On 09/27/09, I interviewed one of the top American KI players from back in the day, HeaTSeeKer. So here's a first hand look at what a KI pro from the 90's has to say..
redeyeguyKIOnet: hi, and welcome to KIO.net. why not start off by introducing yourself? what was your name on XBAND?
Heatseeker: HeaTSeeKer
redeyeguyKIOnet: so, how did you first get into playing ki?
Heatseeker: I got it for my snes because i'm into fighting games.Then I got hooked when xband came out.I wanted to be the best.
redeyeguyKIOnet: so during what time were you active on xband?
Heatseeker: 1995-1997 I think that's right
redeyeguyKIOnet: so i've heard you were quite an influential player on xband. many say you were among the top players in USA back in the day. tell us about how you started off in xband
Heatseeker: I started off thinking I was good.The first person I played was Tenacious.He beat me bad.Then I played Gauge.He did the press release combos on me.I didn't know
what was going on.Then I played Raf (DeStRoYeR),his name was Latino I.C.E back then.That was one of the clubs back then.He showed me how to play.
redeyeguyKIOnet: who was tenacious? i never heard of him
Heatseeker: And you never will.Once I got good,it was no problem to beat him.Also he didn't have nationwide.
redeyeguyKIOnet: oh, so he was just a decent player that only beat you at first cause you were inexperienced, right?
Heatseeker: yes
redeyeguyKIOnet: ah ok. but gauge and destroyer, they were big names on xband, and you seem to know em. tell me about how it was between you and them back in the day
Heatseeker: Well,Raf aka destroyer seemed to have problems beating gauge.I had problems beating this other local guy and i can't think of of his screen name,but we all keep in touch.
redeyeguyKIOnet: ohh i see. in your opinion, who was better - gauge or destroyer?
Heatseeker: destroyer.i didn't have any problems with gauge once i got good.
redeyeguyKIOnet: haha, i see. well, i've been told that you, destroyer and gauge all live in Georgia, so i'm guessing you guys played each other a lot, and they helped you improve?
Heatseeker: In a way.We also started a club on xband that only GOOD players could join.They would have to fight one of us to see if they could get in.It was called DBD,death before dishoner.
redeyeguyKIOnet: nice. was that the only club/clan you were in? or were there others?
Heatseeker: NBK UD ICE
redeyeguyKIOnet: i've heard of NBK and U*D, but never ICE. was ICE a powerful clan?
Heatseeker: ICE was the first one I saw,and joined.That was when I first got on xband.Everyone wanted to join,but you had to be good.Raf was the one that recruted me back then.
redeyeguyKIOnet: ahh i see
redeyeguyKIOnet: hey, so who are all the good players you can remember from xband?
Heatseeker: Wizard, Virus UD, Cyber Crip, Imange, Gauge, Siphorth, Token, Destroyer. There's more but i can't think of the rest right now
redeyeguyKIOnet: who was your hardest opponent on xband?
Heatseeker: Destroyer and i'm not saying that just because he's my friend.He had the best defense I ever saw back then.
redeyeguyKIOnet: nice. and we know that ki is a highly defensive game. how would you have described your playstyle?
Heatseeker: aggresive
redeyeguyKIOnet: so you were really into combo resets and mixups i guess
Heatseeker: i like to out think my opponet,but sometimes i get a little edgy.i'm used to playing Street Fighter so i go for the crossover alot.
redeyeguyKIOnet: thats cool. i myself like to play very psychologically, and am an occasional risk taker. you ever played Street Fighter on xband?
Heatseeker: yes
redeyeguyKIOnet: how were you at that?
Heatseeker: pretty good.more wins than losses,but i played ki the most lol.
redeyeguyKIOnet: so you were still a ki major, interesting. well, im better at ki than sf too lol. so who were your best characters in ki (in what order)?
Heatseeker: Ok... cinder,saburwulf,combo,orchid,fulgore,jago,riptor
redeyeguyKIOnet: wow, you were good with a lot of characters. but i guess cinder was your #1. and sabrewulf..? that's actually quite uncommon. i personally haven't seen too many exceptional sabrewulfs out there. would you agree that there weren't that many good sabrewulf players out there?
Heatseeker: yea I won that part of the xband tournament
redeyeguyKIOnet: what do you mean?
Heatseeker: Token, that was his xband name, hosted a nationwide tournament for every character in ki.if you wanted to play you had to sign up for the certan character.about 500 people joined all through the US.
redeyeguyKIOnet: you won a tournament for all those characters, seriously?
Heatseeker: I won cinder riptor and saberwulf.
redeyeguyKIOnet: ohh, i see now. nice! so how good was Token?
Heatseeker: He was good.He had a really good cinder.He taught me the dizzy trick with him.He couldn't beat my orchid though.
redeyeguyKIOnet: yeah, orchid is a tough character. who was token good with?
Heatseeker: cinder and orchid mostly.sometimes he'd pick riptor.
redeyeguyKIOnet: it seems that cinder and orchid are many people's best characters (they're also the strongest in the game). how often did people use cinder and orchid back in the day?
