Resetting the Rivalry: How Sonic Fox and GO1 Changed the Game
Fighting games took center stage this weekend with the Evolution Fighting Championships. Taking place at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Evolution (or “EVO”) is the fighting game tournament to end all fighting game tournaments, featuring thousands of players in multiple games coming out to prove that they’re the best of the best. Going into the tournament, anyone keeping up with the likes of Dominique “SonicFox” McLean and Goichi “GO1” Kishida knew that this would be the culmination of over a year of heated, passionate, friendly rivalry.
SonicFox made his name known early-on in the Skullgirls scene, but quickly blew up when he started winning just about every Mortal Kombat X tournament that he came across. His relentless adaptation and use of unorthodox characters garnered him a reputation very quickly. Meanwhile, GO1 is known in Japan as the “king of poverty”, decimating players in lesser-known gems like Melty Blood and Under-Night: In Birth. Both players excelled at being the king of their respective hills, not opting for the glitz and glamour of the most mainstream fighting games. It’s only natural that these two would clash at some point.
Fittingly, GO1 and SonicFox are the Goku and Vegeta of the Dragon Ball FighterZ community. They are, without question, the two people at the top of this game. They battle at a constant back-and-forth, with a friendly but passionate rivalry that just pushes each of them to do better. This rivalry was nurtured from the outset of Dragon Ball FighterZ release, with GO1 sweeping through Japan’s best players and stating that SonicFox is next. In turn, SonicFox evoked Fist of the North Star and brashly said that he’s already dead. This was all in February 2018, mere weeks after Dragon Ball FighterZ came out, and the rivalry has only been escalating since then. These two would trade wins back and forth at every tournament they crossed paths, only serving to further escalate their rivalry. SonicFox controversially secured the win at EVO 2018, but the rivalry was far from over.
2019’s been a much quieter and less energetic year for Dragon Ball FighterZ. We’ve seen a couple characters added to the roster, but the sheer hype factor that made 2018 Dragon Ball FighterZ’s year wore off, and we didn’t hear much from the likes of GO1 or SonicFox about DBFZ specifically. That all changed once we hit EVO 2019 over the weekend. The two would face off multiple times, with GO1 sending SonicFox into the loser’s side of the tournament bracket. SonicFox didn’t falter, climbing his way to grand finals to show the world once more that he’s the best. It was the same song and dance GO1 and SonicFox had done for well over a year, but it was especially gripping seeing GO1 on the brink of defeat. Two games down, the fighting game prodigy held up his defenses and beat SonicFox on his own turf.
The sheer emotion showcased by GO1 after securing his grand finals win is touching, as the months and months of battle and rivalry briefly came to a close. GO1, hands shaking, took off his glasses to put his hands in his face as the pure, raw emotion of it all finally set in. SonicFox, ever the sport, embraced the new champion and held his arm up high to declare GO1 the best of the best. SonicFox’s supportive rivalry is really what sets this one apart from all the others. SonicFox knows that they’re the best, and just wants to see the best out of GO1 that he can possibly see – and that’s exactly what he got.
Taking this whole saga from the perspective of storytelling is incredibly gripping, and it’s an easy sell to get more people on board. These players are leagues above the rest in terms of skill, and more importantly, consistency. The first thing SonicFox did after his win in 2018 is tweet about how he’s gay and that he’s the best player on the face of the Earth. It’s incredibly inspiring how the greatest fighting game player on the planet is a proud, gay, black furry, and he later went on to say that he’s not used to having people root for him. At the same time, GO1 coming to the United States to take on his fiercest rival comes with its own baggage, as fighting games on a global scale can very easily get nationalistic.
All of this energy and wholesome drama is compounded by the fact that Dragon Ball FighterZ has been on a bit of a downward spiral lately. This rivalry does a lot to reinvigorate players in the scene and keep up with what these two are doing. This scene is in its infancy, and is already having years-long conflict and intrigue that surpasses most, if not all, video games. We’ve got years of DLC, iterated games, and inevitable sequels coming, but it’s the fire of competition and sport that will keep these games going for years to come.
