Past Masters, Vol. IV: Bueno

Bueno, the former webmaster of Strider Island Moralos, needs no introduction. He's done more for the Strider fanbase than virtually anyone. His work with the fan scene is unparalleled, and his site was the primary inspiration and influence on the LSCM. He and I go even further back than Agrios and I. Of all of the Strider fansite webmasters, I wanted to interview him the most, simply because he's a great friend (who can totally kick my ass at Marvel vs. Capcom 2, as it turns out).

Unlike the others, I'm not censoring this article. Those of you still in grade school, get out. Now. Everyone else, hang on.


LSCM: I just realized I don't even know your real name. Is it really "Bueno" or is that just a handle/nickname like "Scion" is for me?

Bueno: It's just "Bueno". Kinda like "Madonna" or "Cher".

I honestly don't really think of myself as an Internet celebrity of some sorts, but here goes. :P

LSCM: Maybe not, but my site quite literally wouldn't have existed without yours, so there ya go. I at least owe you an interview.

Bueno: Heh, mine wouldn't have existed if it weren't for Blue Dragon. The webmaster of that place helped me get started by letting me copy his HTML codes.

LSCM: So he got you into HTML and web programming?

Bueno: In a way I guess. I don't really know if you could call it programming since all I did was copy the code though... but hey, if the shoe fits...

LSCM: What's your first Strider-related memory?

Bueno: That'd have to be Strider on the NES. It was the first time I've ever heard of Hiryu. I lived in a small town where the arcades had only the mainstream titles, so we never had the blessing of the arcade version where I lived. I had a subscription to Nintendo Power and they did a full blown preview of the NES version with strategy guides for the first two stages. That issue had a badass centerfold of Hiryu to boot.

LSCM: That was a good issue, all around. I personally just wonder why they stuck Kain in yellow, though...

Bueno: Easy. To match his hair.

LSCM: Ha!

That game's not noted for the way it makes the most of the NES's capabilities, though. If they were to give the NES Strider the Bionic Commando: ReArmed treatment, how would you want them to update it?

Bueno: Probably in the same way they did Bionic Commando: Rearmed. With an HD makeover, But one thing in particular that they'd have to re-tool is the gameplay system to make it more similar to the arcade version. And while the story is cool since it's based on the Manga, they should try to expand on it more to get the player immersed in the world. I can't stress interactivity enough.

LSCM: What do you mean when you say that? What kind of interactivity are you looking for?

Bueno: Basically the kind that puts the player in the "role" of the lead character as opposed to simply controlling the lead character of an action game. The kind of interactivity that allows the player to feel what the character is feeling. To feel like every choice made in the game has consequence. Not necessarily something to be like in "real-life" but to get the player more involved rather than just simply slicing and dicing. Although sometimes that's okay too.

LSCM: Do you think the Strider games and Hiryu in particular are complex enough to support that level of depth?

Bueno: The NES version tried to do it using the Manga as a base, but with the limited technology and know how at the time, they weren't really able to pull it off. Now if it were done today, it'd be a whole different ballgame. And even with the story being very limited, it'd be nice to see what could be done to expand on it and show more of it to the audience.

LSCM: Which is your favorite of the three (Strider, NES Strider, Strider 2), and why?

Bueno: Hard to say. The NES version is definitely a transitional object for me since it's the first one I played. Strider 2 was what got me back into Strider after a long time. But I guess my favorite is first one. Nothing beats running down an exploding hill and leaping off the edge like an action hero.

LSCM: Its amazing how powerful the nostalgia for that particular scene is. That seems to be the most iconic part of the game, for anyone who actually remembers it.

Bueno: Yeah, it was definitely groundbreaking at the time. I guess it's because of the fact that it was the first time it was ever done. A videogame's never made me feel like that before then.

LSCM: Has any game made you feel that way since?

Bueno: I dunno about any other games giving me an adrenaline rush like Strider did, but Resident Evil was the first game to truly scare me. Especially since I was playing it at night. I dunno if it the same to you, but it was the part in the hallway with the dogs bursting in from the windows. That was the first time a game ever made me scream AND panic and the same time.

LSCM: Actually, I've never played Resident Evil. It sounds like what you mean, though, is a game making you feel real emotions. Is that about right?

Bueno: Exactly. I ain't no game developer, but as a gameplayer, I probably "felt" more from a game than a developer does because it's something that provided a new experience never before whereas a developer may feel jaded with something like that after having to work on it a couple hundred times.

LSCM: Did you follow the lead-ups to any of the home releases? Which home release were you looking forward to, in particular?

