Denjin Arcade

Denjin Arcade Danisen Battles

2010-03-05T04:27:00.001-08:00

In the upcoming weeks, Denjin Arcade will begin Danisen Battles (aka Dan battles) similar to those run in Game Versus and other arcades throughout Japan. We will be using the same rule set as Game Versus, which will be...

New players begin at 1st Dan
Players fight other players within 1 rank of themselves
One win = +1 point, One loss = -1 point, +3 moves the player up 1 rank, -3 moves the player down 1 rank
Rankings go from 1st to 10th Dan, with special rankings after 10th Dan
After 10th Dan, players only fight other players of the same rank, and must instead get +5 points to move up a rank

**Thank you to aku of shoryuken forums for the translation**

If you aren't familiar with how the Dan battles work, below is a sample, taken from Game Versus 10th Dan...

Sunroute Cup Photos and Videos

2010-03-05T03:44:00.000-08:00

Many have probably already seen these, but below are the photos from Sunroute Cup. They came out pretty dope looking.

View the rest at spacemonkey1112's multiply account here.

The videos are also beginning to be uploaded to the Denjin Arcade youtube account.

Keep checking the youtube account for more updates.

And of course, the results are as follows...

3rd STRIKE 3v3 TEAMS (22 teams)
1.) "Punishment" - Pyrolee (YU) / 5star (KE) / MOV (????)
2.) "We Don't Play this Game" - ROM (YA) / Ricky aka Risky Ortiz (CH) / Justin Wong (CH)
3.) "Team Sherwin" - Renic (AL) / Amir (CH) / Surewin (DU)
4.) "Kai Sucks" - Kai (CH) / Gootecks (UR) / Sextaro (MA)

SF4 3v3 TEAMS (27 teams)
1.) "Team FFA" - Justin Wong (RU) / Ricky Ortiz (RU) / Noel Brown
2.) "Beast Mode" - Vicious (RU) / KillerKai (RY) / Red Venom (VI)
3.) "Team MOV" - Sextaro (RU) / Kai (EF) / MOV (KE)
4.) "Low Tier" - VictheSlik (BI) / UTJ (DH) / MrKOF (KE)

3rd STRIKE 1v1 (52 players)
1.) MOV (CH)
2.) 5star (KE)
3.) Pyrolee (YU)
4.) Sextaro (MA)
5.) 4y3Paragon (YU)
5.) Gootecks (UR)
7.) Vinny (KE)
7.) Ricky Ortiz (CH)

SF4 1v1 (64 players)
1.) Justin Wong
2.) Marn
3.) ShadyK
4.) Mike Ross
5.) Ed Ma
5.) Amir
7.) Vicious
7.) Joe Dubbs

I know this may seem kind of irrelevant now that the tournament passed 2 weeks ago, but thank you very much to the participants, especially people who traveled from far away. We hope you enjoyed playing and watching MOV, and hope you visit Denjin Arcade again some day.

Get Nasty!

2009-12-29T08:10:00.001-08:00

I know many of you have been very patiently awaiting the Pyrolee podcast, but I hope this little gem might keep you satisfied a little while longer.

One of Pyro's little known talents is his constant stream of hilarious commentary of his own matches, a taste of which was captured post Ranbat 2.4 by Renic, and thrown together montage style for your enjoyment.

I present to you...

PYROLEE GETS NASTY!

Get Your Tournament 3 Year Anniversary Tourney

2009-12-14T23:44:00.000-08:00

As anyone who follows the Southern California SF4 scene knows, Get Your Tournament aka GYT has been the driving force behind SF4 coverage around here, however they have been around for much longer than SF4, and to celebrate their 3 year anniversary of operation, they will be running a celebratory tournament at Denjin Arcade on 12-19-2009.

From gytnews.com...

You know that at Get Your Tournament we do our best to provide you with live coverage and information about tournaments. Well, we’re going to host a tournament ourselves!

As part of our upcoming 3-year anniversary next month, we’ll be hosting a two-game tournament on Dec. 19 at Denjin Arcade in Simi Valley.

The first game is Street Fighter IV; it’ll be a double-elimination tournament. Entry fee is $5, and we’ll do a 70/20/10 payout to the top three finishers. The other game will be Mario Kart Wii. The entry fee is $1 and it’s only a single-elimination tournament, with winner-take-all.

We’ll have a cake and some other goodies to share with everyone that comes to the tournament. You won’t go hungry if you show up early...

Denjin Arcade is particularly grateful of the GYT crew (especially Glenn!) for helping publicize our events, so its an honor to be able to help out with an event like this.

Here is the SRK thread for the rules:
http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?p=7922611

The Future of Training Mode

2009-12-05T04:48:00.000-08:00

From LennethEX's post on the shoryuken forums:

About 2 weeks ago I started tracking down how and where 3S stored the hitboxes using MAME. Well a few days ago I made some progress and using the MAME renderer I'm now able to draw the hitboxes to the screen while the game is running.

Here is a small test video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KimKJCjfPFs

It's not perfect yet and there a display issues with vertical screen scrolling but it seems to work pretty well.

More later.

I have to say I'm pretty blown away by this. I've seen diagrams made before on a single frame, but dynamic real time hit box overlay could be an invaluable training tool for fighting game players. I can't wait to see more of this!

GYT Interviews Joe Dubbs at NCR!

2009-11-28T13:25:00.000-08:00

Denjin local and current SF4 Ranbat leader, Joe Dubbs, who played on the Socal team for the Socal vs Norcal 5on5 at NCR, was interviewed by GYT (Get Your Tournament).

Jungle strike baby!

SBO BlazBlue and Fate:UC DVD available through Arcadia Magazine!

2009-11-26T14:32:00.001-08:00

Order here through play-asia:

Arcadia Magazine [January 2010] at Play-Asia.com

FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE TRAILER

2009-11-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

Ok, this isn't a trailer for the upcoming Fight for the Future DVD.

While all of us gathered in front of Denjin after closing last night, as we often do, conversation drifted into the idea of making a Denjin Arcade movie. This wouldn't be very interesting if it weren't for the fact that resident Alex guru Renic threw together this little diddy within a day of the conversation, and its pretty funny.

A bit of the humor is composed of inside jokes, but I think most 3s players might find it amusing.

Fubarduck on SSF4

2009-11-09T09:51:00.000-08:00

When news first broke that no arcade release was planned for Super Street Fighter 4, although its always wise to take those early, unverifiable statements with a grain of salt, the possibility of Capcom ignoring the arcade market with its newest Street Fighter caused a great deal of anger and disappointment among those of us who are firmly planted in arcades. Although the majority of the United States market plays on console exclusively, arcades and Street Fighter are so intertwined, its hard to imagine one without the other.

With that said, it was nice to see this interview with Fubarduck, co-owner of Arcade UFO in Austin, echo much of the same thoughts.

Also be sure to check out www.ArcadeUFO.com and check up on all the good stuff they do for the Austin area community.

IPlayWinner podcast episode 4!

2009-11-07T03:43:00.000-08:00

IPlayWinner is back with podcast 4 with pherai returning as a guest as well as fellow IPW contributor LVC. Be sure to check it out!

Quoted from IPlayWinner:

Yo! I asked our fans what the #1 thing they want to see more of on iPlayWinner, and the answer is podcasts! So here we are with episode 4, bringing back Pherai from Denjin Arcade and also introducing LVC, one of our newer contributors to iPlayWinner. Don't worry, Oichi from Versus City will return!

We are going to make the format more of an open discussion about fighting games moving forward so we can produce more podcasts on a more regular basis. We cant always guarantee international guests, but we feel there are enough people in the community and enough topics to cover to make this a more frequent occurrence.

In this episode we cover a range of topics such as:

- iPW Site Updates

- Bar Fights II and what the West Coast needs to do to get better.

- Strategy involving limiting your opponents options.

- Tekken and other games we are currently playing.

- Can a fighting game survive without solid netcode!?

..among various other topics that come up as well.

If you guys like this format let us know! if you have ideas for topics and guests, let us know! We hope you enjoy it!

Visit the link below to download or stream the podcast as well as subscribe to the podcast feed:

IPLAYWINNER PODCAST EPISODE 4

RX in Brazil!

2009-11-03T20:09:00.000-08:00

SRK forum member papito recently posted up some photos and videos of when the Brazilian 3s community hosted legendary Urien player RX for a 3rd Strike Party/Nationals.

From papitos post on the shoryuken forums...

So, this last weekend I organized the "3rd Strike Brasil Party" event, that RX took part.

RX is still here in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. He leaves on thursday and he's having a blast (so are all of us)!

The man is an absolute legend and as humble as it gets, it's freakin' amazing.

He didn't know about his fame until he got here hahahahahahahahaha

...

After the tournament:
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/8544/galero.jpg

Video of his arrival in Belo Horizonte, Brazil:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om1tp9IS8Q8

Video of RX saying hello, before coming to the event:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DomzdevD9gI

Some of RX's fights around here...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_N41tUSfyo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T27EP9ftZJI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1ZE4HQK8UM

...

