because, you really need to just try your best to avoid his smash moves, because they’re all just strong. It worked out pretty good. It was just very, very intense.

Steven: It’s an interesting match up there. Well, this is the fourth, if you count the 3DS and Wii U versions together, fourth entry in the series. It’s almost certain, although nothing’s officially announced, that there will be a 5th generation Smash. What would you like to see in a new iteration?

Jesus: First of all, a good controller. Continue to have the GameCube controller as the controller for the mechanics, because the WiiPad is not the greatest, the Wiimote is not the greatest. The 3DS isn’t so bad as a controller, but it’s just a bit strange, just because people are used to this mechanic going on with Smash and so on.

Steven: It is interesting how that controller that was originally designed for games like Luigi’s Mansion and Pikmin and stuff like that has sort of lived on as the default Smash controller, especially for competitive players. Alright, well thank you very much, Jesus. This has been Steven Reich from Geek.Kon 2016.

Transcript by GetTranscribed.com

New music for the week of 6/15/2015

One new track this week, fresh from the latest round of Smash DLC:

-Ryu Stage

Happy listening!

New music for the week of 3/30/2015

This week, we wrap up our trips through Super Smash Bros for Wii U and Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire. Smash gives us two more tracks:

-Smash Tour: Map
-Wii Sports Resort Ver. 2

And ORAS gives us one:

-Appeal☆Love

Happy listening!

New music for the week of 3/23/2015

We're nearing the end of the soundtracks to Smash and ORAS, but we haven't run out of songs yet. This week we have two from SSB Wii U:

-Title Theme (NES Remix 2)

-Credits (Super Smash Bros.)

And three from Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:

-Battle Resort

-Battle! (Battle Chatelaine)

-Battle! (World Champion)

Happy listening!

New music for the week of 3/16/2015 + Tom and Bryce part 6

Once again, five new tracks. First, some eclectic selections from Smash Wii U:

-Swan Lesson
-Style Savvy: Trendsetters

And three more from Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:

-Super-Secret Bases
-Sealed Chamber
-Battle! (Regirock / Regice / Registeel)

Additionally, we have the final part of the press session with Tom Wayland and Bryce Papenbrook:

This part goes over how jokes are translated for the Pokemon anime.

Many thanks go to Tom and Bryce for taking time out for this session.

New music for the week of 3/9/2015

Once again, there are five new tracks on the station this week. Last time, we had two Sonic tracks from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, This week, we feature two from the Mega Man series:

-Cut Man Stage
-Shadow Man Stage

We also have the usual three tracks from Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:

-Battle! (Deoxys)
-Strains of a New Beginning -Theme of Ωrαs-
-Contest Lobby

Happy listening!

New music for the week of 3/2/2015 + more Tom & Bryce

There are five new tracks this week. Three from ORAS:

-The Lament of Falling Stars
-Battle! (Lorekeeper Zinnia)
-Per Aspera Ad Astra

And two from Smash Wii U:

-Rooftop Run
-Wonder World

Additionally, we have more footage from Anime Milwaukee 2015. In our first video, Bryce Papenbrook describes how he got to be Red in Pokemon Origins:

In the second, Tom Wayland describes what it's like directing the Pokemon dub:

Happy listening!

New music for the week of 2/23/2015

Six tracks arrive this week. Three from ORAS:

-Battle! (Elite Four)
-Let's Go Home
-The Heirs to Eternity

Two from Smash Wii U:

-Pedal Glider
-Title Theme (Wii Sports Resort)

And one from the Japanese version of the Pokemon anime:

-DreamDream

Happy listening!

New music for the week of 2/16/2015

This week, we continue our journey with three songs from ORAS:

-Soaring Dreams

-Soaring Illusions

-Rival's Theme

And two from Smash Wii U:

-Engage the Enemy

-Wrecking Crew Medley

Happy listening!

New music for the week of 2/9/2015

Five more new tracks. Three from Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:

-Battle! (Team Aqua/Team Magma Leaders)
-Sootopolis City
-Coexistence

And two from Smash Wii U:

-Super Hoop
-Skateboard Arena (Free Mode)

Happy listening!

New music for the week of 2/2/2015

Another five new tracks hit the station this week. Two from Smash Wii U:

-Plaza/Title (Animal Crossing City Folk/Wild World)
-Outdoors at 7 p.m. (Sunny) / Main Street

And three from Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:

-Mt. Pyre
-Mt. Pyre Exterior
-Dive

New music for the week of 1/26/2015

As you've come to expect, three tracks from ORAS:

-Lilycove City
-Battle! (Brendan/May)
-Poke Mart

And two from Smash Wii U:

-Magnus's Theme
-Thunder Cloud Temple

Happy listening!

New music for the week of 1/19/2015

Another week, another five new tracks. We start off with a trio from ORAS:

-Route 119
-Fortree City
-Route 120

And two from Smash Wii U:

-Route 23
-Onett Theme-Winters Theme

Happy listening!

Kollision Con 2015-Super Smash Bros. Tournament Winner

Thaddeus Cox

The following is an interview with Thaddeus Cox, winner of a Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament at Kollision Con 2015.

Where are you from, and how did you get into competitive Smash?
I’m from Chicago originally, but I’m currently bouncing back between Bartlett and Hanover Park. I’ve always played Super Smash Bros. but I didn’t start playing it competitively until about four or five years ago. One of my close friends has played competitively for much longer and he got me into the scene. It’s just something we can both do together and I enjoy the challenge.

