Absolute Guard

In a quicker, shorter episode with a unique format, Jon and Benny interview Mr SNK (http://twitch.tv/mrsnk). He and Benny reflect on their long-lasting friendship, and how Mr SNK's mentality has changed and grown over the years. After the interview, Benny and Jon reflect on their experiences playing online card games.

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The Absolute Guard returns after the Thanksgiving break, joined by Arakune specialist Tubazo! Together we discuss his fighting game history and reminisce on what it means to leave a legacy in the competitive fighting game scene, while balancing the expectations one can place upon oneself over the years.

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Angelic tags in to drop some history of AZ Marvel and his fighting game career, and sheds some light on the origins and future of Undefeated, the most recent Arizona major tournament.

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Benny and Jon sit down with core members of the Devastation team, Makaveli and Yoshi! Together we discuss the history of the Devastation event and its impact on the local and global fighting game community.  

Please consider supporting Jon's fiancee in gift wrapping this season! https://forms.gle/NNHEqjPUXY8AzBP3A 

Follow us on Twitter at @absolute_guard 

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Benny and Jon get into a topic they've been looking to tackle since the start of the podcast, in Character Selection! What makes people gravitate towards certain characters/styles/aesthetics/gameplay? Sabre gives us his insight, as well as the context on how character selection has evolved throughout fighting game history.

We also did our first ad read! Please consider supporting Jon's fiancee in gift wrapping this season! https://forms.gle/NNHEqjPUXY8AzBP3A

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WillGetPaid returns! Benny and Jon sit down to pick his brain on graphics engines and how they relate to fighting games, particularly Tekken. The Absolute Guard also discusses how they each handle the sunset period of games, where the community knows a game's end of life is coming in soon in favor of its sequel (Tekken 8 and SF6 being the modern, relevant examples). There's also some talk about FGC Twitter drama, because why not? 

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Another first! Benny and Jon reach out of state to our first guest from California (and honorary AZ), @SHBL_Tim ! He's a player with deep roots in both the SoCal scene and later on in Arizona's Street Fighter 4 scene. Together we discuss some of the current hot topics in the FGC, with an overarching theme of Tim's passion for the growth of the community.

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Season 2, start! We've upgraded our video production a bit for this special episode, check out some footage from Street Fighter 6! The Absolute Guard got its hands on the Street Fighter 6 Closed Beta and have loads of impressions to discuss with the group! SabreAZ and OldManRiver/Lukesballs join Benny and Jon to discuss their general impressions of SF6 and its Drive system, as well as deep dives in the characters they played: Guile, Chun-Li, Jamie, and Kimberly.

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In this special episode of the Absolute Guard Podcast, Jon and Benny reflect on Season 1 and what a finale means for the (bright) future of the podcast. We also unveil the Absolute Guard Timeline project, a visual guide to the history chronicled on this podcast. Jon and Benny each reflect on the different eras of the FGC: The Classic Era (1984-1998), The Dark Era (1998-2008), The Revival Era (2008-2015), The Modern Era (2015-2022), and the future!

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Nefertiti joins Benny and Jon to discuss her history in the fighting game community Dark Ages, and her contributions to the fighting game club at the University of Advancing Technology, Quarter Circle Forward. We also discuss the value of creating a welcoming environment and balancing that with the competitive mindset.