#a3! mixed play song tournament

[a3songtournament]

ROUND 2, SIDE A, ROUND 10

SCARLET GAME vs The Contract

[2dkapsddr]

October 20th, 2023 - SDVX EG, Groove Coaster, Project DIVA, DaR, PIU PHOENIX, DDR A3

THE TRUE DAY OF RECKONING HAS ARRIVED, NOW IT'S REALLY TIME FOR MOTL5 GAMING!!! but first, isn't this card the absolute coolest??? i got it while checking into the event, slapped a crude drawing of my fursona onto it, and now i'm geared up n ready to destroy!!!

so i went to waffle house for the very first time with my family to eat breakfast (very good experience btw, i already miss the chocolate waffles), then we set off to spend the whole day at the mall and GUESS WHO I FOUND FIRST THING IN THE MORNING

IT'S BOMBER IN REAL!!! IN THE FLESH!!! WITH HIS ICONIC LACH TOWEL!!! AND HE KICKED MY ASS AT SDVX!!! (but he gave me haruka e-amuse pass to compensate :])

always wanted to meet him in person and the dream had become REAL, SUPER COOL EXPERIENCE!!!

also random tangent but while we were playing sdvx, it turned out the PIU Phoenix kit was installed overnight and was being played while we were playing?? just last night it was XX... but i guess now i'd finally get a taste of the new system for the first time!

since all the dance game cabs (except DaR) were occupied for tourneys, i decided to warm up with the alternative... the busted old unused cabs! gc is so broken whyyy

bonus: HAPPY FAMILY feat. moca and uli!!! (the tiny kohammy is mine)

but now, after all those exhilarating meetings and fun times, it's time for the real deal, my personal action moment of the event... it was TOURNEY TIME!! STARTING WITH PIU PHOENIX!!! warmups were simple, trying out the new songs and getting used to the pads,

but then, it was the real deal vs MajinnTy in a waterfall-style bracket... and after almost getting wrecked with the top-right arrow dropping continuously... i managed to beat him 2-1 and took 2nd place in the pool!!! but since it's waterfall format (i didn't realize this until later), i got thrown into the redemption pool with everyone else and wouldn't get to play until later... but in retrospect that was STILL such an impressive victory.

so once the redemption pool started, i got put up against EMCAT, who had been slowly upgrading from level 2 up to here. it was a weird match, but i hypothetically managed to 2-0 in my set, getting this sick 985k on beat of the war! but once again, it wasn't enough to beat the acc gods in the pool, PacRob and Ty, and i ended up 3rd out of 6 in the bracket, which left me a little dejected to see i wouldn't have my dark horse moment in my first tourney... but in retrospect i worked against the odds and managed to do really well!!! such a nice showing personally, and i'm excited to train some more and try again some other time! (also the 2nd image is from the commentary that my friend watched when i was up which is why i mentioned the dark horse moment, forever alone...)

but NOW!!! IT WAS TIME FOR THE 2ND AND LAST TOURNEY OF MINE FOR THE NIGHT, THE ONE THAT WOULD SEAL MY POTENTIAL OVERALL LEGACY, THE DDR A3 TOURNAMENT!!! unlike the previous PIU tourney, this was a round robin format where all 4 players got to play against each other once in a best-of-three set. and after a set between two others in my pool, i was up for some back-to-back sets, starting with LUBANAHHHH

having warmed up already with pump, i decided to pick long train runnin' challenge for my warmup to confuse the commentators, but then the REAL action began. our first song was lubanah's pick, New York Evolved (Type A) DSP-13 (fucked up), which i dominated solely thanks to MA! and then when it was my pick, i PFC'ed Yoidore Shirazu ESP-13 on-stream once again, taking the set 2-0!!

next up was against KINDLADY/Zaphine, where we both went in without warmup and played Xepher CSP-15 (Zaphine's pick) and Mess With My Emotions ESP-12 (my pick), and i took the set 2-0 again!! except with such a close call on Mess With My Emotions...

and finally in my pool, i played against MisterGuy in both Step Machine ESP-14 (my pick) and Healing Vision (Angelic Mix) ESP-13 (MisterGuy's pick), where i would just barely win Step Machine by 2 points (even got clipped on the Ohio DDR channel), and then PFC Healing Vision to claim my 2nd in-tourney PFC, taking the set once again 2-0 and advancing to level 9 with a perfect performance!!!

level 9 came and i was put up against SnowStorm/SIM, thejurok, and gabbyjay, which would be where my demise would come... only before a bunch of cab crashes! no scores for most of these unfortunately, but i was bested 0-2 by SnowStorm on Revolutionary Addict ESP-13 and PARANOiA Revolution DSP-14 (my MA wasn't quite up to par on either songs, probably exhaustion from only eating before my pump tourney...)

