[SPOILERS] who will reach the ......

[dakohosu]

It’s been made pretty obvious that someone will reach the Final Stage otherwise it wouldn’t have been advertised.

I suppose my question is who do you think it would be. Specifically, will it be Yusuke or someone other than Yusuke? I suppose my reasoning behind this (seemingly obvious) question is that the adverts have shown that the latter part of Stage 1 is plagued with rain; and it seems to be raining pretty badly when Morimoto starts his run. This obviously harks back to Sasuke 37 when it was somewhat moist but this still stopped Yusuke in his tracks. This time it’s actually properly raining and he’s got 2 warped walls to get through, one of which could be even higher than the one that he’s trained for.

So with that in mind, who do you place bets on having reached the Final Stage? I know there’s obvs a Sasuke Guessing Game that reveals most people’s answers but just thought I’d make this thread anyway.

[CustomGaming57]

I’m betting on Yoshiyuki since he’s been positioned halfway across the lineup when the weather still looked to be dry. His grip strength also seems to be on par with Morimoto, as he was one of the only two to clear the Cliffhanger last time (or he would’ve had it not been for you know what…).

It will be more exciting if Yoshiyuki or someone other than Morimoto reaches the Final Stage this year because for the latter as I stated in another thread, it’s getting tiresome to see him mostly reach that level.

[dakohosu]

I'm betting on Yoshiyuki, Tada, or Yusuke. Can't really see anyone other than those three.

Obviously this time round we have some really experienced climbers competing which a fair few people on this thread have vouched for doing well, but Sasuke obstacles are so specific and technique-based that I don't think they're likely to reach the Final on their very first attempt. I'd wager most of them fail on Stage 1 or 2 due to inexperience. Then all of the other Stage 3 regulars like Isa etc. don't really have what it takes to beat the course.

The three I mentioned went the farthest in 38 and all have shown that they're capable of clearing Stage 3 (pointing out the obvious with Yusuke as he's beat it four times, but Tada's a former finalist and Yoshiyuki could've been as well). It all really depends on how Yusuke did on Stage 1; if he cleared then it's 100% going to be him as there's no contest between him and anyone else on Stage 3, but as mentioned he probably drew the short straw by running last due to the weather. Mind you, after Sasuke 37 he probably trained on the wall so aggressively that a bit of rain might not be able to stop him like it did then.

I do hope it isn't Yusuke just because it means that we get to see other competitors shine (part of the reason I enjoyed Sasuke 37, even if the course was nerfed) and he's been the Last Man Standing or Champion for the last 6 out of 7 competitions he's competed in. I wanna see some shock fails and breakout runs, not the same predictable results.

Mind you, for all we could know we could get more than one finalist....

[LusitaniaAngel313]

NGL I still kinda think no one will make the final at all. If I had to choose someone, I feel either Yusuke or Tada have it. We'll see...

[dakohosu]

Nah, the trailers have massively hinted that someone will reach the Final.

Besides, they wouldn’t spend so much time teasing and showcasing it if it were to be remained unattempted. Also Stage 3, except for the Falling Shelves which ngl could be pretty damaging, is virtually the same, which gives me further confidence that we’ll get a clear.

[ninja1985]

How about Yuuji Urushihara?
Do you think he will reach the final stage?

[dakohosu]

Ngl I forgot about Yuuji.

A lot of people would say he's too old at 43 but I think that's mainly because most competitors either decline or retire before then; but his age really hasn't seemed to have slowed him down (if anything he's been improving since he hit 40). He's been doing so well recently that it's honestly hard to say, he reached Stage 3 in 36 then showed it was no fluke by almost reaching the Final in 37 but that was on a slightly nerfed course with a halted Cliffhanger and thicker Vertical Limit. Then in 38 he came an inch hair away from beating the revamped Stage 2.

So I think judging by the above, he definitely has the capability to reach Stage 3 again. How he'd do on the course I have no idea though; there's that new Falling Shelves obstacle (which if it is the same as the ANW version then it's definitely going to do some damage) and also the Dimension might be made harder. Yuuji's never attempted either so I personally feel like he might fail there, but the same goes for Yoshiyuki and Tada too (personally I feel that Yoshiyuki got super lucky in 38 as he barely grabbed the last ledge; I wouldn't be surprised if he failed the transition this time round but I guess we'll see). Only Yusuke has displayed that almost sense of 'invincibility' to course changes as far as Stage 3 goes.

Another thing to bear in mind is that Yuuji's #99 so he's going to be running in the rain which I feel could be an issue given that he's had trouble with the Warped Wall before and he'd now be attempting two of them on a slippery run-up platform. Then with Stage 2 it's fairly obvious that the course has been left the same, but they might reduce the time limit which would again prevent him from clearing. Yoshiyuki, Tada, and Yusuke by comparison had the three fastest times on Stage 2 in 38, whereas Yuuji timed out.

[Ninja Relaxer]

I never would have predicted Yuuji would make it so deep into Stage 3 in Sasuke 37. If he can do it again and even make it to the Final Stage in 39 -- dang! I'd love to see it happen.