 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
bam09
Battle Arena Melbourne 2009
It was a scene that would have the normies scoffing. It was a lovely weekend - perfect weather for being outside and, I don’t know, frolicking in the meadows. Instead, 240 eager fighters spent their weekend inside a windowless room, a basement no less (a hotel basement, but still...), playing the video games in the inaugural Battle Arena Melbourne tournament, a weekend of fighting game tournaments organised by Couch Warriors.
2D fighting games were the main attraction here. Of course there was a sizeable Street Fighter IV, with something like 90 people participating, spinning Hadoukens at each other (and thus concludes the depths of my SF knowledge). But there was also heavy representation from Super Smash Bros, with 103 kids lining up to compete in that game. Meanwhile, there was a small alcove full of community arranged tournaments for some of the 3D fighters like Soul Calibur and Virtua Fighter as well as the weird Japanese ones like Guilty Gear and Melty Blood.
You couldn’t tell this was the first ever BAM just by looking. The setup was very professional: Walls of TVs each armed to the teeth with sticks and controllers, two projector screens to really broadcast moments of pride and shame, and a stench you could only get from the best of fight tournaments. It may have been the many monthly tournaments Couch Warriors have held before this, but there were very few moments where the whole thing was looking like turning into a shambles, apart from the seemingly never-ending Brawl finals (they were compelling, but damn they were long).
This was impressive, but what really surprised me is how big and broad the fighting community actually is. Like I mentioned earlier, 240 people turned up. That’s two-hundred and forty people who crammed themselves in to this hotel basement. Quite a few of these people had even travelled from interstate to join in the fun.
What surprised me even more is how big the Super Smash Brothers community is. Even though SSB initially seemed out of place compared to the other high-falutin’ fighting games, just about half the people at BAM were there for the SSB and its variants. They were also the most enthusiastic and tightest community there; you could tell that a lot of them were good friends in real life or on the various Smash forums.
In fact, this seemed to be the theme of BAM. It was more than just like-minded people mashing buttons in front of tiny CRT screens or poorly lit projectors all weekend - it was about people connecting through the love of the (fighting) game. All around, there were friends catching up and even forum members meeting each other for the first time in real life. On a less schmaltzy note, there were strangers just making small talk, swapping war stories or simply picking up a stick and blowing through a bout or two.
Despite all this, there was still a fighting tournament to be had. All the usual tournament highlights came up one-by-one: Come-from-behind victories, come-from-behind almost victories, nail-bitingly close matches, absolute dominations, underdog triumphs, an electric (albeit poorly ventilated) atmosphere and just about anything else that would make a crowd of players whoop and holler.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a tournament without victors. Congratulations to the following winners of Battle Arena Melbourne:
- Street Fighter IV (Singles): Exis
- Street Fighter IV (Teams): Team ToXY (Easy as Pee) - ToXY, Naruga, Wei
- BlazBlue: Feri
- Street Fighter III: Afterdeath
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Singles): Corpsecreate
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Teams): Tedeth & Luke_Atyeo
- Super Smash Bros. Melee (Singles): Kas
- Super Smash Bros. Melee (Teams): Emily & Dekar
As for BAM’s future, there is a huge sense of optimism. The release of Street Fighter IV earlier this year has pretty much single-handedly breathed new life in to the fighter scene, which could be seen in the venue, which filled up to capacity and exceeded anyone’s expectations. With the impending release of Tekken 6 and Super Street Fighter IV as well as the overwhelmingly positive impressions from organiser and participant alike, next year’s Battle Arena Melbourne can only grow in to something bigger and better.
Or at least in to somewhere with slightly better ventilation.
For more of our coverage of Battle Arena Melbourne, check out the Level 3 BAM Podcast or take a look at the photos on our Facebook fan page.
Also we wish to thank Loki from Couch Warriors for our all access Media Passes visit their site here http://www.couchwarriors.org/real/index.php for more on BAM and exciting stuff.
Posted by Donald (15/10/2009)
Please welcome Donald and Discuss on our forums here....