NeoEmpire.com recently caught up with EG|Justin Wong for a nine question interview. Instead of asking stuff like what Justin's favorite color is, NeoEmpire did a great job staying on subject asking interesting questions about the games we play and the community as well.NeoEmpire: Being one of the most famous fighting game players on the planet you are always in the fighting game communities eye. Have there ever been any comments or rumours over the years about yourself that have stuck with you?
EG|Justn Wong: I think my favorite comment is that people believe that me and Daigo hate each other on some rival story stuff. That is not true. We barely know each other and when we do see each other we pay our respects and greet each other and just play the game. Language barrier hurts a lot too.
NeoEmpire: Marvel vs Capcom 3 has been out for a number of months now and we’ve seen you use different teams/strategies week in week out. You famously said that MvC3 is the cheapest game ever made, what are your thoughts on the game currently? Also Capcom have said they are “aware of fans concerns about balance and x-factor” do you personally feel the game or certain characters need any particular balancing and if so what would you change?
EG|Justn Wong: I still believe MVC3 is the cheapest game ever made, but it is fun. I think the game is meant to be cheap and broken because people love to play it and conquer it. There would be a lot of things I would change like X-factor and character balances for sure. *Cough* Phoenix *Cough*
Tip from Oto.
I love Justin. What other top guy, and some say THE top guy, uses every character for fun in tournaments? Who else is that humble in person? This guy has had people yelling in his face for a decade and he still down to earth and winning more tourneys than any other person.
The fact that he used so many characters in WNF's is the reason so many people consider MVC3 to be mostly balanced. I think they got to nerf Phoenix unblockables but, surprising even to me, the rest of the cast is pretty fair. Maybe buff lowtier like CA and Thor a little, but that's it.
Interesting to think that Phoenix is on his mind for changes (rightfully so) but nothing on Wolverine. Let's be fair, he can hit one character and kill them, put the next character in a 60/40 (it's only a 50/50 if you're AMAZING at blocking or it wasn't the best mixups because he gets more that one on a characters entrance.) I don't mind either way if the game stays the same as is screw it, it's still random enough for anyone with a good understanding can win, but Phoenix is not the only problem.
Haha, sometimes I look back at speculation back before the game came out. I remember everyone thinking Phoenix was going to be trash because of how low her health was. I remember ppl wanting it to be boosted a little b/c they were scared she was going to be useless. It's fun to look back at how wrong people were when they judged the balance of a game that never came out.
Also shout outs to Sentinel still being God-Tier. (Sarcasm)
"I love AE because its just more broken and cheap"
Wonder why none of the anonymous clowns pretending nothing is wrong can be this honest.
Phoenix is fine though...doesn't need balance changes at all. If you don't want to fight dark phoenix, just get regular phoenix within one hit and peace out. Guaranteed after that keeps happening you stop seeing her altogether.
Justin wong and Daigo made the arcade
fighting game community interesting and fun.
Ever since that famous battle in Street Fighter 3 Third Strike.
Ive been a fan of this two,
I still remember people
used to have a lot of hate on justin wong.
Now its all good...
And Yeah agree, MVC3 is cheap and broken but its fun.
Of course he likes cheap games. It means he can pick the top tiers and have a competitive advantage against anyone foolish enough to choose an inferior fighter. That's the professional play to win spirit.
I actually find it pretty annoying that people consider Daigo and Justin Wong as eternal rivals. They even made a brief article on it in an issue of Game Informer last year before EVO 2010. They then compared "stats and attributes" between the two similar to boxing but with video game related stuff. Anyone who thinks that either of them are rivals probably joined the Street Fighter bandwagon after coincidentally coming across Daigo's comeback.
/\ agreed ae is broken I'll play it cuz that's all the SF I got and my friends are playing it but its broken. Imo it needs the parrying system and the focus attack should be changed to just a focus cancel used for combos only. I'll probably get flamed over saying that but its my opinion and I've been a serious player fir 15 plus years so I'm no noob.
@8 Maybe Justin but how is Daigo overrated? In MvC maybe but there's no way in SF games.
@14 It's not contradictory is he stated he likes it better that way.
Also @12 those kinds of requests are what make people scream at each other. There's no way parries would work in SF4.
So Justin likes AE because it's cheap and broken, let's see how many posters will jump the "I-Like-Cheap-and-Broken" bandwagon.
Remember there is/was a lot of hate against the imbalances of the game, as well as against MvC3, so it will be funny to see how many people will change their tune now that Justin has stated he likes it that way.
^ Agreed
People need to understand, these sponsored players don't just play for fun. They are trying to get a job done, so why wouldn't they use the best tools available to them.
And it isn't even like pro sports where certain teams have the resources to obtain the best players. Everyone has access to all the same tools within the game.
@8 - sf3 did ruin sf.the axing of the original cast on top of its overly technical nature and its "figure it out urself" attitude led to the 10 yr fg hiatus we endured.of course justin would play it,its almost free money here in america. not much cuz of the lackluster turnout,but free money nonetheless. But daigo has said he prefers the older sfs over 3s.why else is he rarely seen at all in anything involving 3s anymore?
@12 - parries in sf4 series? if u want parries go play 3s.focus serves the same purpose.#16 is right,they wouldn't even work in this games engine.u say ur not a noob yet ur talking about changing the games mechanics to suit ur tastes.sounds noobish to me.
