Most 'nothing' tournament

[dakohosu]

There's been a lot of discussion around best and worst tournaments etc., but a lot of tournaments have just kind of been 'there' and really forgetful due to underwhelming results or being surrounded by much better ones.

What tournament do you think of when you consider the above?

For me it would be Sasuke 13; I've already expressed why I think this competition just didn't deliver on the 'Worst Golden Era Tournament' thread so I won't ramble about it again lol.

Other ones I'd consider would be:
- Sasuke 20: really underwhelming results yet didn't have the shock factor of Sasuke 19's Stage 2 ending, then was followed by breakthroughs on Stage 3 in 21 from Takeda and Nagano.
- Sasuke 33-34: didn't have any of the wow factor that 32 had because that was a renewal tournament, yet the results were completely stagnant and predictable.

[subtleagent]

10 for me, tbh Yamada was really the only thing that saved the tournament. Yeah there was the shock factor of every All-Star failing, but they weren't really established at that point so at the time it was bordering on becoming another Morimoto Sedai situation. But other than Yamada the results were just underwhelming. Nakata and Iketani didn't do much better than they did in 9, we got Asaoka returning to Stage 3, but it was overshadowed by his run in 12, and while I did like the Balance Tank, and this version of the Tarzan Rope better than the original, the Daasu Bridge was lame and almost impossible to fail. Better results just came from 11 and 12 with more to write home about.

I guess all of what was listed would apply as well, though I'm a bit easier on 20 since Stage 1 was still difficult and I enjoy difficult courses. The Swing Ladder was a** though and we all know how laughably easy the first half of Stage 3 was from 18 ~ 24.

[YourResidentKojiFan]

I'd go with 34. I could be wrong, but I think it's the only tournament where no obstacle was new. I can't remember much from that tournament aside from Jessie's breakout and Yuuji's return to the Second Stage.

[dakohosu]

20 I think was a decent enough tournament, certainly not on the level of 26 or 28, I just think it was filler in the grand scheme of things. After production got what they wanted in the form of Sasuke 19 (for everyone to fail as early as possible) they felt like they'd made their point and so started to make the obstacles easier in order to avoid ratings tanking due to continuously underwhelming results, but it just didn't work and everyone notable pretty much failed early, Nagano underwhelmed on his return to Stage 2, Okuyama was a relative unknown and got cut in the next tournament anyway; only Levi's run was somewhat exciting. Maybe I'm biased because I don't find Levi to be a particularly great competitor in that he was massively overhyped and also a bit of an arrogant prick, but yeah. 20 imo was that no man's land between results being shockingly bad in 19, and competitors starting to adjust to the difficulty curve (21-22).

I figured at least one person was going to say 10 lol. Personally I really liked the tournament as we got a lot of shock value from the entire tournament and Stages 1 and 2 got a decent overhaul, but I agree results-wise there was no progression whatsoever. It again occupied some kind of no-man's land, between 9 which introduced the harder Stage 3 obstacles, and 11 where someone actually clears. The tournament ended on the Pipe Slider again, which was both the same as Sasuke 9 and the same as Yamada's last Stage 3 run.

34 wasn't the only tournament where no obstacle was new (36 had the same course as 35 from what I remember), but the Fish Bone and Double Pendulum did get modified from what I can remember, and the Salmon Ladder rung distance was reduced very slightly. I wouldn't say that the lack of new obstacles is necessarily a bad thing provided that the results were bad enough in the previous tournament to warrant no difficulty increase, and even if there is, modifications can be just as deadly as new obstacles (e.g. lengthening the Pipe Slider jump, or making the Warped Wall higher). But I agree 34 just kind of sucked? Not in the sense that it was egregious like 26 or 28, but just nothing exciting happened. Also, the reason why I put 33 and 34 together is that no matter how early or late people failed, you knew no one was making it past that Cliffhanger+Vertical combo (not counting 32 because it wasn't until Drew's fails in 32-33 that people realised that it was just impossible), which just massively reduced the whole appeal of those tournaments imo.