1º- RX (UR) - Tokyo, Japan
2º- Kakarotto (MA/Q) - Fortaleza, Ceará
3º- J-ISM (CH/IB) - Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais
4º- #12lookslikeyou (NE) - Santos, São Paulo
5º- Papito (EL) - Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais
5º- kA (AK) - Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais
7º- Roadie (YU) - Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais
7º- K-ISM (AK/CH) - Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais

Videos are being posted here:
www.youtube.com/alliancegamingevents

Sounds like it was a great experience! I know I can speak for some of the serious 3s heads at Denjin in saying this raises our spirits about the game. Great thing to see!

Fight for the Future Photos

2009-10-28T02:32:00.000-07:00

Strong Gouki player and photographer Stewart Uy put a ton of work into taking some great photos of FFTF Cup. Below are a few selections, but you can view the entire album here : spacemonkey1112.multiply.com/photos/album/92

* The Chin Killazzzz *

* James Im : Hero of the day *

* ANGERRR! *

* The beloved Ray Ramos *

Fight for the Future Cup Results

2009-10-26T02:38:00.000-07:00

The future is secured and the event was a big success! A total of 10 teams entered, with 52 total entrants (2 teams were allowed to have 6 members), which was beyond event the estimates of the organizers.

1. Team Game to the over!
Tenren (IB) / Bean (YU) / Surewin (DU) / Arlieth (MA) / 5 Star (KE)

2. Team Freestar is still Free
AUR (CH) / Vinny Marano (KE) / Renic (AL) / Joe Dubbs (KE) / Pyrolee (YU)

3. Chin Killaz
Sherry (CH) / Ray Ramos (DU) / Mike Menace (HU) / MattxChin (KE) / EricxChin (YU) / Ironfist (DU)

Thank you very much to everyone who came out to show their support for 3s! Many of you might notice many of the old guard from FFA not present in the results. Do not fear for the future of 3s because of this. There is a mix of youth and experience in the scene right now that is very promising, and the fighting spirit and dedication to get better is still very strong. Furthermore, many more great 3s events are planned for the future. Keep practicing! The 3s journey never ends!

Photos of the event will be posted in a few days. All matches including request battles were recorded, and there was also in arcade festivities recorded for the event which should make their way onto the DVD. Keep checking back for the latest news.

Bar Fights interviews with LI Joe, Sabin, FlipinoChamp, and Magus1234!

2009-10-23T18:51:00.000-07:00

pherai did a couple interviews for IPlayWinner at Bar Fights 2. Visit IPlayWinner for more!

Bar Fights 2 interviews with LI Joe, Sabin, FlipinoChamp, and Magus1234!

SBO 3s and T6 DVDs available through Arcadia Magazine now!

2009-10-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

For anyone that wasn't aware, Arcadia Magazine is releasing SBO DVD's with individual issues and the December issue that is available for pre order right now comes with Tekken 6 and 3s! Below is the link to pre order from play-asia.com

Arcadia Magazine [December 2009] at Play-Asia.com

Denjin Arcade presents : Fight for the Future Cup!

2009-10-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

We're kicking off the fall season right with a 3s spectacular. If you're a true 3s fan and haven't been able to make it to a tournament in a while, this is your time to come out and prove it! This tournament is being run strictly by 3s players, for 3s players. 3s will live as long as we fight for it! Fight for the future!!

Schedule:

Denjin 3s Player Meet and Greet! - 3PM

Get together for casuals, cigarettes, and to bullshit with some of socals most (in)famous 3s players from past and present! We'll also be doing sign ups at this time.

3s Request Battles - 5PM

Based on requests, we will be running 8 "Request Battles." If there are any matches you would like to see among the top SoCal area 3s players, this is your opportunity to have them occur and recorded. We will be trying to gather many of the strong players from the SoCal 3s scene past and present.

Make your requests on the Shoryuken forums here.

- Intermission (go get dinner) - 6PM -

Main Event 5 on 5 - 7PM

Pokemon format
Duplicate characters are allowed on a team
Single Elimination
Judgment is in play
500¥ Per player / 2500¥ per team

Prize will be a free copy of winners choice of copy of Kuroda DVD, Coop Cup 7 DVD, SBO DVD, or DVD of this event (Subject to change based on quantities).

100% of fees are being collected for a fund to fly out Japanese players for a bigger Denjin event slated early next year. If the event is unable to take place, the winners of the event will receive 100% of the entry fees at a later date.

Fight for the Future DVD

All matches from the 5 on 5, and all Request Battle matches will be captured and used to make a DVD to immortalize the event.

If you have a team, or are looking for a team, or want to see the latest news on this event, check out the Shoryuken forums here.

*** One last note : We will not be allowing any side tournaments on this day. The focus is 3s ***

Denjin Bowl 1!!

2009-10-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

With NFL season in full swing, 5 Star decided a few weeks ago that the Denjinites need to get together for some outdoor activities. So we planned a date and picked teams for some "smash mouth tackle football!"

The results were as follows:

CHIN DYNASTY:
Matt Chin
Vinny
Ting Boy
Carlos
Rob Greco
Bean

CHIN KILLAZ:
5star
Dae
Bustabust
Renic
Pherai
Terry
Bagrat

Even with one man short, CHIN DYNASTY was able to win the very first Denjin Bowl with a score of 7-3!!!

Here are the awards:
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Pherai (went from running out of the sidelines/ dodging balls to catching a ball and rushing for a crucial 1st down)
DEFENSIVE MVP: Matt Chin
OFFENSIVE MVP: Matt Chin
OVERALL MVP: Matt Chin

Highlights:
- Bargat hopping the fence to get inside
- Vinny being a sleeper hit. Being able to tackle Yi Wang 2x as well as being a strong quarterback.
- Bustabust also with an impressive showing helping his team in every way possible.
- Matt Chin DOMINATING every single second of the game. His stare alone was able to tackle down many.
- Carlos taking down Bustabust HARD with a NFL tackle.
- And of course the list of injuries: 5star is now out w/ a fractured spine, Pherai has a broken esophagus, I tore my ACL, Dae also killed someone whom we had to bury in the field to avoid legal problems.
- team photo 1
- team photo 2 (for ray ramos)

Some pictures from the event can be found here

The story of Hikone-Ken

2009-09-28T02:12:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I posted a link to the videos from the Hikone Cup, an all Ken 3s tournament ran at A-Cho. For a brief moment I wondered what Hikone meant, and the answer is a sad, yet touching story.

From Death By Aegis's post on the Shoryuken Forums...

The footage is from the legendary Zenkoku (National) 3on3 tournament from 2001...one player, a true legend, Hikone-Ken stands out among everyone else. Hikone-Ken tragically died in a car accident last November. It devastated many throughout the Japanese 3s community. He was regarded as having one of the greatest Ken and Gouki's in all of Japan. His name and memory is honored in the A-Cho "Hikone" Cup tournament, which was held shortly after his death and the footage just released on the internet recently.

The source of this footage was from an original VHS tape from G-UP. I was lucky (extremely lucky) to have ordered the last one nearly 7 years ago. It has never been in production since. And never will be again. I felt it very important to preserve this great tournament in digital format, and also honor Hikone's memory by uploading his matches as well.

The youtube channel is http://www.youtube.com/zenkoku3s

Thank you very much Death By Aegis for sharing these videos with all of us!

Bar Fights 2 Qualifiers at Denjin!

2009-09-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

Gootecks' Bar Fights 2 was recently announced, with the main event being a 5 on 5 against a yet to be announced team. There are 3 open spots available for the team, and 2 of your chances to get a spot will be hosted by 2 singles tournaments at Denjin Arcade! The current details of these tournaments are as follows...

First tournament is October 9th at Arcade Infinity sometime in the evening
Second tournament is mid day at Denjin Arcade no later than 2 PM
Third tournament is evening at Denjin Arcade no later than 7 PM
Entrance fee is $20
Each tournament is capped at 16 entrants
Winner of each tournament is guaranteed a spot on the 5 on 5 and 70% of the pot from the tournament they won (rest of pot goes to Bar Fights fund)

For more information concerning Bar Fights itself, be sure to check http://StreetFighterBarFights.com/ for updates as the event draws nearer.

Ranbat Season 2 Warm Up Results

2009-09-27T17:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Ranbat Season 2 Warm up for SF4 and 3s. The format for each was Mi-ka-do 2v2 for SF4, and 3v3 for 3s.

SF4 2 character Mi-ka-do (31 entrants):
1.) UltraDavid (ZA/DH)
2.) BustaBust (AB/VI)
3.) Ironfist (SA/ZA)
4.) Gootecks (BA/SA)
5.) Brandon S
5.) Joe Dubbs
7.) JC
7.) Bryant the Tyrant

3rd STRIKE 3v3 (8 teams):
1.) "GM Hiding" - 5star (CH)/ Pyrolee (UR)/ Joe Dubbs (KE)
2.) "Sunroute" - Pherai (AK)/ Vinny (KE)/ Bean (YU)
3.) "WWTD" - Bagrat (HU)/ Ty (AL)/ Rob (CH)

You can check out Glenn's (of Get Your Tournament) live blog of SF4 here:

http://www.gytnews.com/?p=999

Denjin HD Remix Videos

2009-09-25T16:32:00.000-07:00

It may not be well known, but Denjin has a super dedicated community of ST and HDR players (many of whom live 3-5 hours away!) that have been running their own tournaments and RanBats since Denjin has opened, and of course they showed up at our latest tournament for some HDR and have uploaded all the matches for your viewing pleasure!

