ikodomo
Well-Known Member
It’s amazing how fighting games bring us all together despite the differences in age, gender, race, language or religion. It’s a medium where we can all communicate with each other even though you may not understand a damn word the other person would tell you in person.
- EMPEROR COW
Let's make this very simple, shall we? Basically everyone that has been on FSD or DOACentral has seen or heard of this name before. You have read and/or watched his informative and useful guides and videos. This individual really doesn't need any introduction whatsoever. Hailing all the way from Saudi Arabia... Here is... EMPEROR COW
Khaled "EMPEROR COW" Habbab
Country of Origin?
I was Born in the US but I'm Arab, and live in Saudi Arabia.
How did you come up with the name EMPEROR COW?
I have 4 nipples, the 3rd one tells the future. O__O
Honestly, looking back I think the main influences of the "Cow" part were the mad cow disease epidemic and ... Earthworm Jim .. lol (the ending of EWJ1 simply blew my mind.. lol)... as for the "Emperor" part, well I suppose it just sounds better than King Cow. Plus, Emperors sound .. I dunno .. more powerful .. lol
Who are your main characters in DOA5LR?
Well, it’s always been Lei Fang since DOA1 ... But since my combo videos I've been shuffling mains around all the time ... When I went to Japan I switched almost entirely to Pai for the tournaments ... But was messing around with multiple characters in the arcade ... at one point I reached to number 2 Leifang in Japan just under Teru Rock .. lol ..
Current (February 3, 2016) Japanese Arcade Rankings: Leifang
Not many players choose Pai as their main character in DOA5LR. Why do you think people tend to shy away from using her as their main? What makes her so intriguing to you than any other character? What are her pros and cons?
Why do people shy away from her?
She UGLY! lol
Plus people keep thinking too far ahead about the fact that shes a VF character and may not be making a return.. Well, shes been in 4 games already so ... nothing is for certain.
What makes her intriguing to me?
- Shes fast (I like to press buttons) arguably fastest character in the game (i9,11,12). If you consider her frametraps she would seem over all faster.
- Safe
- has MID and LOW tracking (helps in the matchups Leifang struggles in)
- Insane Mixup, Resets and Guaranteed shenanigans. As an opponent you are most of the time forced to play her game instead of playing your own.
- People say her Damage output isn't that great... I don't see it honestly.. I think its decent for what she can do and pretty rewarding.
- Easy forcetech and unholdable game.
- NOBODY KNOWS THE MATCHUP !! LOL (Which is why I took her with me to japan)... I find it funny how low she places in some tier lists ...
You think people shy away from Pai because she's ugly? I honestly think shes's pretty in my opinion haha
Well she aint no Momiji I’ll tell you that much, but the new hair does make her a bit cuter. Lol
How long have you been playing DOA casually and competitively?
Casually .. since DOA1 arcade... It was so mind blowing to see the game in action, especially for a VF player in origin. the Dangerzone mechanic and the hold mechanic were so new and fresh for me that I couldn't stop playing.. plus, tits.. lol (I ain’t gonna deny it.. lol)
Competitively, since Street Fighter IV went to shit and I needed another fix.. So, since they started running tournaments on the Alpha Demo that came with NG3..
If you were to describe your play style in 3 words; What would they be?
Hmm,
- Restrictive
- Maximizing
- Scientific ... I think ? lol
Honestly, my playstyle is all explained subtly in my Combo videos..
having combos that cannot be stagger escaped means I limit the opponents defensive options to holding only. Also, I tend to like characters that have tools that shut down your opponent's options... Its why I like Dhalsim in SF.. and Leifang in DOA.. Most the characters I like seem to end up being "defensive" type characters. But then Juri and Pai shut you down in a completely different "offensive" way.. So, its a mood thing really...
As for the maximizing, again you can see this in my videos. I value max damage combos in most situations especially when it comes to stage combos (Something that many players fail to capitalize on even at high level to this day). But, this doesn't mean I don't sacrifice some damage for a reset or two every now and then if I feel it will grant me a better overall outcome ... it depends on the situation really.
and as for Scientific, well... I'm running frame data numbers in my head the whole time I'm playing like I'm answering a math exam. This means, that if I have a free punish or a free attack to use, I will use it. I spend way too much time in training mode, coming up with scenarios and searching for answers for them. I think it is thanks to that, I end up discovering things that people may have not ever seen before in my videos even though they've been using the same character for a long time.
Man you are like a full blown scientist when it comes to this game haha
I just love the mechanics. I love how very simple it is to get into and yet how very layered the game is. You have Spacing, Whiff punishing, Critical stun game, Guaranteed setups, Holds, Stagger escapes, Sidesteps (They DO work!.. whoever says they don’t is using them incorrectly), the wakeup game, the stage element and so much more … all in 3 buttons.
People say VF is the most technical fighter out there. And although I love VF, I strongly believe that DOA takes everything in VF and pushes it one step further. You don’t feel it because DOA is more accessible since the execution is easier. However, this ease of execution is in no way a downside. In fact, I feel it’s a huge plus since it allows you to focus more on the mind game rather than the worry that a combo will drop. Even though DOA pioneered this mentality, you can clearly see that this is the direction most fighters are heading towards now.
Do you know any other players such as yourself that heavily relies purely on frame data?
Hmm, I suppose every high level player to a certain degree plays that way. That’s how they would successfully throw punish or land their setups right. People saying they play on instinct alone will not go far. The knowledge gap will come back and bite them in the ass in the end. This isn’t just for DOA. This applies to any fighting game out there to be honest.
Any weaknesses in your game you trying to improve upon on?
Well, honestly the biggest weakness is matchup experience. I mean, Thanks to all my lab work, I can reach really far in tournaments and I am confident I can take down any opponent I face in a long enough set. But let’s face it, there are not many players in my area and no matter how much time you spend in training mode, you gotta play people to be able to utilize that knowledge in a high pressure situation especially when it comes to fighting a character I may not have much experience fighting or using. This has changed however since I've been traveling a lot more and have covered more than 2/3rd the cast already in my vids. But, it would be a totally different ballgame if I actually were in a region that had more players.
As bad as the netcode is, it is still very important to play online in this day and age for that matchup experience. The problem is, I'm a "reaction" based player and not a "prediction" based one, so the netcode frustrates the hell out of me. But what the online does give you is that it builds up the anticipation of what's coming next so that you can react to it when you go back to playing offline so you don't get that many surprises, if that makes any sense to anyone.. lol
What's your typical routine when preparing for an upcoming tournament? Do you have any players you train with for an upcoming tournament?
Hmm, well most important thing is going through my notes.
If it’s a Japanese tournament then it's a character lock. So I gotta maximize my potential with one character... This means that my unholdables, forcetechs, frame traps, stage combos and juggles all have to be on point and versus all weight classes. Usually this requires taking a day or 2 off work before the event if it’s a big one.
then there's studying the potential killers by going back to match archives, taking down notes on what buttons they like to press, how they like to start a match, what are their go to gimmicks .... then go back to my character and see how I can punish or shut down those options.
After all the research, I load up all the data on my phone and study it on the plane or train to the event like I'm revising for an exam. lol
There are a few online friends I do play with and test things out with from time to time, but the majority of my training before a tournament is offline so I don't screw up the timing ... (especially when I decided to go in with Pai last time)
EMPEROR COW cosplaying as Leon
Are you the type of person who listens to music or chats amongst friends right before a tournament start?
I like to chat and say hi to old and new faces, but most importantly I like to watch the warmup matches and take down mental notes.. as well as play on the monitors myself to get used to the screen lag... no 2 screens feel the same.. lol
More Leon Cosplay
What are the tournaments you have attended? What were those results you had on those tournaments?
Hmm, let’s see...
When I was still in the UK in the vanilla days there was SVB... (Second?)
There was ROF in France ... (I think I was top 8 .. not sure)
and multiple tournaments in Japan, the official DOA event 2 years ago, 2 Playse tournaments, DOA Festival, and the tri-tower DOA5UA tournament, all of which I ranked either top 32, 16, 8, to 3rd place in the tri-tower arcade tournament (except DOA festival where I got knocked out really early .. single match single elim .. serious business lol.. XD)
Then there’s the recent KOFGCC tournament in Dubai which I won.