[azn]

SK7 is my pick

Not the greatest competitor pool entering the third stage with pre red Kongu, Shane Kosugi and James Okada failing at predictable areas. Aside from Shingo's clear, Kuboki was the only other major highlight for me

The shocking fails where not as huge now looking back considering that Takeda and Kane didn't have their breakthrough performances until the very next tournament, Akiyama was still having troubles with the Jump Hang, and Yamada's fail in the first stage for me was expected given his slow approach and his subtle struggles on the Wall in the previous two tournaments that would finally bite him in the back

And of course, that ending, which is honestly the only reason why I remember this tournament, as sad as that might sound. It's definitely not a bad tournament by any means, just really meh in my eyes.

[zoran]

Apr 2, 2022 11:16:52 GMT -5 dakohosu said:

20 I think was a decent enough tournament, certainly not on the level of 26 or 28, I just think it was filler in the grand scheme of things. After production got what they wanted in the form of Sasuke 19 (for everyone to fail as early as possible) they felt like they'd made their point and so started to make the obstacles easier in order to avoid ratings tanking due to continuously underwhelming results, but it just didn't work and everyone notable pretty much failed early, Nagano underwhelmed on his return to Stage 2, Okuyama was a relative unknown and got cut in the next tournament anyway; only Levi's run was somewhat exciting. Maybe I'm biased because I don't find Levi to be a particularly great competitor in that he was massively overhyped and also a bit of an arrogant prick, but yeah. 20 imo was that no man's land between results being shockingly bad in 19, and competitors starting to adjust to the difficulty curve (21-22).

I figured at least one person was going to say 10 lol. Personally I really liked the tournament as we got a lot of shock value from the entire tournament and Stages 1 and 2 got a decent overhaul, but I agree results-wise there was no progression whatsoever. It again occupied some kind of no-man's land, between 9 which introduced the harder Stage 3 obstacles, and 11 where someone actually clears. The tournament ended on the Pipe Slider again, which was both the same as Sasuke 9 and the same as Yamada's last Stage 3 run.

34 wasn't the only tournament where no obstacle was new (36 had the same course as 35 from what I remember), but the Fish Bone and Double Pendulum did get modified from what I can remember, and the Salmon Ladder rung distance was reduced very slightly. I wouldn't say that the lack of new obstacles is necessarily a bad thing provided that the results were bad enough in the previous tournament to warrant no difficulty increase, and even if there is, modifications can be just as deadly as new obstacles (e.g. lengthening the Pipe Slider jump, or making the Warped Wall higher). But I agree 34 just kind of sucked? Not in the sense that it was egregious like 26 or 28, but just nothing exciting happened. Also, the reason why I put 33 and 34 together is that no matter how early or late people failed, you knew no one was making it past that Cliffhanger+Vertical combo (not counting 32 because it wasn't until Drew's fails in 32-33 that people realised that it was just impossible), which just massively reduced the whole appeal of those tournaments imo.

Wing Slider was kinda new in 36.

[dakohosu]

Renaming an obstacle due to desire not to get sued and slightly modifying it doesn’t count as a new obstacle; it was also barely harder as well.

And yeah 7 is a good one; I suppose I remember it fondly due to the introduction of the new Stage 2 and Shingo both breaking the Stage 3 ending streak and his infamous Final Stage fail, but yeah 8 was WAY more exciting.

[subtleagent]

I think I might also nominate 37 as a nothing tournament tbh. The course was literally either broken or nerfed due to the rain and so we got to see that live final (which tbh I always thought was a stupid idea) and seeing as we got to see the unused obstacles in their fully functioning form in 38 it kind of makes 37 null and void in that regard. While is does have shock value and a bit of variety from your general Morimoto does the best formula, the aforementioned bits kind of ruin it for me tbh.

[m4tt3r0x]

Agreed with 34. I swear I sometimes think that tournament never existed because it felt like 33 on a different day.