Bueno: I remember reading about the release of the arcade version for the Genesis/Mega Drive in an issue of EGM when I was like in grade 5 or 6 or so. The graphics looked groundbreaking (at that time at least) and I got so stoked. I didn't own a Mega Drive, but my cousin bought one on his vacation to the Philippines and along with it, a copy of Strider. Me and my big brother would crash at his house each weekend and play Strider, Golden Axe, Atomic Robo Kid, and countless other classics non-stop.

LSCM: I'm guessing this is where you first learned about the exploding mountain scene in Strider?

Bueno: Fuck yeah. And then watch Saturday Night Live.

LSCM: That must've driven the nearby adults nuts. You guys getting wound up on classic Sega action games then pinging off the walls from SNL sketches. *L*

Bueno: Not really, since it was in the basement after all.

LSCM: Yeah, that would make a difference. When you started your site, did you tell your cousin, since he was responsible for your being able to play the Genesis port?

Bueno: Nah, I kept it to myself. Unlike me, he grew out of the whole Strider thing and moved onto not only other games, but other things in life.

LSCM: Also, you mentioned EGM. Any thoughts on EGM's passing (and now, it seems, its return as well)?

Bueno: Couldn't say. I've been in Japan for the past while so the only gaming magazine I've been looking at (I specifically say "looking" cause I'm Japanese illiterate...) is Famitsu. But even that's not so often.

LSCM: You're still Japanese illiterate? Can you speak it, though?

Bueno: Enough to keep a conversation, but it depends on who I talk to. It's not like a lot of the girls I know like to talk about videogames, action movies, martial arts, or Japanese superheroes.

LSCM: That brings us to the $64,000 question: just what are Japanese girls into?

Bueno: Like all girls, it pretty much depends on the girl. I mean, the "average" Japanese girls kinda vary depending on age range. The younger girls just wanna have a good time and usually like shopping, karaoke box, etc. But girls in their 30s are usually the ones that really wanna have a serious relationship and/or get married.

But yeah, it just pretty much depends on what the girl is into.

LSCM: What led to the creation of your fansite?

Bueno: The release of Marvel vs. Capcom and news about Strider 2 were only being covered by like 3 English speaking fansites, so I decided to add to the bunch by opening up a new site that would try to provide not only more news, but media of Strider that the other sites didn't. At the time, I didn't have a really good command of Japanese, but I was able to read a bit of Hiragana and Katakana, so that helped in finding some of the content from Japanese websites.

LSCM: I remember logging into ICQ back in those days and getting a message you'd sent through the server, asking for help finding something called "Moto Kikaku". I had no idea what you were talking about. Your news reporting was light-years beyond what we'd seen in prior Strider sites. Even something as simple as letting us know the Japanese Strider sites existed was unheard-of.

Bueno: Well, news about Strider Hiryu has died down overall, so even the Japanese sites are gathering dust nowadays.

LSCM: No lie. I've been grabbing them off of the Internet Archive ever since Strider Honbu went down 2 years ago.

Bueno: You've gone on longer than I have, that's for sure.

LSCM: Only because of sheer stubbornness. You could always bring it yours back as a blog or something, though.

Bueno: If I ever have the inspiration to, I might.

LSCM: What was the Strider Internet scene like, in those days? Was there a lot of communication between webmasters, or was it each man for himself?

Bueno: The only people that I was contact with at the time was Agrios (through mail) and the webmaster for The Blue Dragon, who actually lived in the same city as me. He's quite the gamer. I went over to his place and he had an arcade cabinet that he and his dad built themselves from the ground up. It was hooked up to his computer and ran EVERY emulator and ROM you could think of. He beat me in a few rounds of Marvel vs. Capcom, but when it came to Metal Warriors for Snes9x, he had a rough time.

LSCM: That sounds awesome. Do you still keep in touch?

Bueno: Unfortunately, I lost his contact a long time ago. But I think he moved to like Ireland or something so...

LSCM: Ouch. There goes THAT interview possibility.

Bueno: One guy who really came through in providing me with material was a fan from Hong Kong. He gave me info and pics and even photocopied the entire Strider Hiryu Manga and mailed it to me. Unfortunately, I was never able to scan it.

LSCM: Much to your fanbase's consternation. Did this guy run a site himself?

Bueno: That's the thing. He never did. But he DID work for a gaming magazine in Hong Kong. And he even used old screencaps of Strider: Option Zero as an April Fool's joke for his readers. He wrote that there was gonna be an all Strider fighting game coming to the arcades in the summer of that year and Strider Hien and a bunch of Strider 2 characters were gonna be in it. If only Capcom were to NOT joke about somethin' like that...

LSCM: It'd be great if you had scans from that magazine, too.

There was (and is) a lot of cross-pollination between Strider fansites, in terms of content. Where did you come by your site's original content?