View the whole playlist by following the link below!

Denjin 1 Year Anniversary HDR Tournament

Photos from 1 Year Anniversary Tournament!

2009-09-16T14:14:00.000-07:00

* TingBoy getting in the spirit of the event *

Kelly Bracha (from getyourtournament.com) was also on site at the 1 Year Anniversary tournament taking photos of the event. They captured the mood of the event really well. I've picked out some of my favorite, but you can view the entire album on Kelly's flickr account.

* The Denjin regulars having a smoke between matches *

* Birthday cake for Denjin, Bean, and Ironfist *

* Even Louie Zamora, Pro inline skater showed up to celebrate Denjins birthday! *

Denjin Podcast Episode 6 : SBO / Japan Afterthoughts

2009-09-15T20:07:00.000-07:00

For Episode 6, pherai interviews Mr Bean (contributor to DenjinArcade.com) and Haunts (owner of IPlayWinner.com) to discuss the trip to Japan for SBO and Street Fighter greatness!

We cover...

-Expectations of the American teams at SBO and how/if they changed while there
-Specific players they played/saw/met
-Other fun and interesting things in Japan non related to games

[MP3] - 1:15:44 - 69.3 MB (Right click and 'Save Target As...')

Subscribe to the podcast feed here!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DENJIN!

2009-09-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

Sup everyone! It's me Bean. It has been more than awhile hasn't it? No, that pretty girl is not me, but it is my future wife.

Anyways, like what was posted shortly before, this past weekend we held a tournament for Denjin's first year anniversary! We held tournaments for 3rd Strike, SF4, CvS2, HDR, and Alpha 2. Lots of entrants for every game. Results can be viewed here, http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=208175.

Before all the games started we decided to run a quick single game, single elim all Urien tournament. In Japan I think we were all inspired by the owner of Shibuya Sportsland. A very enthusiastic, perky man who ran all the tournaments himself and liked to yell really loud during the matches. I followed his example and ran the all Urien tournament with as much enthuasiasm I could possibly exert. Lots of clapping, yelling, "URIEN DESU!!", screaming, a whole lot of fun. In the end, Pyro takes out San Diego's secret weapon, Louie, in convincing fashion.

As for the actual tournaments themselves there wasn't too much to point out. Amir came out of nowhere and beat everyone in 3rd Strike. Straight up guess parried Pyro during Grand Finals. Pyro did not have an answer to Amir that night. Amir was definitely the MVP for 3rd Strike.

I took a glance at the SF4 brackets and quickly noticed that victory was up for grabs for anyone. A lot of heavy hitters in the same skill lvl such as UTJ, Tatsu, Bryant, Ironfist, and some other notables. In the end, the team of Tatsu/Bryant patiently took out Ironfist/JoeDubbs in GF.

Besides Denjin's anniversary it was also myself and Ironfist's bday. 5Star brought us cupcakes and in the end JR and I got cupcaked hard. Frosting was so damn thick. Took me a good 5 minutes to wash it off my face.

It's been nearly a month since we have all got back from Japan. In a time of depression and boredom, it was really nice to have an event like this past weekend. Like I said in the results thread, it was more than a tournament, it was a celebration. I truly had a great time. Here is to future success for our beloved arcade.

getyourtournament covers the Denjin Anneversary tournament!

2009-09-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

From getyourtournament.com

SIMI VALLEY – Denjin Arcade held a tournament last Saturday, Sept. 12, to celebrate the arcade’s first year of being open for business. In that time, it has quickly become a hot spot for fighting tournaments in the Southern California area. The sizable crowd in attendance was very enthusiastic, not just for the games, but for the spirit of the occasion. Party hats, cupcakes and even a couple noisemakers could be spotted among the fray.

Details for the tournament were first posted on the Shoryuken Forums on Aug. 25 by Pherai, known to Denjin regulars as “Jesus.” The evening consisted of Street Fighter IV, Third Strike, Capcom vs SNK 2, Street Fighter Alpha 2, and Super Street Fighter II HD Remix. Sign-ups began at 5 p.m. and the tourneys kicked off at 7 p.m.

Each game was well represented by many players, but the highlight was certainly SF4, which drew the most spectators and competitors with a total of 32 two-person teams competing. BustaBust, who ran the brackets for SF4, kept things rolling at an even pace.

A diverse crowd was in attendance for the tournament, with regulars and newbies alike competing for a chance at glory. Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez was in attendance, but did not compete in SF4, instead opting to compete at Third Strike.

Back on April 5 of this year, Gootecks held Street Fighter Bar Fights, an informal SF4 event at Jake’s Billiards in Pasadena that saw hundreds in attendance. Rumors were floating around about the next installment of Street Fighter Bar Fights, but Gootecks would not confirm any details. An announcement was coming “very soon,” he said.

During the tournament, I caught up with Bagret, Denjin’s owner, to talk about how he felt about Denjin’s first year in operation. “I can’t believe it’s this big,” he said. Reflecting on highlights of the past year, Bagret mentioned the California Regionals, in which the arcade was so packed with people that the fire marshal showed up.

“We don’t want to do too many [tournaments], though,” he said. “We don’t want to ruin it. We don’t push tourneys down people’s throats.”

Speaking on what he expected for the evening, Bagret said, “I expected 15 people maybe. But there’s so many people here, there’s cake, hats… The locals, the regulars made it a big thing. It’s very cool.”

Full results for the evening’s tournaments are available at the Shoryuken Forums.

Thanks to Brian and all of getyourtournament for the coverage!

Videos from Hikone Cup "Strongest Ken" Tournament

2009-09-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

I'm always extra interested in these gimmicky kind of tournaments and I think everyone enjoys the Ken mirror match since Ken is the most fundamentally balanced 3s character. Hopefully you guys enjoy this.

http://zoome.jp/umzn/
Videos from Hikone Cup "Strongest Ken" Tournament.

http://zoome.jp/umzn/diary/1/
Yaoichi vs Nuki

http://zoome.jp/umzn/diary/2/
Winner Side Best 4: Chinta vs Yaoichi

http://zoome.jp/umzn/diary/3/
Loser Side Best 8:
Match 1: Deshiken vs Chinta
Match 2: Haitani vs Matsuda

http://zoome.jp/umzn/diary/4/
Match 1: Loser Side Semifinals Matsuda vs Deshiken
Match 2: Winner Side Semifinals KO vs Yaoichi
Match 3: Loser Side Finals Yaoichi vs Deshiken
Match 4: Grand Finals KO vs Deshiken
Match 5: Grand Finals KO vs Deshiken
Commentary by Kokujin

Courtesy of Buriki One on the shoryuken forums.

Denjin @ SBO : Video tour of Mi-ka-do

2009-08-31T17:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, the trip is long over, but here, as promised, is the video tour of Mi-ka-do...

iPlayWinner Podcast Episode 3 features pherai!

2009-08-28T14:57:00.001-07:00

haunts from IPlayWinner.com recently invited pherai to be a guest on the IPlayWinner podcast to talk about the trip to Japan.

Quoted from IPlayWinner:

We just finished up an awesome podcast with Pherai, Akuma player from Denjin Arcade and also webmaster of Denjin Arcade . com!

This podcast covers:

* Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike in Japan

* Japanese Arcades

* Japanese Play vs. American Play

..among other things. So if you're interested in what the arcade and 3s scene is like in Japan be sure to check this one out!

Visit the link below to download or stream the podcast as well as subscribe to the podcast feed:

iPLAYWINNER.COM PODCAST EPISODE 3 FEAT. PHERAI (DENJIN ARCADE)

denjin @ sbo : sbo is over

2009-08-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

Its been very busy since the last update and I have a lot of things on my mind. SBO has forever changed my perspective of Street Fighter and the community, but before writing a long diatribe on perspective, I'll try to sum of the events of the past week as I experienced them.

During the week leading up to SBO I was mostly hitting up my new favorite spot, Game Versus. Ive covered this arcade pretty thoroughly in this blog. It really is the (not well kept) secret grinding of Street Fighter heads in Tokyo. As the days drew nearer, more and more out of towners started appearing from the Kansai area, as well as more foreign players. I met up with Fran (an Italian player) and some friends of his a few times at Mikado. As much as Japan blows America out of the water for fighting game competition, listening to Fran explain the Italian scene made me very thankful for what I have in the states. The dedication of all the European players making the trip to Japan is very admirable.

Thursday had 5 on 5's for 3s and SF4. I wasn't able to attend either, but both sounded like a great time although I heard a bummer story about some controversy with an American team at the SF4 5 on 5. Sounds like there are the same kind of dishonorable players in Japan too, but I won't tell the story since I heard it from a second hand source. I think I spent a lot of the evening on Thursday just drinking since I missed those tournaments.