[LusitaniaAngel313]

Yeah I've got 20, 6, 26... even 18 was an odd one I always forget. 33 as well. 34 had Yuuji and Takeda carry it with the former slating retirement if he failed again.

[dakohosu]

The only reason I didn't put 26 is because it's remembered as being probably the worst ever tournament. Before I joined this forum I actually thought I was alone in hating on 26, it was the first tournament I'd watched live and was so disappointed by how stagnant the results were and the egregiously bad editing. But it seems like most people agree that 26 was the worst, along with 28 and 32, but personally 26 gets my Number 1 spot for worst given that the competition had basically no redeeming features, except for the Rolling Escargot lol.

18 is actually a good shout, partially because the renewal was only half-done. They ended up replacing all the filler crap with real obstacles in Sasuke 19, like the Half-Pipe Attack etc. 18 to me just kind of felt like a 'work in progress', the results weren't as shockingly bad as production wanted either.

[zoran]

Apr 8, 2022 5:21:54 GMT -5 dakohosu said:

The only reason I didn't put 26 is because it's remembered as being probably the worst ever tournament. Before I joined this forum I actually thought I was alone in hating on 26, it was the first tournament I'd watched live and was so disappointed by how stagnant the results were and the egregiously bad editing. But it seems like most people agree that 26 was the worst, along with 28 and 32, but personally 26 gets my Number 1 spot for worst given that the competition had basically no redeeming features, except for the Rolling Escargot lol.

18 is actually a good shout, partially because the renewal was only half-done. They ended up replacing all the filler crap with real obstacles in Sasuke 19, like the Half-Pipe Attack etc. 18 to me just kind of felt like a 'work in progress', the results weren't as shockingly bad as production wanted either.

3 things I think were also good about 26

1. Iketani's comeback

2. Okuyama's epic stage 2 run

3. Yamada sorta making it the furthest of the all stars for the first time since 10.

[dakohosu]

Apr 8, 2022 6:21:39 GMT -5 zoran said:

Apr 8, 2022 5:21:54 GMT -5 dakohosu said:

The only reason I didn't put 26 is because it's remembered as being probably the worst ever tournament. Before I joined this forum I actually thought I was alone in hating on 26, it was the first tournament I'd watched live and was so disappointed by how stagnant the results were and the egregiously bad editing. But it seems like most people agree that 26 was the worst, along with 28 and 32, but personally 26 gets my Number 1 spot for worst given that the competition had basically no redeeming features, except for the Rolling Escargot lol.

18 is actually a good shout, partially because the renewal was only half-done. They ended up replacing all the filler crap with real obstacles in Sasuke 19, like the Half-Pipe Attack etc. 18 to me just kind of felt like a 'work in progress', the results weren't as shockingly bad as production wanted either.

3 things I think were also good about 26

1. Iketani's comeback

2. Okuyama's epic stage 2 run

3. Yamada sorta making it the furthest of the all stars for the first time since 10.

I would agree with points 1 and 2 but they were both spoilt. The trailer/opening spoiled Iketani’s fail as it was very obviously him (to me at least), and 2 was spoilt by the fact they ran Okuyama last to create a false sense of suspense, even though he had a lower number than Hashimoto.

Number 3 I actually think is a negative against the tournament, not because of Yamada per se, more because the fact that Yamada made it the farthest yet still failed predictably early was representative of how underwhelming the All-Stars’ performances were. In fact basically no competitor had that noteworthy a run. Okuyama and Lee failed the UCH as expected, the Americans were all spoiled before the Japanese broadcast, Iketani was spoiled, and everyone else failed Stage 1.

The editing was also probably the most unforgivable of any tournament; sure they had a small broadcast slot but that didn’t excuse the constant running competitors out of order and oversaturating joke competitors at the expense of digesting almost all of the clears. Maybe I’m biased as when I heard 4 Americans made Stage 3 I was expecting loads of Japanese competitors to do so as well, so for the results to be so underwhelming as well as the above issues really sucked especially as it was my first live tournament.