Bueno: Even after trying to contact Capcom directly, info and images were really scarce at the time, so when it came to finding both, I'd usually have to scour the Japanese sites for such. But even that was few and far in between, especially when the Japanese "Strider Circle" got on my ass about using their artwork, but I ain't gonna get into that, so I resorted to making little media "extras" to update my site with every once and awhile. Stuff like Winamp skins, wav/mp3 excerpts from the game, character downloads for Mugen, etc.

LSCM: I remember the Fanarts Protection people. They came after me too, remember.

Bueno: I Babelfished em' an e-mail back saying "Lick my Balls" but it translated to "Lick my Sphere" in Japanese. I got no reply back. I guess the wise remark didn't really sound too witty in the translation...

LSCM: You never told me that. All I remember is logging in to the old Moralos Interface and finding this thread waiting for me. Good times.

Bueno: But besides info and media I wanted to make part of the site a little interactive to try and draw the people viewing it, into the world of Strider Hiryu a bit more than the other sites did. I did this by adding a journal that Hiryu would've wrote himself. Kind of an alternate way of giving a brief summary of Hiryu's adventures instead of just writing a summary as a reviewer of the game(s).

LSCM: Do you feel like you succeeded in getting the fans to interact? What would you do differently?

Bueno: I've gotten a few e-mails saying that the site was cool cause unlike the others, it told a story so I guess it worked out well. But some of the short stories on your site were pretty cool too. Kinda reminiscent of the way Eric Larsen (Savage Dragon) tells stories.

LSCM: Well, thanks. I look back at the ones I wrote and am mostly embarrassed, because I've developed my writing so much since then. It's funny that you mention Eric Larsen. I have a real appreciation for anyone who can tell a story in an audiovisual format... because to date, I can't. I just write. Which reminds me... did you ever finish that screenplay for the Strider film you were working on?

Bueno: Nope. I'll let you handle that.

LSCM: Oy... didn't you hear what I just said? And weren't you going to film school for a bit?

Bueno: Fuck film school. Robert Rodriguez (don't know if I spelt that right) said it best:

"Spending 7 grand to make a movie is better than spending 10 grand to study movies with the high probability to never make one."

LSCM: I think that's true of all higher education, personally. Is there a story behind all that anger?

Bueno: Not anger, more like frustration and impatience. I guess I just told myself to get my shit together and stop beatin' round the bush.

LSCM: Did you have any plans for your site that you left unfinished?

Bueno: Oh yeah, tons. But I think some of the technical aspects and time consumption were what got in the way. I wanted to make a flash opening to my site that looked like an opening to an Anime series and also make the entire website in flash to make it look more like sleek and interactive. It would've been like you're really tapping into the main computer of Moralos Island. Yu Suzuki once said, "Interactivity is an important part of videogames" so I would've made the site more interactive in a way that it could expand the story of the games more and draw the viewers more into the world.

And if I was able to do so, it would've looked like the kind of computer interface that you would see in Iron Man. That whole sleek, yet simplistic iPhone kind of interface. It's one thing to talk about it, creating it is another...

But at the time, it would've been slow on some browsers (including mine) and I wasn't really good at integrating flash into websites, so... c'est la vie.

LSCM: That would've been awesome. But yeah, the coding would've been horrendous. I remember a similar project basically ran the old Zelda Headquarters into the ground. One prominent thing about your site, though, was that it did have a very Japanese anime feel to it, which set it apart. At least the first version. What possessed you to blank all that out with gray?

Bueno: I felt that all the scanline BG stuff was starting to get a little played out, so I decided to make the look a little simple. Also, it loads easier. I guess what I eventually wanted was to give my site a real vector kinda look. A simple yet futuristic look.

LSCM: That upgrade was also right around the time your personal life started getting really hectic, as I recall. Not to pry, but what actually made you decide to get off your ass and go to Japan?

Bueno: Well, around 2003 or 04, my aunt passed away due to cancer, bless her soul. Her last words to me were, "Don't live in regret like me. Do the things you want while you still can." I took those words to heart, cleaned toilets to save up money and ended up in the place where I wanted to be.

LSCM: Does that mean you're satisfied where you are?

Bueno: Not too sure yet. But one thing's for sure, it's definitely helped me grow up a little. I mean, there's just so many experiences that have overwhelmed me over the past years and it's crazy to see how far I've come.

LSCM: What experience helped you grow up that you wouldn't mind sharing?

Bueno: It's actually a couple of experiences but I guess they all come down to three words that could explain a bit about the experiences I've had. The first would be "trust". Having someone invite you to Japan is one thing, but after that, you're usually on your own. It's almost as if its every man, woman, and child for themselves at times. But sometimes trust can really pull through and that brings me to the second word that helped me mature: "friends".