Both from the Playse Tournament
Any upcoming Tournaments you will be participating in the near future?
Well I just did the KOF GCC tournament last month.. if all goes well, I would love to go back to Japan the next Playse tournament in March or another DOA Festival (hoping theres another one this year since it’s like the 20th anniversary of DOA).. The experience was incredible and I made so many new friends there.
I'm going to the 5vs5 Playse tournament this year. Hope to see you there!
Oh sweet! If all goes well and I get my vacation sorted, I’m gonna be in the DOATV team. ^^
(I might be rocking a new character though. Can’t go back with the same old tricks now, can I?
)
Side Note: For more information on this particular tournament regarding the schedule, streams and other information, click this link to learn more: http://tgn.s347.xrea.com/playse/index.php/109-2/
It must be expensive traveling back and forth to Japan for the tournaments.
Oh man, it really is. All my savings in the past two years pretty much went to those trips. But you know what? It’s absolutely worth it and I would do it again if I had the chance. It’s almost become like a second home.
Interested in attending a US tournament anytime soon?
I love the US scene and I am technically American. (no one is purely American.. lol)
So, who knows! You might find me make a special appearance out of nowhere at some point (if I get funded..lol).
But to be honest, if I have a vacation and the money, I would rather spend that money to go to Japan. For one thing, they have the arcades. So even if there isn’t a tournament there is always some constant access to hardcore high level DOA play on a daily basis. Ask Kwiggle. He said it himself when he was there. The average player is just way too skilled there. Everyone plays correctly, they stagger escape, and they punish appropriately. Even when watching a low level match you can get pretty hype.
Plus, I love the food and shopping there. And most importantly, I’ve made so many friends over there and I always look forward to the next chance I get to see them again. ^^
Not to mention that it is a place I can brush up on my Japanese and level it up. (it’s not like I get the chance to use it in Saudi.. lol)
But, I do hope I get the chance to go to a US event, and I really miss my Pantalon buddies in France! I hope I can go back there as well.
As somebody who has played in the arcade scene in Japan, can you tell the folks more about it and what it entails? How does the overall and character ranking work? Where do you go to see the stats on the players?
I love the arcades! The best way to describe it is that there is no mercy. Once you put in that 100 yen (around 1 dollar) you are fighting as if your life depends on it. Everyone’s having fun, but at the same time there is no casual play. You are putting your skills to the test. No room for experimenting (well, unless the opponent is free.. lol). I guess this is because of the money element that comes into play. That, and the fact that if you lose, you’re back to the end of the queue till you get a chance to run it back and redeem yourself. It’s like an ongoing single match single elim tournament. Lol
As for the ranking, there are character specific points and player points, kinda like the ranking system in SFIV. In order to go up to the next rank however, you need to beat someone of equal or higher rank. So playing low ranks all the time will get you nowhere because eventually you’ll stop getting any points. Its brutal. Best feeling in the world is when you rank someone down. Lol
As for the stats and progress..etc, Each player carries with him a touch card called an “Aime” card. You touch it onto a sensor right after you put the money in and your progress gets tracked in the network. It’s awesome! You can check out your overall progress and the progress of other in the official DOA5UA website: https://www.gamecity.ne.jp/doa5/ultimate/arcade/player-site/
Which version of DOA do you like and hate the most? Why?
I loved every version of DOA5 as it evolved from the Alpha demo up to Last Round. The balance is good, and the game is fun and always has something more to offer every time you dig deeper into it.
DOA 3.1 holds a special place in my heart for its attitude.. Pretty aggressive and unforgiving, great stages, the CG endings, amazing tag mode... I loved everything about that game and probably played it more than any other fighter ever.
Sega Saturn DOA 1, simply because it was my very first owned DOA. Also, the Japanese DOA2 on the Dreamcast (The one with Bayman and Tengu playable). That game holds a very special place in my heart.
I hate DOA 4, for many reasons… What I hated the most was that Leifang didn’t have her trademark leather black shorts and top and she lost her ponytail… that’s when I was like “screw this I’m out!” lol. From the technical standpoint I had no idea why I didn’t like it at the time, apart from the fact that it was too weird compared to 3.1… I remember the main things I noticed were losing the guaranteed followups to wall slams and the guaranteed things with my characters. But to be fair, I did love the fact that you could play online, and the connection was pretty decent at the time, As well as the cool stage ideas. I mean it wasn’t as good as 3.1 but still had its fun moments.
Is there anything you would like to see changed, added or deleted in DOA5LR such as character balances, more characters or stages?
- Balance is fine, Still waiting on the major update next year .. so ask me again then.
- Although, there is one new core element of the game which I do not like and it just complicates things for everyone... Moves in "Critical Stun" and "Counter hit" should behave the same (although I understand the rationale behind nerfing this for slippery stages). More importantly, moves on "Counter" and "Hi Counter" should behave the same.... especially since Hi Counter is the ultimate form of punish. I'm talking about things like Eliot's 7P and Momiji's "New" 4P. If I'm punishing a throw with a strike, why the hell am I not getting the better stun? It makes no sense to me. The game is deep and complex enough as it is, having different stun properties just makes it more confusing for people. as for juggle heights? no I like it the way it is and makes perfect sense.
- Characters? I want all the VF cast in this game... Team Ninja made an incredible job transitioning the 4 we have now. Dare I say I actually like them more in this game than in VF. as for non VF characters? I guess its almost impossible to get Tengu back, I really miss him. But, if there's one character I would like to see, its Ms. Monday from Yaiba. I loved the Yaiba game, and having Miss Monday just seems to make a lot of sense to me especially with the way Raidou looks .. he almost looks like a he has a more refined version of the cyborg parts Yaiba has. Plus, she has a foul mouth and a bitchy attitude... I can imagine her moveset being extremely aggressive and demeaning with lots of slaps and kicks in the nuts... lol. They still haven't covered that type of fan service .. lol
- Stages? Aerial Gardens... Please, no more flat stages!!
Any players you enjoy watching or would like to play against?
hmm..
Anyone, everyone, anytime... Just please let it be offline. Lol
I do miss the Japanese and the EU community (especially my French buddies.. PANTALON!). I really hope that I get to meet them again and play them and see how they’ve evolved.
How is the Saudi Arabian scene? Can you tell us more about your scene and the players you have over there? Are there any ways you can think of improving your scene and its growth?
Well, until very recently … I was the scene... lol
There aren't many players, certainly none which are dedicated... apart from myself in Riyadh, probably PreSoul in Abha, Yashiro Aniki in Jeddah, and the brothers Maxato and Raikoh from Dammam (all of which need a plane to get to). Everyone else goes on and off.
There has been an increase in interest amongst my local friends here and some of the KOF and GGXrd players have been hopping on for the ride which is nice but they are still in the beginner stages. There are a few players in Jeddah as well and one or two in the eastern province... but most players sadly have that "casual mentality" and are content with playing online over meeting up offline, let alone gathering up for a tournament... its sad ... but there aren’t many players here.
As for improving the scene, well like I said before we just had the DOA tournament at Dubai KOFGCC... it sure as hell shed more spotlight on the game...and thanks to KTEU, we gave away a good 30 codes of the full version of the game so I’m hoping to see a bigger turn out next time. But, I gotta say it’s gonna be tough with all the major releases coming out next year... TN have to pull off some crazy ass update for DOA if they want it to survive ... or just say the hell with it ... use the DOAX3 engine and build DOAxVF ... COME ON TEAM NINJA YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO !!! I'M LOOKING AT YOU HAYASHI-SAN! lol
Who are the players need to be aware of in the Saudi Arabia?
Emperor Cow: lol
and PreSoul: very solid player.. and like myself he plays multiple characters and it always great fun when he visits Riyadh. Would be nice to see him go out for a major or two.. I think he would do really well.
Yashiro Aniki: new up and coming Nyotengu player. Still has a long way to go but he’s has potential and is on the right track.