Friday was unfortunately sold out for SF4, but ThyAllMighty said he'd be willing to do a write up on the day for this blog so hopefully we can get that out not too late. It sounded like a really wild event, and everyone knows by now there were some definite upsets. If you haven't been following SBO for too long, upsets are nothing new, but its always a surprise. Since 3s has been my focus, we stopped by Mikado that evening and it was super packed, with twice the number of 3s setups than normal there. Chinta, Shiro Itachi and Saru (all Kansai area players) were playing as well as almost every Tokyo area big boy. I felt kind of stupid trying to play since most of these guys wanted to get a last minute training session in before SBO but the matches were great to watch.

Saturday was 3s day at SBO and I was pumped. Since we wanted to enter Last Chance Qualifiers we all departed from Shinjuku towards the Tokyo Dome area around 6 AM. We arrived, purchased our tickets, and registered for the tournament. We all met in the lowest level with all the other Last Chance hopefuls and they guided us down a hallway towards a backroom with several cabinets set up. Among the crowd were many legends of the game including Kuroda, MOV, Match, Mester, Ma Junior and others. If you aren't familiar with the Last Chance rules, not all entering teams are guaranteed a spot in the bracket. Only 16 teams are chosen, 4 of which are guaranteed foreign spots. My team was Carlos, Eric Chin and myself, and there was also Vinny, Let Blood Run, and Bean teaming up. There were at least 6 foreign teams trying to enter, so our chances were good for getting in, but I started getting nervous when 2 teams were drawn and neither of them were our teams. When they announced "Team Denjin" I was elated. Right after that Vinnys team, "5 Star San" was announced. We were in!

Then things got real. As they drew the teams for the brackets, 5 Star San was up against Inoue Japan (last years SBO Champions) in the first round! As people have already found out, Ino was not able to make it this year, and Kuroda switched back to Q, which was a surprise even to the Japanese players. When they played we found out Kuroda is the biggest sand bagger in the world. He was on some next level shit. He was playing WAY beyond the level we had seen in casuals and even tournament up until SBO. As I saw him progress through the tournament, I was certain he was going to OCV every team that day. MOV only had to play 1 game in Last Chance as Kuroda made every player look like an idiot and made Q look top tier. My teams first match was against a low tier team, and I was able to take out 2 guys but their Alex player ended up eliminating my team. We would have had to go on to play Inoue Japan if we won, but I would have liked to play Kuroda on his A game. Let Blood Run said playing Kuroda that day was the hardest match of Street Fighter he played in his life. The whole Last Chance experience was awesome and I'm very happy I was able to be a part of it. It was a great way to start the day off.

After that we had some time to lay low before 3s began. We weren't very interested in Fate Unlimited Codes or TvC. As we sat outside (with beers in hand haha) a camera crew interviewed us for SBO. Pretty dope! Hopefully it will show up somewhere someday. I followed ThyAllMighty, Emphy, Rom, and Let Blood Run to get some takoyaki (try pizza takoyaki if you get a chance, its dank!) and we sat outside until 3s began.

Seeing the SBO setup in person is an unparalleled experienced. Its loud, slick, and fucking awesome. Before top 4 they play 4 matches at a time, with 2 of the matches on different screens, and the bracket displayed on the third screen. The crowd gets very loud. Thankfully, they always made sure to have Kurodas matches featured on the center screen. As I said earlier Kuroda was playing incredibly. Probably the highest level of play I've ever seen. Momochi was also rolling through people. He definitely has the strongest Makoto.

I missed Justins team, but I saw Team White Cat up against TM, YSB, and Ruu. Sadly, YSB ocv'd them. Only means we need to train harder for next year. When things were all said and done, the top 4 was all solid teams. There was Kuroda and MOV, Rikimaru's team (Momochi and Boss), RX's team (Koshun and Vanao), and KO's team (Ochibi and Tokido). Not a bum in the group.

Up until 3s top 4 I literally just fell asleep in a hallway somewhere. Not that interesting.

Top 4 was fucking hype. When the Hugo theme kicked in I was feeling pumped. The first match was Kuroda and MOV vs Rikimaru's team. The scene as the timer ran out on the super select screen before Kuroda faced Momochi was probably the most epic scene I've seen in 3s. On one big screen you could see Kuroda's focused, emotionless face, while on the other side you could see Momochi who was on fire that day. This was the first match that day where someone was finally able to make Kuroda play their game, and Momochi finally took him out. MOV stepped up next, but was not able to stop Momochi from taking the match. As much as I was really happy for Rikimaru, Inoue Japan was my favorite team of all time from 2008, so I was sad to see them out of the tournament.

Next KO's team was up against RX's team. I don't remember this match in as much detail, but it was very suspenseful at the end as RX almost made a clutch comeback but missed throwing out an aegis and just barely lost to Ochibi.

As is tradition, the not often heard Q theme played as the teams came up out for the finals. At this point, my memory is hazy on how well Tokido and Ochibi did against Momochi, however when KO stepped up, you could tell he was very nervous. It was kind of a sad sight. Until actually playing him in person, I was never much of a KO fan, but now I feel for the guy having been upset so many years. Also I would have liked to have seen Rikimaru and/or Boss play, but I was happy Rikimaru had won since hes been so hospitible to us. Congratulations Rikimaru, Momochi and Boss!

As we waited outside we were contemplating whether to head over to Game Versus. Not long afterward, DJ Koopa (sp?) approachs Bean to tell us that Aiku said there will be a tournament at Game Versus tonight and he thinks we should all come. I had never spoken to Aiku in person, and during the way there as I guided us, I found him to be one of the nicest and most humble players I met while there.

The experience at Versus that night totally topped off the night. It was a celebration of Street Fighter, with almost every significant 3s player there. There were 9 cabinets and still it was very difficult to get a game in. This just shows how hungry the Japanese are. Even MOV, after just losing in semi finals, came by and played a ton of games. Nuki and another Versus employee ran the tournament. A couple highlights of the tournament for us gaijin were Vinny eliminating Nuki, and Rom making top 8! Also Boss calling Rom "AfroYang." In top 8 Nuki and Kokujin traded off doing commentary, and despite having no idea what they were saying, it was super entertaining to watch. The whole vibe of the night was really great and it will stick with me for a long time.

After that the rest of the tripped kind of died down. Most of our group departed on Monday and Tuesday, so we drank our sorrows away on Sunday evening. We also checked out a couple baseball games which I'd totally recommend above almost anything else in Japan. Also saw a clutch appearance by Sabin our last night there. Special thanks to Sabin and Let Blood Run!

I may write an editorial article with afterthoughts on the trip sometime soon as I have more time to reflect so keep checking back. Thanks for following the blog everyone. See you guys at SBO 2010!

Denjin @ SBO : Grime times

2009-08-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

Bean covered a lot of what weve been doing the past couple of days, but I figured Id fill in some of the gaps in between.

Last thursday we hit up the Roppongi to go to the infamous Gas Panic. If you arent familiar with Gas Panic, its basically a club for foreigners and Japanese looking to hook up with foreigners. A few observations I made while walking through Roppongi...

It smells pretty bad. Bourbon street smell
Mad africans are trying to hustle you. Dont listen to them if you find yourself there
It is pappin late in the night. Lots of people roaming the streets the whole time we were there
Also lots of street walkers. Dope

Early on we were convinced the place was secretely a gay club, but around 130 the joint got live! Loud ass jams and lots of beautiful women all over. Several of us were able to pull numbers from girls, while others just got blasted, and even left the night with some battle scars. I'll leave the whos and hows up to mystery.

Friday we didnt end up going to Gods Garden. Even though the event sounded dope, I wasnt very interested in paying a 20 dollar cover charge to watch matches I could see most days at Big Box, nor am I interested in paying bar prices for drinks. It sounded like a good time to those who went though. However we did catch Kokujin and Nuki come to Game Versus after Gods Garden. They both looked a bit faded and were playing some heated games between eachother, getting really rowdy. It was pretty entertaining.

Saturday we partied a bit in Shibuya, hitting up some of the Gas Panics around there. Its a bit harder to holla at Shibuya girls who seem more disinterested in foreigners than Roppongi sluts. Also a situation happened involved a $400 hooker, but once again, the details on that one will have to remain a mystery. Just know the price at the door of a whore house is only the tip of the iceberg.

Sunday we hit up Game Versus again for an all nighter. Game Versus is a very cozy arcade and with what seems to be a tight knit community of regulars. Its kept open all night and you're bound to see at least 4 players just passed out around the arcade. As soon as they wake up its back to games. Thats dedication. Nuki, Kindevu, one of the top Viper players, and one of the top Sagat players (I cant remember their names; will update when I can ask ThyAllMighty) were playing random 2v2 money matches in SF4 and getting really hype. They were dope matches and everyone was trading wins on eachother. Nuki was doing sick 20+ hit combos linking with normal lighting legs. Was fucking crazy.

Since then its been a lot of beer, a lot of smokes, and a lot of laughs. You can do a lot of funny shit with a bidet. Also I hear the rumor mill has been generating a lot of interesting stories about whats happening over here. Ill be sure to fill in people when I get home. Not at all of it is true, but a bit is haha. Tokyo is wild.

TOUGEKI WEEK 2009!

2009-08-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

So sorry for the lack of updates guys. Jon has no access to the web (no computer) and I actually got held captive as a sex slave by 3 Japanese babes. Anyways, this is going to be a long post.

