GiantBomb recently set up a phone interview with Noah, the 8-year-old prodigy who managed to crack top 48 in MvC3 at EVO 2011. They also included Royalflush in the interview while discussing what it's like to fight in front of a crowd versus playing at home. You can catch a snip of the interview below and the rest of the discussion is on their website.
I found my journalistic skills put to the test earlier this week. No one taught me how to interview an 8-year-old.
I start my conversation with Noah Solis, the 8-year-old who surprised everyone by ranking in the top 48 at the Evo Championship Series 2011 this year playing Marvel vs. Capcom 3, on simple footing.
How'd you get into fighting games?
"It was fun," he responded. The phone goes silent, as I wait for something more. Nothing. It's quiet.
Okay, maybe we're just getting warmed up. How did you decide you wanted to be competitive?
"I beat everybody!" he said definitively.
This back-and-forth continues for another minute or two.
Were you always playing against your friends and beating them? "Yes!"
Is Marvel vs. Capcom 3 your favorite fighting game? "No!"
So, what is your favorite fighting game? "Super Street Fighter IV."
Who's your favorite character? "Bison." How come you like Bison? "His purple hand."
What was it like to go to Evo and play against all these people who were older than you? Was that fun? "Yes!"
Tip from Rafael2487.
Yeah, I'm sure #1 is happy for Noah, especially considering how nice he's being to him over the Internet.
@1 There's no way you get to top 48 by spamming the same move over and over. The kid knows something, perhaps it's natural, perhaps he doesn't articulate what he's doing, but there's a very intriguing story here. It's just that he's 8 and doesn't appear or want to discuss how he does what he does.
Re. RoyalPhlush I remember him on Xbox Hyper Fighting as a great Ryu player. Seemed like a cool guy back then.
@1
If you are sick of hearing about Noah why did you click the link and read and or skim through an article about him?
honestly he is good, but I will never play him for two reasons
1. I'm damned if beat him
2. I'm damned if I lose to him lol.
ppl will be like "why beat on an 8yr old?" when I win and "you got beat by an 8yr old" when he wins lol! its a lose lose situation
by the way he is good.
Best interview EVER. (NOT)
Anyways, you guys need to give comment #1 a break. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
There is a video of him beating someone with Bison at EVO 1-2 years ago. Casual play though.
Not to take anything away from the kid, but enough with the interviews with him. He's just a kid; he can't articulate what's going on with his game, so the interviews are meh. I love his enthusiasm and I think he's got a lot going for him, but the interviews are getting old.
The interviewer wasn't doing a good job either though..
What was it like to go to Evo and play against all these people who were older than you? Was that fun? "Yes!"
Adding "Was that fun?" was not really helping to get more info out of the kid.
But yeah, the kid is getting way too much credit for what his performance was. He might have been lucky, opponents might have held back against him. Or a bit of both.
Not hating, just saying I can't imagine anyone caring about this interview too much.
#23
You're right, do not ask a lot of yes or no questions, especially those you already know the answers too.
"Was that fun?" Were you expecting a no?
"Were you always playing against your friends and beating them?" O Rlly, what kind of info were you trying to expect?
This kid sucks, seriously Why are people interviewing him? He's about as interesting as a piece of toast, without butter/jelly/anything on it. I'm not going to hate on his skills, he did better than I did (I didn't go to Evo), but the fact remains, he's not a prodigy, he's not amazing, there have always been kids around his age playing very well in tournaments, in fighting games. This is nothing new. There are far more deserving people out there who deserve some time in the spotlight. But everyone is hung up on NOAH, for like no reason at all.
@17 and @1 I guess trolls have to stick togeather.
Yes everyone is entitled to their opinions but why say something nonsensical with nothing to back it up? As I said before this Noah bashing is just trolling and jealousy. I wish I could make Top 48 in tournaments but this kid is unique, he might not know exactly what he is doing but he knows what it takes to win. Some people are like that.
It's possible he has a very high I.Q. and is more mature for his age. But in the end he is still a kid, he plays and haves fun like any other kid but his mind set on fighters is unique from any kid i've met that played this game. A rare find if you ask me.
The only thing I hope is whoever is guiding him teaches him about respect and honor. The last thing I want is this kid to grow up playing gdlk and sounding like FChamp. That would be obnoxious.
How come some people don't understand why the kid is a prodigy is beyond me. In fact I would call him a damn right genius.
Most kids at his age can barely even understand what is going on a screen let alone play a game. In fact most kids would just mash random buttons and hope to win let alone do special atacks.
Noah on the other hand is not only able to understand what happens on the screen but he can even do combos as well and anticipate his oponent.
This is a EIGHT year old we're talking about wich is the reason im amazed. if it was an adult doing it then i wouldnt care.
P.S if a guy can spam H with hulk or throws with bison and get top 48 on EVO then hes doing something right
~~"P.S if a guy can spam H with hulk or throws with bison and get top 48 on EVO then hes doing something right"~~
Damn. I had this long, drawn-out post all ready to go, but you summed it up perfectly, lol.
I'm not being sarcastic or anything either. That's seriously it. OF course that obviously wasn't "all" he was doing, but if people lost to it, then... that's on them.
He was smart enough to recognize it. That already makes him better than a large percentage of players out there.
Like the only reason this kid isn't doing better is cuz he's 8. I mean, in MVC3 he kept doing the same team aerial combo and eventually paid 4 it against Chris G. He has SO much time to learn and diversify, can you imagine what this kid is gonna do when he turns like . . . 12?
Damn lol. Keep at it Noah!
@32
exactly! Heck I remember watching some matches with Daigo vs some sagat player.
All he did was throw fireballs and upercut the whole round.
But you need to take into acount the smaler details like positioning, the time between the fireballs the reaction for upercuts etc.
Top 48 by spamming H as Hulk. Either lucky with pools or a lot of bad Marvel players.
Really I am happy for this kid and all and his dad is cool as hell but I'm getting pretty tired of hearing about him. On SFIV he spams throw all day long, on Marvel he spams H as Hulk. Big deal?