I think people fail to understand that when a pro picks a charcter it is very little about how much they like it and more how good they are with it. Maybe a long time ago they played a character because of some connection but after years of practice that character’s level is far beyond the rest. So at the end of the day when you see Daigo at an EVO final with Ryu, know for a fact that he isn’t doing that for fun but that is his best character.
This is why some guys lose twice in a row helplessly in an unfavorable matchup but still don’t switch: this char is as good as it gets for them. After years of playing this game this is the one that they chose.
There are SOME exceptions of character specialists who carry a banner or otherwise have a connection to a character, like Ixion with Dan, or Kimo with Hakan, perhaps Mike Ross with Honda, but 99% of the time pros play to win with who they’re best with.
You don’t hear any pros saying “man you got me BUT if I mained Akuma you’d be TOAST”.
It all really depends on playstyle. Akuma can play solid fundamental SF almost as well as Ryu can, AND he gets to play the oki slot machine that dominates the SF4 metagame as well. The difference comes down to whether Ryu’s extra bit of solid fundamentals would be enough to overcome the gap that Akuma’s oki provides.
They’re not THAT different. We’re also talking about Vanilla AE, where Daigo himself said that fireball characters were basically done for (there were too many ways around fireballs and zoning was too weak in general). The only characters that had reasonable zoning vs the top tier was Sagat. Akuma and Sim got raped for free by Yun. However, Akuma and Sim still did great against the rest of the cast, and on top of that Akuma still did great damage and had solid footsies + he beat Fei Long who was top 3.
As for him beating Infiltration, it really is just the nature of the character. Obviously right now he would probably lose, but Akuma mirrors in general are very random and if he still mained Akuma like this thread is asking, then it really could go any way. In his last interview Daigo said that Inflitration would probably beat other Gouki players in a mirror match, which I’m not convinced of (Tokido beat him in Asia, after he won EVO) given that he also said once you reach a certain level of play with mixup chars then the only thing that separates you is luck. I’m pretty sure that even on SRK there are guys who have beaten Tokido in a mirror match.
Daigo said the changes to Ryu’s HP DP were pointless, so everyone was convinced he’d stick with Akuma, but that was before the other buffs were revealed (better Hadouken zoning, for example) - see Momochi’s (one of the best Vanilla Ryus) comments at the time.
They are different enough that there is a learning curve going from on to the other. There are things Ryu can get away with that Akuma can’t and there are things Akuma can get away with that Ryu can’t.
That’s self-evident (projectile, AA and walkspeed differences) but the differences still aren’t that much. I mean, he probably knew most of it already considering how often he’s played the game. I’ve seen interviews with him and other top players and they have arcane knowledge about certain and matchups and situations because of their knowledge of the game and talks with other top players.
A bit OT, but why is Daigo known as the ‘Beast’? He’s a small, quiet, seemingly polite, asian guy. He is known for being great at making reads, fundamentals/footsies, and zoning rather than being an ultra aggressive rush down monster.
If you watch how Daigo played Akuma in AE2012 (not his old stuff) he kind of played Akuma like Ryu with a teleport (which he fucking LOVED to use) and a dive kick. Really I’d love to see Daigo play Evil Ryu in 2013 if evil ryu gets a teleport buff because frankly that would work well for him IMO.
I’m not 100% sure, but I think it’s because he Does have a very aggressive play style when he wants to. Have you seen Daigo when low on life and attempts a comeback? You can’t get any more beasty than that, it’s scary as hell man. Also, let’s not forget those umeshoryus.
Kinda like he only unleashes the beast within when necessary lol
I feel that the difference between infiltration and daigo it’s that infiltration is a really good strategist, he really reschers his openents and comes up whit good and solid gameplans. Daigo is more of an good chessplayer, his strength lies in his ability to read his opponents mind and read there gameplan. Both are good assets and what makes the matches so interesting in my opinion.
Edit: and not to forget daigo’s sometimes ballsy footsie game, he can really pull of crazy stuff sometimes.
Lets not forget the match against Afro Legends Balrog in ST. He had no health left, in the corner and Balrog was still full health and applying pressure. He just said: fuck it! and landed one reversal shoryuken which started a crazy comeback.
I was really hoping to see Infil and Daigo run it back this weekend at Norcals though. I don’t believe Infil is head and shoulder better at the moment, but he has the advantage and it will be interesting to see if Daigo can make a statement.
Daigo is a mental giant, that much is true. His playstyle does not change whether he is winning by perfect or losing and almost dead. His reaction time does not change due to adrenaline, his technique doesnt either and his gameplan isnt shaken by circumstance. He plays a solid character in a solid way from beginning to end regardless of circumtance.
This stoicism means he is dangerous from Fight! to KO! and can never be counted out. This is possibly his greatest asset as a player.
Watch Daigo vs Infiltration at Capcom 25th. Infiltration whiffed a billion sweeps and Daigo did nothing. Then watch him at the Spring Fighter Tourney. Notice anything different?
Watch Poongko Seth vs Daigo Yun at EVO. Even Fuudo said he’d never seen Daigo play like that before.
Daigo is no god, he’s just a human who happens to be VERY good at fighting games and he handles pressure better than most. But at the end of the day he’s still human.
As for playing solid? Watch him vs that Blanka player during the last EVO. After the first round he mashed uppercut during every blockstring. He is known for doing stuff like this. Even Mago and Tokido said that hate playing him when he’s like this because he just does random (“ume”) uppercuts.