Anyways, ROM flew in a couple days ago and we've been playing nonstop 3s. Here's a schedule we have been following so far (thank you Rikimaru),
Sunday: Shinjuku Mikado
Monday: Shinjuku Mikado
Wednesday: Shibuya Sportsland (300 yen free play)
Thursday: Shinjuku Mikado
Friday: Game Versus
Saturday: Game Versus

....so yes, Mikado is our home arcade. However, many many top players go there everyday so it is a legitimate reason to go to that arcade frequently. Anyways, SBO is coming up this week so there are mad foreigners in town...maybe that's a reason why all the Japanese players aren't showing up to Mikado...

Anyways, the crew so far is: Me (bean), ROM, carlos, vinny, pherai, thyallmighty, letbloodrun, magus1234, haunts, and ironfist. We've already had a lot of exposure to top play in both SF4 and 3s.

I think I should touch up on some of the top players we have been playing:

Pierrot: Wow....the best Remy I have ever played in my life. I think at one point I saw 4 booms on the screen at once. To all you Remy players in the world, every setup/mixup/combo that you do he has created that....this is your fuckin GOD. We heard rumors that Pierrot's sister has F-cups (!!!!!). Anyways, he really likes to wear this black beanie that barely covers his eyes. A bit shy but a nice guy regardless.
Ruu: In general a solid player. He is a really smart player but he still loses to certain players (I saw Therapist beat him 4 or 5 games straight). He goes to the arcade straight after work hence he is always in work attire (fool is mad business)....Not much else to say about him.
Yuutori: A local Yun player that is Rikimaru's student. He's only been playing for 2 years but he has a pretty solid Yun. Obviously, he still has a lot ot learn but he has a lot of untapped potential. He speaks pretty decent English and plans to visit America in the near future.
Roku/Ikego/Genki:Ken/Elena/Alex. All three of these guys are teaming for Tougeki but they are very strong. Roku was raping all of us but people do not consider him a strong Ken at all. Ikego is the best Elena I have ever seen. He can pretty much hang with anyone. Genki is able to hang with anyone as well (saw him beat Boss' Yun from two rounds down). A very interesting team.
Kuroda: We finally saw him play at Game Versus last night and his Ibuki is a BEAST. Winning in typical Kuroda fashion, he has the best defense/reactions that I have ever seen. His offense w/ Ibuki is no joke as well.....Thyallmighty had Kuroda's number last night. Beat Kuroda's Ibuki (3-0 rounds), Dudley (3-1 rounds), but got raped hard by his Hugo. A funny moment indeed.
MOV: He seems to be practicing his defense during his casuals. I feel as if he never really tries his best during casuals. Never puts himself in a 50-50 position. Always guesses right. He truly is the ultimate player. He seems to like Vinny seeing that he gave him a lot of cheap Ken tricks...vinny sucks his cock (they are now best friends). However, ROM claims that he has something special going on with MOV as well....(fagz)
Aiku: GODLIKE Dudley. Fool only has two fingers on his right hand and beasts on everyone. As simple as it sounds he knows when to press buttons. He knows the perfect range to stick out moves and he has great decision making skills. Beast Dudley...
RX: Everyone told us that RX was not that strong....I'm beginning to think this is true. A lot of us were able to beat him (Pherai beat him 3 games to 1). However, I don't think this is the same RX we are used to seeing in vids. He was doing dumb shit, trying to style on us. Expect his A-game come SBO time.
Tokura: Wasn't too impressed by him....He's a type of player that commits to one thing on wakeup...regardless whether it works or not. Pretty dangerous Yang...
Furo: Wild ass Yang. Rom played a 20 game set against him. Ugliest/craziest matches I have ever seen. In the end, they pretty much went even. Furo is a strong player but I feel as if he doesn't understand when to tone down the craziness. However, when he is on there is not much you can do (you will lose).

Everyone is partying in my room right now, mad loud, must concentrate and finish post...we are now watching porn previews.

All of us here are able to steal wins here. However, the next time we play them they scrape us mad hard. I think Vinny and ROM are doing the best here.

Tomorrow, there is a tournament at Game Versus and a 5v5 at Shibuya Sportsland. Not sure which one to hit up. I hope I do well. I don't want to choke like last week. I see a lot of improvements from everyone. We are all going to try our best to keep 3s alive when we come back to the states. 3s 4 lyfe.

- bean

Denjin @ SBO : Part 8

2009-08-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

Today most everyone except MAGUS1234, Let Blood Run and I went to Harajuku. We met up with them at Shibuya Sportsland around 7 for the 3s freeplay. After a few hours of casuals, the arcade owner came down to set up another random 3v3 team tournament. One thing that struck most of us there was how courteous the players and arcade owner are to foreigners. He remembered those of us who had come before and our names, and ran the whole tournament. He organized all the teams for us and I got teamed up with Ochibi who is a pretty wild guy. Rikimaru told me I have a strong Gouki (obviously was kidding around) and joked about how I do tatsumaki a lot.

ThyAllMighty and his team won (whose teammates I hadnt heard of) and the arcade owner bought them all drinks. Tomorrow we are hitting up Akihabara, and thursday we will probably check out freeplay for SF4.

Part 7: "TODAY I AM USELESS" - PHERAI

2009-08-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

This is bean again. Today is now my 3rd day in Japan. Everyday has been pretty crazy but there is one thing that has been constant on this trip....Jon wears this every night when he sleeps.

"Today I am useless" - Pherai. We all drank too much. Pherai was especially fucked up and slept til 7 PM (dirt loser).

Rikimaru said Sundays were pretty bunk but yuuki (texas urien player), ryan, vinny, carlos and I decided to check out Mikado again. Surprisingly, Mikado was pretty poppin. Roshihikari, Boss, MOV, KO, Raoh, Ma Jr (not 100% confirmed) and some other guys were there. Not bad for a Sunday afternoon.

Playing Roshihikari is extremely frustrating. I thought playing ROM was pretty bad but Roshi takes it to the next level. A lot of SA3 setups that I have never seen which involves rolling kicks. Every match included a stun. Ryan was able to beat Roshi twice, Vinny beat him once, and I got double perfected (2000 pts). A true technician.

MOV is amazing. For sure the cheapest player I have ever played. He pretty much ran through everyone there. I couldn't even do cr short short against him (red parries 2nd hit). However, I somehow managed to end his 40 game win streak. Amazing. Anyways, MOV is the ultimate player.

EDIT: KO (!!!) was also there. He has both a very strong Urien and Ken. Last night Rikimaru told me the two top Kens in Japan are Deshiken and KO, respectively. Ryan was able to beat KO's Ken. Note: I have yet to see a Ken specialist here in Japan, :(

Boss was also owning everyone there. I saw him play a long set against Roshi and he pretty much ran him through for the majority of the set. Speaking of which, Roshi is the best masher in the world. Boss is the shit.

I am the biggest noob in the world. I have been playing incorrectly for so many years now. The game makes much more sense to me now. America sucks.

Is it wrong to say that I don't want to do anything here except play 3s?

PS: Girls are fuckin fine here. Stockings for days son. Ray Ramos would be proud.
PSS: Be sure to check out iplaywinner.com to check for Haunt's SF4 updates.

- bean

Denjin @ SBO : Working with iplaywinner.com

2009-08-02T03:51:00.000-07:00

While over in Japan, the Denjin staff updating the blog with content documenting the experience will be working closely with haunts of www.iplaywinner.com who will also be writing about his experience here at his site. Be sure to check out iplaywinner to find out even more about the SBO 2009 experience!

Denjin @ SBO: Part 5!!! (Bean)

2009-08-02T00:45:00.000-07:00

Sup guys. This is Bean. Just arrived in Japan two days ago. I have been vacationing in Korea for the past two weeks so I was expecting my transition to Japan to be pretty smooth. So far not bad.

Some random tidbits:
- anything under 1000 Yen (~$10) are coins. This really tripped me out when I paid 1000Y to purchase a water and the lady gave me back coins as my change. We all have around $20 in change...pretty typical.
- Japan is a smoker's nation. No matter where you go you will smell like smoke at the end of the day.

Yesterday, we hit up Mikado. What a great night. Pherai, LBR (letbloodrun/ryan), and I show up at Mikado at around 5 pm to play some 3rd strike. In the beginning there were nothing but scrubs so we had streaks on all three machines. Later in the night I saw Ryan playing a green ken and he was up two rounds. I check to see who he is playing and surprisingly it is Boss(!!!). Being the jackass that I am I go around to tell Ryan that he is playing Boss. Ryan proceded to lose 3 straight against him (3/5 is set @ mikado). Oops.

Later in the night a bunch of people came. Two people I noticed right away were Momochi and Rikimaru. At one point in the night I go over to Rikimaru and tell him that I am from America and told him he was very strong. Rikimaru looks at me and gives a slight nod and precedes to play. Ouch. I then think to myself, why why why did I do that. That was so fanboy of me. I think nothing of it and just continue to play.