Maxato: Bass player and my online sparring buddy (when he’s not playing KOF or GGXrd lol)
I would say those are the top 4 players in the region.
Then there's Raikoh (Ayane player), and my local buddies who just started recently like BadoorSNK (originally a VF player so his fundamentals are solid and is currently rocking Mila and is progressing really well) and Overlord (Solid GGxrd player, DOA5LR is his first 3D fighter so he’s having a hard time but he’s going in the right direction ^^) and Symphonic Phantom (who I met recently after playing him online and found out he was local lol). There are also a few other solid online players, but they don’t get their asses out of their houses and don’t seem to understand the difference between online and offline and think it’s the same (which gives me a peptic ulcer every time I hear them say it. >__>).
We’re a small community, but we’re also a fairly new one so who knows who hops on in the future. ^^
KOF GCC Group Picture
Do you have a personal tier list on DOA5LR?
I laugh at tier lists most of the time, especially for DOA.. 90% of the community has 0% knowledge of the fundamentals that would dictate which character would be better than another or why said character is good or lacking. That being said, I do believe the game’s balance is pretty good. You can see this by looking at the personal tier lists of other players. The Japanese Place the 4 main ninjas high up, The Americans list Christie, Helena and Gen Fu high up. Even though Bass and Rachel are slow characters there seems to be an agreement that they are in the upper mid region. Then there’s the VF cast, all of which who are pretty damn strong in their own way.. It’s hard to really make a definitive list especially with the way the game keeps evolving and how new tech with characters keeps being discovered… People look down on Eliot, Brad and Bayman yet everyone seems to agree that They’re frustrating as hell to fight against. The awesome thing about this game is that if you look back at the records of past tournament results around the world, you’ll see that almost every character in the game has bagged a tournament or two in the games lifespan, even Leon! That’s something that cannot be said about many games, and is a testament to how really good the balance is…
If I were to make a Tier list, it would probably be a mash up of all that… Granted, some characters beat others, but the gap is not so great so that the matchups are like 9-1. I would say the worst matchups in the game are probably 6-4 at most. But I can at least say who would be on top of my list, and without a doubt in my mind, its Akira. (LET THE ARGUMENTS BEGIN! LOL)
Are you interested in DOA6 coming out soon?
God! No. Not yet. The game is still young and hasn’t evolved yet.
But before DOA6, I would really love to see a true DOAxVF… with all the VF cast… COME ON HAYASHI-SAN!! YOU CAN DO IT!
What’s your take on DOAX3?
I pre-ordered it… lol
If you were to pick one moment that defines you in DOA, what would that be and why?
Hmmm, I suppose it was the completion of the DOA5 Tutorial. I know it might not be a tournament achievement or anything flashy like that. But thanks to that series, I became known for what I am today.
I still remember the early days when I would say something and people would rage at me and even go as far as calling me a DOA4 fan boy (as if that were some sort of sin) and shut down my opinion completely. Boy how things have changed… lol
You need to bare in mind that before I started releasing content for DOA, I didn’t even know there was even a community. I was even clueless to it even during my whole 6 years in the UK. I actually stumbled on FSD by accident. LOL
Why play DOA over any other fighting game competitively? Why did DOA capture your interest?
I have played other games competitively (VF, SCIV and SCV, SFIV and SSFIV, hopefully SFV). But, they either died out or I got fed up. Lol
But I’ve always had a soft spot for DOA. It’s funny. I remember something a close friend of mine said when I was in school during the DOA3 days. He was like, “It’s as if this game was designed specifically for you. It’s like Itagaki and his crew sat around in a meeting and said, what would cow like? And did it!”. LOL.
I really do find my comfort zone in this game because I feel like I’m always on my toes and thinking. I just love mind games! it’s not just a braindead game of who will score the first LP hit confirm that will grant you a 50% + combo. You gotta earn that damage by getting into your opponent’s head and screwing with him. You really can’t repeat the same setup twice (unless that’s part of the mixup ofcourse). You have to keep changing it up because if they catch on, you’re gonna get blown up. The game is just so flexible in that aspect and no two matches are ever the same.
If you could create a DOA character from scratch for DOA6, How would you make that character? Gender? Martial Arts? Default Costume?
I’ve already had an idea for a character 2 years ago that Shinbori and Saito kinda liked, but it didn’t sink well with Hayashi.. lol
Basically, a really really old and short lady, with a crooked walking stick and grey hair shaped like a bun. Not too short so that highs and stand throws would whiff but like shorter than everyone else …
She would be a cheeky old bag personality wise.. would be even funny if she had a thing for ol’ Gen fu. And would be funny if she had a special intro where she would flirt with all the male characters… lol. She has to have a short temper ofcourse.. she IS a granny after all… and not the cute baking cookies type..
Her movement would be similar to what Yoda has in SCIV, relying on her stick for balance and jumping around all over the place.
I remember when talking to TN we refered to her as “ピョンピョンばば” (Pyon Pyon Baba… which translates rougly into bouncing granny…lol). Then we started joking about how her boob physics would be like since shes very old and they must be sagging really low…LOL
Then when we turned to Hayashi in the table next to us and told him about the idea… He just gave us this drunk look of disapproval lol… it was so hilarious.
I still dream of the day Pyon Pyon Baba makes her debut! Lol
You have released countless of combo videos to the public throughout the DOA5 life cycle. What is your motivation for doing so? It seems like a hard task to accomplish especially when you are trying to balance your daily life to it as well. Do you think this is one way for you to become a more versatile player when you make these videos?
Well I’ve always liked to do videos since back in the SCIV and SFIV days. At first, it was simply a way for me to process data and to register it in my head, kind of like a visual aid (well it is technically). In addition it served as reference material in case I ever forgot something.
With every video I made I noticed I started to get more attention and spotlight. This is probably for 2 reasons:
1) I started to get a better grasp of the games I was producing content for.
2) My editing skills kept improving with each video, making it more visually appealing.
Now when DOA5 came out I instantly fell in love with it and I had determined to take it to the competitive level way before it came out. And in order to do so I needed a strong foundation. But sadly, there were hardly any videos out there that covered the fundamentals. Then I saw this video on eventhubs where these two supposedly FGC veterans were playing the alpha demo and one of them said: “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. This game has no depth!”. And that’s when I snapped. I was like “OK smart ass I’ll show you depth”. So I created the Alpha demo tutorial. It was rough, dry, without sound and the text wasn’t clear, but it taught me a lot about editing as well as how to convey my content and what needed to be covered. So I started creating the foundation for the DOA5 Tutorial that everyone knows about (at least I hope they do lol). I actually started working on that project’s animations and write ups way before the game was out (thanks to the fact that I had my hands on the betas), as well as getting voice overs from my FGC friends from different games (such as Latif, Ryan Hart, Hyrul, Kayane, Justin Wong ) as well as some of the DOA heads (Master, Vanessa, Mr. Wah, Perfect Legend, Mochi A, Berzerk). The reason I chose to use such a diverse commentary cast is that I not only wanted to show that the game had depth, I also wanted this project to be an international one, not in the sense of country but also in a sense that all these players from all these different fighting games came together to support and welcome this new fighter that was DOA5 and show it the respect it deserved. But I also wanted to do it in a way that was attractive to old and new comers alike. And most importantly, I wanted the content to have value, not just some mish mash without basis. And I am very proud to say that I’ve managed to achieve all that.
