We all know SoulCalibur is not just Europe and America but while this two scenes are somehow interconnected, the links to others are much weaker. Just look at today’s guest: I’m sure you saw his name on numerous streams – but how many of you knows who 0rez actually is?
Nickname: 0rez (or 0re0z)
Twitter: @shane0rez
Twitch: shane0rez
Youtube: 0rez ?
Birth Year: 12/12/1988
Country: Singapore
If you had to introduce yourself in three sentences to some SoulCalibur player who didn’t know you, what would you say?
- I’m more than happy to run the set even if either one of us gets streaked on for a long time.
- Play the character that you can execute the most comfortably with as an individual.
- Open your mind to other fighting games but your ‘best performance’ requires dedicated effort within that game.
What is the origin or meaning of your nickname?
I started off as zer0kage which was based on a ninja mech Zerokage/Mantis from Ninja Senshi Tobikage (aka Ninja Robots). Over the times, the name sounded long so I wanted to shorten it to 0rez and to lighten it up, add another 0 based on the cookie.
How did it happened you end up playing fighting games?
Since I was a kid I always liked fighting games due to how they are presented compared to a lot of genres. Fighting games that stood out to me were Guilty Gear and Soul Edge. I did mash out a lot of psx ports of SF Alpha, Tekken with my cousin etc but those 2 games stood out some time later due to their setting.
Early 2004 was my first trip to Japan. I went to Club Sega Akihabara (now closed) and tried XX#R and got slaughtered by a Zappa. Since then, I got interested in more competitive fighting gaming as to experience this digital competition with such characters controlled to mastery.
After that I seek out the nearest active fighting game communities for the games I like which were GG-Slash and even found a SoulCalibur community. That’s how I met the Shens and fast forward to now.
Who do you main in SC6 and why?
Nightmare. Primarily I always like characters donned in full armor and ‘heavy brawlers’ fit into my natural playstyle more nicely. I actually prefer Hwang as a character and want to make him work as a main but that goes beyond the scope of this question + my experience is all based on Nightmare.
What is your opinion regarding SC6?
SC6 has managed to bring together a diverse cast of characters with unique, specialized movesets. It’s been great to see that good tournament play comes down to players who seamlessly play their characters from different parts of the ‘tier list.’
We have to acknowledge that tiers do exist as characters still have different degrees of risk reward. Still, when it comes to that FT2-3 set, anything can happen and the best players play their respective characters optimally while adjusting to their opponent.
At the end of the day, solid defense/adaptation wins out more than the quick ungah bungah success of the moment.
Dev support is solid but I’d like a Season 3 to iron out Hwang and the mechanics further.
If you could change one single thing about SC6 what would that be?
Soul Charge should be punishable when it whiffs. Also make it’s meter consumption happen earlier so ‘tight’ setups to catch SC mashing will be more discouraging for the defender.
What you consider to be your greatest SC6 achievement and why?
EvoJapan 2019 I had to win Kayane in Loser’s Bracket pools to make it past the 1st day. Unfortunately, the 2nd day was rough as I had to encounter Yuttoto.
I have won 2 SE Asian online regionals in 2020 hosted by @ItzNeonFaith which marks some consistent growth. It’s that period where I actually developed a more stable gameplan with Nightmare against different types of opponents.
NEC2018 getting joint 33rd wasn’t so bad in my first SC6 US major knowing that my bracket had Bluegod and Thermidor.
Will keep at it though!
Please answer a single question that you were not asked but you would like to answer!
Please treat everyone kindly in fighting games. Improvement comes from respect first thing.