Working in Japan can be really shitty, especially for foreigners, so when there's people that I know who really wanna help me out, it's a really relaxing feeling. It ain't like I'm totally reliant on em' and I haven't nothing to worry about cause they'll save my ass. If I thought that, it'd just be greedy. But I'm definitely thankful for the things that they done for me and just being there for me whenever I need to get back on my feet.

The third would be "guts". No matter how shitty your situation gets, ya just gotta be cool. It helps ya think straight and you don't look like a fuckin' wreck, embarassing yourself in front of everyone. If ya want somethin', you go for it and don't let anyone get in your way. Ever. I've been called a piece of shit, and was even told to go back to Canada, but I just pop open a beer and let whoever's yellin' at me keep on blowin' hot air.

If you give in and admit that you're a loser that tried his best... then you are one. But in the words of Sean Connery:

"Losers try their best. Winners get to go home and fuck the prom queen."

-Sean Connery, The Rock

And that's been my way of thinkin' ever since.

LSCM: That's definitely the best way to handle yourself.

Other than your website, did you ever make anything else (artwork, fangame, tweaking a create-a-character mode to put Hiryu somewhere he didn't belong...)?

Bueno: I tried to do a couple of things but each time they fell through. I wanted to do a fan manga with this one dude who I met but he suddenly turned into a huge asshole and shut himself from society. I think he's working at a cheese factory in Romania now. But good for him. He's accomplished his dream.

LSCM: Ouch. This would be Arwin, correct? That's sad. Those initial sketches were promising, that's for sure.

Bueno: More tears, more beers.

Next up was two fighting game projects using Mugen, a fully customizable fighting game engine for the PC. Both were way too ambitious, but we decided to give it a shot. The first one was Strider: Option Zero. I had a bunch of talented Mugen sprite editors and coders on the project. It was originally gonna have characters from a bunch of other games such as Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Samurai Shodown 2, etc. attacking Moralos, but eventually everyone started making character spirtes of characters from Strider Hiryu 2. The most notable one being a finished and fully playable Strider Hien.

LSCM: This stirred up all kinds of excitement. I remember the character choices as being somewhat obscure, for example, using Jack Mantis from Metal and Lace 2, a hentai game if ever there was one. Was there any kind of overarching aesthetic guiding the design choices? And was there a backstory to the game?

Bueno: Basically the whole island of Moralos was being attacked all over and each fight would take place a different part of the island. These stages of course were just ripped from Capcom's [X-Men: Children of the Atom] and other games, but yeah, that's the basic story. Hiryu fights to protect the island.

LSCM: I think that project had a lot of potential, though. Especially since it took place entirely on Moralos and we've never seen Moralos.

Bueno: Hien was amazing considering he was a sprite edit of Hiryu. All of his sounds were compiled from Strider 2 making him look AND sound as if he were made by Capcom themselves. Fighting his AI is tricky though cause he's all over the place combo-ing your ass. I think you can still find him for download if you look around.

LSCM: Not only is he still available, he's pretty popular. Do you think Hien for MUGEN would exist if it hadn't been for this project?

Bueno: Probably yeah. He was made before the project was even taken into consideration. I think the project actually started BECAUSE he was created.

LSCM: That's interesting. I'd been under the impression it was the other way around.

Bueno: Hiryu was gonna be kickass too. Named "Hiryu 2", he wasn't gonna just be a port of himself from MvsC. We were going to differ in this by giving him another "fighting style" that is based on Strider Hiryu 2. So there would be his normal MvsC style, but when you press all three kicks he'd switch to his "Neo Style" (a la Gen from SFA2) which included all new sprite edited basic attacks and new super moves including his "Midare-Giri" and Boost.

LSCM: This I hadn't heard about. Did this version of Hiryu see release?

Bueno: Nope. I think I still have him on my computer though......
.................
..........in Canada.

LSCM: You suck! Well, if you ever get the HD shipped to you, you'll hook us up with that version, right?

Bueno: I don't see any harm done. I might actually update my site with some of that stuff if that happens.

We were also going to bring in Strider Ryuzaki from the NES version and as a joke, I wanted to have him in the game not wearing any boots.

LSCM: HA! "I left my attack boots in China..."

Bueno: At the same time I was introduced to an RPG Making software for PC which was rather easy to use. And so I tried to make a small RPG as a side project called Strider Gaiden. This game would also have Ryuzaki in it and you'd spend half of the time helping him look for his boots.

LSCM: How complete did you get this one?

Bueno: Like 2%.

Eventually, everybody got tired of sprite editing and programming and gradually disappeared one by one.

Then along came Strider: Body Weapon. The story was to take place many years after the events of Strider 2 and although Hiryu was in it, the main character was gonna be a Strider named Kusanagi who had his own original set of basic movements. He was gonna take on a bunch of evil Striders who were more like the kinda of traditional Ninja that you would see in an Anime like Basilisk, but still Strider-esque nonethless. I even had a fan artist draw up some conceptual art of the characters.

