Free Step Dodge

Thanks. Playing online with Akira in the beginning was really tough. I remember getting bodied most of the time. I find that its better to practice offline for a good amount before going online. I've come a long way I guess.

Akira's got the steepest learning curve of any character in this game, hands down. Mad props for sticking with it.

It was actually Dbomb who inspired me to learn him seriously. At one point, I had considered dropping him, but decided nah I'll stick with him. Akira's my fav character and the one I enjoy playing the most.

I have a similar story with Hayabusa. Except that no one inspired me to keep playing him, haha.
But that's really cool, man. DB's great
Do you play with him a lot?

Nah but one time I've been in his lobby once, but I had to do something at home so I had to put in spectator mode. When I came back, he had already left the lobby. I was disappointed lol My situation is complicated since I don't have my own ps3 (I play on my sisters). Btw, so what is your story? Cause you're one of the best Ryus on psn imo

Well, thank-you. I know I have a long way to go, but I appreciate that others are acknowledging my efforts. My story is kinda long and cheesy, but here it goes:

I've been playing DOA a long time (since 2 on DC), but I've always just button mashed. Didn't know frames, the triangle system, combos, etc. Then a way down the line, Ninja Gaiden 2 came out and I decided to give it a spin. And man, it was amazing. It kicked my butt, but it kept motivating me to get better. Work harder. Push my limits. And all the while it was Ryu and I, accomplishing the impossible together.

Over time I got a lot better. Beat Master Ninja and all that. Ryu became a symbol to me of what I could accomplish if I set my mind to it. I remembered back to my DOA days thinking “man, I’m so good with Ryu in Ninja Gaiden, but in DOA I was terrible. I couldn’t even do the Izuna drops!” Then, DOA5 was announced. I had no doubts who I was going to be focusing my attention on.

Luckily, he was one of the few in the alpha-demo. He felt great, but I still couldn’t do his harder stuff (note that I naturally suck at fighting games). Game came out, and obviously I went straight to Ryu. I practiced, practiced, practiced until I mastered the Shoho Izuna. Felt pretty accomplished. Then, I went online. Things were pretty rough at first. It felt like my early Ninja Gaiden days all over again.

But I stuck to it. Eventually my yomi improved, my execution improved, and pretty soon I had both the Shoho Izuna and the Izuna Otoshi down. They were flashy, risky, guaranteed damage (my style), and they were also a testament to my gradual improvement. As such, they became my BnB, and pretty soon, I had gained a reputation for using them.

Then, Ultimate was announced. I got excited to learn some new characters (Leon came back!). Then I found out Ryu had been nerfed: hard. He was never one of the best, but now things had become a lot steeper. It was during this time I considered dropping Ryu. Other characters were “better,” easier, and in some cases, just new. People started asking me to come to offline events,

the pressure to perform and win became heavier.
I still played Ryu but experimented with other characters a lot. I got jealous of some of the things the other characters could do in comparison. Ryu began to seem really weak, other known Ryu players were losing, quitting, or switching characters, & I was tempted to do the same. But some people asked me to train them with Ryu & I didn’t want to let them down.

So I kept training, trying to improve, and helping them where I could. But to my dismay, those people began to stray away from Ryu themselves. They moved on, and meanwhile I was just sitting around, trying to make something work. I didn’t feel like I was kicking ass as Ryu anymore, I just felt like I was getting my ass kicked. But then something happened… TN released Hayabusa’s Legacy costume as DLC.

For whatever reason, that was the spark I needed. I felt like Hayabusa again. Sure, he was still low tier, but I remembered back to my NG2 days. Ryu was always at a disadvantage there. The AI was ridiculous and cheap, but I persevered anyway. Nothing had changed. The odds were against me, and Ryu… but that never stopped us before, and I wouldn’t let it stop us now.

So I belted down. I forced myself to improve on my weaknesses. I was the known as THE Izuna guy, but I couldn’t even master his izuna holds? No more! I mastered those, and integrated them into my every-game strategy. I learned new tech and juggles, I worked on my baits and mix-ups, I learned weight classes, studied frame data for all characters in the game to learn my match-ups… and now, here I am.

I’m not one of the best players in the community. I’m not even the best Hayabusa. But, I am here, and I am determined. I can proudly say with a fairly high degree of certainty that I am likely the most Izuna-based player in the world. Fighting uphill is what makes my blood boil. It’s a thrill, one that I now know I can’t give up.

It reminds me of a line from NG2: “All paths before me are cruel and arduous. Our time has come!”

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Anyway, that's my story. Sorry for the spam. I'm sure you didn't know what you were getting into when you asked. xD

Damn, that was an amazing story bro. You and hayabusa are like brothers xD it's cool that you have that connection with your main. I can see why you are so respected among the community. your hard work has definitely paid off cause you're Izuna god now xD. Lol I don't care bout the spam. This was an awesome story bro. Thanks for sharing.

All your character loyalty stories are great. I'd tell mine, but I already made an article about it.

Thanks, man. I'm just trying my best.

@Awesmic: I still remember that story. Good read.