A couple minutes later Rikimaru comes up to me and literally slaps me in the ass and asks me for my name. We chat for a bit and I find that he is a very nice and funny guy. We talk about 3rd strike and he was very impressed w/ my knowledge of 3s players. He then introduced me to all the other players who were there such as: Tokura (YA), Vanao (RY), Ruu (RY), Yuukitori (YU), Raoh (CH), Pierrot(RE!!!), Magu (RY), and a handful of others. Jon and I interviewed Rikimaru at the end of the night, here is the video that Haunts over @ iplaywinner.com posted,

Some highlights of the night:
- Boss (YU) vs Momochi (MA) played a long set on the big boy cab. Momochi's makoto is fuckin gdlk. Rikimaru said he has the best Makoto in the world. I believe it. A lot of one parry into makoto dp. So cheap.
- Rikimaru's Chun is so goddamn cheap. Jesus Christ. You can't do shit against it. Too gdlk.
- Ryu and Hugo were really popular last night. Pretty much no Kens.
- Ruu is unbelievably talented. Hands down the cleanest Ryu I have ever seen live.
- I didn't feel like playin that much. Watched way more matches then actual playing. It was like watching 3 youtube channels at one time. Every match being gdlk.
- The two most popular games last night were GGXX:AC and 3s. No love for SF4 last night however Big Box (#1 arcade for SF4) was 2 minutes away.

So far Japan has been amazing. To be honest, I don't plan to do much besides play 3s. Vinny flies in today. 3s 4 life.

- bean

Denjin @ SBO : Part 4

2009-08-01T00:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we hit up several cool spots. The day began with Let Blood Run, Yuuki, and I meeting Gene Wong at Game Versus. It is a bit of a strange spot since it is in a former office space, but the equipment there is very nice. SF4 on viewlix cabs, and you could see the rig they use to record videos for 3s like the Kuroda casual matches, which included a nice flatscreen above the cabs for people interested in watching the matches. It was a bit of a slow time (we need to start finding out when the big boys actually roll out instead of guessing) so we moved on to Mi-ka-do.

At Mi-ka-do I recorded a video tour which should be available online soon. Mi-ka-do is also located very near the Big Box Taito Station Game center. Kim told Gene and I to meet him there. This was supposed to be the spot where all the top SF4 players play. Sure enough (I may get some of these names wrong since I only follow Gouki players) Togawa (top tier Ryu), Bouya (top tier Zangief), TDK (top ranked El Fuerte player), and Daigo himself, who was attracting a huge crowd. He racked up a 21 win streak before being knocked out by TDK's Fuerte. Next time I'll try to record a match or two, although they are a bit touchy about recording matches at game centers.

After that we met up with misterbean who had just flown in from Korea and went drinking for a bit. Today we'll be hitting up Mi-ka-do again, then meeting up with Haunts, MAGUS1234, and ThyAllMighty.

Denjin @ SBO : Video tour of Shibuya Sports Land

2009-07-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

Denjin @ SBO : Part 3

2009-07-30T02:56:00.000-07:00

We still haven't wandered far from Shibuya. On tuesday, Let Blood Run arrived and we visited Shibuya Sportsland for the 300 yen freeplay for 3s. Kashi and Ruu were there but I didn't know it was them until after it was over. Mid way through they did a random 3v3 tournament and I was teamed with a french Dudley player named Ben, and a Japanese Yun player named Dan. I don't think he was the Dudley player by the same name. Sadly, I went 2 and out in my first Japanese tournament. Ben did pretty well. Go france! During this time, I recorded a tour of Shibuya Sportsland but it hasn't been uploaded yet. I'll update when its available to be viewed.

The next day Let Blood Run and I hit up Shibuya Kaikan to meet up with Yuuki and Gene Wong. After some games, Kim and Bas joined up with us, and the plan was to go drink at an Izakaya place. Yuuki, Let Blood Run and I pregamed (interesting note : there is no Japanese word for pregaming) at a convenience store, and then we all went to the Izakaya place. Once it started getting late, Yuuki, Let Blood Run, Gene Wong and I went back to Shinjuku to drink more. We found a bar in Kabukicho and drank a bit until it closed. After that I threw up in the streets of Kabukicho. Check that off the to do list.

Tomorrow misterbean arrives from Korea, and we'll finally be going to Game Versus. Tonight is the 300 yen freeplay at Sportsland for SF4, so hopefully we'll see some big names.

Denjin @ SBO : Part 2

2009-07-26T07:13:00.000-07:00

As I said in my last post, the other day Yuuki, Bas and I met up in Shinjuku. First we stopped by a ramen shop that Bas knew about. According to Yuuki, Bas is the ramen king, and knows all the best spots for good ramen. It was great but I was not able to finish the huge amount of noodles they give you.

After that we briefly stopped by the new location for Mi-ka-do and played some games of 3s. I dont think any of the players there were top players but I was struggling. It was kind of slow so we decided to head over to Shibuya to visit Shibuya Sportsland. There were several CvS2 players there and Bas was tearing it up with his P-groove team which apparently was his fuck around team. No big names in 3s there but Bas told us on tuesday there is 300 yen freeplay and MOV would be there. I think I will try to get an interview with him.

Bas had to leave for a while so me and Yuuki decided to take in the sights of Shibuya. Shibuya is a great shopping spot and just visually breathtaking, especially all the girls. Youll probably see the hottest girls in Tokyo at Shibuya. Eventually we met back up with Bas, played more games, and then went to dinner at what I think was an Izakya (sp?) place. This fish platter we ordered had full shrimp, head and all. Ive had that before, but fried, so it wasn't as much of a shock for me as it was for Yuuki, so I could proudly choke it down with much less effort than him.

The next day I met with Yuuki again at Shibuya Sportsland. After playing some games, an American SF4 player living in Japan (qualified for the Japanese national tournament), Kim1234 showed up. We watched him rack up a decent streak in SF4 with Bison. After that, the three of us left to eat at an italian place in Shibuya. The food was ok (and cheap), but, expectedly, it had tons of hot chicks there. Not a bad experience. While eating he told us about THE SF4 spot in Japan, called Big Box I think, where apparently all the big boys play (I'm pretty sure he mentioned Daigo and Nuki), so we'll probably hit that up this week.

From there, we followed Yuuki to meet some of his yo-yo friends. Yuuki happens to be a top player in the competitive yo-yo scene (search "Yuuki Spencer" on youtube). His friend Koda, who runs an online yo-yo store and lives in Japan, was going to do a yo-yo demo at a club in Ginza that night and invited Yuuki and I to come along. Ginza happens to be the rich area of Tokyo and later that night Koda told me this club is probably one of the most pricey clubs in Tokyo.

It goes without saying, Yuuki and I felt a bit out of place, but just about every girl in the place was an 8 or above. Early on in the night, I was having a difficult time chatting up girls. I think these girls aren't exactly looking for foreigners like you might find in other districts of Tokyo. Koda and Yuuki went up and did their demo which had a few people chatting them up afterward and Yuuki pulled a number from a girl who seemed to be pulling good money (like just about every girl in there). Score! Its too bad Street Fighter could never work out the same way. Thankfully by the end of the night I was able to come up too, but I really have no idea how to go about hanging out with her or anything. Shes fucking hot though, so Ill give it a shot.

Once the party was officially over, the after party started, and the staff started getting trashed, and the small crowd left was going wild. Since it was about 5:30 AM at this point, we decided to bounce. It was a long, but successful night. Big thanks to Koda for getting us on the guest list, as I would have never been able to afford that place otherwise.

Tomorrow Gene Wong and Let Blood Run will be arriving, so we'll probably party a bit, and then Tuesday we'll hit up Sportsland for the freeplay. Stay tuned!

Denjin @ SBO : Day 1

2009-07-23T21:41:00.001-07:00

Yo everyone,

Not much to write about so far. This is my first full day in Tokyo (Shinjuku). Im about to meet up with Yuuki (Dallas area Urien player) and Bas (top Japanese CvS2 player) to get some games in around Shinjuku I guess. Ill be sure to update how things went.

At the moment Im by myself since my traveling companion let blood run had to delay his flight. Its still pretty dope even though I dont really know what Im doing. Anyway, I should get going since they are probably pretty close to the meeting spot right now.

Denjin Podcast Episode 5 : Evo After thoughts

2009-07-21T00:33:00.000-07:00

For Episode 5, pherai and Shogo are joined SHGLBMX and Bebop to discuss Evo 2009.

We cover...

-General thoughts on how the tournament ran
-The results of the tournaments
-some of what SHGL did outside of Evo

As mentioned in the end of the episode, you can find information about John Rog's upcoming So Cal major at www.warzonetournament.com

Furhtermore this blog will be updated in the coming weeks by pherai, misterbean, and Ironfist about the trip to Tokyo for SBO9.

[MP3] - 1:29:30 - 81.9 MB (Right click and 'Save Target As...')

Subscribe to the podcast feed here!

Denjin Podcast Episode 4:ComboJack and Keno

2009-07-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

For Episode 4, pherai and Dae are joined by..

-ComboJack (one of USA's top Sagat players, winner of AI Ranbat 2.3)
-Keno (one of USA's top Balrogs, current point leader of AI Ranbat Season 2)

On this episode we talk about training to top player status, what happens behind the scenes at AI Ranbats, SBO qualifier memories, and take your questions. There is tons of detailed advice from our guests which is why this podcast is one of our longer ones, but it's worth every minute!