LSCM: Kusanagi was to be the main character? I thought it was going to be Kyo and Anryu?

Bueno: Oh, I think I got the names mixed up...it's been so friggin' long...yeah. Kyo was the lead.

LSCM: This one I remember being a little iffy on. Do you think moving Hiryu out of the leading role was a good story decision?

Bueno: Well, many characters such as Mario and Sonic or even cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny are characters who will never die. Even in 50 years, it's not like people are gonna say "man, Bugs Bunny is startin' to look old, he should take five..." or "Sonic should hit the treadmill, he's lookin' a bit chubby." So when I decided to take Hiryu out of the spotlight, it's because I wanted to make him just a tad more human. He's gettin' old, but can still kick ass. Even though he may not be the main focus, he would've still had his own story and background.

LSCM: So basically, by aging Hiryu, you just made it so he could kick your ass harder from all of his years of experience.

Bueno: In a way yeah. He could probably even be the strongest in the whole game. Even to a "Gouken" stature. Besides, there's only so many ways to skin a cat.

Hiryu was to be given an all new look. Although it was already decided that his uniform was going to look different cause he quit the Striders, there was a bit of discussion as to how old he was to look. Some wanted to give Hiryu gray hair, but I though it would've been fine just having his brown hair. In the end, it was decided that he'd have his normal hair color as seen in the conceptual drawings.

LSCM: That concept art was striking. I still have a hard time seeing it as Hiryu, though. If you'd given him gray hair...

So, wait... you said he quit the Striders?

Bueno: Yeah, we never finished writing about why he quit, but I wanted him to mysteriously vanish from the Striders and go into seclusion...again.

One interesting Strider [we came up with] was a female called "Yurei". She was a sprite edit of Juni (I think) and was gonna have a bunch of Kunai throwing attacks.

LSCM: This was the girl in white that you and Samanosuke put in the original banner for the LSCM, right?

Bueno: Yup, that's right.

LSCM: You know he's still using the old Option Zero and Body Weapon characters he invented? He's making a concept called "Centre" and Yurei seems to be something of a favorite of his...

Bueno: I'd definitely be looking forward to seeing that. She was a favorite of mine too. Sam's a very talented Mugen sprite editor/programmer and everything he makes is platinum.

The bad Striders were to be themed after a tiger, a turtle, a spider, and a dragon. I think there were a few others based on elements (fire, ice, wind, earth) and seasons (red leaves for fall, sakura for spring) as opposed to animals, but I can't remember. Also, there were to be more monster and mutant type characters as well. I wanted to make the last boss a monster the size of Onslaught in MvsC. Ryuzaki would also have been back and after all these years, he still wouldn't have found his boots.

LSCM: This game sounds considerably more Strider-oriented than Option Zero. Which of these did you feel had more potential?

Bueno: I think Body Weapon would've been more interesting. When I take a look back at it, I guess everybody should've just quit on Option Zero and focused on Body Weapon instead. The roster would've been pretty cool with nothing but unique and original characters.

Eventually, everybody got tired of sprite editing and programming and gradually disappeared one by one.

...again.

LSCM: Ugh. It sounds like it was hard to keep everyone on task. Were you actually "in charge" on both projects?

Bueno: I was a "motivator". Whatever that means...

LSCM: I imagine you with an electric cattle prod, wandering up and down the aisles going, "Faster, faster! Cheaper, cheaper!"

Bueno: More like Ben Stiller's Disorderly character in Happy Gillmore.

LSCM: What kind of cool stuff was going on behind the scenes during the Option Zero and Body Weapon development cycles?

Bueno: We were always editing sprites and pitching them back and forth to each other. I edited Hiryu into a sprite of my own original Strider named Ashura. Think of him as a Gouki/Akuma version of a Strider. His scarf was to be all tattered and all the color worn out... he looked badass. We did a billion of sprite edits thinking about what we could do with them. The ones that got through were the ones that became playable test betas. Hiryu 2, Hien, Ryuzaki, Yurei, and Kusanagi were as such. It was always fun to get an updated version to test out and see what new stuff they could do each time.

LSCM: What is/was in your Strider collection? Do you have any memorabilia left over from those days?

Bueno: I currently live in Japan now and a lot of my personal effects are still in Canada. But out of the stuff I can remember, are a MvsC Hiryu figurine, a Strider Hiryu 2 poster, a copy of Strider for the NES, the issue of Nintendo Power that covers the NES version, and my copy of Strider Hiryu 1&2 which I have with me in Japan. I actually converted it into an Eboot for my PSP so now I got Strider 1&2 with me wherever I go.

