“Max Volta, leader of a team of professional players, launches an assault on the Capcom Pro Tour, one of the major international competitions for Street Fighter V. Everything does not happen as expected for the arrogant and overconfident Max… even after being named top pick to win the tournament, he suffers a crushing defeat. Max takes it out on his friends, which leads to his sponsors pulling out. He is afraid his career is over. But then the mysterious Inés offers to return to the basics of “VS fighting” and put together a team capable of beating the Japanese god of fighting games…and which will cause a storm in the world of professional gaming.” (Ablaze)
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Taking to the global e-sports arena, “Versus Fighting Story” celebrates the culture around competitive gaming while embellishing the sport with larger than life personalities – reflective of strong character types found within the games. Existing to target a certain audience, the title aims to appeal to those that have a love and understanding of the amount of work that goes into making it to the world stage. Consequently, the release limits its audience to those ‘in the know', though not necessarily to a detriment.
Certainly, having access to official use of characters from the popular game franchise “Street Fighter” would pique any fans' interest. Thankfully, the team behind the book understand the characters' appeal both in image as well as the psychology behind players picking certain ‘mains' to base their persona around. Additionally, this bond is played to great comedic effects at points, including one participant that channels his inner ‘Guile' in day to day life to better understand the militaristic brawler. Arguably, the series is at its best when it is divulging that relationship between the players and their character, with the running commentary during matches being a particular delight to read.
Visually, the art of Kalon and Madd really excels when they are focused on the video game characters with obvious understanding of how important to the story and appeal is to capture the aesthetic of “Street Fighter V”. Furthermore, the duo successfully carry these larger than life personas within the game and make their own characters, to create that sense of reading about a tournament within a tournament. Inventing players from across the globe with their own quirks, the designs are distinct and top-notch. Overall, the art style is perfect for capturing the action of fighting games and creating intriguing, larger than life personas.
Sadly, the book does start to falter a bit within the narrative itself. Manga, particularly within the sports genre, excels at capturing a sense of realism that draw the reader into the character's plight, which is lacking within this particular release. Consequently, the title feels more in tune with Western comics, or at least aimed to try to appeal to an audience which may love fighting games but not read manga. Admittedly, the lack of realism and emphasis on sensationalism does take away from the actual struggles of players, giving them boisterous personas in a bid to find someone to cheer on versus feel empathetic towards. There is still a lot to love, but at times, the connection between the fan and the narrative can feel superficial.
Growing up on both fighting games and manga, there were a multitude of elements that kept my interest and spoke to my unabashed love of fighting games. Unfortunately, the approach is certain to isolate those outside of the existing fandom. In trying to define what makes a sports title stand out, it is arguable that the beloved series are able to inspire and attract readers that have no understanding of the sport in question. Sadly, “Versus Fighting Story” is a far cry from universal storytelling and relies heavily on passion for the subject matter as a prerequisite. Ultimately, anyone within the ‘target audience' will enjoy this release immensely while those on the outside would do best to steer clear.