If that was all there is to it, Justin's team would have a Dante, Wesker, Wolverine or a Phoenix, since these are considered some of the best characters in the game.
EG|Justn Wong: "I still believe MVC3 is the cheapest game ever made, but it is fun."
I think that statement says it all.
funny justin says MVC3 is the cheapest game ever made,when MVC2 had the following things
Unblockable one touch kill characters like-Cable ironman magneto
infinites-nearly everyone in mvc2 had an infinite.
combo damage-atleast in mvc2 big damage came from hard combos
@ 23
Shoutouts to anyone who plays a character who didn't get neutered? Yea that has tons to do with the player. You probably didn't even notice.
Other notable J.Wong Comments.
Vanilla J.Wong: "Seth is the most Broken character in the game!"
Super J.Wong: "Adon is not a good character, low tier." (proceed to lose to, and use Adon)
AE J.Wong: ...... Forget it, I'll formulate my OWN opinion!
The twins are strong, but it's not like J.Wong can win a tournament with them! Or even make the top 8 at NCR!
1) Is J.Wong one Best of all time?
Yes.
2) Are his comments historically moronic (not well thought out)
Yes.
@kshein - You're being really ignorant of the facts right now. Go look up several of his WNF wins with several different teams. Nobody has experimented around and won as much as he has. (Mind you, he doesn't switch around as much at MAJORS, but he won several WNF events, even taking requests for which teams to use.)
It is best not to insult #2 when you have no idea about what he is referencing.
@27 justin's comments about adon and seth were made in premature builds of sf4 and ssf4, he was a close buddy to seth durring sf4 series promotions so he was given time to screw around with the game in interviews and stuff like that and back in those builds the characters weren't what we saw in the finished product.
"Instead of asking stuff like what Justin's favorite color is"
LMAO, Catalyst! Exposed.
@32
He said that about Seth in the Final Build. And I'm pretty sure ppl exposed the fact that it was the final/near final build, even though he tried to save face and say it was an early build.
That's neither here nor their. The point I'm trying to make is that every single one of these Pro's or Developers has an opinion. Seldom are they proven correct.
However, while I may disagree with his AE comments, I'm more prone to listen to a guy that's been playing AE for 8 months, than whiney, complaining, excuse makers that have had the game for TWO WEEKS!
Balance, Broken, Nerf, Buff, Twins, its old, whatever. Just play the game.
@#32
It doesnt even matter ... it's common knowledge to not be 100% judgemental on the balance of a fighting game before release or just at release . Or at least it should be .
Just because he got an obviously better understanding and set of skills , doesnt mean he wont do mistakes , when he rushes in to comment like that right off the bat .
@35 LOL shoutouts to Mario Kart Wii being broken! We need nerfs!!
Here is a totally random question... Game balance.
Take two notorious low tiers:
Hakan, Makoto. Let's pit them against a few of the "strongest" characters from each version of the 4 series. Use some imagination on this.
Vanilla
Sagat, Ryu vs Hakan, Makoto
Super
Guile, Honda vs Hakan, Makoto
AE: (Now with buffs for Hakan, Makoto)
Yun, Yang vs Hakan, Makoto
You'll notice, IMO, the AE match up is the only version were Hakan and Makoto don't get completely BLOWN UP!
My point... Just because a game received "balance tweaks" doesn't make it "broken!" not sure all of you even know what "broken" or "game breaking" actually means.
To further my point... Every version of this game has had Beast Characters! The difference you ask? Ono didn't outright say it before and this time he did.
The skill gap between Yun/Yang is smaller than the advantages that former "high tier" characters possessed over much of the cast!
Let's be real for a minute. If Ono San hadn't said what he said, do you think the fuss would have been the same?
Need I remind everyone that J.Wong and Marn are getting beaten using these characters!?! By ppl using existing cast members!
And that the only Yun (like the Ryu days) dominating is Daigo Umehara.
Idk, just my opinion. Maybe all you guys saying it's broke are actually talking about Fei Long lol.
@ #26
Yeah shout-outs to all of them. Shout-outs to Mike Ross & Gootecks too. And even shout-outs to Filipino Champ.
They could all jump on God Tier characters like Marn and Justin did. But don't get me wrong, I don't blame Justin anything, he likes to play with every character no matter if it's top or bottom tier. Maybe in six months from now he's gonna surprise all of us with Hakan, Sakura or Gen. But Marn, I really don't understand that. He was a beast with Dudley in Super, and Dudley got buffed. In my opinion he should've sticked with Dudley.
I rather see Street Fighter do something different every time. Every damn game doesn't HAVE to be Third Strike guys. I mean I personally don't like it as much as say Alpha 2 (imo the best SF) or SF2 but its a great technical game that should stand on its own system & merits. You don't hear Alpha fans like myself whining for Guard Meters and -isms all day but you 3S kids act like the SF series has to cater to you.
Can't wait for 3S:OE just so you guys shut up about how much sexual release parrying gives you.
I swear people just keep bringing up third strike because they think it makes them look cool that they know an old game.
With the weak crybaby comments that come from the SAME guys who try to get anything they have the slightest difficulty with nerfed, there's NOOOOOO way they could have played 3rd strike to any competent degree.
ömg im seww awesome at parrying but please nerf divekicks so i don't need to learn option select!"
Well you gotta admit that exploiting game mechanic is always fun.