REXBURG- At the Northpoint apartments there is a little scene for the few people who practice and enjoy the pass time of fighting games. This event is known as Fireball, a tournament that hosts mainly the three biggest fighting games, enjoying a social space for their favorite pastime.
The games in question would be Street Fighter 6, the premier fighting game franchise of the last twenty plus years, a traditional 2D fighter of one of most celebrated fighting game companies of the last three years. Tekken 8 is yet another widely loved fighting game, but unlike Street Fighter 6, is a 3D fighter, which means, unlike in the 2D plain where one can only move left to right, in 3D, a player can bob and weave, duck and sidestep as a way to outmaneuver their opponents In order to gain a more favorable position in the game. And last but not least, the final game of the roster hosted at Fireball is Guilty Gear: Strive.
Unlike the other two, Guilty Gear: Strive is an anime fighter, meaning that there are some mechanics in the game that usually only pertain to games with a more Japanese art style. A 2D fighter like Street Fighter 6, but unlike either of the two previous games, Guilty Gear: Strive has been out for longer, and the tips and tricks of that game have been widely learned and perfected by some here in Rexburg.
Both Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8 have regular full brackets for their games, as they both have a bigger fan following up here, whereas Guilty Gear: Strive unfortunately has less of a following, resulting in more of a top 5 of the only players in Rexburg, where both Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8 are both pulling ten to eleven participants per week, respectively.
At this event, students from all points in their education come around to see how far their practice has gotten them, it is just as much about the practice of and achievement of proving how good at the games you are, but it is also about meeting up and socialize with those of like minds.
Jokes are cracked and opinions are shared on how fair one character is over the other, but often, each person there is a supporter of the other. Very few people come to this event to play traditional fighting games, as a greater majority of Rexburg’s gaming residents prefer to Super Smash Brothers on campus.
Unlike the traditional fighting games like Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8 and Guilty Gear: Strive, games like Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Super Smash Bros Brawl, and Super Smash Bros Melee are more in line with the standards that the school would allow to be played on campus, as, even though a lot of people consider the Smash Bros series of games to be fighting games, it is by and large considered to be a party game, and it flourishes as such.
However, even Super Smash Bros has slowly been pushed out of the Christian campus space. While it has remained on the campus, it has often hosted more than twenty-five people in weekly tournaments and has kept that consistency for more than 2 years so far.
But fighting games are more than just about numbers of attendants and who might be the best, its also about individual stories, and even in the small scene in Rexburg, Idaho, there have been a few who have gone on to become legends and will be likely talked about for years to come.
A few such legends, one of them being a player by the name, Queso, has gone down in history as the King of Rexburg for repeatedly being the best player in Super Smash Bros Melee. And while his spirit for competing in Melee has dwindled, and now finds little value in the competition of fighting games, there are still some friends who love to see him at events and show his stuff.
“Street Fighter 6 was my first traditional fighting game, it was so cool, and every chance I had, if I had a friend who owned Streets and a PS5, I’m over there, and I’m practicing for as long as I can. I love it.” -Queso.
Another player, by the name of Nervous, has been the biggest supporter of the Fighting Game Community this last year.
“One of the main reasons I’ve stuck with this for so long is the sense of belonging I get from being the organizer. It’s a great social space for a lot of us, and I’m just happy to be able to help.” -Nervous.
He is the mastermind behind organizing Fireball for the very few who still play traditional fighting games, and is a likely contender for top Street Fighter 6 player. They all have a lot of practice to do before they can take those skills elsewhere, but for now, it’s enough.
Sources
Fireball Tournament Sign-up: https://www.start.gg/tournament/blazer-fireball-19/details
Nervous, interviewed by Ross Linn.
Queso, Interviewed by Ross Linn.
R. Everett L. 
Leave a comment