THE DEAD OR ALIVE 5 TUTORIAL
As I was creating all these videos, I was obviously watching what other players have been uploading, some of it was decent and some of it well, not so good. So I decided to take on the next challenge which was to produce combo videos the way I felt they should be done. The theme of it can be seen in the description of any one of them. Also, since my trip to Japan, I decided that the content should not be limited to just the English speaking countries. There is a whole demographic of players that could benefit from my content but it isn’t reaching them, and that’s when I decided I needed to do a JP version of each video as well. In a way this keeps my hobby of video editing fresh as well as helps me learn the characters in a very deep and technical way. So yeah, making those videos is my main source of leveling up, especially since there isn’t much of a scene here. You need to understand that those videos don’t just pop out overnight. I spend so much time with each character, analyzing the different types of stun, studying their frame data, finding their guaranteed shenanigans, discovering their max damage..etc. I basically study them as if I want to use them as a main. Because of this, in many cases tend to find out a lot of things in a certain character that a lot of people may have not been aware of even though they’ve been maining that character for years, and I’m pretty proud of that. The editing part isn’t easy either. The most important part is to make the video as clear and easy to understand as possible and not let the flow break because it’s a lot of data to cram in a roughly 5 minute vid. I also wanted to make it have its unique appearance compared to all the other stuff out there. That’s where the chibi artists come in! Those chibis are so cute, aren’t they? Its thanks to the artists that been helping me that my videos are as attractive as they are today. ^^
Marie Rose Combo Video
The problem is as soon as I hop on the next character, my brain kind of wipes out most of the data of the older ones lol. So looking back at the combo videos is a great way to quickly refresh my memory.
But one thing I am very thankful for is the amount of exposure these videos gave me, not just by the company itself, but also by the amount of friends I managed to make in these past years from all over the world. It’s amazing how fighting games bring us all together despite the differences in age, gender, race, language or religion. It’s a medium where we can all communicate with each other even though you may not understand a damn word the other person would tell you in person. I mean think about it. In the fight you can sense dominance, fear, aggression, reserve, hesitation, trolling, seriousness, playfulness, structure, randomness, safety, risk taking, deception..etc. You can know a lot about a person just by watching the way he or she plays.
Any other games you play for fun or competitively?
Splatoon!!!!!!!!! LOL
As of late? Nah. I’m sick and tired of SFIV and haven’t touched it since the Alpha demo came out.
However, I do have my eyes set on SFV and KOF14. I would love to play Killer Instinct competitively, but if you thought DOA had no scene here, KI is even worse since Xbox One is not that popular here in the region. I’m still hoping that the PC release of KI would change that though.. I really love that game.
Hobbies?
Hmm, well apart from video games the only thing I’ve been doing outside work and family stuff is the Gym I suppose. I wanna do the Leon cosplay again but with a real 6 pack.. lol
Best places to visit in Saudi Arabia?
Well, Saudi cities are pretty metropolitan so.. you won’t see anything special there.
But, the desert is beautiful. Open spaces and clear skies with nothing but sand as far as the eye can see. It’s so calming, especially at night when it gets a bit cooler. Having a BBQ in the desert is the best!
I have seen you on streams speaking Japanese fluently. It's a difficult task to even manage to learn an additional language under your belt. How do you do it? Just knack for talent? How many other languages do you speak fluently?
Well, I did study it for 8 years so yeah there’s that lol. When I was in college, I wasn’t really enjoying what I was studying and I needed some sort of a distraction, and for me that was learning Japanese. But, I would say what really made me level up quickly was Shenmue! I was still a first year Japanese student when it came out and I played the game in its entirety in Japanese with the controller in my lap and the dictionary on my side. Then Shenmue 2 came out and that also gave me a major boost. I still owe that game a lot when it comes to Japanese and I just can’t wait for Shenmue 3 (just hope I get to switch the language to Japanese when it comes out. Otherwise, import it is. LOL)
But I have to admit that learning the language has really helped me get closer to the Japanese community and allowed me to make so many friends to the point that I’ve become some sort of DOA celebrity there lol. I love it when I’m asked to hop on the guest commentary on DOATV both in the live streams and in the Playse tournaments. Those guys are the nicest. And that is also one of the main drives that make me do the JP versions of my vids lately. Not to mention that it has helped me narrow the gap between the English speaking community and Team Ninja, especially when it came to conveying opinions on the game in general, balance issues or even bug reporting.^^
As for other languages I speak. Well English (Obviously), Arabic (My mother tongue), and a little bit of German (studied it for 1 year). Also, I do speak a tiny bit of Tagalog (Thanks to my assistant at work who I’ve been working with for so many years, lol), and finally French. The only French word I know is PANTALON!! (and some bad words lol)…
Playse Commentary Panel
I heard you're a doctor by trade. That must be a difficult, but rewarding job. Can you explain to us what you typically do in your job? Any suggestions or tips for people wanting to follow your footsteps in that career field?
Well technically I’m kind of a Doctor/Dentist hybrid but more towards the dental side. I have an MSc and PhD in something called Special Care dentistry, which mainly revolves around dental management of patients who happen to have a severe mental or physical disability and conventional dentistry might put them at risk. All my patients have something severe like a heart disease, cancer, kidney failure, a blood disorder, learning disability, some combination of all that… the list goes on.. I don’t really treat anyone that is considered “fit and well”. Unfortunately, it’s not a popular specialty even though the demand is quite high. I think the reason for that is that you have to have a strong medical background on top of the dental skills in order to be able to manage these kinds of severe cases. It’s tiring and exhausting as hell both mentally and physically and the hours are a killer, but there is something personally highly satisfying when treating that type of patient over someone that is considered healthy. I dunno.. lol
(Now you know why it takes so long to make those damn vids… lol)
If you had one sentence you would like to tell Team Ninja, what would that be?
DOAxVF! Make it happen! And hire me to set up the groundwork for you guys, I have got a sick story planned out as well as how to make the mechanics work for both games.
Tom Lee and EMPEROR COW
If you could give any advice for the aspiring competitive DOA player, what would you say?
- Find the character you’re most comfortable with
- Don’t just know about the fundamentals, learn to implement them
- Watch (and study) my tutorials.
- There is no shame in mimicking good players or taking their tricks. But, you need to understand why they do what they do.
- Training mode is your best friend. You will learn 100 times more by experimenting in the lab than playing actual matches. Matches are also important but they should be for implementing your knowledge and discoveries that you obtained from the lab.
- If you lose, save the match … look back, see what you did wrong, how it went downhill, and try to figure out what you could have done better. If you realized you were falling for the same gimmick, try and replicate it in training mode and see how you can overcome it. Recording your wins will not benefit you. You will be blinded by how well you did and overlook your mistakes. Focus more on the losses.
- If you hit a wall with your character and cant evolve your playstyle, try jumping onto another character for a while and learning them. You’ll be surprised how tech from one character can inspire ideas for another.
- Attend as many tournaments as you can and have as many offline matches as you can, be it through weekly sessions or casual events. You will learn far more from offline experiences than from online. Also, if someone gives you advic don’t brush it off like its nothing. If they tell you you’re being predictable, ask them “what can I do to change that? What am I not doing? What do I need to do more?” you’d be surprised how a simple question like that can change your life.
I still remember something Ryan Hart told me when I was still working my way up in the SFIV days.. I had this session with him where I lost something probably like 50-0 to him ..I stopped the game and told him “I have no idea what to do ? What the hell am I doing wrong?” He was like “You’re not learning. You just wanna do what’s in your head and getting punished for it every time. When you lose, take a deep breath and think, why the hell did I lose? What do I need to change? and fix it next round. Same thing if you win. Don’t blindly go in thinking the same tactic will work again. You need to be prepared for when your opponent adapts and has an answer to it.” … as simple and basic and common sense as what he said was, it really changed my mentality going in and out of matches. It shattered that bubble that I was shelled in and keeping me from progressing and made me look beyond what I was actually doing in a match. And I owe him a lot for that advice.
Do you have a Twitter, Facebook or Youtube channel people can follow you on?
Twitter: @EMPEROR_COW
Youtube: Youtube.com/emper0rc0w
Any last messages? Shoutouts?
All I wanna say is thanks for all the support you guys. It is because of all of you backing me up that I keep doing what I’m doing. ^^
Shoutouts: I have way too many people to send shoutouts to so I’ll do it in groups. Lol
I’d like to send my shoutouts to the DOA communities in the UK (my second home, innit?), France (I miss you guys, PANTALON ), Germany (meine brüder von einer anderen mutter), the US (keep it hype!), Japan (３月また対戦しましょうね。よろしく！), Taiwan(我爱你。。笑), Australia, Korea, and finally my fellow GCC homies (شدو حيلكم في البطولة الجاية! أشوفكم بالويك أند..ههه)
Actually, I do want to send 2 special shoutouts to Axouel2009 and Reptiles(爬虫類). Without you guys, and the help of the other artists that hop on and off every now and then, my videos would never look as pretty as they do. Thank you so much and I hope to keep working with you guys in the future!^^
- EMPEROR COW
Name? Gaming alias?Khaled "EMPEROR COW" Habbab
Country of Origin?