Heatseeker: well back then we used everyone.that's how we got so good,because we would do random select during matches so we had to know how to use everybody.
redeyeguyKIOnet: that's crazy. nowadays, most people just do free select, and choose whoever they feel like. i personally think im really good with my best characters, while not so good with my worst. were your worst characters bad, or were they still good?
Heatseeker: It all depends on who you're playing. Back then when I got an opponet,if I knew who they were,I knew how they would play.And beleive me that's hard to keep track of with that many people.it eventually becomes second nature to you.
redeyeguyKIOnet: so you're saying that vs some players, you might have to use different characters?
Heatseeker: No that's not what i'm saying.Once you've played the person,remember how he played,that way you'll know what to expect.It doesn't matter who he picks or who you pick.Out think him.
redeyeguyKIOnet: ah i see. would you say that some characters did better vs some, and worse vs others? i find that Thunder tends to be a rather poor character overall, while Cinder and Orchid tend to do well vs other characters. sure, skill affects a match a lot, but do you think that some character matchups made some fights a bit harder?
Heatseeker: Back in the day (man I sound old), the thing with me was no matter who I picked I was going to win.I didn't win them all but I tried.I got alot of wins off of people trying to cheat me with cinder.I said he's my best but i never went invisible with him.It doesn't matter who you pick,it comes down to if you wanna win.
redeyeguyKIOnet: yeah, that invisibility bs is pretty stupid; his glitches are very annoying as well. i do agree with you though, if you have the mindset to win, you will always put up a fight. i've beaten tough orchid players with riptor just because i can out-think the opponent, even though orchid is the superior character. so, who was your worst character? just wondering..
Heatseeker: spinal
redeyeguyKIOnet: haha, my spinal isn't that good either. yours was probably better though lol. i really suck with jago though, he's just not my style of character.
redeyeguyKIOnet: so lets get back to xband. i know you say destroyer was the hardest opponent for you. do you consider him to be the #1 player back in the day, or would you say someone else (maybe even you)?
Heatseeker: No not really.Destroyer was the hardest.I tried challenging Lordgamegod,but he never accepted.
redeyeguyKIOnet: hey about lordgamegod, it's pretty weird. some people (including LGG himself) claimed he was #1. yet others, like gauge and destroyer, say he wasn't too amazing. what's up with that?
Heatseeker: Destroyer never played him,but gauge did and beat him.That's all i know about that.
redeyeguyKIOnet: oh, and what did gauge say about LGG?
Heatseeker: That he wasn't as good as he said he was.
redeyeguyKIOnet: im sure that caused a lot of beef in the day. that reminds me of MagnusZhor, the fat lazy guy who used to plug-pull all day to get #1 score. everyone said he sucked bad, and that he often rejected challenges. you knew about that right?
Heatseeker: yea gauge played him too and beat him
redeyeguyKIOnet: hahaha, nice. did you know he was bragging about being the
#1 ranked KI player in the world on youtube? im serious!
Heatseeker: no i didn't know that. all i know is his wife worked for the xband company so that's how he got his rep.
redeyeguyKIOnet: LOL WTF, thats so sad. oh well, i guess he got lucky. he has nothing to prove anyway. everyone said he sucked; if he WAS any good, people would've respected him for it, you know?
Heatseeker: there was another guy that started a club, his wife worked for xband and she would give out phone numbers. you had to be 30 or older to join. they called my house at 3am i told them to fuck off
redeyeguyKIOnet: wait, wasnt that Sheer Terror? i think destroyer told me about him once. sounds like a loser lol
Heatseeker: yep that's him
redeyeguyKIOnet: so he must've been 30+, and you were like how old?
Heatseeker: 15
redeyeguyKIOnet: damn, what a loser. did he get you in trouble? =/
Heatseeker: no i just told him not to call here anymore I had no beef with him but he found out i was friends with destroyer and decided to call me.. they were the one's that he pissed off
redeyeguyKIOnet: wow, things must've been hectic back then. those were the 90's haha.
redeyeguyKIOnet: so did you have any beefs back in the day?
Heatseeker: Just with Tenacious and this other kid.I can't remember his name.
redeyeguyKIOnet: ah. did you know of any other major beefs on xband?
Heatseeker: Well, Destroyer started a club called ANBK.It was
Against NBK.It lasted for a little while,then the head of NBK asked destroyer to join,then that was over.
Heatseeker: I feel like i'm on Oprah or some bs talkshow.lol
redeyeguyKIOnet: hahaha dont worry, its all good
redeyeguyKIOnet: so, you ever plan on playing ki again? like vs people online
Heatseeker: yes i do, i just need to practice offline first
redeyeguyKIOnet: well i look forward to it man, i'm sure if you ever get back in shape, you'll be a crazy guy lol
redeyeguyKIOnet: well, thanks for your time, it's been a pleasure! hopefully i'll see you return to KI someday, and see what you really play like
Heatseeker: no problem