for my set against jurok though, i won my first pick; roppongi EVOLVED Ver.D ESP-15, even despite forgetting to disable my sudden+ before the speedup!!! i forgot what his pick was, but i lost it and lost the tiebreaker too, MAX 300 DSP-12, in order to lose the set 1-2...

then lastly, the final and most ultimate set... the one against longtime Black Flag Academy admin and potential rival, GABBYJAY!!! this set was super funny because we both won each other's picks (he won Bang Pad(Werk Mix) ESP-13, i won osaka EVOLVED (TYPE1) DSP-13), and for the tiebreaker we got New Gravity CSP-14...

and after such an intense battle not shown on stream due to the sheer intensity and vulgarity (actually the stream was what was causing the cab to crash repeatedly), we finished the song and looked at each others' scores to see the results, and...

...by two points. i got a PFC up from a 988k, on-stream, not having seen the chart before, and yet i fell short by such a tight margin, losing the set once again 1-2...

but overall, super satisfying performance from both ends (and super funny reaction)!!! i loved this experience even if i didn't advance twice (which is fine, level 9 was more of a victory lap anyways LOL i was just a silly little teen playing against intimidating adults). but that did indeed conclude my tournament run at the mistaketh on the laketh, so until next time! thanks all who tuned in and cheered me on in chat, the support was so nice to read back at the hotel! but there's still 2 more days of the event to enjoy, so let's enjoy 'em!

[callgespenst]

I've mentioned it before but I've been playing a lot of Dance Dance Revolution lately. I started going to the local arcade to play once or twice a week in early May, and I've already noticed some pretty substantial improvement! I figure I'll start keeping track of notable progress here.

A brief recap of what I can recall of the last few months:

May: I had heard about the local DDR crew from one or two friends and finally gave in and checked it out. I did not do very well at all that first outing (my shoes weren't particularly good for it, I wasn't dressed for it either, and my accuracy was /wildly/ off on the arcade machines. I got a B full combo on one song with mostly Greats/Goods). But I met some of the lads and had fun and got myself an E-Amuse card, which I always thought would be harder to obtain.

After that, I immediately went to the store, bought myself some better dancing shoes and the largest water bottle I could find at Target. And at that point, I really had to keep going, sunk cost and everything.

Summer: It took a few sessions, but I adjusted myself to the arcade machine timing and started hitting a lot more accurately. Keeping to 8s and 9s. I'd alternate between going on half price Wednesdays, and Thursday evenings when my wife was at her Japanese classes.

Fall: Went to the big local tournament at a Round1 two hours away. Didn't compete, but I met some new people and still had a good time. I feel like the start of fall was when the group started going to Round1 more in general (there's one just about an hour west) because R1 locations got the A3 upgrade and D&Bs, did not, for reasons that would take too long to get into here.

Winter: Being a dedicated rhythm gamer, on one of the rhythm games designed to get you real sweaty, is truly awful when it's cold out. This is largely because arcades are not designed to be workout facilities. You gotta go in there in warm clothes, get changed in the arcade bathroom, go do your sets, and then leave a sweaty mess and drive all the way home to shower. The first instant when you walk outside into the cold air is a truly rejuvenating sensation, which is cancelled out by the next five minutes of perspiration frozen all over while you wait for the car to warm up. And it hasn't even been a particularly intense winter thus far.

Current Status: I've cleared five (5) songs at a 13 difficulty. No. 13 (Expert), Burnin' Heat 3-Option Mix (Expert), Xenon (Expert), Leading Cyber (Expert), and today I cleared Legend of MAXX (Difficult). None of these were particularly inspiring clears (that last one, I flubbed the whole last jump sequence, and just barely skirted through), but it's still leagues better than I was performing just a few months ago.

I also have five (5) charts I've cleared on AAA difficulty. Bloody Tears IIDX (Difficult, 6), Dazzlin' Darlin' Remix (Difficult, 8), Sparkle Dreams (Basic, 8, Sightread), Sterling Silver (Difficult, 10), and Zephyranthes (Basic, 7, Sightread). Those last two I just did for the first time today! And I got my best clear on Dazzlin' Darlin' yet (996k, only two greats).

Present Goals: The hope is to go to Japan at some point later this year. By that time, I want to get to a point where I can play at an arcade abroad and feel semi-competent about it. The plan is to get myself to a point where I can at least AA clear: Bitter Chocolate Striker (Expert, 14), Possession (Difficult, 14), and Eon Break (Difficult, 13, but at present, this song is only available on LIFE4, which adds a degree of challenge).