I was Born in the US but I'm Arab, and live in Saudi Arabia.
How did you come up with the name EMPEROR COW?
I have 4 nipples, the 3rd one tells the future. O__O
Honestly, looking back I think the main influences of the "Cow" part were the mad cow disease epidemic and ... Earthworm Jim .. lol (the ending of EWJ1 simply blew my mind.. lol)... as for the "Emperor" part, well I suppose it just sounds better than King Cow. Plus, Emperors sound .. I dunno .. more powerful .. lol
Who are your main characters in DOA5LR?
Well, it’s always been Lei Fang since DOA1 ... But since my combo videos I've been shuffling mains around all the time ... When I went to Japan I switched almost entirely to Pai for the tournaments ... But was messing around with multiple characters in the arcade ... at one point I reached to number 2 Leifang in Japan just under Teru Rock .. lol ..
Current (February 3, 2016) Japanese Arcade Rankings: Leifang
Not many players choose Pai as their main character in DOA5LR. Why do you think people tend to shy away from using her as their main? What makes her so intriguing to you than any other character? What are her pros and cons?
Why do people shy away from her?
She UGLY! lol
Plus people keep thinking too far ahead about the fact that shes a VF character and may not be making a return.. Well, shes been in 4 games already so ... nothing is for certain.
What makes her intriguing to me?
- Shes fast (I like to press buttons) arguably fastest character in the game (i9,11,12). If you consider her frametraps she would seem over all faster.
- Safe
- has MID and LOW tracking (helps in the matchups Leifang struggles in)
- Insane Mixup, Resets and Guaranteed shenanigans. As an opponent you are most of the time forced to play her game instead of playing your own.
- People say her Damage output isn't that great... I don't see it honestly.. I think its decent for what she can do and pretty rewarding.
- Easy forcetech and unholdable game.
- NOBODY KNOWS THE MATCHUP !! LOL (Which is why I took her with me to japan)... I find it funny how low she places in some tier lists ...
You think people shy away from Pai because she's ugly? I honestly think shes's pretty in my opinion haha
Well she aint no Momiji I’ll tell you that much, but the new hair does make her a bit cuter. Lol
How long have you been playing DOA casually and competitively?
Casually .. since DOA1 arcade... It was so mind blowing to see the game in action, especially for a VF player in origin. the Dangerzone mechanic and the hold mechanic were so new and fresh for me that I couldn't stop playing.. plus, tits.. lol (I ain’t gonna deny it.. lol)
Competitively, since Street Fighter IV went to shit and I needed another fix.. So, since they started running tournaments on the Alpha Demo that came with NG3..
If you were to describe your play style in 3 words; What would they be?
Hmm,
- Restrictive
- Maximizing
- Scientific ... I think ? lol
Honestly, my playstyle is all explained subtly in my Combo videos..
having combos that cannot be stagger escaped means I limit the opponents defensive options to holding only. Also, I tend to like characters that have tools that shut down your opponent's options... Its why I like Dhalsim in SF.. and Leifang in DOA.. Most the characters I like seem to end up being "defensive" type characters. But then Juri and Pai shut you down in a completely different "offensive" way.. So, its a mood thing really...
As for the maximizing, again you can see this in my videos. I value max damage combos in most situations especially when it comes to stage combos (Something that many players fail to capitalize on even at high level to this day). But, this doesn't mean I don't sacrifice some damage for a reset or two every now and then if I feel it will grant me a better overall outcome ... it depends on the situation really.
and as for Scientific, well... I'm running frame data numbers in my head the whole time I'm playing like I'm answering a math exam. This means, that if I have a free punish or a free attack to use, I will use it. I spend way too much time in training mode, coming up with scenarios and searching for answers for them. I think it is thanks to that, I end up discovering things that people may have not ever seen before in my videos even though they've been using the same character for a long time.
Man you are like a full blown scientist when it comes to this game haha
I just love the mechanics. I love how very simple it is to get into and yet how very layered the game is. You have Spacing, Whiff punishing, Critical stun game, Guaranteed setups, Holds, Stagger escapes, Sidesteps (They DO work!.. whoever says they don’t is using them incorrectly), the wakeup game, the stage element and so much more … all in 3 buttons.
People say VF is the most technical fighter out there. And although I love VF, I strongly believe that DOA takes everything in VF and pushes it one step further. You don’t feel it because DOA is more accessible since the execution is easier. However, this ease of execution is in no way a downside. In fact, I feel it’s a huge plus since it allows you to focus more on the mind game rather than the worry that a combo will drop. Even though DOA pioneered this mentality, you can clearly see that this is the direction most fighters are heading towards now.
Do you know any other players such as yourself that heavily relies purely on frame data?
Hmm, I suppose every high level player to a certain degree plays that way. That’s how they would successfully throw punish or land their setups right. People saying they play on instinct alone will not go far. The knowledge gap will come back and bite them in the ass in the end. This isn’t just for DOA. This applies to any fighting game out there to be honest.
Any weaknesses in your game you trying to improve upon on?
Well, honestly the biggest weakness is matchup experience. I mean, Thanks to all my lab work, I can reach really far in tournaments and I am confident I can take down any opponent I face in a long enough set. But let’s face it, there are not many players in my area and no matter how much time you spend in training mode, you gotta play people to be able to utilize that knowledge in a high pressure situation especially when it comes to fighting a character I may not have much experience fighting or using. This has changed however since I've been traveling a lot more and have covered more than 2/3rd the cast already in my vids. But, it would be a totally different ballgame if I actually were in a region that had more players.
As bad as the netcode is, it is still very important to play online in this day and age for that matchup experience. The problem is, I'm a "reaction" based player and not a "prediction" based one, so the netcode frustrates the hell out of me. But what the online does give you is that it builds up the anticipation of what's coming next so that you can react to it when you go back to playing offline so you don't get that many surprises, if that makes any sense to anyone.. lol
What's your typical routine when preparing for an upcoming tournament? Do you have any players you train with for an upcoming tournament?
Hmm, well most important thing is going through my notes.
If it’s a Japanese tournament then it's a character lock. So I gotta maximize my potential with one character... This means that my unholdables, forcetechs, frame traps, stage combos and juggles all have to be on point and versus all weight classes. Usually this requires taking a day or 2 off work before the event if it’s a big one.
then there's studying the potential killers by going back to match archives, taking down notes on what buttons they like to press, how they like to start a match, what are their go to gimmicks .... then go back to my character and see how I can punish or shut down those options.
After all the research, I load up all the data on my phone and study it on the plane or train to the event like I'm revising for an exam. lol
There are a few online friends I do play with and test things out with from time to time, but the majority of my training before a tournament is offline so I don't screw up the timing ... (especially when I decided to go in with Pai last time)
EMPEROR COW cosplaying as Leon
Are you the type of person who listens to music or chats amongst friends right before a tournament start?
I like to chat and say hi to old and new faces, but most importantly I like to watch the warmup matches and take down mental notes.. as well as play on the monitors myself to get used to the screen lag... no 2 screens feel the same.. lol
More Leon Cosplay
What are the tournaments you have attended? What were those results you had on those tournaments?
Hmm, let’s see...
When I was still in the UK in the vanilla days there was SVB... (Second?)
There was ROF in France ... (I think I was top 8 .. not sure)
and multiple tournaments in Japan, the official DOA event 2 years ago, 2 Playse tournaments, DOA Festival, and the tri-tower DOA5UA tournament, all of which I ranked either top 32, 16, 8, to 3rd place in the tri-tower arcade tournament (except DOA festival where I got knocked out really early .. single match single elim .. serious business lol.. XD)
Then there’s the recent KOFGCC tournament in Dubai which I won.