Why did you pick Mario for this tournament? 
Mario has been my main since the N64 original. It’s really hard to put into words why I choose Mario, I just do. I joke and look at it as though Mario chose me. He complements my playstyle well and he‘s versatile. If I want to camp and space my opponent, I can do that. If I want to rush them down, I can do that, and if I want to take it to the sky, combo or focus on punishment, I can do that. He’s not the best at anything in particular, but he’s a jack of all trades. Currently in Wii U I think I’m playing the best iteration of the character, as there are a lot of changes from Brawl that make him a far more offensive and dangerous. His aerial attacks are stronger with more priority, giving him the ability to combo in the air like never before. His F.L.U.D.D has also been changed up to be more viable. Mario is a solid all around character and I love him.

The rules for this tournament were a bit looser and different than normal Smash tournaments. What were the rules, and how did they affect your strategy?
Yeah, the rules were almost as though there were no rules. They handled pools/preliminaries through free-for-all matches and they were on random stages, not the normal tournament legal ones. Furthermore, in the bracket we had to do four-stock matches and it was single elimination, with no losers’ bracket and no counter picking of stages or characters. I had just gone to a tournament in Chicago a week or two prior that honored all the competitive rules and a tournament the day after Kollision that also used the standard rules, so it was a bit jarring at first. I switched up my play style throughout preliminaries to be more ranged and play “keep away”, it was “cheesy” as my friends and I would call it. I just kept opponents away from me and if they got to close in I’d punish them. It ensured I’d come in first throughout the qualifier matches so that I could make it into the bracket.
In the finals match, you were up against a player using Yoshi. What was your first reaction?
Interestingly enough, I haven’t fought too many Yoshi users in the competitive scene, despite the character being pretty good. So, I haven’t gotten the perfect storm of a good player and Yoshi so this was a lot of fun.

How did the match play out?
At the start of the match he was running the entire thing, getting in on me, throwing out kicks whenever I attempt my usual down throw combos, he even gets a great spike on me. During my second stock I thought for sure I was going to lose embarrassingly, but then I stopped and started to think. I studied Yoshi’s movement pattern and just danced around it.

Is there a lesson here?
I’d say when fighting a character as fast and with as much damage potential as Yoshi, you just have to keep away and be patient, find an opening and strike.

What was the last part of the match like?
By his last stock I was just running down the clock, since I was a stock up. He got in a kill to even the stock, but I was still content with whatever happened in sudden death, because in tournament rulings the winner when stock is tied is determined by damage.

What are your thoughts on the new Smash Bros. games overall?
The new Smash Bros is a mixed bag for me. It’s hard for me to comment on a lot of things since the game is still new. Things are still being figured out, like Perfect Pivoting (a technique similar to Wavedashing in previous versions), and characters are constantly fluctuating in terms of viability. There are things I miss from previous games, obviously wave dashing, and I personally loved the ledge hogging options in Brawl, it made gimping (turning players around during recovery) with the cape so much more satisfying. Some of the new characters do bother me a bit, but that’s because I’m not used to them...I’ve fought all the other characters for years, I’ve had time to figure out ways to combat them as Mario, with some of the newer characters it’s going to be a while before I truly understand the match ups completely. As far as overall improvements over its predecessors, I do love that this game almost takes the best elements of Brawl and Melee and acts as some sort of amalgam of the two.

Any opinion on the upcoming Mewtwo DLC?
I’m extremely glad to see Mewtwo back. Outside of being my absolute favorite Pokémon, it’s awesome to see such a unique character return. I never quite understood taking out such a unique moveset, especially when there were clones in melee you could have just removed, but it’s still really awesome to see him come back, and I really hope a similar treatment is done for The Ice Climbers, Lucas and Wolf. I am a bit upset that it’s only free for owners of the Wii U and 3DS title (though I already own them both), as it seems like a ploy on Nintendo’s part.

What else did you do at the convention?
Lots more Smash (laughs). I came to play Smash Bros and DDR and so I did that for pretty much the entire convention. Got to meet a lot of old smash friends who’d been out of the game, and are back because of Wii U, and also met some new friends at the tournament. It was an overall fun experience.

You can see a video of the finals match here:

You can also check out some of Thaddeus and his friends’ other work at Name Pending Creations.

New music for the week of 1/12/2015

As usual, five new tracks this week. Two from Smash Wii U:

-Battle! (Champion)/Champion Cynthia
-Route 10

And three from Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:

-Battle! (Gym Leader)
-A Path We All Must Walk
-Surf

Happy listening!

New music for the week of 1/5/2015

The new year starts off with 5 new tracks. Three from ORAS:

-Route 113
-Fallarbor Town
-Mt. Chimney

And two from Smash Bros. Wii U:

-The Great Cave Offensive
-Forest/Nature Area

Happy 2015!

New music for the week of 12/29/2014

Five new tracks this week. Two from Smash Wii U:

-King Dedede's Theme Ver. 2

-Yoshi's Island

And three from Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:

-Dewford Town

-Oceanic Museum

-Cycling

Enjoy!

New music for the week of 12/22/2014

Six new tracks this week. Three from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire:

-Route 104
-Battle! (Team Aqua/Team Magma)
-Rustoboro City

By the way, in case you missed it, the soundtrack to the game is now available on iTunes.

We also have two tracks from Smash Wii U:

-Title (Metroid)
-Escape

And one additional track:

-Choosing Pokemon

This is a piano arrangement of the recurring song from the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. In addition to the station, you can check it out here:

New music for the week of 12/15/2014

Five new tracks this week. Three from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire:

-Oldale Town
-Battle! Trainer
-Wally's Theme

And two from Smash Bros. Wii U:

-The Great Sea/Menu Select
-Lorule Main Theme

Additionally, here's an annotated version of the recent Brian Steckler interview: