FGC Storylines and Drama Are Not the Same Thing

[@TheNotoriousWSG]

Brian_F's journey to an NLBC win when covid started kept me coming back weekly. I was hype for NLBC every week to see him try and win and to see him train for what he lost to every week. No drama, just good entertainment.

[@Sorrelhas]

From when Brian_F picked Oro for the first time, to when he won a tournament for the first time with the character, I was always on the edge of my seat Brian and BGA have such a skill for creating these arcs, it's what keeps me hooked to his channel, even if I don't actually play SFV

[@richman6974]

Watching RB Kumite and seeing Chris CCH pull out the posters was the greatest moment I've ever seen live.

[@blargh559]

I love Pakistan coming in and just bodying people outta nowhere. It's like a DBZ arc where a mysterious new being shows up and makes the Z Fighters look like bitches, even though they've saved the planet from world ending threats before. Then the boys hit the hyperbolic time chamber and the viewers are the real winners because everyone levels up from complacency

[@keithsimpson2150]

It's really a sad statement about the world though. We could have pro ass gamers coming out of a ton of countries but because of international capitalism and poorly distributed resources tons of those kids never get to play games. The next Daigo is probably some kid in a rural village who doesn't have electricity at the moment or something.

[@lordvader903]

@@keithsimpson2150 Im from the region arslan ash belongs to and let me tell you something straight up. Most of the time,when a region is poor ,it's either because of politics or something bad that might have happened to that region in the past. in both cases ,it highlights the local people's shortcomings and insincerity towards making a better future.

[@georgesears934]

Be me, literally just watching tournaments for the commentator banter: Haha, he said unga bunga!

[@arachnofiend2859]

I'm a big fan of "passing of the torch" type narratives. It kinda got overshadowed by Gobou but Diaphone going to RBK and beating Daru was SO hype.

[@brian_cream]

I both love the stories and the high level gameplay depending on how i'm feeling that day, i just love fighting games i guess. Sajam being the voice of reason and logic as always.

[@vaderwalks]

Said it before and I'll say it again: Sajam's superpower is perspective.

[@Sorrelhas]

Story arcs contribute a lot to fighting game gameplay Even if it's just the person setting up a goal at the beginning of the stream and working towards it The whole Brian_F and Oro thing was relatively small in the grand scope of the FGC, but it was legendary (or at least better than a dude dunking on scrubs in complete silence for 3 hours)

[@theoya]

KBR's tweet sorta feels like he waited 6 years to get the ultimate clap back against FChamp.

[@mcrsftexcel]

I blame the several terminally online people that spend more time on discord and twitter talking about the game than actually playing it (if at all) and just want to talk shit while living through the lens of their favourite player bordering on cult behaviour, and of course players catch up to it, punk is the shining star of milking those kids for views. Banter and even arguably bad taste stuff always existed, kbr and fchamp probably the best example given kbr's appearance, or some stabbing in brazil over kof98 by our beloved nino, but it wasn't the way it seems to be now or at least shaping up to be now, its a very sad road to go down and hopefully someone will bomb twitter and discord servers so we can all be free of those individuals.

[@jasonslade6259]

I actually blocked Punk on twitter this week, the manufactured drama is too much. I'm tired of it. I also stopped rooting for Sonic Fox even though he used to be one of my favorite FGC players to follow because he just keeps getting into dumb twitter drama for NO REASON.

[@mcrsftexcel]

@@jasonslade6259 i mean there is a reason, views and therefore money, but yeah, social media was a mistake

[@AnthonyTheManiac]

I wish the was an FGC youtuber that just focused on preserving and documenting the best sets and story lines. I know everyone does it a little bit but it would be cool if there was a hub

[@Glennjamyyyn]

Thank you for teaching FGC twitter about how communities are allowed to have jokes and lore that aren't problematic

[@Wazminator]

This thumbnail is next level

[@vaderwalks]

Similar convo on Coney's channel the other day, he was talking about Mango (but of course Punk came up as well). Too often toxicity is equated to 'drama', which is deemed healthy or even essential to the community. I think the most compelling storylines/'characters' are the ones that rely on good play; beef and drama may pull in the clicks for the short term, but they get tired pretty damn fast. Personally, I don't care how good you are; if you come across like an asshole, I have no interest in watching you.

[@ADxTygon]

Good take and good proper use of a semicolon

[@jgray2718]

1:39 That's 100% me. I don't know anything about the drama, I just want to watch cool matches with good commentary so I can understand why it's so cool. The exception is when someone seems like a real asshole I root against them. Filipino Champ vs. KBR is a good example. I know nothing of KBR, but I was sure rooting for him to beat FChamp.