Sorry about the quality. Volume should be ok but it gets choppy at times. The equipment was acting a bit weird that night. Shit is too ghetto :(

[MP3] - 1:26:16 - 86.2 MB (Right click and 'Save Target As...')

Subscribe to the podcast feed here!

Denjin Podcast Ep 3 : SBO season!

2009-06-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

* Let Blood Run, misterbean, and pherai posing in front of Denjin Arcades SBO poster *

For Episode 3, pherai is joined by..

-Let Blood Run (arguably best Urien in USA, top 3 placer in SF3 teams at Cali Regionals)
-misterbean (top 12 placer at Evo in CvS2, top 3 placer in SF3 teams at Cali Regionals, SF4 Ryu)

We discuss SBO and it's importance, and why is it worth it to go as a spectator to the most prestigious fighting game tournament on Earth. We also discuss our picks for possible winners at the upcoming Denjin Arcade SBO qualifiers for SF4 and SF3:3s.

[MP3] - 49:10 - 54.9 MB (Right click and 'Save Target As...')

Subscribe to the podcast feed here!

Denjin Podcast returns with episode 2.5...

2009-04-28T02:02:00.000-07:00

We are rejoined by the Denjinites...

-UltraDavid
-Dae All Dae
-Bustabust

The discussion continues with your questions related to SF4, socal, Abel, Gief, Sim, Chun, and all sorts of other craziness.

[MP3] - 73:35 - 59.5 MB (Right click and 'Save Target As...')

We apologize for the delay. Due to many listener complaints about volume levels, this episode was delayed until it could get some serious massaging. In the future we'll be making some changes (venue, number of people) to make sure the podcast sounds better from the beginning. Thank you to those of you who submitted your criticisms.

Subscribe to the podcast feed here!

Denjin Arcade 3s and SF4 Ranbats Season 1 start 3/28!

2009-03-17T17:41:00.000-07:00

Beginning 3/28, Denjin Arcade will be hosting Ranking Battles for SF4, and 3s. Both games will be...

Singles
Double Elimination
$5 Entry

Sign ups and start times are TBD.

Top 8 of each tournament will be recorded on direct feed

Prizes? (***IMPORTANT***)

This Ranking Battle season will also be a fundraiser to sponsor the winners of SBO qualifiers for SF4 and 3s which will be hosted at Denjin Arcade this summer. That means we'll be holding onto all entrance fees until the end of the season, and use part of that money to buy the winners a prize, with the rest being used for SBO winners plane tickets. SBO is the most prestigious fighting game tournament in the world, so we want to do all we can to support the best in our country when they represent us in Japan.

Ranbat Schedule*
(Expect a thread to pop up with specific details on each individual tournament as they draw closer)

Denjin Arcade Ranbat Season 1 Warm up - 3-21-2008

Denjin Arcade Ranbat 1.1 - 3-28-2009

Denjin Arcade Ranbat 1.2 - 4-11-2009

Denjin Arcade Ranbat 1.3 - 4-26-2009

Denjin Arcade Ranbat 1.4 - 5-9-2009

Denjin Arcade Ranbat 1.5 - 5-24-2009

Denjin Arcade Ranbat 1.6 - 6-6-2009

*Schedule is subject to change

Other Games
I know a lot of other games get decent traffic at Denjin, but the only games Bagrat wants to endorse are the games we have SBO spots for. You can probably run BB or whatever else at the same time, but we'll only be managing SF4 and 3s.

Denjin Podcast Episode 2 is up!!

2009-03-07T13:48:00.000-08:00

This episode features some of Denjin Arcades best SF4 players. This episode features...

-UltraDavid
-BustaBust
-Dae
-Sanchez
-Shogo
-Bebop
-Pherai

This show has some SF4 strategy and match up discussion by our guests, so if you play Abel, Zangief, Dhalsim, or Chun Li, this episode has great information for you.

[MP3] - 78:12 - 35.8 MB (Right click and 'Save Target As...')

Also, because of the large number of questions we received for our guests, we will be releasing another episode in a few weeks with these same guests, with more SF4 related questions. Stay tuned, and thanks for listening!

Subscribe to the podcast feed here!

arcade infinity blog recently launched!

2009-03-05T10:03:00.000-08:00

The Arcade Infinity blog just recently launched, and you can keep up to date with AI news here.

http://arcadeinfinity.blogspot.com/

AI is another SF4 hotspot in SoCal, and has a great Bemani game selection. Check it out!

Bi-Weekly Tatsunoko vs Capcom Ranbats, Starting 3/14

2009-03-05T01:17:00.000-08:00

Cross posted from SRK...

Hey guys, first off let me say that this ranbat is to help out the runners of Evo. Deciding on who makes the cut for the 64 players that will be chosen for the TvC tourney may be an ordeal for them but hopefully this ranbat can help them just a tad and also get you a seat.

Starting 3/14/09 and will go on for 10 weeks total

Entry: $5
Venue: $2
Sign-ups: 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Start Time: 6:00pm
Elimination: 2/3

Rules:

No freeze glitches
If the fire stage is picked both players must agree to fight on it.
Will be played on 16:9 Aspect Ratio (if the majority wants it changed then it will be).

The tourney will be taking place on consoles. I only have one setup myself so if you do have a console with converters I urge you to bring them.

Good luck to all!

Thread can be found here

Denjin Podcast Episode 1 is up!

2009-02-02T23:30:00.000-08:00

It took us a couple weeks, but we've finally wrapped up the first episode. This week we have on the podcast...

-Shogo
-Sanchez
-Pherai
-Amir

as well as a couple other people who joined in, some more welcome than others. The show covers post CR thoughts, and some listener submitted questions.

[MP3] - 69:44 - 31.9 MB (Right click and 'Save Target As...')

We'll update this post with information to subscribe through itunes, but it is not available at the moment. Enjoy!

Subscribe to the podcast feed here!

California Regionals is over!

2009-01-25T17:48:00.000-08:00

*Photograph by misterbean

It seemed to go by in a flash, but California Regionals is an event no one in attendance will soon forget. The results were as follows...

3v3 Teams (Saturday)
Street Fighter 4 (32 Teams)
1. Team Men At Work - somuchdamage (SA), Tatsu (VE), MOVAL (BL)
2. Team My Ken Is Better - gootecks (BA), Ken I (RU), Ed Ma (KE)

3rd Strike (32 Teams)
1. Team Legend of the Orange Sweatshirt - Ken I (MA), 5 Star (KE), Victoly (DU)
2. Team 408 Error - Emphy (UR), Rom (YA), kin3tix (DU)

Super Turbo Teams
1. Valle, AfroLegends, Shirts
2. Amir, Cesar, Antonio

Capcom vs. SNK 2 Teams
1. Gene, Laugh, Emphy
2. Amir, Ricky, Combofiend

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Teams
1. Team Dark Prince will run through your WHOLE TEAM - Dark Prince/ General Soo Mighty/ Jamis the Manager
2. Team Chunk-a-Saurs - REXXXX/Norcal Chunk/Ryan the Filipino Champ/Hyro

Singles (Sunday)
Street fighter 4 (64 entrants)
1. Bobino (RU)
2. Mike Ross (HO/ZA)

3rd Strike (64 entrants)
1. Rom deadeye (YA)
2. 5 star (KE)

HD Remix (36 entrants)
1. Alex Valle (aka Calipower)
2. Afro Legends

Marvel vs. Capcom 2
1. Soo - MSP
2. Chunksta - Thrax/MSS

Capcom vs. SNK 2
1. Laugh
2. Fatbear

Soul Calibur IV
1. Ceirnian (HI)
2. Aris (CA)

Blaz Blue
1. Emphy (Litchi)
2. Mike Z (Tager)

Socal also swept every event in the California Cup! Congratulations to all winners!

Introducing the Denjin Podcast!!

2009-01-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

Cross posted from SRK forums (thread here)

In the upcoming weeks Denjin Arcade will be releasing a podcast similar in format to the "Ask Dr. Sub-Zero show" that was featured on www.denjin-video.com, however will feature a different crew of hosts including...

-Shogo (of Denjin Arcade and Denjin Video fame)
-Sanchez (socal 3s and SF4 commentator and player)
-Bebop (socal 3s and SF4 commentator and player)
-Me (denjin site admin and question reader??)

...as well as various guests from the socal SF community. Like the "Ask Dr. Sub-Zero show", we'll be answering questions asked. If you have a question you'd like answered on the show, there are several different places you can submit it. They are...

-Posting in this thread
-Sending an email to denjinpodcast@gmail.com
-Posting in the denjin video forums in the denjin poscast section which can be found here

This OP will be edited over time on where you can download/listen to the podcast once we have our first one wrapped, but we do need questions beforehand, so please submit them.

Show #1 - CR WRAP UP SHOW
This show will be themed around the upcoming California Regionals at Denjin Arcade, so if you have any questions about this event, this is the time to have them answered.

We'll also be inviting people to submit ideas on a show title for the first couple of shows, which we will discuss on the show, so feel free to submit a show title idea!

Of course, at any time, any questions can be submitted, and may appear on the show regardless of the shows theme. Thanks for your support!

