aMSa: "I absolutely would love to (go pro)."

My full name is Masaya Chikamoto and my tag is aMSa. That comes from rearranging the letters of my first name a little bit. In Melee, I play Yoshi as my only character. In Smash 4, I play Greninja.



I got started because I loved Nintendo games and I've always been playing them ever since I was little. I've always had a Super Nintendo, a 64, a GameCube, and a Wii in my house. So that's how I first started playing Smash, but in 20...12? I had a friend who was really good at the game. It was through him that I started entering tournaments.

I started working recently, so I'm working from 8 AM until 6 or 7 PM, and sometimes all the way until 10 or 11. When I get home, I train at Smash.



I'm working as a system engineer in the tech sector. So, I'm always at my computer.



Last year I was still a student, and so I was able to focus extremely hard and play a lot. But now I have to get by with just a little bit of specialized training. It was great to be able to play so much back then.



Yeah, in both PC gaming and in fighting games the word “esports” has started coming up a lot. And I hear that this year's EVO was the biggest one yet. Things have been going in a great direction for gamers.



Definitely. I absolutely would love to, but I also think it's incredibly important never to forget that you're supposed to enjoy the game.



I prepped strategies for the characters and opponents I was likely to face. If I made it to Winners', I'd be up against players like HugS, Axe, Wobbles and PPMD. I figured I'd face them, so I practiced against Samus, Fox, Falco, Pikachu... I played against those characters a lot and put together strategies.



Yeah. And they know the Yoshi matchup, so they'll play effectively against me. And then I get to think about how I'd respond in those situations. In Japan, I can prep countermeasures for my opponents' countermeasures.



I don't think that's it. That just happens when I can't move my hands the way I want to. When my tech skill was awful. The other players are also just really good. Also, at Master Hand (a recent event) I finished 16th... That was when I was really sick. It's not Yoshi's fault, but my mental state.



Honestly, it's not. I'm famous for playing Yoshi in Melee, and that's how I was able to join VG Boot Camp, so I keep playing him. But thanks to my job I don't have a lot of time, and so it's difficult to decide how best to use it. There are so many characters in Smash 4, like 53 or 54, and it's incredibly hard to come up with strategies against all of them. So right now I'm just focusing on improving my tech skill with Greninja.



It's gotta be the strength of guarding and the way they changed cliffs. Also, aerial attacks and the landing time. Your moves don't go off as easily, and it's much easier to play a defensive game. Also, there's the “steaming” feature as we call it in Japan. When a Sonic with 150% can kill a 60% Sheik with his up-smash. That also changes the game quite a bit.



I'm treating it as a totally different game. I don't dislike it. But... y'know... I'm so used to Melee at this point, and it's not even been a year since Smash 4 came out. So I enjoy playing a game I'm used to. But I'm enjoying playing a new game.



I didn't play Brawl at all, really.



Nope. I beat the Subspace Emissary campaign and that was it. When I played with friends, we always played Melee one on one...on Final Destination. I don't really have anything to say about Brawl.



I think it's natural that a top player would be used to any given matchup and it's just naive to not understand everything a given character can do. I'm practicing with the expectation that they'll be prepared for it, and that's no problem.



It gets a little iffy at the top, especially versus Peach, Fox and Falcon. But based on how you play, I think you can absolutely beat them.



It's pretty tough, but the most important thing is his combo game. You have to combo well, since Yoshi's neutral game is so bad. Once you hit, you've gotta finish them. So you need to be able to collect percent with his nair and his up-air. You absolutely have to practice the double-jump-cancel up-air. Also... edge cancel eggs. You should learn how to use his eggs well. If you hit with them, you do 12% right away. And you can move as you like and combo off it. They're one of the best projectiles in the game. There's a lot of ways to practice all of that, and if you do, you'll be okay.



America keeps getting bigger, and that's amazing. I love how each player gets so excited. That's why I wanted to come to American tournaments in the first place and why I keep coming. And now there are international tournaments. And the viewers' excitement is also amazing. Everyone's going crazy all on their own. I always look forward to it. Meanwhile, in Japan, a lot of players aren't playing Melee anymore. There's only around a tournament a month and only around 30 or 40 people compete. But everyone's playing because they love the game, so everyone's having a good time. And there's some great players.



Definitely. Recently, a 190-man tournament had every spot filled 10-15 minutes after registration opened. But since it's tough to borrow a venue for two days or to account for 500 or so players and the staff are few in number, it's still a challenge.



They've gone up a lot recently. We used to do it on Niconico, but we've totally switched over to Twitch. That'll be announced in more detail this month, so please enjoy the broadcasts there.

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Interviewer: ShiroKaisen
Photo: itsjustatank