At the inaugural Penang Esports Festival 2019, the team at GamerBraves managed to sit down with professional fighting game player Ryota Inoue, better known in the community as Kazunoko, for a one on one chat.

While he has dabbled in several fighting games for the past twelve years, Kazunoko is best known for the Guilty Gear series and Dragon Ball FighterZ. With regards to his training regime, Kazunoko says he meets up with his compatriots at mostly offline venues to hone his skills.

When asked about the scene, Kazunoko maintains that Japan is still has the best Street Fighter players, although Europe is particularly dominant in Dragon Ball FighterZ. Despite Yamcha being one of the weakest characters in the manga, he is a particular favourite of Kazunoko’s as he is in fact rather good in game. For his personal picks as to who the strongest are, Kid Buu, GT Goku and Bardock take the crown.

After giving it much thought, Kazunoko imparted words of advice for all aspiring fighting game players, particularly on facilitating a strong community, as being around other strong competitors serve only to enhance your own abilities in the long run. While it may mean you are not going to win as much, it ultimately serves as a primer when facing competition in other parts of the world.