The Path Forward: My footwork has definitely improved substantially, when I started out I'd get awful pain in the arches of my feet, but I haven't really gotten that in a while. I don't think I want to go no-bar, but I might rely on the bar a little too much.

I think the most important improvement I can make at this stage is to work on my breathing. Once I really start going, I really run ragged. I used to be able to breathe properly while I exercised, I just have to relearn how to while I dance.

The other big one is definitely developing the ability to read faster stepcharts. Anything above 400, maybe 450 BPM is too much for me at present. Here I think the best way forward is to slowly amp up the modifier on songs I'm already familiar with. I'll need to be able to read at least 750 for the goals I have set.

That's the full recap so far! My next arcade trip is this coming Wednesday, but I probably won't post an update every time I go, just when I pull off something particularly noteworthy.

...also, writing this up was a great excuse to hang out on the couch for an hour and not move, because wow, I am so exhausted after that last session. My only regret is that I really want to get up and get a snack, but my legs are jelly and there's a cat snoozing next to me.

[a3songtournament]

ROUND 2, SIDE A, MATCH 9

Growing Pain vs Mikansei na Sora de

[a3songtournament]

MIXED PLAY SONG TOURNAMENT - FINAL MATCH

The Contract vs Q to Juu

[a3songtournament]

ROUND 2, SIDE B, MATCH 12: HYODO-SAKISAKA FAMILY FIGHT!

Q to Juu vs Double Solitaire

[a3songtournament]

ROUND 1, SIDE B, MATCH 7

Yoi no Mikazuki vs Q to Juu

[a3songtournament]

ROUND 1, SIDE A, MATCH 4

The Contract vs Yume Senri

[a3songtournament]

ROUND 3, SIDE B, MATCH 14

Professional vs Q to Juu

[a3songtournament]

ROUND 3, SIDE A, MATCH 13

Growing Pain vs The Contract

[a3songtournament]

A3! Mixed Play Song Tournament

Here is the bracket for our fourth tournament, which will begin on May 12th! Which song do you think will win?

FINAL ROUND | May 18th, 1:00PM CST

The Contract vs Q to Juu [poll link]

Growing Pain vs Professional [poll link]

Rest of the bracket is under the cut!

ROUND 1, SIDE A | May 12th, 1:00PM CST

Growing Pain vs Fukutsu no chant [poll link]

Suisei to Circus Ou vs Mikansei na Sora de [poll link]

Kikyo no Hana vs SCARLET GAME [poll link]

The Contract vs Yume Senri [poll link]

ROUND 1, SIDE B | May 13th, 1:00PM CST

Houkago Midnight vs Sorachika [poll link]

MagiClap vs Professional [poll link]

Yoi no Mikazuki vs Q to Juu [poll link]

ITTEKI ~Yoshitsune Ibunroku~ vs Double Solitaire [poll link]

ROUND 2, SIDE A | May 14th, 1:00PM CST

Growing Pain vs Mikansei na Sora de [poll link]

SCARLET GAME vs The Contract [poll link]

ROUND 2, SIDE B | May 15th, 1:00PM CST

Houkago Midnight vs Professional [poll link]

Q to Juu vs Double Solitaire [poll link]

ROUND 3, SIDE A | May 16th, 1:00PM CST

Growing Pain vs The Contract [poll link]

ROUND 3, SIDE B | May 17th, 1:00PM CST

Professional vs Q to Juu [poll link]

[a3songtournament]

ROUND 2, SIDE B, MATCH 11

Houkago Midnight vs Professional

[a3songtournament]

ROUND 1, SIDE A, MATCH 1

Growing Pain vs Fukutsu no Chant

[a3songtournament]

MIXED PLAY TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Hello from Mod on Vacation! The bulk of it hasn't started yet, which means I still have time to give you all the results for our mixed play tournament. Our decisive winner, with 67.2% of the vote, is...

The Contract!

Q to Juu came in second, with Growing Pain narrowly eking out third place over Professional.

This marks our first character to have won multiple competitions, with Taichi earning first in both this tournament and in Troupe Play songs with Just For Myself!

The intermission polls have also now begun. Check those out! I won't be having a linked masterpost with all of them because, well, I will be without internet soon. But I've already loved seeing your comments in the tags of the two that are out!

[a3songtournament]

MIXED PLAY SONG TOURNAMENT - THIRD PLACE MATCH

Growing Pain vs Professional

[a3songtournament]

ROUND 3, SIDE A RESULTS

The Contract 80% / Growing Pain 20%

A huge sweep! Can't say I'm very surprised.

A link to the final Side B poll can be found here!