LSCM: I'm surprised you don't have more, now that you live so close to Akibahara. What's life in Japan like? What's your favorite part?

Bueno: My favorite part? Still lookin' for it. I've been doin' nothing but work shit jobs over here, so I've had no time to go experience an Onsen or somethin' like that...

LSCM: You haven't done anything fun since you've been over there?

Bueno: Oh I've done fun stuff over here alright. So much that I can't remember 'em all, but the mentality over here is, "Work hard first, play hard later." But then again, drinking with your boss can be a job in itself at times.

LSCM: I think I know what you mean. Isn't it considered basic courtesy to do that over there?

Bueno: Especially if it's your first time, yeah.

LSCM: What else are you interested in, besides Strider?

Bueno: Too many things to mention but here goes:

One thing I've been practicing from time to time is Chinese Wushu. It's a performance martial art where you do a display of movments or "forms" in front of judges in a competition like manner. Much like floor gymnastics or figure skating. Wushu as a whole is definitely challenging and I've seen a lot of people drop out before they can even get past the basics, but I stuck with it and eventually got better day by day until I was able to do a Tornado kick into the Splits.

LSCM: In most sports there's a basic movement you have to master that some people just can't. For example, in skateboarding, you have to learn to ollie (jump and bring the board with you) before you can do pretty much anything. Is there a similar breakpoint in Wushu?

Bueno: We have three basic jumps which are the Tornado Kick, Jump Front Kick, and Butterfly Kick. But eventually, these turn into "Difficulty Movements" in order to gain more points. For example, to get a full point, your Tornado Kick has to have a 480 spin after the kick. If not, it's only .02 points (not realistically of course). A butterfly kick, would advance into a butterfly twist, etc.

LSCM: So you just keep tacking on more athletics and gymnastics to make it look cooler, then. How do you grade your skill level? Do you have belts?

Bueno: There ain't really any belt rankings or anythin' like that. You're basically ranked by what forms and/or weapons ya know. But yeah, the more advanced you get, the more harder the moves become. I've seen guys in China do a 720 butterfly twist into splits.

LSCM: That's crazy. What weapons and forms do you know?

Bueno: I currently know Changchuan (Longfist), Gunshu (Staff), Daoshu (Broadsword), 9-Piece Chain Whip, and Double Broadsword. I wanna learn 3-Section Staff and Shaolin Bullwhip, but there's no one to teach it in Japan.

LSCM: Impressive! Are you planning on leaving Japan to learn those two?

Bueno: One day perhaps. Money is always an issue with me...

One of the reasons why I started doing Wushu was because of Asian Action Cinema. And since Jet Li did Wushu, I thought I'd give it a shot since it looked cool. To my surprise, I actually started getting better the more I did it. My coach was pretty impressed as well, but loved to bully me in class to keep me down to Earth. Really great guy. I told him that I was planning on going to Japan and since he was a stuntman a long time ago, he had connections with some stuntmen not only in Hong Kong and Canada, but Japan as well. Which leads me to my other hobby...

When I came to Japan, I met up with my coach's acquaintance, a Japanese Stuntman who happened to be part of the same stunt team who worked on the movie Versus a movie that partially inspired Capcom's Devil May Cry series which he was also a part of in terms of fight choreography and motion capturing. From time to time I practice stage fighting/stylized action with these guys and girls. It's not like I've been used a lot though. I've appeared in a late night TV Drama, and a stage show of a Japanese super hero, but nothing else besides those. The Japanese economy doesn't really scream for more action movies these days.

LSCM: Gotta start somewhere. Is this what you do to pay the bills, though?

Bueno: I wish...

But I actually quit my Wushu club in Japan. Been there for 2 years and I haven't learned a damn thing. The focus is more on the kids in the club than the adults.

LSCM: That's gotta be a letdown. Wasn't that the whole reason why you wanted to go to Japan in the first place, as well?

Bueno: Nah, more like a secondary reason.

Another interest of mine is Japanese superheroes. My favorite being Kamen Rider (Masked Rider in English). Now Kamen Rider has been around for over 35 years so he's pretty well known in Japan. But there's been a cult international following as of late. There's even been an American re-make of Kamen Rider Ryuki called Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. But out of all these years of Kamen Rider, my two faves are Kamen Rider Black and Kamen Rider Faiz. Everybody else loves Kabuto though...

LSCM: Why do you prefer those two to Kabuto?

Bueno: Black marked the first time I've ever seen Kamen Rider, so it's definitely a transitional object for me. I got DVDs of the whole series. Faiz told a story the best out of all the newer ones. It dealt with suicide, high school bullying, and overall "great power means great responsibilty" moral. And to top it off, Faiz is such a badass when he fights. To him, fighting another monster is just another workout. Watch some episodes and you'll see what I'm talkin' bout.

