Issue 100
April 2013
One of the most aggressive fighters in the UFC’s bantamweight division, outside of the cage ‘Prince’ is a nostalgic softy with a big Final Fantasy addiction
What was the first console you started with?
“It would have to be the Nintendo. The first game I ever played, finished and replayed was Super Mario, it’s a game that I actually still play. Nintendo came out with so many games during that time and they were so cheap. Zelda, Star Tropics etcetera. I had a stack of around 50 games.”
If there was one game you could port over to present-day consoles what would it be?
“It would have to be Final Fantasy 7. I’m really into story lines, and RPGs in general. I like games I can immerse myself into and think I’m a part of. My favorite part of an RPG is leveling up and getting stronger within the game. Plus, the battle and materia system is fantastic, and the graphics in HD would simply make the game unbelievable.”
Did you get a little bit teary-eyed when Aerith died?
“When I first played it I was 13 years old so I had no emotion for that kind of stuff (laughs). It didn’t bug me quite as much as it does now. I recently played it right before my last camp and it made me sad on the inside.”
We’re not afraid to admit we cried a little bit when she died.
“All the Final Fantasy games have this thing at the end when they play that music, it just makes you sad. You have to ask yourself, ‘Is it really over?’”
So, besides from old-school games, what games do you play now?
“I own every single Final Fantasy game and replay them constantly. I like first and third person shooters, most RPGs. I’m pretty big into Star Ocean at the moment. But I pretty much play everything if I’m honest.”
Do you ever get a chance to play online with fans?
“Well, that’s what I love about RPGs. You can have a 100-hour video game and get fully immersed into it, but with these new games they’re all made for online play, so you get 10 to 15 hours of gameplay within the game and then everything else is online. I just never got into that repetitive, same stage kind of gaming. I get why it’s fun, you’re interacting with other people, but it’s the same five levels over and over and you’re always trying to kill your buddies. I’ve never got into it.”
QUICKFIRE
Night or day gaming? “I play through the night until the day, so both (laughs).”
Sonic or Mario? Mario
Sega or Nintendo? Nintendo
Three games on a desert island? “Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 8 and Zelda: Ocarina of Time.”
Street Fighter II Back to the future
Video Game History of MMA: The Super Camp
The mixed martial arts landscape has changed immeasurably in the past 20 years but one of the biggest present-day phenomena is undoubtedly the super camp.
Fighters continue to travel from all four corners of the globe to world-famous gyms, hoping that a holistic approach to training will prove to be the difference maker.
Video games, as they always do, already had the blueprint for the super camp as far back as 1991 when M. Bison assembled Shadaloo to further cement his reign of terror on the Street Fighter tournament.
Bison scoured the globe looking for the best fighters around to round off his game, despite being psychic, which presumably gave him a huge advantage, and soon assembled a crew of suitable specialists.
A disgraced former boxer, a Spanish ninja from the underground cage fighting scene, and a Muay Thai wrecking machine all joined the team, to form one of the most feared training camps on the planet.
M. Bison himself went from strength to strength over the years and expanded his skill-set at a truly alarming rate; proof, if proof were needed, that iron sharpens iron and better fighters truly make fighters better.
Separated at birth
Jared Rollins and Bruce Irvin
With a shared love of mohawks and Muay Thai, both Tekken character Irvine and TUF 6 alumnus Rollins present an intimidating sight to any would-be adversary. There’s little to choose between the two Thai technicians, who spend their time away from active competition kicking palm trees and elbowing Dennis Alexio in the spine.
LAUZON’S BEST BITS
Geek and UFC 155lb contender Joe Lauzon shares morsels from his life in video games
Lauzon on the online community...
“There are so many online gamers out there now that it’s become bigger than anyone could have imagined it would. The online community means that if you want competitive gaming competition you don’t have to leave your front room. That’s the beauty of it.”
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