REVIEW ME: Chris Brittain
Question #1: When were you first introduced to games and what game was it?
Answer: I'd have to say the classic Super Mario Bros. I used to play it but I wasn't even that good. I didn't really have the awareness for the game play. I inherited the system after that.
Question #2: What's your fondest memory of gaming as a child or ever?
Answer: I don't know about one moment in specific in my life, but it's that moment in gaming when you finally figure something out by yourself or you realize how to complete a puzzle and then you do it. Like in Final Fantasy 3 when you realize you don't have to fight Phantom Train because you can just one shot him with a Phoenix Down. That's why I hate strategy guides because they just ruin moments like that for people.
Question #3: Would you consider gaming a hobby of yours, or more of a lifestyle?
Answer: It's becoming more popular and socially acceptable to make it a lifestyle to be a video game player. If not I'd say it's one of my core hobbies. You're drawing a fine line here when you say lifestyle choice though. You can't say it's an addiction, that's a cop out because it's not affecting my life detrimentally but it's definitely a big part of my routine.
Question#4: Favorite thing about gaming right now?
Answer: My favorite thing in gaming is the excitement and intensity of competitive play. You can always tell the video game players who play casually in comparison to the people who play competitively by the way they react to a loss. When a competitive player loses he has a back up plan he has a way to adapt and make him or herself win the next round. A competitive player is flexible in what they do.
Question #5: Least favorite thing about gaming right now?
Answer: It's all about the players who play the top tier characters just to win. It's fun for nobody. They don't take any risks and that's lame. They just take the safe choice to secure a win. It takes the fun out of the game even from a spectator's position.
Question #6: Favorite genre of video game and why?
Answer: Its always been RPG's for me. I played Halo, what can I tell you about Master Chief? Nothing at all. After I played Chrono Trigger I could write a detailed report on each character and I still can. That's what I love. I love character development and there's no better genre for that than RPG's. I think in Super Mario RPG is when I started feeling bad for Bowser. It developed him and his story so much and it was only fully possible with the help of RPG story telling elements. I like characters I care about and I like a good villain. Some of my favorite would be Bowser, Kefka and Magus.
Question #7: What's your favorite RPG and why?
Answer: It's absolutely Chrono Trigger. I've thought about this thoroughly and it's hands down Chrono Trigger. For its time it was incredibly innovative and and progressive with things ranging from the battle system to its story line to its character development. There's like 13 or 14 different endings and the course of the game changes and the world changes depending on how you progress, that game came out over 10 years ago. That sort of game play is still being heavily implemented now, it's a staple now. Back then was completely unheard of. What else? The villain was incredible and I actually gave a shit about him and cared about his back story. I haven't had that to the same extent since. The music is more than just impressive and really everything about the game is incredibly solid.
I love fighting games because they make you play to your strengths and they challenge you to be the best and they drive you, but with RPG's you care about the actual game, the piece of work in front of you and not so much how well you do but how the characters you're playing as progress through their lives.
Question #8: Explain your love of and history for Super Smash Bros. Melee? How many hours have you put in?
Answer: They say to master anything you need 10,000 hours of practice. On my console alone I have 6,000 hours all together? Shit, I'd probably say abot 7,000 to 8,000 hours. I started playing Smash Bros. 64 in my buddies basement back in the day. It was Donkey Kong versus Pikachu and we played 99 stocks and saw who could do 99 back throws first. When it came to Melee my friend Angelo played the game to the fullest and immersed himself completely and he dragged me in with him. I got pretty serious with the game when I saw some technical players play and I honed my skills the best I could from videos on the internet and I played Luigi. Eventually, Angelo stopped playing and I took up the mantle of Captain Falcon. It wasn't until 2009 that I participated in my first tournament called "Show Me Your Moves" and I thought I had no chance. I played for a few rounds and I did well and then finally I came up against a player called "Nesn00b". I lost, but that was a good thing. It made me want to get that much better at the game and it really drove me further to become a solid player and from there I really did get much better and gained knowledge I wouldn't have if I continued to think I was the best because I beat this one random guy at this tournament. Because of that I realized how fast the game was, how I could best take advantage of certain situations and how I could ultimately become a better all around player. I took on more tournaments and started doing better. But before all of the tournaments there was Brawl.... which really made me appreciate how good and fleshed out Melee really is. Brawl has a skill cap in comparison to Melee. Players are more rewarded for playing defensively and safe than how good they actually are. I'm not saying there's no skill involved, but it's definitely toned down drastically. It was the sequel that no one liked.
Question #9: Explain the Smash community to me.
Answer: It's a huge group of people from all around the world that want to pick up the game. It's very popular among college kids or high school kids. Just people who have some extra time on their hands and want to pick up a pretty expansive game. I mean, there are some married people who play too and there are some girls who play, but usually they don't get quite as good. I don't mean to be sexist but generally they don't commit the time to their games like guys do. It could be a sex thing it could be how we're raised but for some reason you don't see many really good female players. Smashboards.com is the central hub for Smash Bros. because it shows beginners how the game works, it shows other players where tournaments are and it really just brings everyone who shows or has interest for the game together. I met so many people through this community.
Chris Brittain is a gamer who primarily spends his free time playing Super Smash Bros. Melee and Project Melee. He doesn't consider himself a pro although he does compete with the likes of some well known players such as Armada, Taj, Darkrain, Hax, Kage. Videos for all of these players can be found on youtube. Some of the people he has played in Melee are from Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, California, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Sweden and Israel to name a few and remember this game has no online. He has played in many Midwest states in California and hopes to continue playing for years to come. If I could give any piece of advice to a person trying to become good at a game don't just become as good as you need to be be as good as you possibly can be. Also, if you want to win, by all means, play the top tier characters, but if you want to have fun stick with the character you love and deal with their flaws. It makes for a better understanding of the game and an all around more enjoyable experience for everybody.
Give me some videos that best sum you up:
Robo's Theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOWf_T0jdgQ
Kefka Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=395kZApqb_M
Chris vs. Armada: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nosNfmhljSQ
Chris vs. Taj: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0_FdNfdG3A
Chris vs. Ripple in Project M: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHhPy7EPEuM
Chrono Trigger vs. Magus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtC5RNaguzo
Captain Falcon guide by Scar: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=227344
Frame Data guid by Angelo Bangelo: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=222781
Hope you all enjoyed the interview. Until next time... SEICHUSAN GODANZUKI!
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