So yeah, I wouldn’t say 26 is a nothing tournament purely because it is so unanimously hated.

[sasukewarrior333]

Personally, I don't actually dislike any tournaments (as I've mentioned before) and even 26 I enjoy, but I agree that it's by far one of the weakest tournaments with only a few standout moments.

I honestly think 26's mediocrity is furthered by the excellence that surrounds it. 23, 24, 25 and 27 are literally all in my top 10 favourite tournaments so it sticks out in that particular string.

As for most nothing tournament? For me it'd be 33, moreso than 34. This is because while 33 did introduce the Fish Bone, that was borrow from Kunoichi and ultimately the results regressed but not even to a major shocking point. 4 people anticlimatically flunk the Flying Bar due to poor design and the one person who clears it is the same person who went furthest the prior tournament who this time flunks the obstacle that he cleared in it's debut just one tournament ago. This isn't even taking into account that the man who did best, the man who ultimately triumphed more than anyone else... was Drew Drechsel. For the second time in a row. I don't think I need to explain why that kinda sucks.

Even 34 in comparison had more to it in my opinion. Along with being more entertaining due to the large amount of success we saw, it ultimately proved to us that UCCH/VLK combo wasn't being beaten for a long time if it stayed. People say that was proven in 32 but I disagree, Drew didn't run out of stamina, he just peeled straight off the VLK. Yusuke, the Cliffhanger and Vertical Limit God, gassing out on it was what really proved it in my opinion.

[dakohosu]

Apr 8, 2022 8:27:47 GMT -5 sasukewarrior333 said:

Personally, I don't actually dislike any tournaments (as I've mentioned before) and even 26 I enjoy, but I agree that it's by far one of the weakest tournaments with only a few standout moments.

I honestly think 26's mediocrity is furthered by the excellence that surrounds it. 23, 24, 25 and 27 are literally all in my top 10 favourite tournaments so it sticks out in that particular string.

As for most nothing tournament? For me it'd be 33, moreso than 34. This is because while 33 did introduce the Fish Bone, that was borrow from Kunoichi and ultimately the results regressed but not even to a major shocking point. 4 people anticlimatically flunk the Flying Bar due to poor design and the one person who clears it is the same person who went furthest the prior tournament who this time flunks the obstacle that he cleared in it's debut just one tournament ago. This isn't even taking into account that the man who did best, the man who ultimately triumphed more than anyone else... was Drew Drechsel. For the second time in a row. I don't think I need to explain why that kinda sucks.

Even 34 in comparison had more to it in my opinion. Along with being more entertaining due to the large amount of success we saw, it ultimately proved to us that UCCH/VLK combo wasn't being beaten for a long time if it stayed. People say that was proven in 32 but I disagree, Drew didn't run out of stamina, he just peeled straight off the VLK. Yusuke, the Cliffhanger and Vertical Limit God, gassing out on it was what really proved it in my opinion.

Yeah I think that was why the editing was so unforgivable for me r/e 26. Shin-Sasuke probably had the best edited tournaments with basically no one of significance getting digested, especially not on Stages 2 or 3, and loads of fluff-pieces and sideline action. We go straight from that to the utter mess of 26 which just threw all of it out of the window. 26's runtime was also only about half an hour shorter than 25's which ended at the same point so it's not really an excuse imo.

Yeah I agree 33 was the worse of the two but I still kind of merge 33 and 34 together purely because I just stopped caring halfway through each broadcast, when I realised that it wasn't a big deal that Hioki or Yuuji failed Stage 2 as there was no way that they were making it past either tournament's Stage 3. It didn't ruin the highlights of the tournament, it just made both irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. 32 was a renewal so it was somewhat more exciting and also another controversial and hated tournament, and 35 was when results started to pick up/when someone finally reached the Final Stage. 33-34 just had zero impact in the grand scheme of things.