[@DragynFyre12]

CoreA and Innuendostudios both have great video essays on how much the FGC is like theater/wrestling lol. Always been one of my favorite aspects of the tournament scene

[@gamemasterbob9]

I love a friendly rivalry. Sonic Go1 was so hype

[@BBGunRenegade]

KBrad/Wolfkrone at final round was the best drama. They didn't like each other, organically played in bracket, a crowd organically forms and then KBrad wins and pops off and it's super cool and fun. Compare to KBrad/Wolfkrone at Eleague when they just kinda artificially play up their drama with a security guard when they play. It was lame.

[@jvca1012]

Hook being mean to fat people is weird when you see him offline currently

[@keithsimpson2150]

Normal people don't know about Kayfabe sometimes too can fuck things up when fighters are having fun with each other but others think it look toxic.

[@biscuitguy4083]

Thumbnail game on point as usual

[@brutus9929]

10/10 thumbnail

[@Suspinded]

High level gameplay is the engine, story beats are the fuel. Justin x Daigo Go1 x SonicFox KBR x F. Champ LiJoe Evo 2016 Evo 2010 SF 4 Top 16 These are things that get people more invested into the game. Drama is just a outside waste.

[@123SuperBeast]

Blazblue evo 2014 top 16 🤯

[@mrpinguimninja]

On the Justin Daigo thing, it's really cool and funny how JW owned up to the EVO moment and now he's the one exploiting it and making fun of that

[@GanguroKonata]

There's that too, they both still laugh about it. They even had that exhibition where Justin got the chance and went for it, got parried, did it again the next round and won and they just laughed.

[@pinkfloyd36123]

i remember the first fgc story i followed closely as it was happening was hook's rise in the fgc thru nlbc, and how the only person he couldn't consistently beat was sonicfox (until he eventually did). it was a really fun and cool story without any drama behind it at all, and it made me way more invested in the fgc than i had been before.

[@flavoredchin]

There's a lot in common between the FGC and actual fighting sports, whether it's boxing, mma, pro wrestling, Olympics, whatever. One of those things is that we get invested in fighters and players for their skills, and stay with them because they're interesting.

[@faustsies1366]

What's really funny is that there already is another street fighter drama and i thought the video was about that

[@Maggotbone]

What _are_ some drama-fueled stories (cases?) in the fgc then? How do we distinguish between them? Sonic vs. GO1 is really easy to see as one without hostilities. Same with Woshige and Ogawa. But Nemo vs Itabashi is tougher for me. There's "drama" in the sense of theatrics - Nemo's handshake is a hilariously exaggerated gesture that has captured the hearts of many, including mine, but I doubt "drama" in this video refers to theatrics (which are generally regarded as a good thing) _and_ I can't see the handshake as entirely free of hostility. What am I missing about Nemo vs Itabashi? How does it differ from LTG vs. Viscant? What exactly does "drama" mean in regards to more bitter rivalries in the community, and what should be avoided in order to preserve the sportsmanship that captivates us?

[@123SuperBeast]

For anyone that has competed in anything fighting game related, there is a personal story there. I know there is a whole tournament arc in my life because of blazblue and I'll cherish the experience(s) for a long time

[@somethingsomething9006]

I find myself so out of the drama/story line loop that I only enjoy it for the gameplay. Arslan vs Knee was, to me, this new guy fighting Knee, a Tekken veteran. SonicFox vs GO1, to me, was SonicFox, the Netherrealm guy, vs GO1, some Japanese guy I've never heard of. I liked both matches for the gameplay. Honestly, the drama takes me out of it. I remember the FChamp crap in UMvC3 days, playing "the villian" and it made it very difficult to care about the match/tournament when it all seemed so childish to me.

[@Raxyz_0]

I watch mainly for the high level gameplay, but the importance of these storylines are paramount to the success of any e-sports scene. I follow som reporters from MOBAs and CS and man... Those are having it rough in the pandemic. The C in FGC is what kept the scene together through this, and its value cannot be overlooked. On a side note, there's a manga about the rise of Onuki and Daigo in the pro-scene. That's already a FGC telenovela, just in japanese. lmao

[@hargreavesryan]

It's winter, it's COVID, we bored inside and just want some entertainment. None of us will admit we like that soap opera stuff but the second twitter be lighting up everyone is on there checking it out. It be what it do

[@Envy11235]

Homie it has been like this before covid. People have been calling for more drama forever. The people pushing the "fgc soft" or "more drama" bs are the same guys blocked by 90% of the community for making an ass out of themselves.