LSCM: The only Kamen Rider I remember was when they crossed over one of the seasons with Power Rangers. I'm sure that's not the one you're talking about. I remember that guy's fight choreography being terrible.

Bueno: God oh god... that was the port of Kamen Rider Black RX. The only thing I liked about that show was the Asian mom who's actress was actually a hot 19 year old model.

But that very same action team (Alpha Stunts) is REALLY talented and has been doing Power Rangers ever since. If you don't believe me, go watch Power Rangers SPD. The action is crazy. You should also check out the movies they've worked on. Guyver: Dark Hero and Drive. Both movies directed by Steve Wang.

LSCM: Guyver 2: Dark Hero I do remember. That one was awesome as all-get-out. So maybe it was the guy they used in that Kamen Rider series who sucked, and not the choreography team.

Bueno: Well, they also used the Japanese footage as well, so you might be referring to that. But ya gotta have some respect for the older stuntwork in those shows as it paved the way for today's shows. It's kinda like someone's grandpa. You look at the old Kamen Rider now and may not be impressed, but back in his day he kicked all sorts of ass.

I'm actually trying to make my own Japanese style superhero who beats up old people. Which leads to another hobby: Sculpting and Molding. With my love for Japanese Tokusatsu (special effects), I decided to teach myself how to do this stuff. Still a novice, but I've gained a better understanding about for a guy who didn't know squat about it. YouTube's been a good teacher, and one friend of mine in Canada sent me a bunch of instructional DVDs that really helped.

LSCM: Of course the question on my mind (and I'm sure, everyone else's) is why the superhero beats up old people? *L*

Bueno: Trust me, Japan needs that.

LSCM: OK, now you really have to explain.

Bueno: Alright, well... a lot of people see Japan for what it is through movies, TV, and videogames and Anime. Now, people may think that Japan has tons of chicks that look like this...

And there are... but in reality, there's even more that look like this...

I work at a cafe and have to face hundreds of these types of customers every day. To make things worse, it's a cafe in Setagaya, a part of Tokyo that houses some of the most snobbiest and greedist people in town. So not only are the lot of these people old, but old AND greedy. But all of Japan is flooded with old people because of the baby boom way back in like... the 40's. Since a lot of couples aren't having babies recently because of the economy, more money has been invested into care for the elderly. [I] personally feel that a lot of these people are kinda spoiled because of that.

I wanna make a movie that kinda makes fun of the reality of Japan at the same time of making an action movie [...] taking the one thing I currently hate the most and pitting it against the thing that I like the most: Old Japanese farts vs. a Japanese Superhero.

LSCM: Haha! I'm imagining a Guyver annihilating wrinkled old Japanese grandfathers and grandmothers with his chest cannon...

Bueno: More like a Kamen Rider with Judge Dredd guns.

One thing that I've taken up is smoking cigars. I haven't had a way to really lay back until now, so the first time I lit up a cigar was rather relaxing. I can't stand cigarettes. They smell like shit. But cigars on the other hand have all sorts of flavors and scents. My two favorites being vanilla and cocoa. Also, there's a bit more of a "culture" as well as "class" when smoking a cigar. You gotta cut em', they have to be well perserved, you don't breathe em' in but let the taste linger in your mouth, you should use a match instead of a lighter... all sorts of stuff. Also, ya just look sexy smoking one.

LSCM: So it helps with the ladies, then?

Bueno: Nah, not really.

As for games, I recently bought a PS3. I heard that a lot of the new PS3s don't play PS2 games so I made sure that it was a 60 gig, because I wanted all the extra stuff it could do like play PS2 games, the four USB slots, and the extra memory stick/card slots. So I've been playing both PS2 and PS3 games on it and loving it. The PS2 games that I've been playing on it are the Hokuto no Ken fighting game (by Arc System Works), Gundam 00: Gundam Meisters, and Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of Illuminus (unfortunately, not online). As for PS3, I usually have Grand Theft Auto IV, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Warhawk, or Street Fighter IV loaded in. I also downloaded AdHoc Party for it, so I also play a lot of my PSP games online through my PS3 including Dissidia Final Fantasy, Gundam vs. Gundam, Phantasy Star Portable, and more recently Monster Hunter Freedom Unite/Portable 2G.

LSCM: Still quite the gamer, I see. What'd you think about SF4?

Bueno: It's great. Just what the game industry needed. I haven't played SF for like 10 years, but the system was so easy to get into. I think almost anybody could play it now. Both veterans and rookies alike.

LSCM: So you don't miss the parries?

Bueno: You talkin' bout the ones from SF3? Never really played that one so I wouldn't know. But I really like the Alpha counters from Alpha/Zero. They should bring those back.

LSCM: I thought they did, as part of the "Focus" system?