California Regionals

2009-01-11T22:12:00.000-08:00

On Jan. 18 & 19, Denjin Arcade will host the California Regionals

Sign ups will start on 12pm and tournaments will begin at 3pm.

Saturday's line up will include:

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 SoCal Team Qualifiers

3on3 SF4 : $15 per team. 1 game double elimination.
3on3 3rd Strike : $15 per team. 1 game double elimination, top 4 teams play 2/3.
3on3 ST : $15 per team. 1 game double elimination, top 4 teams play 2/3
3on3 MvC2: $15 per team. 1 game double elimination, top 4 teams play 2/3
*********3on3 CvS2: $15 per team. 1 game double elimination. **********

California Cup: NorCal vs. SoCal 5on5 Exhibition

Sunday's line up:

Singles Tournament

SF4: 2/3 Double Elimination, $10 a player
3rd Strike: 2/3 Double Elimination, $10 a player
CvS2: 2/3 Double Elimination, $10 a player
MvC2: 2/3 Double Elimination, $10 a player
***********STHD Remix: 2/3 Double Elimination, $5 a player************
***********Blazblue : 2/3 Double Elimination, $5 a player***********
Soul Caliber 4 : 2/3 Double Elimination, $10 a player

Denjin-Arcade.com is up!

2008-12-29T20:46:00.000-08:00

So far we have the main page up, and the rest of the site should be up and running in no time. I will try to get it done asap. Stay tuned!

-archived post by trippy

2008-01-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

Ranking Battles

Among the many events Denjin hosts throughout the year, the Ranking Battle seasons are probably the best opportunity for players to get tournament experience and prove themselves to the community.

What is a Ranking Battle season?
A Ranking Battle season, or "Ranbat" season, is a series of tournaments where the top placers accumulate points in addition to the prize money in the tournament. Whoever has the cumulative highest amount of points at the end of the Ranking Battle season is the Ranking Battle season champion.

When do the Ranking Battles take place?
Denjin Arcade holds Ranking Battle seasons in the spring and the fall.

What games are in the Ranking Battles?
Denjin Arcade currently officially endorses Ranking Battle seasons for Street Fighter 3 : 3rd Strike, and Street Fighter 4.

How do you enter a Ranking Battle?
Simply show up to Denjin Arcade on any of the dates of the Ranking Battle season to enter that particular Ranbat. You can enter as many or as few as you'd like.

Rules

Tournament format is singles
Each match in the tournament is a 2/3 game set
Double Elimination
In SF3:3s - No character switch allowed, Judgment is in play
In SF4 - Character switch ok but player cannot change mid 2/3 game set until they lose 1 game
Points are awarded as follows: 1st (10 points), 2nd (7 points), 3rd (5 Points), 4th (3 Points), 5th (2 Points), 7th (1 Point)

Season 2 Schedule*

Ranbat Season 2 Warm Up - 9-26-2009

Ranbat Season 2.1 - 11-7-2009

Ranbat Season 2.2 - 11-28-2009

Ranbat Season 2.3 - 12-12-2009

Ranbat Season 2.4 - 12-26-2009 (CHRISTMAS BATTLE!!)

Ranbat Season 2.5 - 1-10-2010

Ranbat Season 2.6 - 1-24-2010

*Schedule is tentative. Individual tournaments may be pushed back or forward depending on other local events

Prizes??
Like in Season 1, Season 2 will also be withholding a portion of the entry fees from each Ranbat for a fundraiser. Last season was to fund 50% of the airfare to Japan for the players who Qualified for SBO at Denjin. This season will be to fly out and host Japanese players for a Denjin event early next year. Once the money is removed from the entrance fees for the fund, prize split will be 70/20/10. If some complication prevents the event, or the attendance of these players, all of the money from the fundraiser will be given to the tournament winners from the season.

Staff

This seasons Ranking Battle staff is as follows...

Pherai
Mr. Bean
Dae
BustaBust

IMPORTANT!
Each tournament will have at least 3 of these people present. One to run each bracket, and a third judge for any player/bracket runner disputes. It is your responsibility that the staff member running the bracket for the tournament you are in is able to find you near the setups in a timely matter, and if you will be away from the setups (eating food or other quick errand) you must let the staff know and if you are not back within 15 minutes and your match comes up when you are still gone, you are subject to disqualification!

2008-01-01T20:45:00.000-08:00

Denjin Arcade 3rd Danisen

7th Dan
5 Star	Gouki	0
Pyrolee	Yun	0
4th Dan
5 Star	Chun Li	0
5 Star	Ken	0
5 Star	Sean	0
5 Star	Necro	0
5 Star	Elena	0
5 Star	Dudley	0
5 Star	Hugo	0
5 Star	Ryu	0
NG Marc	Urien	0
Pyrolee	Urien	0
Pyrolee	Q	-1
3rd Dan
Joe Dubbs	Ken	0
Dae Ho Lee	Yang	0
Carlos	Ken	0
Vinny	Ken	0
Carlos	Ken	0
Renic	Alex	0
Renic	Dudley	0
Bean	Yun	0
2nd Dan
EricxChin	Yun	-1
5 Star	Ryu	-2
Tom C	Necro	-1
Renic	Dudley	-1
Pherai	Gouki	0
Raoh	Elena	0
Rockefeller	Hugo	-1
Pyrolee	Gouki	-1
Javi	Gouki	0
Mio	Ryu	0
Cynistar	Ken	+1
1st Dan
Moocus	Gouki	+1
Ironfist	Dudley	0
Arlieth	Makoto	0
Kazzy	Urien	0
Vinny	Ibuki	0
Vinny	Sean	0
Vinny	Gouki	0
Paper	Chun	0
Anna	Ken	0
5 Star	Makoto	0

Last Danisen: March 18 2010
Next Danisen: March 27 2010

2008-01-01T20:39:00.000-08:00

Contact Info

To ask questions on the Denjin Podcast, email denjinpodcast@gmail.com

If you would like to run an event at Denjin, or have any general questions about Denjin Arcade, email pheraidenjin@gmail.com

To talk with players, find out good times to swing by, or any other misc concerns, hit up the Denjin Arcade thread on forums.shoryuken.com, found here :
http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=164026

2008-01-01T01:45:00.000-08:00

media

Denjin Podcast

Episode 1 (pherai, Sanchez, Amir, Shogo)
[MP3] - 69:44 - 31.9 MB

Episode 2 (pherai, Sanchez, Shogo, Bebop, UltraDavid, Dae, BustaBust)
[MP3] - 78:12 - 35.8 MB

Episode 2.5 (pherai, Sanchez, Shogo, Bebop, UltraDavid, Dae, BustaBust)
[MP3] - 73:35 - 59.5 MB

Episode 3 (pherai, Let Blood Run, misterbean)
[MP3] - 49:10 - 54.9 MB

Episode 4 (pherai, Dae, ComboJack, Keno)
[MP3] - 1:26:16 - 86.2 MB

Episode 5 (pherai, Shogo, SHGLBMX, Bebop)
[MP3] - 1:29:30 - 81.9 MB

Episode 6 (pherai, Haunts, misterbean)
[MP3] - 1:15:44 - 69.3 MB

Subscribe to the podcast feed here!

Denjin Invades Tokyo!

Denjin Ranking Battles

#All Ranking Battle footage is available at the Denjin Arcade Youtube channel

#youtube.com/DenjinArcade

photos

2008-01-01T01:44:00.000-08:00

Games

# All our cabinets are Japanese sit down style with 100% Japanese parts!

# All fighting games use Seimitsu sticks with Sanwa buttons.

[ image 1 | image 2 | image 3 | image 4 ]

# Most of our fighting game setups are traditional head to head

[ image 1 | image 2 ]

# All games (except interactive i.e. racing, dancing, guitar, drums) are .25 cents to play.

fighting games

# Street Fighter 4 [ image 1 | image 2 ]
# Street Fighter 3: Third Strike (x3) [ image 1 ]
# Marvel vs. Capcom 2
# Capcom vs. SNK 2
# Street Fighter 2 Turbo
# Mark of the Wolves
# Street Fighter Alpha 3
# Samurai Shodown 2
# X-Men vs. Street Fighter (version 3)
# Vampire Savior 2
# Street Fighter Alpha 2
# King of Fighters 98
# King of Fighters 2002
# King of Fighters XI
# Neo Geo Battle Coliseum
# Melty Blood (version b)
# Guilty Gear Accent Core

shmups (shoot-em-ups)

# Ibara
# Strikers 1945 plus
# Shiki Gami No Shiro III
# Giga Wing 1 & 2
# Pro Gear

interactive

# Maximum Tuned 3 (x2) [ image 1 ]
# Dance Dance Revolution Super Nova 2 [ image 1 ]
# Guitar & Drum Mania V4 [ image 1 | image 2 | image 3 ]

neo geo

# Magical Drop
# Metal Slug X
# Sengoku 3

other

# Puzzle Bobber 3 (x2)
# Puzzle Figther
# Knights of Valor - The Seven Spirits
# Pac Man [ image 1 ]
# Virtua Tennis 2
# Puyo Pop Fever [ image 1 ]