[@Craigerry]

18 hair touches

[@HiNi.]

People say drama but what they really mean is interpersonal conflict.

[@sojirokaidoh2]

I skip through tournament VODs for grappler matches. I just wanna see scoops.

[@ItzTymeToDul]

This is like the best breakdown of the topic I've seen. Sajam your doing godlike content.

[@h4zrd-rs252]

Man the first year of dragon ball between GO1 and Sonicfox could've been an anime

[@ThePhilocypher]

Thank you for saying this. Some of the Twitter Convos this topic are very narrow-minded

[@axis8396]

I actually used to watch Button Check decently often but just got burned out cause it's pretty much all Twitter bs and whatnot. I'm only 25 but it's just not interesting if all there is is "person A said mean words on the tweeters and person B didn't like that". I don't watch most stuff anymore but I remember things like the Daigo parries and the Leffen-Chillin 5-0 and the guys stick breaking during Evo grand finals in 2015 I believe it was and it's been years since I've last seen them, I forget about Twitter drama within the same day. I don't watch things I'm not interested in plus I'm playing yugioh and soon I'll be playing Elden Ring so like why would I spend free time on drama I won't care about in a day or less when I could do something that'll actually make me happy

[@SoldierLuka]

You want some good storylines? Watch the Melee Smash Documentary. It’s such a good and interesting watch on the early days of Melee

[@lukadahusky4005]

Honestly, it’s like a MMA or a boxing match imo. Yeah, the people who are already interested probably just want to watch the fights to see who’s able to win, but for people that aren’t interested, drama and shit pulls new people in, which I don’t think is a bad thing (depending on if it’s super serious or not of course)

[@junipetta1595]

incredible thumbnail btw

[@Te_LaSoul]

This is true for most sports. Like Warriors/Cavs was the most watched NBA Finals because of the storyline. Ppl don’t watch a lot of NBA week to week, because the games don’t have a storyline until the playoffs

[@Lanzetsu]

Well explained sir, I like storylines but not crap drama and bully and disrespect, those are two different things but it seems only the last one matters for lot of "FCG Fans" that would be better watching some tv show instead of a match

[@mrkuppy]

Perfect Legend x SonicFox seemed pretty much in the books as a drama that left a mark

[@AzureAiluren]

On the other hand, Drama gives you some great fucking events sometimes. See: LTG versus Cl0ckwerk

[@whizthesugoi]

When's Jiyuna (this channel) X Sajam (the other white guy fighting game channel) Beef Set is gonna happen?

[@brkn_aznproductionz662]

I blame CEO for mimicking pro wrestling. The FGC loves sweaty men soap operas minus the sweaty men.

[@VinceOfAllTrades]

I seem to remember some intense staredowns between KBR and FChamp/ChrisG that led to exhibition matches back in the day. Not gonna lie, I'm still not sure what beef was real in MvC3.

[@jdrmanmusiqking]

Exactly. I loved Button Check but now its become very tabloidy. Drama =\= hype they often correlate but they often dont as well Whatching greatness be great is the main goal while the drama is just one of many flavors that add to the hype. People who just seek drama tend to poison communities

[@LadyMorrigan]

You know I never realized that people watched games for the drama. I guess i'm the rare person that literally doesn't care who is playing, I only care about if the match is good. That being said, I did see the Perfect 13gend moment live and I can't deny that it truly was an experience.

[@GuyWithAnAmazingHat]

Drama over playing games is just childish

[@malikbeat]

I can't believe Chillindude vs Leffen didn't come up. Respect Your Elders is legendary

[@TheJbrown60]

good vid. shout outs to qudans becoming tekken 7 world champ after coming back from being more or less out of it since 5s time end

[@emperormegaman3856]

Come on, we all know Sajam"s soap opera plot is not "You're not the father" it is the "this is your secret separated-at-birth twin brother"

[@darkwalker269]

That's pretty rich coming from Kane Blue River since a lot of people followed his career in marvel because of his beef with f.champ. I couldn't even remember if that was winter brawler or frosty fastings, But I specifically remember Yipes saying "he deserves it, every inch of that Gamma Crush in his ass" 😂 And that's because of the telenovela

[@ezmoney4598]

Drama of the past teaches us lessons for the present and the future. We don’t want to be Perfect Legend losing 13-0 in a first-to-ten. We don’t want to be Fchamp losing to KBR in tournament after calling him free during their money match. And we especially don’t want to be LowTierGod… at any point in his career. Instead of being a cocky asshole, us smart people know to be good sports most of the time.