Both from the Playse Tournament
Any upcoming Tournaments you will be participating in the near future?
Well I just did the KOF GCC tournament last month.. if all goes well, I would love to go back to Japan the next Playse tournament in March or another DOA Festival (hoping theres another one this year since it’s like the 20th anniversary of DOA).. The experience was incredible and I made so many new friends there.
I'm going to the 5vs5 Playse tournament this year. Hope to see you there!
Oh sweet! If all goes well and I get my vacation sorted, I’m gonna be in the DOATV team. ^^
(I might be rocking a new character though. Can’t go back with the same old tricks now, can I?
)Side Note: For more information on this particular tournament regarding the schedule, streams and other information, click this link to learn more: http://tgn.s347.xrea.com/playse/index.php/109-2/
It must be expensive traveling back and forth to Japan for the tournaments.
Oh man, it really is. All my savings in the past two years pretty much went to those trips. But you know what? It’s absolutely worth it and I would do it again if I had the chance. It’s almost become like a second home.
Interested in attending a US tournament anytime soon?
I love the US scene and I am technically American. (no one is purely American.. lol)
So, who knows! You might find me make a special appearance out of nowhere at some point (if I get funded..lol).
But to be honest, if I have a vacation and the money, I would rather spend that money to go to Japan. For one thing, they have the arcades. So even if there isn’t a tournament there is always some constant access to hardcore high level DOA play on a daily basis. Ask Kwiggle. He said it himself when he was there. The average player is just way too skilled there. Everyone plays correctly, they stagger escape, and they punish appropriately. Even when watching a low level match you can get pretty hype.
Plus, I love the food and shopping there. And most importantly, I’ve made so many friends over there and I always look forward to the next chance I get to see them again. ^^
Not to mention that it is a place I can brush up on my Japanese and level it up. (it’s not like I get the chance to use it in Saudi.. lol)
But, I do hope I get the chance to go to a US event, and I really miss my Pantalon buddies in France! I hope I can go back there as well.
As somebody who has played in the arcade scene in Japan, can you tell the folks more about it and what it entails? How does the overall and character ranking work? Where do you go to see the stats on the players?
I love the arcades! The best way to describe it is that there is no mercy. Once you put in that 100 yen (around 1 dollar) you are fighting as if your life depends on it. Everyone’s having fun, but at the same time there is no casual play. You are putting your skills to the test. No room for experimenting (well, unless the opponent is free.. lol). I guess this is because of the money element that comes into play. That, and the fact that if you lose, you’re back to the end of the queue till you get a chance to run it back and redeem yourself. It’s like an ongoing single match single elim tournament. Lol
As for the ranking, there are character specific points and player points, kinda like the ranking system in SFIV. In order to go up to the next rank however, you need to beat someone of equal or higher rank. So playing low ranks all the time will get you nowhere because eventually you’ll stop getting any points. Its brutal. Best feeling in the world is when you rank someone down. Lol
As for the stats and progress..etc, Each player carries with him a touch card called an “Aime” card. You touch it onto a sensor right after you put the money in and your progress gets tracked in the network. It’s awesome! You can check out your overall progress and the progress of other in the official DOA5UA website: https://www.gamecity.ne.jp/doa5/ultimate/arcade/player-site/
Which version of DOA do you like and hate the most? Why?
I loved every version of DOA5 as it evolved from the Alpha demo up to Last Round. The balance is good, and the game is fun and always has something more to offer every time you dig deeper into it.
DOA 3.1 holds a special place in my heart for its attitude.. Pretty aggressive and unforgiving, great stages, the CG endings, amazing tag mode... I loved everything about that game and probably played it more than any other fighter ever.
Sega Saturn DOA 1, simply because it was my very first owned DOA. Also, the Japanese DOA2 on the Dreamcast (The one with Bayman and Tengu playable). That game holds a very special place in my heart.
I hate DOA 4, for many reasons… What I hated the most was that Leifang didn’t have her trademark leather black shorts and top and she lost her ponytail… that’s when I was like “screw this I’m out!” lol. From the technical standpoint I had no idea why I didn’t like it at the time, apart from the fact that it was too weird compared to 3.1… I remember the main things I noticed were losing the guaranteed followups to wall slams and the guaranteed things with my characters. But to be fair, I did love the fact that you could play online, and the connection was pretty decent at the time, As well as the cool stage ideas. I mean it wasn’t as good as 3.1 but still had its fun moments.
Is there anything you would like to see changed, added or deleted in DOA5LR such as character balances, more characters or stages?
- Balance is fine, Still waiting on the major update next year .. so ask me again then.
- Although, there is one new core element of the game which I do not like and it just complicates things for everyone... Moves in "Critical Stun" and "Counter hit" should behave the same (although I understand the rationale behind nerfing this for slippery stages). More importantly, moves on "Counter" and "Hi Counter" should behave the same.... especially since Hi Counter is the ultimate form of punish. I'm talking about things like Eliot's 7P and Momiji's "New" 4P. If I'm punishing a throw with a strike, why the hell am I not getting the better stun? It makes no sense to me. The game is deep and complex enough as it is, having different stun properties just makes it more confusing for people. as for juggle heights? no I like it the way it is and makes perfect sense.
- Characters? I want all the VF cast in this game... Team Ninja made an incredible job transitioning the 4 we have now. Dare I say I actually like them more in this game than in VF. as for non VF characters? I guess its almost impossible to get Tengu back, I really miss him. But, if there's one character I would like to see, its Ms. Monday from Yaiba. I loved the Yaiba game, and having Miss Monday just seems to make a lot of sense to me especially with the way Raidou looks .. he almost looks like a he has a more refined version of the cyborg parts Yaiba has. Plus, she has a foul mouth and a bitchy attitude... I can imagine her moveset being extremely aggressive and demeaning with lots of slaps and kicks in the nuts... lol. They still haven't covered that type of fan service .. lol
- Stages? Aerial Gardens... Please, no more flat stages!!
Any players you enjoy watching or would like to play against?
hmm..
Anyone, everyone, anytime... Just please let it be offline. Lol
I do miss the Japanese and the EU community (especially my French buddies.. PANTALON!). I really hope that I get to meet them again and play them and see how they’ve evolved.
How is the Saudi Arabian scene? Can you tell us more about your scene and the players you have over there? Are there any ways you can think of improving your scene and its growth?
Well, until very recently … I was the scene... lol
There aren't many players, certainly none which are dedicated... apart from myself in Riyadh, probably PreSoul in Abha, Yashiro Aniki in Jeddah, and the brothers Maxato and Raikoh from Dammam (all of which need a plane to get to). Everyone else goes on and off.
There has been an increase in interest amongst my local friends here and some of the KOF and GGXrd players have been hopping on for the ride which is nice but they are still in the beginner stages. There are a few players in Jeddah as well and one or two in the eastern province... but most players sadly have that "casual mentality" and are content with playing online over meeting up offline, let alone gathering up for a tournament... its sad ... but there aren’t many players here.
As for improving the scene, well like I said before we just had the DOA tournament at Dubai KOFGCC... it sure as hell shed more spotlight on the game...and thanks to KTEU, we gave away a good 30 codes of the full version of the game so I’m hoping to see a bigger turn out next time. But, I gotta say it’s gonna be tough with all the major releases coming out next year... TN have to pull off some crazy ass update for DOA if they want it to survive ... or just say the hell with it ... use the DOAX3 engine and build DOAxVF ... COME ON TEAM NINJA YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO !!! I'M LOOKING AT YOU HAYASHI-SAN! lol
Who are the players need to be aware of in the Saudi Arabia?
Emperor Cow: lol
and PreSoul: very solid player.. and like myself he plays multiple characters and it always great fun when he visits Riyadh. Would be nice to see him go out for a major or two.. I think he would do really well.
Yashiro Aniki: new up and coming Nyotengu player. Still has a long way to go but he’s has potential and is on the right track.
Maxato: Bass player and my online sparring buddy (when he’s not playing KOF or GGXrd lol)
I would say those are the top 4 players in the region.