Bueno: Yeah, but it only works alright. I guess I just need to practice it more.

LSCM: If Capcom were to do a current-gen sequel, would you want it to be 2D or 3D? What would you want them to draw inspiration from?

Bueno: They should definitely look more into games like Prince of Persia to get inspired into making a really visual cel-shaded 2.5D kinda look. It's always eye candy to see that type of stuff. But also they should look into creating a really HUGE world for the players to explore rather than just a linear pathway. The whole point should be to draw the player into the world so I think an open world game would make way for more scenarios and a story that would really incorporate more interactivity between the characters and environments. It'd be a waste of hardware to not do that kind of thing, but even more of a waste to not expand on the story a lot more.

LSCM: Do you think that a "sandbox" environment would change the Strider atmosphere? Say, by slowing down the action too much?

Bueno: If ya take a look at Prototype and Dynasty Warriors Gundam, I highly doubt that. The current game consoles have lotsa power so you could have Hiryu fighting 100 guys on screen all at once with no slowdown. But if you thought that an exploding mountain was fun, imagine what it would be like being chased by a huge mecha gorilla up and/or down a skyscraper would be like.

LSCM: That would be crazy. Haven't played either of those games, but I'll have to check them out now.

Bueno: I'm actually having a hard time deciding wether to buy InFamous or Prototype. That seems to be the argument of the year in terms of gaming.

But I think another place they should draw input from is directly from the fans. Even though they may be only a cult fandom, they probably know more than Capcom about what a Strider game SHOULD be about and how a Strider game SHOULD be made.

LSCM: The tricky part is figuring out which fans to draw from. I know I've gotten some kooky emails with even zanier ideas over the years...

Bueno: Yeah, I guess I'll second that.

LSCM: Actually Capcom has been asking some Strider questions over on Capcom-Unity (what the Capcom BBS evolved into). Specifically Seth Killian's been asking some stuff. So it looks like you're getting your wish.

Bueno: Well, they should mail me directly.

LSCM: You've always been all about the ladies. Has Strider ever interfered with or aided your eternal quest for tail?

Bueno: It's always been just a hobby and will probably stay that way. Although I have one interesting story. I've met a Japanese porn star who loves Strider Hiryu. Little do people know that many female Japanese porn stars are total gamers who usually finish Final Fantasy VII in a week. None of em' know about Strider Hiryu but the one I met absolutely loved Strider. Nothing that a "normal" girl would be able to understand I guess.

LSCM: Wow. I'm not sure I should run THAT story. I've spoken with some Strider fans so desperate they'd head over to Japan just to find that chick. You sound like you know your way around the Japanese porn industry. I'm almost hesitant to ask, but... how exactly did that happen? *L*

Bueno: The entertainment industry is rather small in Japan and some porn stars (all of them female) usually break big and become TV personalities at late night. Some even on late night TV dramas.

LSCM: That must be hell at conventions. "Hey, could you sign this screencap of a nude scene you did back before you became an action star? Make it out to Big Poppa. Who's your daddy now?"

Bueno: A lot of nerds are too shy to pull that kinda shit over here, but if someone did, I'm sure that the girls would get a laugh out of it and sign that anyway. Just for kicks.

LSCM: I'm having trouble wrapping my head around that one, 'coz the stereotypical Japanese image is so polite that I'd think that would be a huge breach of etiquette.

Bueno: It probably just depends on the situation. The one that I met starred on the same TV drama that I worked on. But another one, I know practices at the action clubs that I go to. She actually recently quit her agency to make a transition over to action cinema. She does her own stunts and everything.

LSCM: ...and he's still yet to find a favorite part of being in Japan, folks! Working with porn-stars-turned-action-stars and doing wushu!

Bueno: If I actually got to spend time with her then I would've already left that as my favorite part, but that hasn't happened..........
......
......
......yet. ;)

LSCM: Well, good luck with that in the meantime.

Bueno: I'll need it.

LSCM: Any closing thoughts?

Bueno: Sure do. More like a message to everyone out there:

To whom it may concern,

I can't believe you've read up this until now. Either you really like Strider or just wanted to wait for the Sunday night movie to be over. Whatever the case, thanks for tagging along with us up until now.

Strider may be only a videogame, but to many of us... it's THE videogame. Of course a new game would be cool, and Capcom should definitely listen to what the fans would want out of one, but Hiryu is a character that we'll never forget and who remains immortal to the fans who remember him. Even though there may be only a few games with him, he's always there. Kickin' evil's ass left right and center. And always at the push of a button no less.

But if you can't wait that long for another Strider game, you could always try to gather some people to make somethin' outta Mugen I guess. :P

And if a clerk ever messes with you at a store, just quote Hiryu and say:

"Take me to your boss."

That's all for me folks. Nighty night.