[@reiikyuu]

I really agree that you dont need drama to make things interesting. Take a look at DOTA 2 OG's story in TI8 and TI9.

[@Ketsuekisan]

I don't know anything about DOTA and even I heard about that and was interested in the background of it.

[@Metro605]

OG was MAAAD toxic in their games which made it fun as hell to watch, then about their player leaving them for another team right beofre TI and they WON ANYWAY, idk about you but thats drama. Drama is always entertaining but if both parties are not consenting or ok with it then its up to them to decide how they play that story out not some dudes with twitter fingers...imo

[@user-fe5bm6ot8o]

Goichi vs Sonic rivalry was only big because of DBFZ, if it was SkullGirls it wouldn't have that many views.

[@LieseFury]

thank you for mentioning the lk beerus thing. my life is now complete having seen this. i think the main reason the fgc likes drama instead of friendly rivalry is that drama and disrespect gave us the perfect 13gend incident and now we're spoiled.

[@blackoutnz]

Can you complete my life also by showing me this?

[@Copperhell144]

@@blackoutnz "theScore esports" has a video on it called The Brutal Legacy of Esports' Most Disrespectful Beatdown

[@blackoutnz]

@@Copperhell144 oh sorry I meant the lk beerus one :)

[@Copperhell144]

@@blackoutnz oh shoot my bad lmao. Yeah I don't know what that is about either

[@iamthereddemon20]

Wwefgc when?

[@ZawaOnYoutube]

I'm always here for drama, I ain't gonna lie. I love me a good disaster.

[@R0kushi]

It's always the street fighter players

[@Kaisharga]

Woshige no!

[@pauljung9620]

some people really just want violence lol

[@17Master]

KBR making a blanket accusation on Twitter about a group of people and drama. I feel like there is a bit of irony here. Maybe even hypocrisy.

[@Usako_0630]

QUE HACES BESANDO A LA LISIADA?????

[@no_nameyouknow]

There is drama (read petty highschool level shit) and Drama like Othello or that one about what the dog doin. Not all drama is Drama and not all Drama is drama.

[@soliduswasright678]

I don't really follow FGC people on Twitter anymore. Everyone running the same heel of fighting games gimmick and its so boring. That and the fishing for rage bait.

[@BongWatah]

Yo momma

[@shiftyshitter348]

It surprised me seeing KBR say that with how iconic FChamp yelling at him that MvC is his game then getting smoked is

[@millerwrightt]

He addressed that in the comments. Kbr said he didn't want anything to do with that, and would have preferred to be left alone and just play the game without the bullying.

[@LightWeaver_Cyph]

Bro you ever watched WWE? What makes it interesting isn't the wrestling

[@LieseFury]

unlike wwe, fighting games are already interesting just with the stuff the people are actually doing, no script or stunt training necessary.

[@vaderwalks]

Do you think maybe there is a key difference between the two, can you think of why maybe that's not an apt comparison, is there perhaps a reason why pro wrestling has to create drama, I wonder what that could be?

[@kenzima6934]

Dumbass take because Hook can't even maintain his kayfabe

[@janematthews9087]

Have you seen the narrative around WWE? Everyone is tired of WWE's shit because there's more drama than wrestling. The recent Royal Rumble drew terribly and WWE is too busy trying to bury that event. The upcoming Wrestlemania is something that is supposed to be a hype event, but no one is excited to watch. Only 4 wrestlers are propping that event up and it's not the Brock vs. Roman one. It isn't event the Rhonda vs Flair one, either. It's the RKBro vs. Alpha Academy one. I know, a midcard tag team act is gathering more buzz than the two Top card draws with the championship belts. Meanwhile everywhere in wrestling: JoshiPro is having bangers after bangers of matches. NJPW is kinda lackluster, BUT they always standout matches each episode. ROH vs Impact wrestling invasion is being hailed as "The Invasion Angle Done Right" Mat Cardona(aka Zack Rider aka the unfunny internet memelord in WWE) is havihg a great career owning 5 Championship belts and putting out BadAss Matches that made people wonder why WWE didn't push him as hard. And AEW. Nuff said. So yeah, Drama bad, compelling matches with LOGICAL character progression is GOOD

[@third-ratedude4234]

Yes, what makes wrestling interesting is STORYLINE not DRAMA