Every character has a regional champion that showcases above average skills. Marsgattai has shown dedication and passion for Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo that has earned him the rightful place as the best Guile in the west. This is based on his accomplishments against top players all over the world and the fact that he has won very difficult matchups that are against the odds for his character. You can also read his input on Street Fighter V and being an active ranked Guile player.
Anyone who is interested in becoming a strong Guile player in Super Turbo needs to study Marsgattai’s high level play. We asked some important questions and he shared some of his personal favorite matches against top players like Damdai, Daigo and Kurahashi.
On with the interview.
1-First question is now tradition in our interviews. What are your top five favorite games ever made? (they can be on any genre and any console)
- Hsf2(sf2 pretty much)
- Street fighter ex2+
- Gears of War 4
- Rumble fish 2
- Street fighter zero 3 for Sega Saturn
There are other games that I would put on this list(svc chaos, mvc2, cvs2 and msh I like alot) but these are probably the ones that I currently play the most.
2-Give us some background on your SSF2T trajectory. How long have you been playing and how did you first get introduced to the SF series?
I’ve been playing street fighter since the age of 5 years old. It was the first video game I played, and fell in love with it since. My first time playing was when I went to my older cousins house and he had the game. My first character I went to instantly was Guile because of his character design. My other favorite character was Barlog(Claw) because he had a mask(I actually thought he was a good guy until I saw the animated movie?). But after a while I just picked Guile because that’s whom I liked the most(also cause jcvd played him in the movie). Nash is my 2nd favorite character right under Guile. I also take playing Guile very seriously because I feel I have a bond with the character somewhat.
Marsgattai vs krost NEC 17
3-Has Guile always been your main character in SF?
Yes tried and true. I always like the hero characters. They give me hope. There have been times where I liked Nash a little more then Guile, but usually Guile number 1 for me. In elementary school, I’d always look forward to the weekends because that’s when I was allowed to play video games, and I would think to myself I can’t wait to play this character. When I saw he was a hidden character in Zero 3, it was like Xmas came early because both Nash and Guile were in the same game.
4-What is your favorite arcade stick for fighting games?
Well for sf2 I prefer to play on cabinet, but I do like the first PlayStation controller the most. Growing up I was a pad guy because that was what was most convenient. Arcade stick was very hard to use and I didn’t really figure how to use it well until about the time hdremix came out. That’s when I got the hori ex2 for xbox. Favorite stick would probably be the hrap2sa as I feel that’s basically an astro city cab imo.
5-You’ve fought the very best and you are considered the best Guile in the US by many. What would you say is the “moment of clarity” that takes you from intermediate casual play to pro in ST? What did you need to understand about the game to reach that level?
I wouldn’t say im the best Guile(even in us). I do want to be different from every other guile though. As for from casual player to going on the circuit? It depends on the player imo. For me, I was really addicted to playing back in the hdr days. I would get up in the morning or early am just to fight Japanese guys on ranked(yuu Vega dj imo was the most dominant). With me, I had help from a guile player by the name of fifth and sum bud(awesome guile from hdr) who taught me some tricks. After a while, I thought to myself I should try it out and see how I do. Funny I think going to my first event(nec 09) was one of the best decisions I made because I met some of my best friends of today at that event.
Marsgattai vs Damdai Nec 14
6-Do you know your frame data and do you find this important for high level play?
Honestly? No. I have no idea how to read or figure out how many frames this and that has. I just go by what I see. I do feel frame data can be a big help(especially in sfv), but the whole concept just doesn’t interest me.
7-Everyone has their bag of secrets with their characters. Is there anything you would like to share about Guile that could help ST players get better with that particular character?
Well guile is an a-tier character in the right hands but like dhalsim, I feel he can be difficult to master. As for others getting better, like my cousin tells me, the only way is to keep playing
If people want to see a great guiles look up tecmo Superbowl, golcarjack from the UK and Axel.kelly from Seattle. Also 3 underrated players that are worth checking out are Jollies, Ryry and Chris Gamble.
8-You are one of those guys that speaks his mind and never holds back on his thoughts. What is it that frustrates you the most about the community and the interactions you’ve had with other players?
