Chapter 246: A Place to Shine
After everyone finished enjoying the meal, we planned to split into two groups.
One group would stay here with Rozzo, Sid, Georges, and the others to enjoy some drinks.
The other group, just like last year, would head to the recreation room to take part in the game tournament.
Although we call it a “drinking party,” there’s no requirement to drink alcohol—people are welcome to just enjoy the food and conversation. So anyone who isn’t good at games can stay behind.
On the other hand, anyone who wants to try even a little bit of gaming is required—no questions asked—to join the tournament.
Even people who have never touched a game before are welcome to participate.
Just like last year, I came up with rules where anyone has a chance to win, so I’m sure everyone will enjoy it.
After explaining all that, the group split almost perfectly in half.
Since I’d be running the game tournament, I naturally joined that group.
I did feel a bit torn—I wanted to join the drinking party too, since it would be fun to chat and have a drink—but with those thoughts in mind, I gathered the participants and headed to the recreation room.
“I got totally crushed last year, but I won’t lose this time!”
“Shiela was way too strong. I lost fair and square to someone who supposedly didn’t even know the game, so I don’t feel like I can win this year either.”
“Helena and Shiela have been training, after all. Taking that into account, this year we’ll run separate tournaments: one for experienced players, and one for beginners plus near-beginners.”
This year’s tournament participants were sixteen in total: me, Shiela, Helena, Mika, Ren, Shoji, Yui, Velvet, Yato, Ashros, Joel, Norman, Jacob, Rose, Isabella, and Milagros.
For the brackets, everyone from me through Velvet was placed in the experienced group, while Yato through Norman were placed in the beginner group.
To be honest, Yato has played more hours than Velvet.
However, Yato has been completely defeated in every tournament so far.
If anything, you could say he put up a decent fight in the cooking contest—but even then, the winner was Velvet.
So, despite how things might seem, Yato was placed in the beginner group, and I had to apologize to Velvet while assigning her to the experienced group.
Considering dexterity alone, Velvet might actually be the better player, and even if some consideration was involved, I think it ended up being a good division.
The order of names also roughly reflected pre-tournament expectations.
In the experienced group, that meant me, Shiela, Helena, and Mika.
In the beginner group, I made sure that Yato, Ashros, Joel, and Norman wouldn’t face each other in the first round.
The remaining matchups were decided by drawing lots, and the tournament bracket was completed.
And then—
My first opponent was Ren.
Among the non-seeded players, he’s the one with the most gaming experience, and when it comes to handling modern consoles, he’s definitely better than me.
You could say he was the worst possible matchup—but to win the tournament, I’d have to beat anyone anyway.
“Sato, please take care of me. Even though you’ve helped me so much, I won’t be holding back.”
“Of course—come at me with everything you’ve got. I will too.”
With that, the first match began.
Just like last year, Ren chose Ken, and I picked Yoshi.
There are big differences from the Nintendo 64 version, but the fundamentals are the same.
What matters most is guarding properly, avoiding combo drops, and not losing the mind games.
I’d secretly practiced my combos, so I had no intention of letting Ren take even a single stock.
While carefully defending against Ken’s unique attacks, I pressed my offense, linked into strong combos, and secured the finish.
Under rules with no items and no Final Smashes, there were very few ways for me to lose.
Ren couldn’t do anything, and just as I’d declared, I won without losing a single stock.
Like Yato, my opportunities to really shine are limited, so being able to clearly show my strength was a huge relief.
“Whoa… I couldn’t do anything at all. Sato, you’re way too strong.”
“That’s right—Sato is strong. I won the tournament, but even last year I lost to her in an exhibition match. The real hidden boss is Sato.”
For some reason, Shiela puffed out her chest proudly in response to Ren’s declaration of total defeat.
Laughing at Shiela’s reaction, I shook hands with Ren.
“You were strong too, Ren. I won because I’ve just been playing Smash longer.”
“I see. Smash has been around forever, after all. I’ve been playing Street Fighter 6, but in fighting games, the people who were strong back in the day tend to stay strong.”
“Reaction speed matters, of course, but in fighting games, technique and mind games may be even more important.”
Youth is important in games, but fighting games especially demand technique and psychological battles.
Smash is family-friendly and more chaotic compared to Street Fighter or Tekken, but if you restrict items and Final Smashes, it becomes a pure test of skill.
The lack of fighting-game-style depth is also a blessing for an old guy like me.
The fact that it’s 2D played a big role in how easily I beat Ren.
With characters ranging from classic to brand new, Smash is truly a wonderful game that both the elderly and children can enjoy.
“Next is me versus Isabella! I’ll defeat you just like last time!”
“I won’t lose this time. I realized that losing to Lady Yato is twice as frustrating as losing to a normal person.”
“Nuahaha! Sorry to say it, but I’ll win again this time!”
Yato puffed out her small chest to the fullest as she looked down at Isabella.
Among the four who didn’t get seeded, Isabella was the toughest opponent—if Yato were to lose, it would probably be to her.
Since she was placed in the beginner bracket, I want her to win—but in this bracket, items and Final Smashes are allowed, so comebacks are very possible.
You never know the outcome until the match is played.
With a bit of tension, I watched over Yato and Isabella’s match as it began.