Home

The other day I was able to meet with a group of Smash Bros players from Madrid to learn more about this game and its scene , since as many of you know, I'm a Street Fighter and League of Legends player and they are nothing alike. We talk about the next tournaments that will take place in Spain, such as the Ossom Fights in Barcelona , the new players thanks to Smash 4, sponsors in the professional field and the differences with any other conventional fighting game. From left to right: K12: Smash Melee player Kike uses Samus, Donkey Kong, and Falcon. Greatest achievement: Winning a double tournament for couples at the national level and 5th in a European level tournament held in Barcelona. Ball : Chema, also plays Melee, uses Fox because it's brokenand Pikachu. In the last regional ones of Madrid it was in 3º position. Nexus: Fernando, a Smash 4 player, has Wario or Flacon as mains. In the Gamergy he passed the premilimanres, and in the Madrid regionals he usually ends up in the top positions. Hi guys! Could you tell me the difference between the two main games in the saga, Melee and Smash 4? K12 : Melee is more technical, an error is more punishable or costs much more to do, in Melee games are faster; that's why they have 4 stocks and not 2, in 4 there are more options related to editing the game options and it also has better graphics. It also has a wider cast of characters, since in Melee you always see the same characters in the finals, such as Falcon or Fox. In 4 you can spam techniques like the shield, in Melee that's more difficult because it's easier to punish him in this game. Tell me your experience about the creation of the Smash community in Madrid K12 : I was one of the first (by my side) to investigate the game on my own via the internet, and little by little, I got to know more people. Around 2005/2004 I started with Dyan and other players to get in touch with people from other cities: Barcelona, Seville, etc. This evolved when the Brawl arrived, which attracted a large number of new players. Nexo : In this time of new people, the community was dedicated above all to Brawl, publishing tournament information, guides, etc. From then on, players began to go to events in Europe or America to try their luck. With the release of Smash 4, the community was divided between Melee and 4. Now we are moving more, going to tournaments, friend's houses, events like the regional ones in each city. Where are the big groups of Smash players in Spain? Pelotazo : Right now I think it's the healthiest time for Smash, at least in Madrid, since when I moved here, we were only four cats. With Smash 4 coming out and Melee becoming more and more internationally recognized, we have like 40 players for each game; doing them together, with Melee and Smash 4 players signing up for both tournaments. Another large community is the Catalan one, which more or less rivals that of Madrid, and they organize big international tournaments there, bringing people like Armada, Leffen, etc. They also have great Smash 4 players like Greward or Marcbri . Then we find other communities smaller than those of Madrid or Catalonia in Alicante, Valencia, the Canary Islands, Andalusia etc. Has Smash 4 helped attract new players? K12 : When a current game like Smash 4 comes out, people discover that it's a saga of quite a lot with quite a few iterations, that's how they get excited and try the others; further discovering your community and scene . For example: there are some who start with Smash 4 and then try Melee; and others go from Melee to Smash 4. It's because of the boom, as the game comes out and there are new players. Ball : For example, in the events they always look at the newest games but then, seeing the other community, they do Melee or Brawl side events to have a good relationship between the scenes . How is the Smash saga on the international circuit? Nexo : On a European level, Nintendo is taking the latest Smash seriously, helping tournaments alongside other companies. K12 : Although the Melee is 14 years old, there is more and more support from events or content created by the players. On the part of Nintendo, they are not interested in giving this game a lot of publicity since they prefer to take advantage of Smash 4. On the other hand, every day there are more players and sponsored streams ; like Salty Playground . Ball : Also, a month ago, they held a Melee tournament at Dreamhack London , since Armada had been asking the organizers for years to do something, getting the biggest Melee prize to date and in the next edition, Dreamhack Winter , it will have this game and more prizes. What does Spain lack to be able to compare itself to other international communities? Nexus : In Smash 4 there is the problem that it is not as nice to look at as Melee, in addition to the fact that the Smash scene is not as big if we compare it with other games like League of Legends or Call of Duty . Ball: There is a lack of external support to organize tournaments, and in Melee we need tube TVs, which are very difficult to find right now. On the other hand, the culture of hardcore gaming is not so well seen if it is not a famous game or if it is not played by some Youtuber to make it popular haha . K12 : There are people with desire, but it is necessary to carry out things, like tournaments, move, etc. For example, in the United States there are tournaments almost every week; so it is normal that there they have an incredible level compared to Spain, especially related to the general knowledge of the game, be it the mechanics or the matchups that they have trained. In Europe they do move, but not here; we always play against the usual ones, that's why we can't compare ourselves with other international people, except for some special cases. I haven't gotten that wet and that's why I don't have the level that others have; but there are people, for example Overtriforce , who are doing well in tournaments outside of Spain. Balls : The case of Overtriforce is a very good example, since in European tournaments it is always TOP 5, and in American tournaments it usually makes TOP 10. It has managed to win fights against Mew2King , Armada , Leffen ... and unfortunately it does not have a sponsor ; while other players with not as much track record as him do have. Nexo : On the Smash 4 side we have Greward , who came 2nd in Dreamhack London and I suppose that here it will not have any repercussion. He was already known from before, since he had a good level in Smash Brawl. And he doesn't have a sponsor either ... Why do you think other fighting game players see Smash Bros as a weird game? K12 : To begin with, it's a bit of a weird game haha since most traditional fighting games are two characters with their life bar and punpun sticking together on the same plane, yes maybe they move a bit in 3D but that's it this. They also share several elements: a wall, a cliff, you can make a hole in the ground etc. In the Smash you have platforms, you have ravines, you can die from above, from below, there is no life bar but a percentage; so the objective is different, added to the fact that we see the mythical Nintendo characters stick together, and it is that that can throw some back. The combos are also different, since each character has its own weight, it can also depend on the place of the stage, in case there is a ravine or a platform next to it, or the percentage that the enemy has, the directional influence that it has; since when you hit it, it influences which direction you are moving the stick at that moment... and a thousand more variables. Nexo : I think that by taking someone outside of the traditional model of a fighting game, people close in on learning as the mechanics of this game are very different from what you have been used to since you were a child. Balls : Another problem is the competitive one, since in some way the players have created it and not the Smash programmers, since we ban 80% of the scenarios that come, many variables such as objects, we put time, lives / stocks etc to be competitive. And unfortunately this is very rare since with other companies everything has been thought of since the creation of the game. Thank you very much for this little talk! I hope that the people who read it learn something more about the Smash scene . Finally, any final words to wrap this up? Pelotazos: I hope that with the interview many people can see that this is not something so rare in Spain, and that my parents will surely be surprised to see me on some website about video games haha . And to people who like Smash: This is the best time, a lot is played online, GameCube controls are made, the information is on the internet and right now there are many tournaments; besides that we go out or travel a lot and that helps to make friends with people with the same taste as you. K12 : Well, I've managed to combine work and vice, so I haven't come out very strange haha , although it's true that you find everything, and this is nothing negative. Greetings to the people who have left their homes for me to go to tournaments like Max , M , Daisuki etc. Nexo : I mean the same as Pelotazos , that there are a lot of Smash 4 players in Madrid right now, we have places to meet and practice so if you are basically new, come and we will help you, since we don't bite or anything haha . For my part and from e-SportMag I thank Pelotazos, Nexo and K12 for granting me this interview, to share with all the readers a general idea of what the Smash Bros scene is like in Spain; but this time focused somewhat on Madrid. I also thank Mario, Jose Luis and Akiba Store for the photos provided for this little report.

Recent Posts