Well fightcade/ggpo, I’ve run into my fair share of pricks over the years. My frustration with the scene, I don’t really have one. Game is being promoted, no complaints. I usually keep in touch with great friends of mine as well as amazing players(nyc and MD).
9-You’ve mentioned that you are not good at communicating and socializing in general. Would you say Super Turbo has helped you break out of that shell? After all, you have been to plenty of tournaments and socialized with a large number of FGC members thanks to your status in the game.
Lol if anything, I’d say Super Turbo or sf in general kinda keep me closed in. I have a really bad issue of social anxiety. Dealt with it for a while but I think it’s gotten worse over the years. I don’t really talk to many people at the events I go(unless I’m really good friends with them). It’s pretty much I say hi to who i know or who says Hey to me first, otherwise I’m good. People have a tendency to be mean nowadays.
10-What would you say are the positive aspects of the old school FGC and what are the negative ones?
Positive is you get events like 2old2furious(shout out to Min an and next level) and get to play great old school fighters and meet really good people whom players can learn things from. Negatives are maybe equipment if anything because these oldschool games are on old hardware so it’s rare to come across them. But companies can fix this if they port them to new gen consoles(and also making it lag free if possible).
Marsgattai vs Riz0ne SBO 2011
11- I know you are playing Street Fighter V and being Super Diamond rank with Guile, you’ve obviously put in the hours. Being such a dedicated Super Turbo player, I would like to know how you feel about SFV. What are the main things you find lacking, what annoys you about it, and what do you actually like about the game?
Lol yea sfv I feel is good but a big mess. I got to super diamond rank but it wasn’t easy at all. One thing I hate about the game is the little risk high reward grab characters have. If I guile and I’m knocked down, a grab character can just mindless spam command grab because I have to guess 100 percent in my opinion. Another thing I feel is the players. Alot of guys feel themselves on this game after winning causal match(I stopped ranked as I feel the system currently sucks)then tbag and don’t give runbacks. Game is pretty toxic but it looks good and guile plays cool I guess.
12-eSports are now a huge thing for the gaming industry. How do you feel about this phenomenon and do you think it will help the FGC?
It’s cool to Watch and I do think it can help Fgc somewhat but I could care less either way lol
Marsgattai vs Kurahashi Evo 2014 Money Matches
13-Do you have a personal top tier in Super Turbo? And to follow up that question, who are the 3 characters that give your guile the hardest time and why?
- Dhalsim – Answers for everything guile has. limbs easily go under booms, way better throw range, significant damage, no real way for guile to win unless sim makes a huge error.
- hawk – I have alot of trouble with this fight, but thawk usually forces me into the corner, it’s pretty much curtains as he can negative edge typhoon and be safe if he doesn’t get it.
- Guile – mirror matches give me an extremely hard time.
14-Justin Wong has a legendary rivalry with Daigo Umehara. Who is Marsgattai’s true long-time rival?
Good question. Too many to name but I just say one guy out or many. Wolmar from France. Hope me and him settle it down the road
15-If Capcom asked you to pitch ST to a new audience, how would you sell it in a couple of sentences?
Capcom should do Ultra street fighter 2 X for ps4, xbox one and steam.
Marsgattai vs Daigo Umehara Redemption ST High Stakes
16-Anything else you want to add to wrap this up?
I also wanna give a shot out to the people I owe it to and close friends of mine. First and foremost my family for always supporting and being there(I know I can be hard to deal with at times).
Also to Damien, riz0ne, Krost, Flawed red, Ganelon, Howard, john Rambo, Blb, Koop, Steve H, jollies, zoolander, technical monkey and I fix machine, min an and the ex2 plus scene, jeron Grayson, Chris Gamble, Miguel and the Chi town scene, David and the Toronto scene, Karl Wickman for what his doing with Monday night fightcade, Zass and Axel Kelly from Seattle, the low tier players and underdogs out there who are trying their best to be better players or better at whatever they (which one day they will be champions), to the people who support the 2x scene. I owe alot of thanks to janus Gemini as he got me.thru alot of tournaments being in my corner he’s like my manager.
Also, To Big Gay Al from fightcade who said I would get a lot of heat at world’s finest if I let guys outta dizzy……..thanks again for the time.