Then there's Raikoh (Ayane player), and my local buddies who just started recently like BadoorSNK (originally a VF player so his fundamentals are solid and is currently rocking Mila and is progressing really well) and Overlord (Solid GGxrd player, DOA5LR is his first 3D fighter so he’s having a hard time but he’s going in the right direction ^^) and Symphonic Phantom (who I met recently after playing him online and found out he was local lol). There are also a few other solid online players, but they don’t get their asses out of their houses and don’t seem to understand the difference between online and offline and think it’s the same (which gives me a peptic ulcer every time I hear them say it. >__>).
We’re a small community, but we’re also a fairly new one so who knows who hops on in the future. ^^
KOF GCC Group Picture
Do you have a personal tier list on DOA5LR?
I laugh at tier lists most of the time, especially for DOA.. 90% of the community has 0% knowledge of the fundamentals that would dictate which character would be better than another or why said character is good or lacking. That being said, I do believe the game’s balance is pretty good. You can see this by looking at the personal tier lists of other players. The Japanese Place the 4 main ninjas high up, The Americans list Christie, Helena and Gen Fu high up. Even though Bass and Rachel are slow characters there seems to be an agreement that they are in the upper mid region. Then there’s the VF cast, all of which who are pretty damn strong in their own way.. It’s hard to really make a definitive list especially with the way the game keeps evolving and how new tech with characters keeps being discovered… People look down on Eliot, Brad and Bayman yet everyone seems to agree that They’re frustrating as hell to fight against. The awesome thing about this game is that if you look back at the records of past tournament results around the world, you’ll see that almost every character in the game has bagged a tournament or two in the games lifespan, even Leon! That’s something that cannot be said about many games, and is a testament to how really good the balance is…
If I were to make a Tier list, it would probably be a mash up of all that… Granted, some characters beat others, but the gap is not so great so that the matchups are like 9-1. I would say the worst matchups in the game are probably 6-4 at most. But I can at least say who would be on top of my list, and without a doubt in my mind, its Akira. (LET THE ARGUMENTS BEGIN! LOL)
Are you interested in DOA6 coming out soon?
God! No. Not yet. The game is still young and hasn’t evolved yet.
But before DOA6, I would really love to see a true DOAxVF… with all the VF cast… COME ON HAYASHI-SAN!! YOU CAN DO IT!
What’s your take on DOAX3?
I pre-ordered it… lol
If you were to pick one moment that defines you in DOA, what would that be and why?
Hmmm, I suppose it was the completion of the DOA5 Tutorial. I know it might not be a tournament achievement or anything flashy like that. But thanks to that series, I became known for what I am today.
I still remember the early days when I would say something and people would rage at me and even go as far as calling me a DOA4 fan boy (as if that were some sort of sin) and shut down my opinion completely. Boy how things have changed… lol
You need to bare in mind that before I started releasing content for DOA, I didn’t even know there was even a community. I was even clueless to it even during my whole 6 years in the UK. I actually stumbled on FSD by accident. LOL
Why play DOA over any other fighting game competitively? Why did DOA capture your interest?
I have played other games competitively (VF, SCIV and SCV, SFIV and SSFIV, hopefully SFV). But, they either died out or I got fed up. Lol
But I’ve always had a soft spot for DOA. It’s funny. I remember something a close friend of mine said when I was in school during the DOA3 days. He was like, “It’s as if this game was designed specifically for you. It’s like Itagaki and his crew sat around in a meeting and said, what would cow like? And did it!”. LOL.
I really do find my comfort zone in this game because I feel like I’m always on my toes and thinking. I just love mind games! it’s not just a braindead game of who will score the first LP hit confirm that will grant you a 50% + combo. You gotta earn that damage by getting into your opponent’s head and screwing with him. You really can’t repeat the same setup twice (unless that’s part of the mixup ofcourse). You have to keep changing it up because if they catch on, you’re gonna get blown up. The game is just so flexible in that aspect and no two matches are ever the same.
If you could create a DOA character from scratch for DOA6, How would you make that character? Gender? Martial Arts? Default Costume?
I’ve already had an idea for a character 2 years ago that Shinbori and Saito kinda liked, but it didn’t sink well with Hayashi.. lol
Basically, a really really old and short lady, with a crooked walking stick and grey hair shaped like a bun. Not too short so that highs and stand throws would whiff but like shorter than everyone else …
She would be a cheeky old bag personality wise.. would be even funny if she had a thing for ol’ Gen fu. And would be funny if she had a special intro where she would flirt with all the male characters… lol. She has to have a short temper ofcourse.. she IS a granny after all… and not the cute baking cookies type..
Her movement would be similar to what Yoda has in SCIV, relying on her stick for balance and jumping around all over the place.
I remember when talking to TN we refered to her as “ピョンピョンばば” (Pyon Pyon Baba… which translates rougly into bouncing granny…lol). Then we started joking about how her boob physics would be like since shes very old and they must be sagging really low…LOL
Then when we turned to Hayashi in the table next to us and told him about the idea… He just gave us this drunk look of disapproval lol… it was so hilarious.
I still dream of the day Pyon Pyon Baba makes her debut! Lol
You have released countless of combo videos to the public throughout the DOA5 life cycle. What is your motivation for doing so? It seems like a hard task to accomplish especially when you are trying to balance your daily life to it as well. Do you think this is one way for you to become a more versatile player when you make these videos?
Well I’ve always liked to do videos since back in the SCIV and SFIV days. At first, it was simply a way for me to process data and to register it in my head, kind of like a visual aid (well it is technically). In addition it served as reference material in case I ever forgot something.
With every video I made I noticed I started to get more attention and spotlight. This is probably for 2 reasons:
1) I started to get a better grasp of the games I was producing content for.
2) My editing skills kept improving with each video, making it more visually appealing.
Now when DOA5 came out I instantly fell in love with it and I had determined to take it to the competitive level way before it came out. And in order to do so I needed a strong foundation. But sadly, there were hardly any videos out there that covered the fundamentals. Then I saw this video on eventhubs where these two supposedly FGC veterans were playing the alpha demo and one of them said: “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. This game has no depth!”. And that’s when I snapped. I was like “OK smart ass I’ll show you depth”. So I created the Alpha demo tutorial. It was rough, dry, without sound and the text wasn’t clear, but it taught me a lot about editing as well as how to convey my content and what needed to be covered. So I started creating the foundation for the DOA5 Tutorial that everyone knows about (at least I hope they do lol). I actually started working on that project’s animations and write ups way before the game was out (thanks to the fact that I had my hands on the betas), as well as getting voice overs from my FGC friends from different games (such as Latif, Ryan Hart, Hyrul, Kayane, Justin Wong ) as well as some of the DOA heads (Master, Vanessa, Mr. Wah, Perfect Legend, Mochi A, Berzerk). The reason I chose to use such a diverse commentary cast is that I not only wanted to show that the game had depth, I also wanted this project to be an international one, not in the sense of country but also in a sense that all these players from all these different fighting games came together to support and welcome this new fighter that was DOA5 and show it the respect it deserved. But I also wanted to do it in a way that was attractive to old and new comers alike. And most importantly, I wanted the content to have value, not just some mish mash without basis. And I am very proud to say that I’ve managed to achieve all that.
THE DEAD OR ALIVE 5 TUTORIAL
As I was creating all these videos, I was obviously watching what other players have been uploading, some of it was decent and some of it well, not so good. So I decided to take on the next challenge which was to produce combo videos the way I felt they should be done. The theme of it can be seen in the description of any one of them. Also, since my trip to Japan, I decided that the content should not be limited to just the English speaking countries. There is a whole demographic of players that could benefit from my content but it isn’t reaching them, and that’s when I decided I needed to do a JP version of each video as well. In a way this keeps my hobby of video editing fresh as well as helps me learn the characters in a very deep and technical way. So yeah, making those videos is my main source of leveling up, especially since there isn’t much of a scene here. You need to understand that those videos don’t just pop out overnight. I spend so much time with each character, analyzing the different types of stun, studying their frame data, finding their guaranteed shenanigans, discovering their max damage..etc. I basically study them as if I want to use them as a main. Because of this, in many cases tend to find out a lot of things in a certain character that a lot of people may have not been aware of even though they’ve been maining that character for years, and I’m pretty proud of that. The editing part isn’t easy either. The most important part is to make the video as clear and easy to understand as possible and not let the flow break because it’s a lot of data to cram in a roughly 5 minute vid. I also wanted to make it have its unique appearance compared to all the other stuff out there. That’s where the chibi artists come in! Those chibis are so cute, aren’t they? Its thanks to the artists that been helping me that my videos are as attractive as they are today. ^^
Marie Rose Combo Video
The problem is as soon as I hop on the next character, my brain kind of wipes out most of the data of the older ones lol. So looking back at the combo videos is a great way to quickly refresh my memory.
