ToshiakiBR is one of notable South America – or to be more specific, Brazilian – OG players. And obviously, Li Long enthusiast. But what else? Let’s take a look!
Twitter: @ToshiakiBR (recently deactivated it, but maybe I’ll come back)
Twitch: ToshiakiBR
Youtube: Thiago Toshiaki
Instagram: ToshiakiBR
PSN: ThiagoToshiaki
Birth Year: 1989
Country: Brazil
If you had to introduce yourself in three sentences to some SoulCalibur player who didn’t know you, what would you say?
Hi, I’m Thiago Toshiaki, more often called as Toshi. I’m one of the admins in SCBR (Soul Calibur Brasil) and a very passionate player who loves the game since Soul Edge, starting competing at SC3. My flag in the franchise is “Bring Back Li Long!” (Hey, don’t laugh, I’m serious about that!).
What is the origin or meaning of your nickname?
In Brazil is pretty common to have highly miscegenated families and even tho I maybe don’t show it myself, my family has a mix of various races like caucasian, black and asian, that’s why I have Toshiaki as a second name. The BR was just to flag people online that I’m Brazilian and not a native Japanese. Why? Well, this is the kind of nickname that you create as a teen, with different logic and priorities (Luckily I didn’t use LiLong1989 or something similar to be embarrassed about).
How did it happen that you ended up playing fighting games?
Fighting was always around me, not only it was everywhere in the 90s (TV shows, games, movies, toys, etc), but my dad is a great enthusiast and so am I. Mix this with older cousins playing fighting games in the early 90s (Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Fatal Fury) and some school friends who shared this taste (they are my friend until today!) and the snowball just rolled naturally.
With Soul Calibur, two uncles and aunties that were working in Japan came back to Brazil with the PS and some games as a gift to me and my brother, it was cool because my parent couldn’t buy them here in Brazil, between these games it was Soul Edge and since I was a great fan of Rurouni Kenshin at that time I felt really cool to play a game with that theme. Well, my passion started at the very first time I saw that intro and here I am giving an interview to SC Portal!
By the way, I still have it!
Who do you main in SC6 and why?
CURRENTLY, Setsuka. But in this almost 3 years of game I went through a journey with some characters (mainly Maxi, Mina, Amy and now Setsuka). If the game receive a Season 3 and Li Long comes back I’ll play him as a main or side character, the only way that I don’t play him is if they rework him and this rework really really don’t appeal me, but I’d love to support him!
What is your opinion regarding SC6?
I love it so much that I didn’t drop it, no matter swearing this many times! Let’s be respectful, but honest, I like that approach: I have mixed feelings about SC6 in both extremities of the chart. The part I don’t like that much is the feeling that the game overly benefits aggression (damage, safeness, hitboxes, tracking, Soul Charge, etc), but I can understand these decisions game design and target audience wise, even tho I don’t always agree 100%, what is normal. Do you agree? No? We can talk about that.
Otherwise, the part I like too much is everything else the game has, the restart and the revival of the franchise, colors, speed, cast, lore, references, special dialogues, single modes, the pace of battles (when not interrupted by RE), it’s a great game and for me, it would be probably the best if the aggression relationship I mentioned before were reconsidered a little bit (I love you SC6, don’t die).
If you could change one single thing about SC6 what would that be?
Azwel. Delete him.
No, for real, I would reconsider the hitboxes and trackings relations, I know I said two things, but for me, they work kinda together. The game has waaaay too many attacks that simply follow or hit in inappropriate ways, I saw many verticals hitting sideways (and even to the back), characters turning 90 and even 180 degrees to land and attack. As an opponent walking and moving, you’re often punished by doing the right thing, not cool… This fits in the aggression relation that I was mentioning before and it’s what I would change first.
What do you consider to be your greatest SC6 achievement and why?
I’m divided. There are two that I like the most, can I tell the readers both and they choose?
1 – First one is in the first national major we had back in the end of 2018. Even not having the console yet and training after everybody with a borrowed XBOX to a championship it would be in PS4 I could get 5th place, which was cool and meaningful to me!
2 – The second moment was winning Champion’s Tavern 3, an online championship in the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic. This one is special not only because I won, but for all the narrative. This time using Amy, I was sent to lower bracket by Miura’s Taki (considered by many our best player, he mains Ivy but in this occasion he used another characters since he couldn’t calibrate the controller in the PC to use CS and SS effectively). Then, after drinking some water, receiving a hug of my mother cheering for me and saying some self-coach words about my potential I felt like Rambo tying my headband. I only met Miura again in the finals, but now something was different inside me and I could aim for the reset, at the end we went to the last attack of the last round and I risked an all or nothing CE that got him in counter. Many cool things happened to me in this episode, but maybe the most important turning point was the “wake up slap” I gave myself about self trust.
Please answer a single question that you were not asked but you would like to answer!
Oh boy, you’re giving me space for Li Long jokes again!
Well, it’s hard to think like this, but I would like to say to Okubo and his team “you are doing a great job, don’t stop!” Even with some salty players around there… salt comes for many places and many of these places are things people need to solve with themselves like it already happened to me. Do the game need adjustments? In my perspective – yes. But this doesn’t take the shine of the right hits! I’m glad SC6 exists! Soul Calibur South America players are here, we have communities, events, thirsty to play worldwide, listen to us! Thanks for the opportunity, let’s fight for a better netcode, bring back Li Long and that’s it!
Bye-bye 🙂
Thank you for the interview!