by Jin Lovelace, HSM team writer & filmmaker

I wish I’d gone to Summer Jam 8 just to be around the atmosphere and meet some new people in the fighting game community. Oh, well; there’s always The Fall Classic 2014.

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate, the game that I rightfully believe deserves a lot of attention, was one of the biggest features at the event. A lot of strong competitors gathered to compete in the singles tournament — people who were hungry for the title, and wanted to walk away with a prestige trip to TFC.

The matches were nothing short of exciting, and a lot of fun to watch. Personally, I’d say the match-ups were pretty solid. There were a few surprises, and some names that I’ll be sure to familiarize myself with. Of course, for those who doubt that Alpha 152 wasn’t a strong character, I’d recommend you watch the video and view how Phaze 4 didn’t come out on top. Not to say that she doesn’t have potential (I’m one of the few that believes everyone on the roster can win a tournament with enough data study) but it’s too early to tell where Phaze 4 will be at the moment.

Meanwhile, it was quite a surprise to see Marie Rose and Rig take it to the tournament scene. In fact, there were three Rigs that played and showcased some great talent, but I personally couldn’t pick apart which was the stronger Rig user. However, the commentators kind of pinpointed my thoughts on Marie Rose and her usage: you don’t truly know what to expect from her this time around. Her move set offers some shenanigans you can utilize, but with enough skill and study, she’s a pretty solid character to use. In Tag Mode, however, she’s a force to be reckoned with.

I can name a few highlights from the Top 8 Grand Finals, but the spotlight goes over to the player by the name of Hoodless. While I believe his Rig wasn’t as strong as two others that were in the same bracket, he came out of nowhere and caught me off-guard with his Zack. If anything, I’m an advocate of character diversity because you never know what to expect. Such was the case here with Hoodless, and how he just “went in” with probably one of the under-appreciated characters on the DOA roster. His Zack not only brought a lot of excitement and hype, but also filled me with inspiration to use that character more often as well.

This is something that I hope to see in the FGC a bit more frequently, but not enough to wear off the “wow” factor: the sleeper character that just lights the place up in the hands of the right player. Given that Hoodless really turned up with the underdog character, it won’t be a surprise to see so many players from the DOA community that will analyze him a bit more to try and use to their advantage.

But overall, Summer Jam 8 was amazing and I truly hope to see the Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate community thrive and continue to grow. Check out the Grand Finals video below.

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