But one thing I am very thankful for is the amount of exposure these videos gave me, not just by the company itself, but also by the amount of friends I managed to make in these past years from all over the world. It’s amazing how fighting games bring us all together despite the differences in age, gender, race, language or religion. It’s a medium where we can all communicate with each other even though you may not understand a damn word the other person would tell you in person. I mean think about it. In the fight you can sense dominance, fear, aggression, reserve, hesitation, trolling, seriousness, playfulness, structure, randomness, safety, risk taking, deception..etc. You can know a lot about a person just by watching the way he or she plays.
Any other games you play for fun or competitively?
Splatoon!!!!!!!!! LOL
As of late? Nah. I’m sick and tired of SFIV and haven’t touched it since the Alpha demo came out.
However, I do have my eyes set on SFV and KOF14. I would love to play Killer Instinct competitively, but if you thought DOA had no scene here, KI is even worse since Xbox One is not that popular here in the region. I’m still hoping that the PC release of KI would change that though.. I really love that game.
Hobbies?
Hmm, well apart from video games the only thing I’ve been doing outside work and family stuff is the Gym I suppose. I wanna do the Leon cosplay again but with a real 6 pack.. lol
Best places to visit in Saudi Arabia?
Well, Saudi cities are pretty metropolitan so.. you won’t see anything special there.
But, the desert is beautiful. Open spaces and clear skies with nothing but sand as far as the eye can see. It’s so calming, especially at night when it gets a bit cooler. Having a BBQ in the desert is the best!
I have seen you on streams speaking Japanese fluently. It's a difficult task to even manage to learn an additional language under your belt. How do you do it? Just knack for talent? How many other languages do you speak fluently?
Well, I did study it for 8 years so yeah there’s that lol. When I was in college, I wasn’t really enjoying what I was studying and I needed some sort of a distraction, and for me that was learning Japanese. But, I would say what really made me level up quickly was Shenmue! I was still a first year Japanese student when it came out and I played the game in its entirety in Japanese with the controller in my lap and the dictionary on my side. Then Shenmue 2 came out and that also gave me a major boost. I still owe that game a lot when it comes to Japanese and I just can’t wait for Shenmue 3 (just hope I get to switch the language to Japanese when it comes out. Otherwise, import it is. LOL)
But I have to admit that learning the language has really helped me get closer to the Japanese community and allowed me to make so many friends to the point that I’ve become some sort of DOA celebrity there lol. I love it when I’m asked to hop on the guest commentary on DOATV both in the live streams and in the Playse tournaments. Those guys are the nicest. And that is also one of the main drives that make me do the JP versions of my vids lately. Not to mention that it has helped me narrow the gap between the English speaking community and Team Ninja, especially when it came to conveying opinions on the game in general, balance issues or even bug reporting.^^
As for other languages I speak. Well English (Obviously), Arabic (My mother tongue), and a little bit of German (studied it for 1 year). Also, I do speak a tiny bit of Tagalog (Thanks to my assistant at work who I’ve been working with for so many years, lol), and finally French. The only French word I know is PANTALON!! (and some bad words lol)…
Playse Commentary Panel
Well technically I’m kind of a Doctor/Dentist hybrid but more towards the dental side. I have an MSc and PhD in something called Special Care dentistry, which mainly revolves around dental management of patients who happen to have a severe mental or physical disability and conventional dentistry might put them at risk. All my patients have something severe like a heart disease, cancer, kidney failure, a blood disorder, learning disability, some combination of all that… the list goes on.. I don’t really treat anyone that is considered “fit and well”. Unfortunately, it’s not a popular specialty even though the demand is quite high. I think the reason for that is that you have to have a strong medical background on top of the dental skills in order to be able to manage these kinds of severe cases. It’s tiring and exhausting as hell both mentally and physically and the hours are a killer, but there is something personally highly satisfying when treating that type of patient over someone that is considered healthy. I dunno.. lol
(Now you know why it takes so long to make those damn vids… lol)
If you had one sentence you would like to tell Team Ninja, what would that be?
DOAxVF! Make it happen! And hire me to set up the groundwork for you guys, I have got a sick story planned out as well as how to make the mechanics work for both games.
Tom Lee and EMPEROR COW
If you could give any advice for the aspiring competitive DOA player, what would you say?
- Find the character you’re most comfortable with
- Don’t just know about the fundamentals, learn to implement them
- Watch (and study) my tutorials.
- There is no shame in mimicking good players or taking their tricks. But, you need to understand why they do what they do.
- Training mode is your best friend. You will learn 100 times more by experimenting in the lab than playing actual matches. Matches are also important but they should be for implementing your knowledge and discoveries that you obtained from the lab.
- If you lose, save the match … look back, see what you did wrong, how it went downhill, and try to figure out what you could have done better. If you realized you were falling for the same gimmick, try and replicate it in training mode and see how you can overcome it. Recording your wins will not benefit you. You will be blinded by how well you did and overlook your mistakes. Focus more on the losses.
- If you hit a wall with your character and cant evolve your playstyle, try jumping onto another character for a while and learning them. You’ll be surprised how tech from one character can inspire ideas for another.
- Attend as many tournaments as you can and have as many offline matches as you can, be it through weekly sessions or casual events. You will learn far more from offline experiences than from online. Also, if someone gives you advic don’t brush it off like its nothing. If they tell you you’re being predictable, ask them “what can I do to change that? What am I not doing? What do I need to do more?” you’d be surprised how a simple question like that can change your life.
I still remember something Ryan Hart told me when I was still working my way up in the SFIV days.. I had this session with him where I lost something probably like 50-0 to him ..I stopped the game and told him “I have no idea what to do ? What the hell am I doing wrong?” He was like “You’re not learning. You just wanna do what’s in your head and getting punished for it every time. When you lose, take a deep breath and think, why the hell did I lose? What do I need to change? and fix it next round. Same thing if you win. Don’t blindly go in thinking the same tactic will work again. You need to be prepared for when your opponent adapts and has an answer to it.” … as simple and basic and common sense as what he said was, it really changed my mentality going in and out of matches. It shattered that bubble that I was shelled in and keeping me from progressing and made me look beyond what I was actually doing in a match. And I owe him a lot for that advice.
Do you have a Twitter, Facebook or Youtube channel people can follow you on?
Twitter: @EMPEROR_COW
Youtube: Youtube.com/emper0rc0w
Any last messages? Shoutouts?
All I wanna say is thanks for all the support you guys. It is because of all of you backing me up that I keep doing what I’m doing. ^^
Shoutouts: I have way too many people to send shoutouts to so I’ll do it in groups. Lol
I’d like to send my shoutouts to the DOA communities in the UK (my second home, innit?), France (I miss you guys, PANTALON ), Germany (meine brüder von einer anderen mutter), the US (keep it hype!), Japan (３月また対戦しましょうね。よろしく！), Taiwan(我爱你。。笑), Australia, Korea, and finally my fellow GCC homies (شدو حيلكم في البطولة الجاية! أشوفكم بالويك أند..ههه)
Actually, I do want to send 2 special shoutouts to Axouel2009 and Reptiles(爬虫類). Without you guys, and the help of the other artists that hop on and off every now and then, my videos would never look as pretty as they do. Thank you so much and I hope to keep working with you guys in the future!^^
